Hello all. We have recently purchased a new T.T. and as I expected,the camper pushed my F 150 all over the road on the 20 mile drive home from the dealer. It is not a hitch problem. the 150 simply isn't enough truck for the job. The cert label shows dry weight at 8350,tongue weight at 1120 and the G.T.W. at 10500. I have had light duty Rangers and F 150's since the late 70's but have no experience with a "real"truck.The question now is an F 250 or 350. Our basic requirements are safety,a super cab, gas engine, and four wheel drive for winter boondocking up here in MN. We are planning on traveling around the country until we find a place that will fit us.
Any commonsense suggestions would be helpful.
Thanks,
Bob

 

Welcome,


the F 250 and F 350 are the same truck.. different spring blocks.
same engine, transmission, rear end, frame, body.
but F 350 can carry 1,000 more, my understanding.


I have a 2012, trailer is 8,300 empty. tongue of 1100, and I carry 1500 in the bed of truck. currently on a 3,000 mile trip.. started December 1.
currently total rolling weight is 16,800 pounds. scaled 12/1.


well maybe over 17,200 now.. stuff keeps being added on the trip.

 

I would just go straight to the F350. If you are going new then the 6.2 with 4.30 gears is what I would go for.

You said your use, but also sound like you might travel a lot? If you are going to go cross country a lot then you should also consider the 6.7 diesel. Just something to consider.

The 6.2 gas motor will certainly get the job done.

 

Seriously, who doesn't want more truck? How do you know it's not a hitch problem? While your TT is nearing Superduty territory, are your expectations of moving to more truck realistic? The SD's are rated for about 50% more bumper weight than your TT was leaving the dealer empty and dry but they're not 50% bigger than a F150. A little bit of hitch slop can really knock a truck around whether it's a 150 or a 350. Did you have a WDH and sway bar ? I just hate to see you get a SD and be disappointed that your TT still pushed it around once you get the TT fully loaded.


Might help for you to define "pushed all over the road". Maybe the brakes need to be turned up on the TT?

 

what kind of F150?


many of the newer ones should be up for the job if the setup is correct.


a 250 or 350 will more easily handle a less than perfect setup, though.


for me it would depend on the use of the truck the majority of the time. If it is a daily commuter that tows on the weekends, I'd be more reluctant to go to the 250/250 and I'd put up with a slightly less refined towing experience; however, if it were a dedicated tow rig, then I'd more readily step up to the bigger platform.


just some thoughts.

 

Excellent point. Lot of happy people towing 10,000 lb TT's and fivers with their F150's...properly equipped of course. If you're shopping for a brand new one, you might like the options, ride, etc of the F150's better than the SD's...just something to keep in mind...especially if you have time to custom order the exact options you want.

 

Many people tow at the limits of 150s with no problems. A properly set up camper won't push the tow vehicle around and a badly set up one will push the largest pickups around. If your trailer is squirrely with the 150 it might indicate a set up problem that would be just as squirrely with a larger truck. Better to eliminate the problem in the first place than try to control with a bigger damper.

I think the first order of business should be to confirm the rig is set up properly--know your actual trailer weight and actual tongue weight, then get your hitch set up properly for height, head angle and weight distribution. Make sure tire pressures on trailer and truck are proper. Make sure the trailer is level and has at least 10% tongue weight, 12-15% is often better.

RV forums show many examples of people who cured towing problems by attention to detail, sometimes by something as simple as changing the height or angle of the ball or putting more air in their tires.

 

O.K. folks.
1. the 150 I have is a 2016 f 150 s/c with a 3.55 pumpkin, max tow package and 3.5 eco boost. gvwr of 7050.The truck weighed in at the cat scale at 5870 with myself and a full tank of gas.The receiver sticker shows #1210 w/d tongue weight.
2. The T.T. is an Arctic Fox 29-l
3. The hitch I am using is a Blue Ox sway pro with 1500 spring bars.
4. I am reasonably sure that it is not a hitch problem because I stopped twice and dropped links to torque the bars more. The ground to wheel well distance dropped 1-1/8 in the front and 1-3/8 in the rear.
5. I did look at an f 250 today and noticed that there was no load rating sticker on the receiver. How do you accurately determine the tongue weight that the receiver will take?
6. After looking at the numbers that I have, I think that the truck was at the upper limits of its design intent. Also, that 3.5 eco was really working hard and I did not go over 50 m.p.h. for fear of running out of clean bvd's.
7. Mama was not comfy. Anyone who has been married more that 2 days
knows what this means

 

