This thread has gone looney with diesel swagger and Super Duty bluster.
The original poster asked about the payload capacities of the F150; not a bragging fest about how your diesels can tow.
It is nonsense to assume everyone will or will want to get a bigger camper in the future. We enjoyed our pop-up for nearly a decade, and special ordered our Roo with what we wanted for planned long-term ownership and use.
The Rockwood Roo I tow is 5687 GVWR and has an approximate maximum hitch weight of 740 pounds. I tow now with an F150 HDPP truck that has 2250 payload.
My truck's 2250 payload minus:
Bedrug and Tonneau Cover 80 pounds approximate
Driver, Passengers, and personal items 900 pounds
Weight Distributing Hitch 80 pounds
740 maximum Hitch Weight of Trailer
Equals a remaining 450 pounds of payload for golf clubs, fishing tackle, cooler, kids toys, tote tank, firewood, and luggage in the truck bed.
I do need the Heavy Duty Payload package to haul a family of 5 plus the truck bed loaded with cargo and the camper and not be over-weight. This allows me to tow without helper springs/airbags/or other gimmicks used to resolve the symptoms of overloaded trucks.
You cannot convince me that a F250 or F350 would be a better choice for a camper that can be towed easily behind an Expedition, Armada, Suburban, or earlier generation Explorer or Sport Trac. If I didn't want to take both my family and cargo in the truck, I could get by easily with a standard 1/2 ton Ram, Tundra, F150, Silverado, or Titan. Because of the weight, I need a heavy-duty payload package half ton; not a 3/4 ton or 1 ton truck.
My recommendations:
1. Rely on the factory ratings for the vehicle regardless of whether it is a F450 or a Jeep Patriot and stay within the payload/axle loads/Gross Combined Vehicle Weight/trailer frontage specs without having to add aftermarket modifications to the engine, drivetrain, and suspension.
2. Plan, plan, and plan some more, and buy your tow vehicle and camper as a matching package that will meet the current and expected future needs of your family for at least seven years.
3. Don't add items to your truck that will reduce towing capacity and rob available payload such as larger wheels and tires, bull bars, brush racks, lift kits, level kits, tool boxes, or fiberglass toppers/bed caps.
4. Review your camper occasionally and remove items that probably won't be needed. The purpose of camping is to get away from it all; not to drag all of it with you.
5. Purchase a truck with the proper engine and gearing for towing. (On a new F150 that ideally means 3.73 gears and a 3.5 EcoBoost or a 5.0 V-8 with 3.55 gears. The 2.7 EcoBoost can tow, but is not the ideal engine. Avoid the 3.5 Naturally Aspirated engine for towing.)
6. Do buy a little more vehicle than you need. It will make the drive more enjoyable and your vehicle last longer.
7. Do not buy a lot more vehicle than you need unless you plan for a trailer upgrade. The experience of towing an 8-foot popup behind a diesel F350 will not be that much better than towing with an Explorer.
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Velosprout
2014 F150 SCrew 4x4 Max Tow Heavy Duty Payload 3.5 Ecoboost 6.5' bed Ingot Metallic Silver
2015 Rockwood Roo 21SS
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