Another thing to look at is will the rear bumper of the camper be able to handle a 3500lbs boat. The frames on these campers are very light weight to keep the weight down for us 1/2 ton guys. There are campers with more rigid frames that can handle stuff like that just not sure your model camper is one of them, should check with your camper dealer. I think your truck will be alright if your easy on it but your borderline of being overweight. Good luck! let us know what you end up doing.

 

The rear receiver is pretty well tied into on this camper so I am confident that will be OK.

Thanks,

 

Don't believe you get the 7 lug rear end. You have to order the HD payload to get the upgraded gear set.

S

 

Yep, you're probably right. 6 lugs with my Max Tow truck. I didn't even know there were 7 lug axles available! Shows how far the 1/2 trucks have come in the last decade in terms of capability.

 

Well the towing went great. I had no problems and the truck felt fine. Power is not a problem. Would probably be interesting in high wind but on highways no problem. That being said at the end of the day I would prefer to pull with a 1 ton diesel just for the bigger and heavier truck but for my short hauls this works fine. I got about 8-8.5 mpg.

Thanks,

 

What is the rear axle weight rating on the Eco-boost with the 3:55 gears and the Eco-boost max tow which has the 3:73 gears? I was pulling a Spree 285rl 5th wheel with a F-150 Extended cab (2004 with 4.6) and it pulled it OK. Even better after changing to 3:73 gears from 3:55, but when scaled my rear axle was overloaded by about 200 lbs if I remember correctly. Could get that weight by moving things in camper and removing tailgate, but then the overall weight was off by more than I could get rid of. Been considering trading my 2008 f250 for a Max tow F-150 which by specs will tow more than my F250 (5.4 with now 4:30 orginally 3:73). Only reason for the trade would be fuel mileage gained when not towing and of course a new ride. If nothing is different in the rear axle rating between the new F-150 and my old 2004 F-150 then I still can't legally tow my 5th wheel without shifting weight in camper around to remove some pin weight. Did Ford change the rear on the Max tow or is still using the 8.8 rear?

 

the only 11 and up using the 8.8 is the 3.7L.

all others have the 10.25.

can't help with the GRAWR, sorry.

 

Thanks, but I did some searching and found a different answer to the rear end question in the 2012 F-150 brochure it states the following:

Heavy-Duty Payload Package (Regular Cab and SuperCab
with 8' box and SuperCrew with 6½' box; restrictions apply)
increases GVWR to 8,200 lbs. for improved payload and
towing; 17" 7-lug steel wheels; LT245/75R17E BSW all-terrain
tires; heavy-duty shock absorbers; upgraded springs and
radiator; auxiliary transmission oil cooler; rear axle with 9.75"
gear set and 3.73 limited-slip gear ratio.

So I read that to increase the payload or rear end carrying ability (Gross rear axle weight rating) you must have the Heavy duty payload package which is going to a 9.75 rear end with 7 lug and a 3:73 gear. Most stickers that I have looked at have a 7200 or 7600 lb gvwr instead of the 8200 lb gvwr. Which tells me that they are 6 lug and probably 8.8 rears. The way it reads also is that you can't get max payload/tow unless the truck has at least a 6.5 ft. bed. Thanks for responding and I hope this info helps.

 

my truck is 2012 fx4 supercab with max tow and ecoboost 7700 gvw, 1772 payload and 11300# tow capacity, has 6 lug wheels and 9.75" rear axle with 3.73 gears, hope that helps, the 1772# is off the door jamb sticker. I dont know how it would do with 5th wheel as most are 13 to 16 hundred pounds and would be over payload numbers even though trailer weights are with in my range.

 

my bad ... it is the 9.75" rear in all trucks except the 3.7L v6.
not sure where the 10.25" came from .... long day baking in the sun, i suppose.

with regard to GVWR:

max tow increases your GVWR some
Max payload increases your GVWR more and includes the Max tow options.

max tow still gets 6 lug axles. max payload gets 7 lugs. both use the same 9.75" rear.

max tow is not available on any combination less than 145" WB, max payload essentially requires the "long box" version of which ever cab style you choose.

 

J.grif what is the gross rear axle rating for the 9.75 rear in your truck from the door jam? Just wonder how 1 more lug would increase that without changing the axle bearings which is where the weight is being carried as I see it. Thanks for the info.

 

Meborder, the 10.25 probably came from your F350. I know that the 250 and 350 used the 10.25 until 1999 and then changed to a 10.5. Very little difference in rears and most of the 10.25 stuff will work in the 10.5. When I changed the gear in my F-250 I like to never figured out if it was a 10.25 or 10.5. Biggest difference in the two is pinion spline length and bearing size. (also the .25 bigger diameter ring gear) The more I try to understand the weights for towing the more my head hurts. Thanks for the info.

 

O k their are two stickers in the door jambs, sticker on the front door is showing 7700 lb package with 3900 lb for front axle and 4050 lb for rear axle, the other sticker is for tires and loading which shows 1772 lb for passenger and load total,(everything in the bed and the cab excluding driver) if I am not mistaken, this truck is a max tow and not a max payload. I am not sure what the difference is in the axle housing or if is just different hubs and wheels that make the difference, hope this helps.

 

You didn't say if the new truck is a 2 or 4 wheel drive and has a tow package or not. In either case I don't think I would tow the combination of a camper and a boat especially if it doesn't have a tow package with electric trailer brake control. It is very difficult to maneuver a trailer boat combination in most situations.

 

I purchased the Heavy Duty Payload package because with all weights figured for towing my camper, I was getting real close to the 1700 lb. rating of the standard optioned truck. With this package the payload rating is 2300lbs. When looking at the rear, the obvious differences are: there is one more leaf in the springpack and the 7 lug wheels. The not so obvious, but pointed out by Ford specs is that the frame is slightly larger and the steel is thicker for the long bed and Screw trucks (I think that is correct).

This heavier payload eased my mind tremendously for towing. However, I also have wondered what difference there is between the 6 lug axles and 7 lug.

The axle housings are the same size (I have measured the outside diameters and compared). The ring size is 9.75 for both (so I would figure both are the same strength). Is the axle bearing a different size? Could be, but have not verified this at a dealer (maybe someone who has access to a Ford parts list could check this).

The one obvious difference is the wheels. By comparing Ford specs, there is no doubt the 7 lug wheels are rated for that kind of payload (2300 lbs.) where the 6 lug are not.

But that got me to thinking that maybe any 9.75 axle could be made to handle a payload of 2300 lbs. if you added an extra leaf and bought 6 lugs wheels and tires that were rated to handle that much weight.

Anyone out there verify?

Have a great day.