4.5 ton towing capability

[laser1]

Hi is there anyone out there that can help me with this ? i have a 01 f250 7.3ltd, wishing to tow upto 4.5 ton legally on the tow ball. need to know what needs to be modified on my truck to tow upto 4.5t tia

[ChunderDownUnder]

Dont even know what our maximum is here. So I had a look on the net. (google is my friend).
Well that didnt help. Now Im totally confused. Not to sure if it is 3500kg or 4500kg. You might want to have a read through this
Caravaners Forum • View topic - Max towing capacity
have a look at the second link in the first post (the pdf file)

also this mob says its ok with a 9000kg GCM
5th Wheelers Australia. Small Fifth Wheelers for Australian Utes. - Tow Vehicle Guide for 5th Wheelers

so add em all up and divide by three and you might be close.

[laser1]

already been there, done that but thanks very much for your help

[ChunderDownUnder]

so whats ya take on it. Are we 3500 or 4500 ????

[BigF350]

I think I can help (I was the engineer that got the limit upped to 4500kg in Aus...)

The state governments go off the rating Ford gave them.
The ratings are all located at RVCS MENU
It looks like the ratings for the officially imported vehicles have been removed tho.

The rating increase to 4.5t was implemented at the end of 2004, and applies retroactively to all 7.3l trucks. i.e. your 2001 falls underneath that.

To legally tow that weight, you need a tow hitch rated to that weight with a stabilizer. Ford sold one (when they sold the truck) as an accessory, don't know if they still stock them, or whether they will hit your back pocket with a sledgehammer on such a towbar.
Your other option is going to your local Hayman Reese dealer, they may be able to source a Class IV hitch from their sister company in the States (sister company is Reese). With the way the US/Aus dollar is at the moment, could be a good option.


Truth be told, the trucks are capable of towing a lot more... but FoMoCo Aus had (and possibly still has) a stupid internal policy that unless they sold all the equipment to get it that rating (i.e. in this case, the hitch) they wouldn't rate the vehicle to that weight rating for towing.
The truck is mechanically identical (well, for towing purposes) to the US model which is rated to tow 5.6 tonnes:
https://www.fleet.ford.com/showroom/...D_F250_350.pdf

Sorry for the long story, but I hope that helped
Let us know if you encounter any other issues.

[ChunderDownUnder]

Nice work thanks Adrian.

[SSSimon]

+ 1 for Adrian. My F250 is fitted with a 4.5 T rated Towmaster towbar and hitch receiver and when I bought it the previous only gave the the Hayman-Reece 4.5T rated hitch with the stabiliser bars. The thing is that the stabiliser bars do NOT fit a boat trailer, not that I have to worry as the boat I tow is only 2.5T anyway.

I know that there is a whole pile more stuff on towing when it comes to fifth wheel set ups and the regs change depending on whether the fifth wheel coupling is ahead of the rear axle, or behind the rear axle.

In either case though, you are not allowed to exceed the 9000 kg GVM/GCM whatever is the correct term for your jurisdiction. So with the correct 5th wheel set up it seems that you could go to the max 5.5t trailer weight, allowing 3.5t for the vehicle and 1t of fuel, supplies, gear, etc.

[Dags]

Alot more can be pulled as a fifth wheeler because they're set up as a prime mover. So in effect you can put the vehicles carrying capacity on the turntable, pivotball because it's shared between the front and rear axle, and the balance of the weight is on the wheels of the trailer, as stated, up to 9 ton or whatever.
Even with my 6 wheels on the Effie I am still only legal to PULL 4500kg's, and thats a combination of the heavy towbar, and the twin rail chassis, so I'm a bit envious of an F truck that can pull 4500kg's just using factory options.

[BigF350]

Originally Posted by SSSimon

In either case though, you are not allowed to exceed the 9000 kg GVM/GCM whatever is the correct term for your jurisdiction. So with the correct 5th wheel set up it seems that you could go to the max 5.5t trailer weight, allowing 3.5t for the vehicle and 1t of fuel, supplies, gear, etc.

While the vehicle is capable of towing such a weight - and is rated for it in the US, it is not rated for it in Aus. The max rated limit in Aus is 4.5t, whether it was a 5th wheel or conventional hitch.
The same trucks in the states are rated to 12000lbs (20,000lb GCM) for both conventional or 5th wheel hitches.

That said, you would be pretty stiffed if a cop pulled you over and new the tow rating for them when they were new.

Originally Posted by Dags

Alot more can be pulled as a fifth wheeler because they're set up as a prime mover. So in effect you can put the vehicles carrying capacity on the turntable, pivotball because it's shared between the front and rear axle, and the balance of the weight is on the wheels of the trailer, as stated, up to 9 ton or whatever.
Even with my 6 wheels on the Effie I am still only legal to PULL 4500kg's, and thats a combination of the heavy towbar, and the twin rail chassis, so I'm a bit envious of an F truck that can pull 4500kg's just using factory options.

A tow rating is based off a lot of things.
This gives you a good idea: Tow Ratings Finally Pass the Sniff Test - The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) - Automobile Magazine

In these model trucks, it is the powertrain that is the limiting factor - more specifically the (auto) transmission. Go over its 20,000lb GCM and it is likely to overheat when going up a grade. So in this case it didn't matter whether you had a 5th wheel or a conventional trailer - it was rated for the same.
The newer trucks are limited by the handling, even with a good weight dist. hitch you can't get as much weight over the front axle. That said, Tim - one of the other site admins here - tows about 22,000 lbs with a conventional hitch with his F350.

[ChunderDownUnder]

I know this one is a bit old but I noticed that Diesel Submariner had he's GCM up to 5000kg. You might want to PM him.

[SSSimon]

Diesel Sub said he pulled a min 7T trailer, which would put his GCM a tad over 10,500 kegs.

[BigF350]

Originally Posted by SSSimon

Diesel Sub said he pulled a min 7T trailer, which would put his GCM a tad over 10,500 kegs.

I think he mentioned his GCM is 7T


You can get your GVM (and GCM) upped by an engineer who will edit the compliance sticker. If you find a decent one, a simple look at the equivalent US trailer tow guide for the same model should be sufficient for them to edit it.

[Kramer73]

Hi again Adrian

As per my other post to you about GVM, do you have a copy of the above mentioned US trailer tow guide so I can show the QLD Transport engineer.

Thanks

Jason

[BigF350]

I sure do mate.

Here you go: https://www.fleet.ford.com/showroom/...02_default.asp

[Diesel Submariner]

Thanks Adrian & Brian for high lighting the GCM vs 7T trailer,

That would have had me at a GCM of around 11.2T (a tad over the Max GCM of 9.072T). I'd reckon I would have had some EGT temp dramas then.

It was my usual GCM that I was refering to in Jason's 4" Exhaust thread.

Copy & pasted from that quote:

My GCM is almost never less than 7T and I pull in all terrain and haven't had a EGT problem at all.

No worries fellas, made plenty of mistakes and plenty times I've had to do a second take on what I've read or written....and it'll happen again

Cheers,
Reg

“Political correctness is a doctrine fostered by and illogical and irrational minority, who hold forth the proposition that it, is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end”

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