Towing with an f150

[B and B]

Originally Posted by Pirateman98

Guy at work pulls a puma that is 6400# dry with his 2011 and says it does the job fine. Most of my driving will be on flat roads. The previous owner pulled a fifth with the truck. Still have the holes in the bed to show for it. Guess we will find out on Thursday

Up to you, I pulled a 2012 Rockwood 2703sS with a F150 rated for 9200 lbs and a 5.4 litre engine. No problems at all, RV was close to 8200 lbs so we had minimal margin.
In came the Ecoboost with 11,300 a 9500 lb Fifth Wheel. Still no problems.
Both classified as half ton trucks. My half ton blows the door off some if not all 3/4 tons for torque and capacity. As you mentioned flat towing, if you have a factory receiver see if the dealer will hitch it up for you, go out with the sales rep and try it.
OC is right as well French towing a Fifth Wheel with his half ton Chev. Up to you to decide, many tow just fine without a huge 3500 or 350. I use my truck for daily driver so I want some economy dry as well.


All the best, safe travels with what ever you decide is safe and meets your needs.

Brian

[Fozzy]

I pulled 6K for 2 years with my Raptor that was only rated for 8K. No problems other than the 4-6 miles per gallon.


Sent from my iPhone using Forest River Forums

[The_Rhino]

Not trying to be the weight police here, but I just spent the last year trying to pair 6,500 (empty) TTs with affordable TVs & I still have all of my data...

Based on his other post, the OP already has "a F150 with the tow pack rated at 8300 max..." This is a lesser setup than those of you that have the 1/2 tons designed to maximize towing & hauling, like the King Ranch Ecoboost MAX Tow, etc....

The OP wants to tow a TT that weighs 6,300 lbs. EMPTY with an empty tongue weight of over 900 lbs. which means he can only add 1,800 lbs. of additional people & gear while also not going over his load capacity (don't know figures for his truck...)

IMO 1,800 might meet the needs of 2 people, but not a family. His TT is a bunkhouse, so I assume he has a family... In our case, each of our kids brings a bike & scooter along plus clothing, heavy swim towels, outdoor games, extra food, etc. When we leave for 4-5 days the fridge is full, the pantry is full, and an additional 50 lb. cooler is full of pop, water & ice. We also bring firewood, chairs, and a plastic, foldable table. Oh, and a 50 lb. dog!

[BamaBob]

Originally Posted by OldCoot

You will find the majority of the weight police here will tell you a 1/2T is only good for towing a 6'x 8' lawnmower trailer and most recommend a 1t dually or larger for most pop ups and if it's a 5er, you need at least a Mack, Peterbilt or larger. They LOVE spending YOUR money.

X100 OC

OC and I both tow 5er's with ours - mind you we have Ecoboost and max towing packages & differential.

My F150 has a max tow of 11,800 - I don't even know our 5er is behind us when I am on the highway @ 65MPH

[Cajun Po-Boy]

Originally Posted by HSVBamaBob

X100 OC

OC and I both tow 5er's with ours - mind you we have Ecoboost and max towing packages & differential.

My F150 has a max tow of 11,800 - I don't even know our 5er is behind us when I am on the highway @ 65MPH

OP looking to tow a TT, WDH setup will be very important to them for a comfortable tow vs a fifth wheel at that same weight or heavier on a half ton is a much easier tow due to it's great stability by having the pin weight over the axles vs behind the truck.
OP...don't cheap out on a very good hitch and sway setup, from there, your truck will do fine

[BamaBob]

Originally Posted by Cajun Po-Boy

OP looking to tow a TT, WDH setup will be very important to them for a comfortable tow vs a fifth wheel at that same weight or heavier on a half ton is a much easier tow due to it's great stability by having the pin weight over the axles vs behind the truck.
OP...don't cheap out on a very good hitch and sway setup, from there, your truck will do fine

AH! Good Point Cajun!

OP X2 what Cajun said when we had our TT we had a Equal-i-zer - great performance! I hear that Reese makes an "adjustable" WDH that lets you dial in setup factors. Never used the Rees though but food for your thoughts

[OldCoot]

Originally Posted by HSVBamaBob

...OC and I both tow 5er's with ours - mind you we have Ecoboost and max towing packages & differential....

