With a toy hauler hauling a couple Harleys, what is a safe weight to stay under?

 

You don't give us enough information to fill in the blanks. Link below might give you a start.

http://www.ford.com/resources/ford/g...typu_sep11.pdf

 

Man you won't believe the mail you're gonna get on that question. Here's what I say and I've been towing stuff since 1958. If you're young and brave you can pull a lot with an F250. I'll attach a picture of my 17k pound 5er behind my short bed 250. Pulled it that way for a year. It's safe enough just not comfortable in mountains or on secondary roads with mountains. Anyway, Here's the stuff you need to worry about. The rear axle tires must be rated for as much or more weight than you put on them,. And the only way to know is to go to the scale. it is possible but very unlikely you will put enough weight on the axle housing to bend it but you will pop the tires if you are overweight enough. The other thing is that the trailer brakes must stop the trailer. If you take care of those two things you will get by. The next best thing is air bags on the rear axle to keep everything level. Now stand by for a lot of information. Good luck.

 

With a cc srw 4X4 it's rated at 15,900. I just wondered if I'm close to max weight would I have any stability problems. If so what would be a safe weight to stay under when looking at a new camper. This is keeping in mind about 1,800 lbs in Harleys too.

 

first thing to do is take your truck by some scale and get the axle weights.

250's are paper rated at 10,000 lbs max weight for licensing restrictions in many states (anything over 10,000 lbs OBVIOUSLY is a commercial vehicle?! haha!)..

once u have the axle weights, then look on the door pillar tag between the front/rear doors to get the axle weight limit numbers.
also get the tire ratings off the sidewall.. max weight.

then you can find out how much room you have to the documented
max weight, gross combined weights, and safety limits.

I think the biggest issue will be weight on the hitch over the rear axle.
FW's are typically somewhere between 15% and 25% of the trailer weight on the pin. this is the part that will add weight to the truck.

 

It would help you if you start with the basics of how these weight numbers are used and what they mean.

I have a 12K 5th wheel and my pin weight is almost at my maximum and I have an F350.

Another tip is don't guess at the weight. The only way to get the true weight is to put it on the scale.

My GCWR of my truck and trailer is 22,800 pounds. I'm right close to my maximum and it is stable.

Sorry I'm trying to reply from a cellphone.

 

Can it be done..sure

 

the GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating) is the max the manufacturer recommends for this vehicle. Note that in some states you can pay extra to change this number. But it doesn't change the manufacturers number.
both the truck and trailer have a GVWR.

the GCVWR (Gross Combined Vehicle Weight rating) is the max recommended for the collection of vehicles (double tow included)..
you get this by adding the GVWR of each vehicle together..
this is NOT ACTUAL weight.

there are laws on the books both federal and state concerning the GCVWR and the GVWR of the trailer.
26,001 and 10,001 respectively trigger changes in drivers license requirements

also provided by the manufacturer is the recommended maximum weight on a particular axle. towing a FW puts weight on the truck at the hitch.
almost all of that weight goes onto the rear axle and rear tires.

if you weigh the truck without the trailer, you will get the actual weights for the axles and total weight of the truck.

the F250 (like its Chevy and Ram 2500 counterparts) is intentionally rated at 10,000 GVWR because in many states, it 'obvious' that anything 10,001 lbs or higher MUST be a commercial vehicle with matching plates and insurance!.. so the manufacturers make a product that does NOT go over 10,000.. it a paper rating. the actual rating is unknown.. but the parts are similar or identical to the F350 with a rating of 11,400.

I like the info provided here RV Safety|RV Towing Calculator|Tow Ratings|GCWR

see the worksheet tab across the top if you don't want to use their phone apps.

I traded my F250 for a dually.

 

The CAT Scale is your friend!

 

My GCVWR is 28,800 (13,300 + 15,500) >26,000 and towed >10,000
the truck is rated for GCVWR of 30,000
I can't find the weight slip at the moment, but what I posted on rv.net
from the with trailer scale numbers

====350 Ratings===Without Trailer== With Trailer
GAW-F ==5,400.========tbd==============5,240.
GAW-R ==9,000.========tbd==============6,660.
TRLR===15,500.========================10,600.
GCWr===30,000.========================22,500.
GVWr===13,300.========================11,900.

 

Remember this. A 250 is IDENTICAL to a 350 SRW truck other than a single overload spring and a 2" taller spacer block under the rear springs. (Some 250's come with the 4" block now and if you have the camper package it will already have the overload spring...) I've personally checked the part numbers and they are all the same. Same frame, main spring pack, differential, brakes, axles, everything... So, yes, you can absolutely tow a toyhauler. Go by the F350 SRW's specs, swap in the taller blocks for $100, and get a set of airbags. No, it won't change the sticker in your doorjamb but it's not the sticker that tows the trailer. Oh, and I've got a great toyhauler for your 250 for sale too...

The 350 SRW is rated to 11.5k gvwr. The pin weight on most 14-16k GVWR toyhaulers will be 2500-3000. That is fine for a SRW truck as it will weigh about 8500 ready to travel leaving 3k for pin weight. Also, toyhaulers get LIGHTER when loaded unlike standard 5vers as the weight in the garage offsets the pin weight to an extent. 1800 in the garage will probably take 6-700 off the pin weight. Water tanks on toyhaulers are directly over the axles so no added weight to the truck there either.

 

I respectfully don’t want to get into a debate. But you’re the first one I have seen with a F350 posting this and I was usually on the other side with my 2008 F350 and now with my 2013 F350. It is a matter of fact that there are even different parts on my 2013 F350 SRW at work then on my personal F350 SRW. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>
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I have seen too many people buy (including myself) too little of a tow vehicle or too heavy trailer and after the fact it is pure heart ache. That is why the OP should learn what the weight numbers mean for himself. It doesn’t seem right to me, for me to tell the OP that he could pull a trailer with two motor bikes in it and he hasn’t bought the trailer yet.

 

LOL, I'm no where near the first to post this and most on this forum have known the same for a long time. The trucks are identical other than the two small differences I mentioned. Period - point black. No debate needed as it's been done to death and those who took the time to look everything up have confirmed the results. I also did swap the two very things that are different on my 09 F250 and towed to 350 capacity for years and felt perfectly safe doing so because I knew for a fact that they were the same truck. Verified with my own eyes by the part numbers in question...

 

Can you advise us on those different parts if you know them?


Also is your work a chassis? Or a regular pickup bed based truck?

 

oops, wrong source for the question..