Roo 25RS & Ford F150

[Skiptopp]

Hoping I can get some advice from anyone with experience. We are looking to upgrade from a pop-up to the Roo 25RS (if we can find one!). I have a 2010 F150 SuperCrew, 5.5' bed, 4.6 3V, 3.55 axle. I'd like to make sure from a towing and weight point of view I'm going to be okay. In the F150 I have 4 adults, large dog and all the camping gear. The truck is rated for 7,000 lbs. (or 7,700 elsewhere on Ford). I like the 25RS because I think it's large enough for what we need and so far seems the best from a weight standpoint. I've been looking at Outback RS, Swift 267BHS, & Spree 265KS but all seem a bit too close to my total tow limit.
Does anyone else have the F150 w/similar specs? And if so what do you tow?

Thanks All.

[Dave_Monica]

Welcome to the forum and good luck in your search for the 25RS!

The only caution that I'd pass along is to load as much as you can in the camper instead of the truck...you'll want to distribute it such that you end up with a tongue weight of 12-13%. With 4 adults, a large dog and the tongue weight of the camper, you'll be using up most if not all of your payload capacity.

Dave

[KMP44]

Originally Posted by Skiptopp

Hoping I can get some advice from anyone with experience. We are looking to upgrade from a pop-up to the Roo 25RS (if we can find one!). I have a 2010 F150 SuperCrew, 5.5' bed, 4.6 3V, 3.55 axle. I'd like to make sure from a towing and weight point of view I'm going to be okay. In the F150 I have 4 adults, large dog and all the camping gear. The truck is rated for 7,000 lbs. (or 7,700 elsewhere on Ford). I like the 25RS because I think it's large enough for what we need and so far seems the best from a weight standpoint. I've been looking at Outback RS, Swift 267BHS, & Spree 265KS but all seem a bit too close to my total tow limit.
Does anyone else have the F150 w/similar specs? And if so what do you tow?

Thanks All.

We pull our 23IKSS with a similar F-150. Mine has the 5.4L, which ups the tow rating, but then it has 18" wheels, which lower the tow rating by 1,000lbs, so we are at 7300 according to the owner's manual. The 25RS is a very nice trailer, and very close in in GVWR to ours. We weighed ours Sunday. The trailer axles were 5240 and the tongue weight was roughly 700 lbs (I didn't unhook and get the truck seperately, but I have weigh tickets from going to the landfill for just the truck). So the camper is fine. I did find however that with full fuel, 3 people, and very little else in the truck we were nearly maxed out on the GVWR for the truck.

The trailer tongue weight was heavier than I expected. But with full propane and two batteries sitting on the tongue I guess it makes sense. The truck axles were evenly loaded, and the front/back heights are good, and the trailer is level, so the dealer did a good job on our hitch setup.

You could get a weight on your loaded truck to really see where that comes in. I don't think the trailer weight is going to be an issue for you. And there is always the game of shifting weight out of the truck into the trailer, and moving the trailer cargo back to lessen the tongue weight.

The last thing to consider - we also upgraded from a popup - is that a popup has very little front surface area. We never new it was behind us. With a tt, especially our hybrid with a square front, there is a ton of drag on the tow vehicle. You really feel it on the highway. And don't plan on any speed records up the hills.

For us, we just take our time, and 90% of our trips are 3 hours or less, so the truck isn't overloaded and we can tow it fine. My goal is to keep this truck 3 more years, then maybe go for another 1/2 ton but with max tow and max payload packages. I don't want to drive a 3/4 ton all year just to have the extra capacity when towing 500 miles a year...

Short answer - sounds possible, but watch the gross weight of the truck.

Kevin

[ependydad]

I think Dave's right. IMO, the very best thing that you can do is load up the 4 adults, large dog and what you expect normally to carry in the truck bed (again- with the plan of putting as much as possible into the camper) and go down to a weigh scale. There are lots of them - from CAT scales at truck stops to quarries, dumps and even bulk landscape supply places.

Then take your GVWR and subtract the loaded weight from it. This will tell you what you have available to you in the form of tongue weight.

Then you can decide if you're going to be within your truck's ratings or not. You'll run out of payload long before you hit that 7,000 pounds of towing capacity.

[rwtdct]

Welcome from the central coast of California

[acadianbob]

You should be concentrating on your payload capacity and not the overall weight. That capacity is on a sticker on your door. You will need to subtract from that the weight of: passengers, dog, anything in the bed of the truck, accessories you added to your truck (e.g. step bars, bed cover, etc), WD hitch. The remainder is your actual payload capacity. That will have to be sufficient to cover the tongue weight of your trailer (loaded not dry weight).

Payload capacity is often the limiting factor; not overall trailer weight.