What trailer wt could I tow safely?
I have a 2018 F150 2WD w/ the 5.0 L V8. Dealer said it can tow 12200 lbs. What Maximun Trailer wt should I consider to tow safely and comfortably?
Forum Discussion
Ignore "towing capacity" or GCWR figures. Payload capacity is the important number for towing TTs. Truck manufacturers and dealers love to promote what their trucks can "tow" instead of highlighting payload capacity.
Remember the episode of Gold Rush when Parker towed a humongous wash plant across a river with a Ford pickup? That's towing capacity!
Hahahaha.....
I suggest taking your truck to a scale to determine the actual available payload capacity to handle the tongue weight of a TT. While you *could* use the truck manufacturer's published payload capacity, the better way is to load it up as you would for camping including pets & passengers, plus a full tank of fuel and subtract that total weight from the GVWR on the door pillar sticker. What's left is the actual payload capacity you have left for a TT.
Then... The tongue wt. of a TT is typically in the 12-13% range of the actual wt. of a TT (not UVW). Since you can't take a TT to a scale until you own it, to ensure your truck can handle a particular TT, take your available payload capacity and divide that by 13% and compare that to the published GVWR of a TT. Note that some TTs can have tongue weights up to 15% of the GVW (actual weight).
Remember the episode of Gold Rush when Parker towed a humongous wash plant across a river with a Ford pickup? That's towing capacity!
Hahahaha.....
I suggest taking your truck to a scale to determine the actual available payload capacity to handle the tongue weight of a TT. While you *could* use the truck manufacturer's published payload capacity, the better way is to load it up as you would for camping including pets & passengers, plus a full tank of fuel and subtract that total weight from the GVWR on the door pillar sticker. What's left is the actual payload capacity you have left for a TT.
Then... The tongue wt. of a TT is typically in the 12-13% range of the actual wt. of a TT (not UVW). Since you can't take a TT to a scale until you own it, to ensure your truck can handle a particular TT, take your available payload capacity and divide that by 13% and compare that to the published GVWR of a TT. Note that some TTs can have tongue weights up to 15% of the GVW (actual weight).
