This has surely been asked a million times, but I am going add to the list. I have 2001, F-250 SD, 4X4, Crew Cab, V-10 short bed. How much trailer weight can I legally tow? I am talking just the dry weight of a trailer itself. I have a neighbor who wants to sell me his travel trailer that weighs 7480 pounds, empty. Perhaps 9500 pounds when loaded. Tongue weight is 1050 pounds. Trailer has electric brakes which work with the existing trailer wiring package on my truck. I want to know if my truck will "legally" tow this trailer. "Leagally" is the key word, as I already know the truck will pull this trailer. I have been told that I can tow a max of 12,500 pounds with my truck. Just looking for more info. We have hooked up the trailer to the truck, and there is no sagging what so ever. In fact there is less than 3/8" difference in the 4 wheel well fenders to the ground on the truck when hooked up to the trailer. It's the same for all 4 corners of the trailer. Both truck and trailer are level when properly hitched together. And no, gas mileage is not a concern. Thanks in advance. Patch

 

I think its gonna depend on which package is on your truck, the 17K GCWR with 3.73 gears, or the 20K GCWR with 4.30 gears. From what I can see you'll be fine with either, however your max with the 3.73's is 10.3k (to include passangers, fuel, etc.) That would give you very little room for error. The 4.30's give you a little extra room with a 13.3k max. Also verify your GVWR and GAWR, you do not want to hit a weigh station and be over on any of the three.

One last thing, you would need to see what the GVW of the trailer is registered as well. If its over your rating, you can't pull it without the legal aspect rearing up.

 

You're gonna want and need a weight distributing hitch AND a trailer sway control....believe me!

 

Go here for your towing guide:
They don't go back to 2001 but 2002 is gonna be close.
https://www.fleet.ford.com/showroom/...02_default.asp

Take the truck empty with fuel and cargo to the scales, then take the trailer as well.

catscales.com and find one.

You're not gonna have to worry about getting pulled over because this is RV stuff. Commericial is a different story. You can do what I did though if you are over.

I registered mine for a higher GVWR.

 

Take a look in my gallery...I have some good pictures of WDH..and a big trailer

Place you mouse on my user name and left click scroll down to View Gallery

 

>>>>>>and Welcome to FTE

 

Thanks for all the info. Much appreciated.

I have the 4.30 gear ratio. Getting the whole combo weighed sounds like good advice.

Also the weight distribution (Reese) and sway controls come with the trailer. The guy bought it new in 2006 for $28K, and parked indoors. He came down with an illness and he has only used it 3 times.

I have a cousin who works for Thor manufacturing who was here last week. He adjusted the hitch assembly, and the electronic braking system to fit the truck/trailer, and we took it out on the freeway. Swaying was not much of an issue. The trailer moves a little, but not in the "whte knuckle" range. Biggest movement was on a two lane road, with a semi passing going the other way. That, and a 30 mph cross wind seem to move it around some. The cousin is sending me another hitch, anti sway contraption he says (Hensley ?) will help even more.

Again thanks for all the info. Patch

 

Hensley is a good system, good choice. Be patient with learning about it. Once you are proficient you will like it.

 

Thanks for the link. 60' over all? WOW !

 

Colo where did you get the information on axle ratio and towing capacity? I would like to look mine up. I have a 1999 F250 with 7.3 diesel, 3.73's and 2WD, auto trans.....

 

I use www.fleet.ford.com, but it only goes back to '02.

 

Ok thanks... Looks like mine is 20k and 12.5k which is about what I thought..

 

Just a follow up, with a bit of a surprise. The Nevada Highway Patrol had set up a road block because some company was filming a commercial up a head. Since I was the only car held up, I conversed with the officer about towing weights. Two things he said. One was no one is going to bother an RVer about weight issues unless they have a wreck. If a wreck occurs, the weight issue will be investigated. No big deal there.

Now the next thing he said was a bit of a surprise. He said that maximum towing weight of any vehicle is listed in the vehicle's owner's manual, by the manufacturer. In my case, the maximum weight, my Ford F-250 SD, 4WD, 6.8L, automatic, according to my owner's manual, can safely pull is 10,000 lbs. He went on to say that if I were to have a wreck while towing my rig, and it was determined that my trailer exceeded the 10,000lb manufacturer's towing limit on my truck, I could be cited, and held accountable. Fortunately I am still below that 10K number even with all our gear in the the trailer.

I went on to ask him about these other, higher towing weight numbers that are available from other sources, and he told me it did not matter. That manufacturer's specifications takes precedent over any other info. I even showed him in my manual where it showed an F-350, and an F-450 maximum towing weight was still only 10,000lbs. The only towing amount that changed was with 5th wheels, and involved some math on the owners part.

Very confusing to say the least.

 

Highway Patrol are NOT the experts they pretend to be.....but in this case, he is prob correct.....my book only goes back to 2009 and towable weight is 12500 for the same configuration as yours. And I'll bet if you had a wreck, no one is going to collect all the parts and weigh them!

Sorry I said CGVW before - I corrected that. Your Combined Gross Vehicle Weight is about 20,000 #.

 

Well my combined is 23K. So I am good. I also carry a cat scale weight cert.