Opinions, ideas, what have you?

[PawPawJim]

Here's my quandry. I have a 2012 F-150 Supercrew with the 3.7l v-6, 3.73 limited slip differential, and 6,000lbs tow rating. We just bought a 26RL TT that has a shipping weight of 5463lbs.

I have the WDH & friction sway control, the pull home from the dealer went well. The truck performed even better than expected, but the TT wasn't fully loaded. Also, I am wanting to put my '05 Triumph Tiger motorcycle in the bed of the TV (weighs approx 500lbs wet) when we take our trip next week.

Would you do it in stock configuration? I'm sure some of y'all wouldn't pull the TT with that TV at all, but right now it's all I have.

I installed HD air shocks in the last few trucks I've had, and saw a set of bolt on air bags at the RV dealer we bought the TT from. Of those which would give us the best results if needed?

I've never experimented with performance chips either, any recommendations in that area would be appreciated as well.

Just trying to get some ideas, opinions, and the like from those with experience towing like this....thanks in advance...

[OldCoot]

Originally Posted by PawPawJim

Here's my quandry. I have a 2012 F-150 Supercrew with the 3.7l v-6, 3.73 limited slip differential, and 6,000lbs tow rating. We just bought a 26RL TT that has a shipping weight of 5463lbs.

I have the WDH & friction sway control, the pull home from the dealer went well. The truck performed even better than expected, but the TT wasn't fully loaded. Also, I am wanting to put my '05 Triumph Tiger motorcycle in the bed of the TV (weighs approx 500lbs wet) when we take our trip next week.

Would you do it in stock configuration? I'm sure some of y'all wouldn't pull the TT with that TV at all, but right now it's all I have.

I installed HD air shocks in the last few trucks I've had, and saw a set of bolt on air bags at the RV dealer we bought the TT from. Of those which would give us the best results if needed?

I've never experimented with performance chips either, any recommendations in that area would be appreciated as well.

Just trying to get some ideas, opinions, and the like from those with experience towing like this....thanks in advance...

Would forget the chips and put the air bags on and forget the air shocks. Just my opinion. I know the weight police will nix your whole rig, but they don't contribute the coins to buy something else.

[Herk7769]

I wish you the very best with your camper.
I think a trip to the scales after you load up will give you a better idea of what to expect.

[dretired]

Trade in time... A 2012 F150 for a 2012 f250 or F350

[OldCoot]

Originally Posted by dretired

Trade in time... A 2012 F150 for a 2012 f250 or F350

Chevy 3500 Duramax1T, get a real truck for a change!

[dretired]

Originally Posted by dunnnc

Chevy 3500 Duramax1T, get a real truck for a change!

A Real Truck ?? A CHEVY ???

[GASPEDDLER]

[TeresaInCAL]

Jim, in my humble opinion, you are already pulling a bigger rig than you should be. I would NOT add the bike. You might want to stick to flat road. I would hate for you to not be able to stop going down hill, into a traffic jam.

[OldCoot]

Originally Posted by dretired

A Real Truck ?? A CHEVY ???

Try it, you'll like it! Don't knock it til you try it! Drive a Duramax, you'll throw rocks at the FoMoCo.

[acadianbob]

Originally Posted by dunnnc

Try it, you'll like it! Don't knock it til you try it! Drive a Duramax, you'll throw rocks at the FoMoCo.

Isuzu engine.

[prof_fate]

The 5563 lbs is prolly with no battery, no propane, no water, no food, no bedding, no chairs, nothing at all. Add 1000 lbs.
The hitch assy gotta go 50 to 75 lbs.

Now the tow rating on the truck assumes 1/2 tank gas and 150lb driver and NOTHING ELSE. I'm sure you got your figure from your owners manual and it's specific to your truck, NOT some online guide that is way optimistic.

