Originally Posted by
pkmason86
Ok, my wife and I just purchased a 40' 5th wheel with a dry weight of a 14,300 lbs. Loaded, I expect this to go up a thousand pounds. Many people here at out RV park claim that the 250 they own works just fine pulling their 35-38 foot trailers all over the country. While I don't doubt they are telling me the truth, will any 250 do the job pulling my rig say up in Colorado?
Unless the tanks are full, I say the 1,000 pounds is spot on. I have weighed my 37' camper empty and loaded and and I was at about 900 pounds difference with the tanks empty, and that was loaded for a family of four. Unless you have a lot of heavy extras in the basement, I'd go with the thousand.
There isn't a lot of difference between a 250 and SRW 350. Without looking, I think Ford made some improvements in the 250 in 2004 or 2005 so the towing numbers look remarkably similar between the two. The only major difference is going to be the maximum pin weight.
OP: In addition to just looking at the maximum weight your truck can tow, also look at the GCWR because you can be over it even though you aren't at the max tow weight. Also, make sure you don't get into a trailer that is too heavy at the the kingpin. I once made the mistake of settling for a camper that I really didn't want because it was the max my truck would handle. After only a couple of years, I took it in the shorts to upgrade the trailer and the truck. In hindsight, I should have upgraded to the truck I have now and got the camper I wanted the first time. Good luck and happy campin'