How much can I pull?
 

I am looking at buying a 2005 F250 PSD...........does anybody have a range in the amount of weight I could pull with a gooseneck? I am looking at pulling approximately 25,000 to 30K lbs.

You'll need at least an F650 to tow 25-30K pounds! That's WAY over what an F250 can handle.

An F350 has a GCWR of 23,500 pounds. The truck weighs about 7000, so it can tow a bit over 16k, far short of what you want to do.

The F550 can be ordered with a 33K GCWR, and since that truck weighs about 9k, you can only tow 24k with it. So an F550 isn't big enough for what you need.

Go look at the F650-F750.

You arent going to pull that kind of weight with a 250. Even a 350 Dually would be pushing it.

It will pull it, but the really big problems begin when you try and stop. The brakes are about 1/4 the size that you need. I fried the brakes on my '95 F-250 with a 14,000 lb trailer. Instant warped rotors.

And this thread needs to be in the towing forum, so I moved it. :)

I'm going to second the above. I catch hell for saying it occasionally, but stay inside the manufacturers GCWR. Will the truck pull more? Yes. Will it pull more and still have a respectable safety margin? No. Also get a good brake controller if you do not have one.

Kwikkordead: "I fried the brakes on my '95 F-250 with a 14,000 lb trailer. Instant warped rotors." Did you have a brake controller? If so, how was it set?

You would be committing suicide for all persons in the truck and maybe more. I have a F250super crew, short box, v10, 3:73. Mfgr GCVWR is 17000. My p/u weighs about 71-7250. I am struggling with weights now on a 5th wheel I want to buy with a dry wt of either 7990 or 8880, depending on which mfgr label you read. I am asking the dealer to pull it to a scale and get me the scale ticket to know for sure. Everyone who is responding to your post is telling you straight. Stay in the load ranges!!!

Unless they've changed things since I bought mine, that F250 will have a GVWR of 8800#. With a diesel it will weigh in at 6500# minimum. That means you can put 2,300# on the kingpin or goosneck ball without busting your GVWR. That means about 10,000# total trailer weight. Interestingly, you can usually go a little higher using a "regular" trailer with weight distribution before you bust the GCVWR.

You might be able to squeze a thousand or 2 extra w/ 5th wheel or gooseneck, but your trying to get an extra 10 or so ton out of it. You put that on your truck, YOU WILL HURT IT. I pull some 10 ton construction equipment with my dually every now and again, and its taken its toll on mine.

Thanks for the input
 

I would like to thank all of you for the input. I was thinking the truck would be very unsafe. My friend is converting a trailer to pull a backhoe (very tall & heavry) to pull with his 2005 F250 PSD. I will try to convince him otherwise. Thanks again.

I foolishly tried to tow my current 14,000 lb Cedar Creek 5th wheel with a '95 F-250 front disc and rear drum brakes. It was equipped with a brand new Prodigy brake controller that I bought along with this trailer and it was set all the way up to the top. I traded in a 21' Terry Resort that the we pulled no problem with the '95. I should have limited my weight of my new trailer to 8500lb or so and then I would have been OK.
I was in heavy traffic going downhill and everyone stopped in front of me. Fortunatly I practice safe following distance and a little more for good measure. I pulled over on the shoulder at the bottom of the hill and the front wheels were smoking. At that point I knew that my truck and trailer as configured were a disaster waiting to happen. On the way home from that same vacation I found my current truck for sale at a KOA in Lodi, California. One month later I was driving it home. Now with my F-550 the brakes are twice as big, disc brakes on every wheel, and I have none of those issues any more.

If you keep your truck in good shape mechanically thats no problem for a disc drum setup. I have a 96 350 dually that I pull 16k with all the time. It stops VERY well. Maybe 10 feet more 60 to 0 than my fathers 03 with disc.

Thanks for your response.

I would say they have changed quite a bit...my 05 F250 PSD CC has a 23K GVRW!

Ummm...I think you mean that it has a 23k Gross COMBINED Weight Rating, not GVWR. I don't think there's a 3/4-ton out there with a GVWR above about 9200 lbs.


Jason

How much can a 2002 f250 SD pull? Hard to find this info.