So add the trailer (5563) hitch (75), batt/propane (100 min), food/bedding/towels/chairs/lights/pots and pans, etc - 400?), what you/your wife/dog/kids/firewood weighs above the 150 figure and you get what? 6800 lbs? Now add the truck's weights (4800lbs? 5400? somewhere around there probably) and you get what, 12000 lbs or so.

OK, so what is the GCWR of your truck? That's what it's rated to move down the road in total, payload, truck, trailer. This is what the brakes, transmission, cooling system is designed to handle.

Will it exceed this and still move down the road? Sure. Will it be safe? Depends. Will it be long lived? Certainly not.

If you, like me, tow 600 miles a year it may not be a big deal. If you plan to take long trips over hill and dale then it may indeed be a significant issue.

We're looking forward to long trips in the years ahead and have begun thinking over the tv issue ourselves - a V10 ford F250 or 350 is currently our leading choice and we plan to go check some out as time allows. It will cost what it costs...you gotta pay to play. On a positive note talked to a guy with one yesterday and he gets 14mpg when not towing - we currently get 11.5. And if we can trade before needing $800 in tired so much the better!

Good luck with whatever you choose to do.

[PawPawJim]

Originally Posted by dunnnc

Would forget the chips and put the air bags on and forget the air shocks. Just my opinion. I know the weight police will nix your whole rig, but they don't contribute the coins to buy something else.

Think I'll try the bags, although I've never had a problem with air shocks, I think the bags will be easier to deal with. The 3.7l has more HP & Torque than the '03 4.6 V-8 I had, and the new 6 speed auto seems to be stout as well.

Weight police...LOL... If they'd seen me pulling the Shasta 25' 5th wheel with my '92 Ford Ranger they'd have had a stroke.... ;-)

Originally Posted by herk7769

I wish you the very best with your camper.
I think a trip to the scales after you load up will give you a better idea of what to expect.

Thanks, and the local scales are at the top of my list for sure.

Originally Posted by dretired

Trade in time... A 2012 F150 for a 2012 f250 or F350

Our new F-150 just turned 3,000 miles, haven't had it three months yet. I gotta pull a few more hitches in the desert before trading this one in.

Originally Posted by dunnnc

Chevy 3500 Duramax1T, get a real truck for a change!

Of the 14 trucks I've owned over the years most were GM products. My Fords have been better trucks over all though. These days there are plenty of good trucks to choose from for sure.

Originally Posted by dretired

A Real Truck ?? A CHEVY ???

At least he didn't recommend a Dodge...

Originally Posted by TeresaInCAL

Jim, in my humble opinion, you are already pulling a bigger rig than you should be. I would NOT add the bike. You might want to stick to flat road. I would hate for you to not be able to stop going down hill, into a traffic jam.

No worries, I'll probably be going so slow by the time I get to the top of the hill I can use the Fred Flintstone method and still get'er stopped in time...

Not going to attempt the bike until I add the air bags, a small toy hauler would have suited me in the first place, but the better half really wanted the extra room, and I aim to please. Not to mention the 5 rescue dogs, and 2 rescue cats that are going to travel with us.

Originally Posted by prof_fate

The 5563 lbs is prolly with no battery, no propane, no water, no food, no bedding, no chairs, nothing at all. Add 1000 lbs.
The hitch assy gotta go 50 to 75 lbs.

Now the tow rating on the truck assumes 1/2 tank gas and 150lb driver and NOTHING ELSE. I'm sure you got your figure from your owners manual and it's specific to your truck, NOT some online guide that is way optimistic.

So add the trailer (5563) hitch (75), batt/propane (100 min), food/bedding/towels/chairs/lights/pots and pans, etc - 400?), what you/your wife/dog/kids/firewood weighs above the 150 figure and you get what? 6800 lbs? Now add the truck's weights (4800lbs? 5400? somewhere around there probably) and you get what, 12000 lbs or so.

OK, so what is the GCWR of your truck? That's what it's rated to move down the road in total, payload, truck, trailer. This is what the brakes, transmission, cooling system is designed to handle.