I only have a weak kneed, naturally aspired, 5.3L Chevy 1/2 T with 3.23 rear end and it does a fantastic job IMO. Definitely don't win drag races, but I do pull 55-65 and on rare occasions will get to 70. Get 9.8-11.2mpg depending on the wind and my right foot.

[OldCoot]

Originally Posted by Cajun Po-Boy

OP looking to tow a TT, WDH setup will be very important to them for a comfortable tow vs a fifth wheel at that same weight or heavier on a half ton is a much easier tow due to it's great stability by having the pin weight over the axles vs behind the truck.
OP...don't cheap out on a very good hitch and sway setup, from there, your truck will do fine

I towed a TT since 1978 with a 1/2T and from 2006 until 2012 with the same truck I have now. 2008-2012 I towed a Flagstaff 831RLSS over 30,000 miles with no trouble. Have only towed our 5er since 2012. Needless to say, I love my little Chevy even with 82,000+ miles on it.

[Pirateman98]

Oc
How heavy have the trailers you pulled with your half ton.

[OldCoot]

Originally Posted by Pirateman98

Oc
How heavy have the trailers you pulled with your half ton.

No idea, never weighted any of them. Just relied on the advertising propaganda furnished by the mfg. Not like the wt. police, I back up to them and if the wdh levels the truck, it's good to go. The air bags brought it back to level for the 5er, so away we went.

We did weight the whole rig this year coming back from FL on the SC state scales. Had 100 pcs of alum tubing for poles and fruit ,etc in the bed and the whole rig weighted 15,300. Scales couldn't wt individual wheels for some reason or other.

[Platokidd]

Towed for years with a half ton truck and it did a fine job. Upgraded to 3/4 ton truck, big improvement. jmo.

[thestrangebrew]

Just did my first ever real tow with the rigs in my sig. TV did fantastic going uphill. Going downhill was a little different. Could've been just me not knowing exactly what my setup could do, or my newb comfort level, but I felt the engine braking lacking in the ecoboost.

[MeepMeep]

No such thing as "too much truck". After trading up from 1500 to 3500, my only regret is that I didn't do it sooner. Takes a lot of pressure off knowing you can tow pretty much anything and go pretty much anywhere.....

[B and B]

Dynamic braking while in Cruise control in an Eco is different than out of cruise, give it a try.

Brian

[cat1956]

I tow a Flagstaff 27rlws with a 2010 ford crew cab. 5.4 engine and a 3:55 rear end with tow package and intergrated brake control. I do have the equalizer hitch with built in sway control and LT tires which makes a world of difference to me.

[pappcam]

Originally Posted by thestrangebrew

Just did my first ever real tow with the rigs in my sig. TV did fantastic going uphill. Going downhill was a little different. Could've been just me not knowing exactly what my setup could do, or my newb comfort level, but I felt the engine braking lacking in the ecoboost.

Did you have tow/haul on? It really helps out with the engine braking on descents.

[thestrangebrew]

Originally Posted by pappcam

Did you have tow/haul on? It really helps out with the engine braking on descents.

I did. Like I said, it was probably me being such a newb and not knowing what my setup could do on a descent more than the truck's fault. I literally popped my towing cherry this weekend so I'm not nearly experienced towing than some of you guys lol.

[rlocicero]

2011 F150, 5.0l, 3.73 gears, tow package, Reese torsion and sway control. .

We have towed our 829fkss flagstaff through the Canadian Maritime Provinces, the Adirondacks, around the great lakes, Myrtle Beach thru the hills of Pennsylvania and West Va. with no problems at all. I did install E rated 10 ply LT tires on the truck and E rated 10 ply ST tires on the trailer. You DO NOT need a hd truck if your 1/2 ton is properly equipped and matched to the size of the trailer you want to pull. .

[schrederman]

Originally Posted by JohnIII

I'd think at 6200# the F150 would still do rather well.


Sent from my iPhone using Forest River Forums

As I said, it does OK, but not great. Probably because my rear gear is 3.55 and I do not have the Max-Tow package. It's a 5.0 V-8 and not the Eco-Boost. The main reason I'm upgrading now is to upgrade the TT in a year or two. If not for that, I'd keep what I have. I'd consider getting the 1-ton but it is my daily driver and I doubt I'd ever have the need for it. The F-150 has been a great truck, and is still clean as a pin... complete with sling-in bed liner... (old furniture-movers quilt)...