Here<O</O
https://www.fleet.ford.com/showroom/rv_trailer_towing/2002/2002_default.asp<O</O
then<O</O

19-23 Trailer Towing Selector<O</O

* Super Duty F250/350 Pickup<O</O

Look for YOUR pickup because a PROPERLY equipped F250 can tow MORE than some F350’s<O</O

F250 6.0 4X2 regular cab SRW 13,800 ( SURPRISE V10 14,200)<O</O

F350 6.0 4X4 crew cab DRW 12,400<O</O

ab<O</O

 

All you need is the Trailer towing guide found here: https://www.fleet.ford.com/showroom/...02_default.asp

Just look up for the F250, based upon motor/gear ratio and cab configeration.

 

depending on the backhoe, they only weight around 15k. And depending on the trailer and truck, that is still quite possible. We pull them every so often with a 05 f250, and all the time with f550s. Its noting compared to a 25k load on an f550.

But is probably on the safer side not to pull with it.

Good Luck

 

Well, let me give you a conditional different opinion. You don't say what kind of towing you have in mind or how the trailer is set up. but, if you're towing on the farm or from job to job in a rural area you might get by with it. i had an 01 250 short diesel set up to tow a 17,000 lb 5th wheel and it did just fine. but I wasn't comfortable in some situations and I finally went to the DRW. If I were younger or poorer I probably would still be towing with it. But if he wants to try it the truck needs to be set up with airbags, an exhaust brake and a torque converter lock up. these are all easy mods if you go and look in the diesel forums. Combined they would cost about 500 bucks or so. then you need to make sure the tires will support the weight. there are several solutions to that but the best is at rickson.com. Now they are pricey, say 2500 bucks for the wheels and tires. And of course the brakes on the trailer need to be able to stop the trailer cause the truck brakes sure won't. Then the back hoe needs to be put on the trailer with a minimum of tongue weight. you do that by moving it fore and aft until you get the lightest toung weight without a lot of sway from the trailer. Like everyone above said, if you haven't bought the truck yet it would be a lot easier to get a dooley and then you will still need the air bigs and some souped up tires for that much weight. Good luck.

 

I agree with you guys pullin that much with a f250 is sucide.......I've had a few hairy situations with my f150 that i wish I wouldn'thave done. of course the truck will pull it but its always the question of will it stop? I pulled a 20 ft trailer with 3 junk cars on top of each other and couldnt get stopped... I burt up all the brakes.... needless to say godbless the 8500 4 speed!!!!

 

I guess I will never understand why folks go over their combined weight ratings. I have seen the pads burned completely off the electric brakes on travel trailers and fifth wheels because the truck could not handle the load and I can tell you first hand of real world lawsuit that have come about in those situations. Guess I'm just an old lady, but working daily in a world where folks are towing, I always know my weights when we tow and don't exceed them.

Steve

 

First off, the GCVWR given by Ford is only a recommendation. If you'll notice, the exact same frame, transmissions and brakes are used, and the weights only change with gearing and engine. This indicates that the brakes and structure can handle the load, but you might not win any races...oh well.

The truck should NEVER have to stop a load on the trailer when equipment is working properly. This is the downfall to electric trailer brakes. They are not a fail-safe system. I am surprised that there has not been a requirement for a secondary system. For instance, Air Brakes are LOCKED with no air. If an air line busts in transit, they lock up. However, with electric brakes, if you lose connection, your brakes stay released...oops.

The truck brakes only have to stop the load on the truck (including pin weight), while the trailer brakes stop the trailer... just make sure the gain is set right, and they work. Burned up trailer brakes come from improperly adjusted controllers, and riding the pedal just enough to energize them.

Keep in mind, your trailer has a GVWR, too!

While the GCVWR from the factory has no legal bearing, the GVWR of both the truck and trailer do. Excede either of these, and you're toast as far as liability goes if something bad happens.

This means that your max trailer weight is limited by safe tounge weight. Earlier somebody mentioned loading light on the tounge... Don't. The last thing you want is to hit an uphill grade and have even more weight come off of the tounge... Suddenly there is less than no weight on your truck, and your rear wheels are off the ground while you lose momentum and begin to roll backwards. The higher the center of gravity of the load, the faster this happens.

Safe tounge weight is 10-15% of your trailer weight. Max tounge weight is limited by your GVWR.

 

I think this is something that will long be debated. You are right, the truck should never have to stop the full weight of the trailer. Unfortunately I have seen cases where the trailer brakes do not work or the seven pin comes undone and the truck has to do the stopping. My current brake controller gives an audible warning, if the seven pin comes undone, but that is not the case with many controllers. I also know of one lawsuit against a controller manufacturer in which

 

Not sure what is going on here. This got posted before I had finished typing and I do not have time now to start over.

Steve

 

Sorry for the screw up in the earlier post. I don't understand what happened.

There are three issues here. What is the vehicle capable of towing, what is legal. and what is safe?