There are so many variables with what you have posted, no one so far has had any real reason to tell you with any authority whether or not your truck is up to the task.
1. Until you get an accurate tongue and axle weight with the trailer loaded up as it would be during travel, you are dealing with an educated guess at best. Not exactly ideal
2. That is one of the better built trailers (from what I hear). Congratulations. I didn't know that AF made one that long.
3. I am not familiar with that brand. However, just going from empty to full in the TT will likely require some adjustment. I find myself tweaking my set up several times a season based on how my trailer is loaded. With exception to the high-end models like the Hensley Arrow and Propride, you are going to experience some sort of sway, plain and simple.
4. Again, dropping 2k on a premuim hitch vs dropping much more on a truck upgrade may be the more cost effective solution. There is a very real chance that you can upgrade to a 250\350 and still get some sway. You are essentially towing a sail back there, with little more than one single point of pivot far behind the rear axle. That is an awful amount of leverage on inflatable tires. Which leads me to my next point.... what tires do you have? Are they LTs or P tires? It is not uncommon for trucks to have P tires or load range A LTs which do not have a very stiff side wall. The LTs will be better, but the P tires can be quite squishy. They can very much play a role in how scary the truck feels.
5. The hitch is likely a class IV, but some can be had with a class V. Class IV is rated up to 1,000 lbs TW weight carrying and 1,400 weight distributing. But always double check the O.M. it will be listed somewhere.
6. That may be the simple truth, but I would advocate double checking everything before I give up on the 150.
7. No argument there. I can tell you that I and almost everyone out there deals with some level of sway when towing a Travel Trailer. The more you do it, the more you can anticipate how the truck is supposed to behave. I promise, you will get better at it with time.

I am not trying to talk down to you or anyone else. I am just trying to help you with what I learned the hard way by making most of the same assumptions that you seem to have now.

 

Something there isn't adding up. If you are adjusting for more tension on the spring bars, no way should both wheel wells drop in clearance. The rear should raise slightly with every tighter adjustment (when compared to no bars at all).

 

I think this is the consensus. Even if you've used these hitches before or the dealer hooked you up, it's still worth having someone highly experienced with your set up to give it a look. Maybe it needs adjusted or maybe something in the hitch is outside the factory spec...it happens.


Also, towing that much camper will take some practice. I've learned to watch the trucks and campers ahead of me as they exit tunnels and natural wind breaks. If it looks like they are being pushed sideways by wind gusts then I know to be ready. It's also a weird feeling when a semi passes close by; the wind rushing between your camper and a semi creates a vacuum that pulls you closer to the semi...yikes...Or how about the occasional freeway that has ruts from heavy semis...the camper gets in those depression ruts and starts swing side to side...double yikes... I have a 3/4 ton and fiver and after 9 years and many miles 50-55 mph is the fastest I feel comfortable on state highways. Only on the interstates will I step it up to 65-70mph.


As for power, your 3.5 EB has a better power band for towing than the 6.2 gas in today's SD's (imo). And many people here on FTE like both engines for heavy towing. A lot of the SD guys seem to like the 4.3 rear for towing but your 3.5 EB has its power at a lower rpm than the 6.2 so your 3.55 rear will probably keep your engine working in its best rpm range.

 

I haven't seen a F150 (except the old 7700) that came with anything other than P-rated tires, which are definitely not heavy enough to tow anywhere near that weight. Way too much sidewall flex to maintain decent control. I bet you'll find you have already exceeded their weight ratings. If you think the EcoBoost has an issue with that load, stay away from the 6.2 gas, it develops it's (lower) peak torque 2000 RPMs higher than the EB. Go diesel.

 

Also, you haven't posted the wheel base that you have. A regular cab short bed is going to tow much differently than a crew cab long bed. Generally, the longer the wheelbase, the more stable the towing platform.
If you have the reg cab short bed, I would advocate changing the truck if you are expecting to travel cross country.

 

You ain't seen nuthin yet. ;-) My 150 with off road package came with LT tires.

 

Agreed...longer wheel base = more stability. I'm just hoping any issues with the hitch are figured out as well as the OP's expectations of towing this size TT are realistic before trading in a brand new F150 for an even more expensive truck. Unless of course, the real desire is to get a SD truck all along in which case I say go for it.


Seems like the OP wants a gas so here's a completely nutty idea...order a chassis only F450 with the V10 triton. It'll have plenty of power and enough stability that you may not even need a WDH or sway bar. It will cost about the same or maybe a bit less than an F250 diesel. A diesel or gas F450 is way over kill but sometimes you buy the truck you want because you just want it...I'm guilty of that :-)