Thanks for the reply Deen & Dan.

Deen:
"How can this (7,100lbs) be within spec when above you stated the maximum trailer weight can only be 5,990 lbs.???"

Sorry if I was unclear, I was presenting a different scenario (a hypothetical trailer @ 7100lbs) to help you understand where I was having difficulty with the numbers. Your response that I need to stay under all three limits explained it fine.


Dan:
My four family members weigh about 450lbs (two young boys 5 & 2), so that leaves us just 450lbs of Cargo in your figures, but there's also the 1,520 pounds in the trailer in your calculation. So, that is nearly a ton of gear (1,970lbs); plenty for a week. Though, now I'm concerned about what my truck really weighs with all the options . . .

I do agee, an F250 would've been better for towing; and suprizingly only $800 more upgrading to the V10 and staying comparibly equiped to the F150 (we were going to buy this instead once we saw how inexpensive it was). The problem here was my garage size and driveway length. The F250 is longer than my driveway and my Garage (I live in a cul-de-sac) and I couldn't keep it on my property unfortunatly. The extended cab wasn't an option as there wouldn't be enough room for my family.

Camping is actually an afterthought of the F150 purchase. We had an Expedition prior to this F150 SuperCrew and were looking at a tent trailer. I just noted now that I have a larger towing capacity with the F150. And, newer technology (aluminum frames) is keeping larger towables in my range.


What I want is the largest - fully equiped - trailer I can buy that will allow me to fit the factory limit of my F150. I'm willing to spend to $30k on a high-quality, fully-quiped, travel trailer that can be towed relatively easiliy by an F150.

I'll be lucky if we use this trailer more than 4 times in a year and trips will be limited in up-hill travel; we might pull it to Lake Tahoe from Sacramento once a year. But, most would be flat-land to the coast; maybe to Southern CA once every couple years.


Do you really think that if I went to my full 12,500GCWR that I would have issues towing this at highway speeds given I'll probably be adding another 20% of power with a chip tuner, MAS kit and Cat-back exhaust system? I could change the gearing (say 4.11 from 3.55), but I really don't know if that's necessary given the rarity of my towing.


Thank you,
Todd
'02 F150 Lariat 4x4 SuperCrew
Raiders Black & Silver 2-tone w/Grey Leather
5.4L, 3.55LS & 17" wheels
Skid Plates, Towing Package
Chrome Steps, Factory Bedliner
Heated Buckets & Rear Entertainment System