1. Obviously these trucks can tow much more than their ratings. I believe that has more to do with warranties than capability.

2. What is legal simply varies by state. Some states hold to the vehicle ratings for everything, some only for commercial vehicles. Suits regarding weight against owners is rare. Suits against manufacturers is somewhat more common and the manufacturers have consistently lost. In fact, I don't know of a single case they have won.

3. The final issue, and for me the most important one is what is safe. No one should ever have seven pin plug disconnect, but they do. No one should ever have trailer brakes that short out, but I work on the ones that have. The biggest problem I have with the suggestion weight ratings are recommendations is it leaves us essentially saying to folks "you decide".

I see a lot of decisions being made that scare the crap out of me. I get asked on a regular basis to help folks match their tucks to what they can pull on the lot and the dealers I work for also use me as their authority, which places a world of "feeling responsible" on my shoulders. I tell em to stay within their weight ratings. Otherwise it all becomes a crap shoot.

Respectfully,

Steve

 

I get what you're saying Steve.

and I hope anyone reading this recognizes that I'm from a relatively flat area, so hills and steep grades don't come into play.

The GVWR of a vehicle is the maximum legal weight of a vehicle in every state... it is actually a rating. The GCVWR, which is not printed on the vehicle from the factory like the GVWR, is not a rating, but a recommendation.

Even saying "it's up to you" as to what is safe, a driver should always observe safe loading practices. When talking "What is my GCVWR limit" and looking at a safe tounge weight on your trailer, the limit becomes the tounge weight allowed on the tow vehicle.

Get out of the plains, and suddenly you have the minimum speed limits to contend with on uphill grades, and how much heat you want to deal with on your way down a hill.

The GCVWR, like many things in life, should vary by where you are, but that would be impossible for a manufacturer to legally cover their rears... so they have to assume everyone is pulling the most weight possible up a 15% grade with faulty equipment.

 

OK guys, here's a challange, I'll buy anybody a beer who can find a state law related to GVWR, GCWR, GCVWR or anything similar that applies to non-commerical vehicles. Because I towed a heavy 5er with an F250 I wanted to know what laws I was breaking. I have been on many state web sites trying to find such laws and have never found one. The closest I could come was a couple states had laws about exceeding the weight rating on the sidewall of tires. I'm not sure why those GVWR ratings are on the truck but I suspect it's some DOT requirment on the manufacturer. I mean think about it. If you read the RAWR its contingent upon the tires and the amount of air in the tires. If you don't have enough air in the tires will you get a ticket. If you go to a heavier tire does the weight rating go up, it should. Also, there are so many mods available to change these trucks that the manufacturers rating can be made meaningless pretty quickly. So, my offer stands. Free beer, you can't beat that. Problem is you have to come to ATL to get it because they will give me a ticket for mailing beer.

 

Ya'll get coors over there yet

 

This means that your max trailer weight is limited by safe tounge weight. Earlier somebody mentioned loading light on the tounge... Don't. The last thing you want is to hit an uphill grade and have even more weight come off of the tounge... Suddenly there is less than no weight on your truck, and your rear wheels are off the ground while you lose momentum and begin to roll backwards. The higher the center of gravity of the load, the faster this happens.

Safe tounge weight is 10-15% of your trailer weight. Max tounge weight is limited by your GVWR.[/QUOTE]

I'm pretty sure what I said was to "lighten the tounge weight until it was as light as it could be without trailer sway". I stand by that. My experience towing a lot of boats is that there is a sweet spot where the tounge weight is just right. The trailer doesn't wag the truck and the back bumper of the truck isn't dragging. Your point about getting the weight too far back is for sure valid, but I always found that I would encounter excessive sway long before any danger of the trailer "lifting" the the rear of the truck. just trying to share my experiences.

 

Hey,

When I did a search of the Internet a couple of night ago, I found someone who said they called the DMV in Oklahoma and were told those ratings have the power of law, but I do not know, if that is true.

I can tell you of multiple legal actions against manufacturers based on the weight rating on the side of towables and the ratings on motor homes. I know of those first hand and know of the first successful legal actions that resulted in a dramatic shift in carrying capacities in RVs.

Now obviously I take a conservative approach, in my work I have a much higher level of liability than end users. What we are really discussing here, however is safety and that is a darn hard thing to nail down. Some folks give this issue serious thought and address what they are doing in thoughtful responsible fashion. I have a hunch if someone were to come to you, you are not likely to simply tell them to do what they thought was right. The very fact that you went to the trouble of reviewing state laws (I have done the same and concluded the same) means to me you are likely to be a responsible individual. Folks who do their homework impress me, even when I do things differently. I don't worry about those folks. I worry about folks who show up with a half ton and want to pull a 37-foot quad slide.

Where your approach may place you in jeopardy is not in criminal action, but in a civil suit. In those situations, logic pretty much goes out the window. Remember, in court the only thing that matters is whether someone can make you look wrong, not whether you are wrong

Steve