Will it exceed this and still move down the road? Sure. Will it be safe? Depends. Will it be long lived? Certainly not.

If you, like me, tow 600 miles a year it may not be a big deal. If you plan to take long trips over hill and dale then it may indeed be a significant issue.

We're looking forward to long trips in the years ahead and have begun thinking over the tv issue ourselves - a V10 ford F250 or 350 is currently our leading choice and we plan to go check some out as time allows. It will cost what it costs...you gotta pay to play. On a positive note talked to a guy with one yesterday and he gets 14mpg when not towing - we currently get 11.5. And if we can trade before needing $800 in tired so much the better!

Good luck with whatever you choose to do.

Thanks, it's actually 5463 so we already have an extra 100 lbs to play with. ;-)

We are planning on travelling as light as possible, but doubt seriously there is any way I can be under 6000 lbs, especially the way you did the math. I really don't think the truck will struggle with the weight based on prior experiences with less power to weight ratios. My fear is someone pulling out in front of me, running into me, etc, while being overloaded, from a legal standpoint.

Thanks again for all of the replies, I see a visit to the Ford dealer a lot sooner than expected. But am thinking eco-boost 150 instead of a Super Duty 250. Will post our adventures, and the performance of the truck, or lack thereof as well...

P.S. Sorry for deleting the emoticons in quotes, but with the limit of four per post I gotta get a few in myself... :-)

[dretired]

Dont rule out a "almost new" F250 or F350 yet...I had come close to wanting a new.. 2012 F 150 SuperCrew..6 1/2 foot box...3.5 Ecoboost..3.73..limited slip rear axel...Heavy Duty Payload package...Max towing Package...it should have a intergrated brake controller included..those nice towing mirrors included...get this...rated to tow 11,300 lbs 5th wheel or conventional trailer in a 4x2 configuration..2,600 lbs of payload..my price out the door..i am a Ford retiee. $36 ,000...for that F 150... i just found a 2012 F 250.. Superduty ..Diesel.. 6 3/4 box.. 4x2...on Autotrader at a dealer 70 miles away.. it was a Ford Executive vehicle... that the dealer purchased at auction... that ford motor co has for dealers only once a month..my price... $31,000.. it had 3,300 miles on it...and oh... payload 3,000 lbs,, 800 ft lbs of torque...13,500 lbs of towing capability

[PawPawJim]

Originally Posted by dretired

Dont rule out a "almost new" F250 or F350 yet...

... i just found a 2012 F 250.. Superduty ..Diesel.. 6 3/4 box.. 4x2...on Autotrader at a dealer 70 miles away.. it was a Ford Executive vehicle... that the dealer purchased at auction... that ford motor co has for dealers only once a month..my price... $31,000.. it had 3,300 miles on it...and oh... payload 3,000 lbs,, 800 ft lbs of torque...13,500 lbs of towing capability

Congrats on getting a great truck, for a great price.

Diesel would make more sense to me if I was retired, needed to put several hundred thousand miles on a truck over a longer period of time, and/or towed a heavy 5th wheel.

The extra initial cost, maintenance costs, and cost for fuel just doesn't add up for someone out of the country 6 months out of the year, and staying relatively close to home the other 6 months....YMMV as always...

[dretired]

Originally Posted by PawPawJim

Congrats on getting a great truck, for a great price.

Diesel would make more sense to me if I was retired, needed to put several hundred thousand miles on a truck over a longer period of time, and/or towed a heavy 5th wheel.

The extra initial cost, maintenance costs, and cost for fuel just doesn't add up for someone out of the country 6 months out of the year, and staying relatively close to home the other 6 months....YMMV as always...

