Towing Rockwood 8289WS with 1/2 ton

[twall]

I just purchased a Rockwood 8289WS. Towed it home with my 2010 Ford F150 4X4,extended cab short bed. My truck handled this 5th wheel great.
It was 180 miles to home with interstate and back roads. On the interstate almost all 18wheelers that passed me or I passed there was no wash what so ever and when there was it was almost unnoticeable. I would not be afraid to recommend this combination to anyone all though I was advised by one thread this will not work. I was pulling a 28'6 lightweight bumper pull and it was very unstable. The side winder hitch makes turning clearance on problem at all.

[RalphieAdie]

Congratulations on your purchase. Enjoy!

[MtnGuy]

Weigh your truck with the loaded 5th wheel attached, passengers, truck cargo ready to camp. I betcha the GVWR and rear axle weight will be over the limits stated on the driver's side door.

[Lynkage]

It sure seems as though that unit could get kinda heavy after gear, water and propane.
The dry pin weight is only 300lbs shy of my 355BHQ!

What is the payload of your truck?

[dretired]

The "1/2 ton" that i used to tow my 5th wheel to Florida and back last winter. It did a great job down and up I-75..Now upgraded to a F250 diesel for the future

[jwright]

I was in Myrtle Beach last month and saw that same unit being pulled by a 2012 Ford 150 with the ecoboost motor. I talked with the guy and he had come from Canada via NY, New Port Beach, Va, and finally to SC. He was headed out West next. He said he had no trouble what so ever in pulling his unit. It is a fine unit as I took delivery of my 2013 unit in October. Enjoy

[Witch Doctor]

Originally Posted by twall

I just purchased a Rockwood 8289WS. Towed it home with my 2010 Ford F150 4X4,extended cab short bed. My truck handled this 5th wheel great.
It was 180 miles to home with interstate and back roads. On the interstate almost all 18wheelers that passed me or I passed there was no wash what so ever and when there was it was almost unnoticeable. I would not be afraid to recommend this combination to anyone all though I was advised by one thread this will not work. I was pulling a 28'6 lightweight bumper pull and it was very unstable. The side winder hitch makes turning clearance on problem at all.

I have the same model 5th wheel, I do not know if you weighted it at the scales? I can not tell you how safe it would be or the strain on the TV over any mountains. I will list my numbers and I tow with a F250 / 6.0 Hopes this helps.
Steer axle 4048
drive axle 4520
trailer 7340
without camper below
steer 4040
drive 2940
total camper 8960
pin weight 1620
total comb. weight 15940
Remember your sidewinder is rated at 2000 lbs.
You can tow anything with ever you want to but make sure you are safe and people on the roads are safe. I would like to drop down to a 150 but do not know how safe it would be, I never did the #'s. Pulling a 5er you will not feel the the same sway as a tote. I do not think it has anything to do with the the truck capability. I would do the #'s if I were you......

[Dave_Monica]

Originally Posted by twall

I would not be afraid to recommend this combination to anyone all though I was advised by one thread this will not work.

You would have been advised in the previous thread that the pin weight of this camper will exceed the RAWR of your truck, only a trip to the weight scale will tell how much it's exceeded by.

The issue isn't whether the half ton truck can pull it...it's if it has the weight capacity to carry the pin weight. I pulled the camper in our signature with a Ram 1500 for 2 years. The loaded pin weight of 1240 lbs put the truck at it's RAWR. The 8289WS will have a loaded pin weight around 1600 lbs as gljurczyk stated.

Dave

[Twisty]

The payload rating of the truck could be as high as 3030 lbs.

[troyt]

Had a 1/2 w/ Hemi pulling a 34ft 7,000lb loaded TT. Pulled fine on most roads, horrible gas mileage and not so good on the hills. Have a 3/4 w/diesel and would never go back. Handling is night and day. I feel much safer. Just my opinion.

But got a great deal on my 3/4 or I guess I would still be driving my 1/2 ton. Sometime miss it

[Lynkage]

Originally Posted by Twisty

The payload rating of the truck could be as high as 3030 lbs.

That would only be for the 4X2 Reg Cab.

2010 SuperCab 4x4 Payload GVWR
133" 5.4L 3-valve 1020 6950

145" 4.6L 2-valve 1480 6900
4.6L 3-valve 1550 7000
5.4L 3-valve 1670 7200
5.4L 3-valve 1960 (2) 7700

163" 5.4L 3-valve 2350 (1) 8200*

(1) *Requires Heavy-Duty Payload Package.
(2) **Requires Max. Trailer Tow Package


op says short bed but which one? 163 is a long bed.

[Jmjtx]

Originally Posted by troyt

Had a 1/2 w/ Hemi pulling a 34ft 7,000lb loaded TT. Pulled fine on most roads, horrible gas mileage and not so good on the hills. Have a 3/4 w/diesel and would never go back. Handling is night and day. I feel much safer. Just my opinion.

But got a great deal on my 3/4 or I guess I would still be driving my 1/2 ton. Sometime miss it

Ditto going from 1/2 to 3/4 pulling 26' And now 31'....ditto on missing the HEMI at times, but not crying!

[Jjsav]

Just pulled my 2013 Rockwood 8281SS home on Friday 12-7 with my 1/2 ton and it pulled just fine. Pulls much better than my TT and truck has plenty of power. I am with you. Good luck and Happy Camping!!!!

[Tom-s]

I have been pulling our Rockwood 8280ws for 20 months. Our truck is a Ford F150 Supercab 8 ft. bed with the heavy duty cargo pkg. 5.4 triton gas engine with a 4.10 limited slip rear axle. I added a set of Helwig helper springs before picking up the new rv. We have been all over Texas, New Mexico and Arizona with no problems. The set-up is level and pulls fine. Sure the rig will not go up Monarch Pass in Colorado at any great rate of speed, but it does just fine at the posted speeds and a higher rpm setting which the engineer at FMC stated it was designed to run at all day with no damage. I hope you have a good time traveling with your rig.
Tom-s

[Dave_Monica]

Originally Posted by Tom-s

I have been pulling our Rockwood 8280ws for 20 months. Our truck is a Ford F150 Supercab 8 ft. bed with the heavy duty cargo pkg. 5.4 triton gas engine with a 4.10 limited slip rear axle. Tom-s

Are you talking about a heavy-duty payload option on your truck? Is the GVWR for it (on the driver's door post) indicate 8200 lbs?

Dave

[TURBS]

interesting post .
sub



turbs

[5er_tom]

I tow my 8289WS with a Ford 250 diesel. I would not consider using a ½ ton truck.

Tom

[pwb01]

F150 ecoboost, 6 cyl. Doesn't slow me down even on hills. Good mileage too.