OK, so I am a newbie when it comes to towing heavy. Let me rephrase that, I am a newbie when it comes to towing heavy-LEGALLY...I towed for years for a company I used to work for, but the equipment trailers were always overloaded. My wife and I plan to buy a toyhauler in the next few years, but don't want to take any chances of towing more than Ford or the insurance company says is OK. I do not care about warranty issues, I care about insurance coverage and liability if I get into an accident, and they find out my trailer is over weight and then they deny coverage-or worse-someone else sues me. SO, that being said, I have the "12.5k" hitch from the factory on my truck. Many of the toyhaulers we are looking at have a GVWR of 13k or better. Not to mention the tongue weight is over the 1250 lbs that Ford says is the max with a WD hitch. So what I am getting at here, is I found a nice hitch made by Curt, that replaces the factory one, and is rated for 20k GVWR and 2700lb tongue weight. What I want to know is if I can put this on, tow 14k, and be safe and legal. I can not seem to find an answer to this no matter where I search. Anyone got any ideas?

Thanks,

Devon

 

If you're going to be hauling that much weight around I'd suggest going to a gooseneck or fifth wheel. B&W makes an awesome gooseneck hitch with a fifth wheel attachment. Titan makes an awesome bumper hitch too. I'd go with Titan and a good WD hitch setup if you have to bumper pull.

 

The trailers we like are bumper pull. Either way, I need to know if it is "legal" to replace my factory hitch and tow more than the factory hitch rating of 12.5k.

 

Ford's answer to your question and by their words I would say no. It is not just the hitch but the truck itself I would think.

https://www.fleet.ford.com/showroom/...%20Pickups.pdf

 

I am not a lawyer, but any time you exceed the manufacturer's specs, especially if you have modified the truck in any significant way, you will be on dangerous ground in the event of a law suit. The other guy's lawyer is going to say you modified the truck and knowingly towed beyond the trucks capability in a negligent manner.

Sounds like you need a bigger truck or, as previously mentioned, go the a 5th wheel.

 

You could upgrade the springs on the back to handle more weight. I am going to add a extra leaf in the back that will give me about another 700 lbs of payload. I think if you can prove you modified the truck in a manner of improving the hauling weight you would be ok. As far as the most you can haul from a legal standpoint is limited to what the tires are rated at, at least that is what the state police told me.

 

Please take a look at the following website to make a better determination of what size trailer your truck can handle "legally".
Tow Vehicle Sizing

Use the information off your ID sticker. You can also take a look at this website for your approximate truck capacity. (options on your truck may be different)
With you having a F-250 gasser, its not going to be the hitch that limits your available legal towing capacity. You will will either max out on the GCWR or the rear axle limit of 6100 lbs.

Also, don't forget to take into account the weight of truck with a full gas tank, weight of all passengers, luggage, etc. This takes directly off the capacity of the truck. You will notice this GREATLY affects your legal capacity, so its usually best to keep everything in the trailer except the passengers you truely love . You will also have to keep in mind the weight of additional stuff transported in the trailer, such as gray water, sewage, toys, etc.

 

Unfortunately, if I got a "bigger truck" my tow ratings would decrease, unless I went to a diesel, in which case it would still only be up to 14k and that's only if I get a supercab or crew cab. Also, if I went with a fifth wheel, my tow rating would actually decrease.


I have added a full leaf in the rear already. I am not confident at all that i would be able to prove anything like that in a court.

Thanks for the link, all things which I have considered...I just need to know the legality of it. I have towed excessive weight thousands of miles in underrated setups, and my truck now is far more capable than any of those trucks, and this is going to be less weight. Its not about whether it can do the job, I know if can. it's just whether the insurance company will stand behind it. I think I will give Ford a call and pick their brain. There are hundreds of models of campers sold far above any published max tow rating from any vehicle manufacturer, yet people tow them every day. Something has got to give...

 

The link I posted is how a case would be investigated to determine if you were legally within weight limits. Ford techs themselves will likely not give you a straight answer. They claim you can tow 12,000 (inmy case with 3.73)...but that's only if you are driving with an empty tank of gas and te driver weights as much as a mouse.

You are correct in that you would have less towing capacity 'legally' with a 5th weight, as you have more weight of the trailer being distributed on the truck AND the couple hundred pounds of the hitch itself. 5th wheels do allow the weight to be distributed on the truck move evenly, for better control.

Just make darn sure you use a 'weight distrustion hitch', as that is the ONLY way you can be classified to have your full tow rating by tong hitch.

 

If you want to be legal, you need to know the weight of your truck first. With a 250, your limiting factor will be your GVWR, which is at best 10k. That doesn't leave much wiggle room for hitch weight when you add truck weight, occupants, gear, fuel, etc.. At least knowing how much your truck weighs loaded (as if you were camping), you'd have a better understanding of how much hitch weight you have to play with.

Just something else to take into consideration...