Whats nice about these newer Ford diesels...if you are doing mostly highway driving...not pulling a HEAVY LOAD... you can actually go 7,000-10,000 miles before a oil change ..and im thinking i should be able to change my own oil & filter..Diesel fuel has been costing less than reg.un-leaded here (.10 a gal.) and. on my way home from the dealer..i played with the mpg..info...at 52 mph...it was 26 mpg...

[PawPawJim]

Originally Posted by dretired

Whats nice about these newer Ford diesels...if you are doing mostly highway driving...not pulling a HEAVY LOAD... you can actually go 7,000-10,000 miles before a oil change ..and im thinking i should be able to change my own oil & filter..Diesel fuel has been costing less than reg.un-leaded here (.10 a gal.) and. on my way home from the dealer..i played with the mpg..info...at 52 mph...it was 26 mpg...

Well, I called the guy I bought my truck from, went over all of my options just to see if it was feasible to trade this soon. He searched all over and found an eco boost like I wanted in St Augustine, same color as mine inside and out, has the max tow package, everything else I would have ordered, and then some. Then he worked up the numbers, and made it worth my while to trade. Their driver is going to pick it up for me tomorrow.

Most of the time I won't be pulling anything, so I really wanted to stay with a 1/2 ton. Diesel is as much as 20 to 30 cents a gallon higher in these parts, and most of the southeast where we travel as well.

Never got the chance to pull the 26RL loaded for camping with our 3.7l, but knew with the bike in the back of it headed for NC it was going to be too overloaded for me to be comfortable doing. Oh well, it's only money...

Reckon the drive from St Augustine to Mississippi will be enough break in before pulling the TT? Just checked, it's almost 700 miles to the dealer, so I should have close to 1000 miles on it before our trip...

If I didn't have to take my wife to the Doctor tomorrow I'd be making the trip to St Augustine instead of the driver...

[TeresaInCAL]

Better safe than sorry!

[MilCop4523]

two observations.
Should have gone with the Ecoboost and left the 3.7 on the lot.
But saying that... Don't bother with a chip. My performance guy (who says he has to work wonders with Chevs) instructed me to do 3 things to my 2011 3.5 stock FOMOCO product.
1. Cold Air Intake
2. HEADERS like GIBSON (which are not in production yet - because they are not needed to pass other 1/2 ton trucks above their towing class)
3. A bigger Stainless Steel Exhaust by Flowmaster/Magnaflow or an equal performance company.

the other option is the one you took look for the Ecoboost with Max Tow. Good choice!

[Mike St-Pierre]

Originally Posted by dretired

Trade in time... A 2012 F150 for a 2012 f250 or F350

Or get a Silverado, 5.3, towing cap. 10,000lbs, awesome fuel mileage.

[PawPawJim]

Originally Posted by TeresaInCAL

Better safe than sorry!

I'm sure the 3.7 woulda pulled the weight, but the EB will do it effortlessly comparatively speaking. Not getting sued is safe part I had to have.

Originally Posted by MilCop4523

Should have gone with the Ecoboost and left the 3.7 on the lot.


the other option is the one you took look for the Ecoboost with Max Tow. Good choice!

Yeah, if I had known there was going to be another travel trailer in my future I would have got the EB in the first place. The 3.7 was to be my last truck for a long time, the little dealer I bought it from didn't have a EB like I would have wanted on the lot then either. To be honest I hadn't done any studying on the EB because I was apprehensive about the longevity of the twin turbo set up. I'm getting the same maintenance plan & extended warranty with the EB as I had on the 3.7 so I won't have to worry about it for a long time...

Originally Posted by Mike St-Pierre

Or get a Silverado, 5.3, towing cap. 10,000lbs, awesome fuel mileage.

I've owned more GM trucks than any other brand over the years, most of them were really good trucks as well, but have had the best luck with my Fords. Marshall Ford in Union Mississippi is a great little dealer to do business with, and Pete is without a doubt the best salesperson I have ever dealt with. Another friend of mine that works at a closer Ford dealer recommended them to me, he buys from Pete too, instead of the dealer he works at.