i was thinking of trading in our 04 28 ft. layton for a new trailer.iwas thinking of possibly a fifth wheel this time.just wondering how they tow with the 5.4 and what would be the max weight you would get for any travel trailer for a 99 f-250.i dont tow it very often but would like to take it more places maybe like 200 miles or so.right now mine is around8k loaded.also is it expensive to move the fifth wheel setup to another truck?

 

Well, look in your owners manual and find your Gross Combined Weight Rating. (GCWR) Then you need to weigh your truck. Get axle weights, not just total weight. Best way to do this is find a truck stop with a CAT scale, I costs around 8bucks.

Once you have your truck's weight and subtract it from your GCWR and thats the maximum weight of your trailer, passengers, and other cargo.

With a fifth wheel, you also need to know the pin weight. Take your truck's rear axle weight and subtract it from your rear axle weight rating and that will be roughly your maximum pin weight. You should stay a little under that weight because you also have to figure in passengers and anything else you might be carrying in the truck.

 

If you want to tow the trailer with a different truck, you will either need to remove the fifth wheel hitch from your current truck and install on the new truck, or buy a new fifth wheel for the new truck. So, yes it is more expensive unless you transfer the fifth wheel yourself, then it's just more work.

 

A 5.4L will tow a surprising amount. Yesterday at a gas station off of WI29 about 20 miles east of Wausau WI I saw a 1st gen (1999-2004) Super Duty, SC short bed 4x4 with a 5.4L towing a 28 foot 5th wheel travel trailer AND an 18 foot I/O pleasure boat in tandem!

I have no idea what his gross weight was, but I am reasonably sure he exceeded the tow rating.

 

Yep, Ford (Chevy and Dodge too for that matter) sure has people convinced that they NEED a Diesel if they want to tow anything. Nevermind the fact that the "small" 5.4 has more power than the old big block V-8s did, especially the 3V 5.4.

 

It might handle a smallish 5th wheel in mostly flat country. But IMO, you will not be happy or safe if you try to do much towing in the mountains.

 

thanx for the imput. 28 ft was what i was looking at, nothing big. around 7500 dry weight.

 

Second on the hill thing. I had a 2010 v-10 F350, pulling a 13k 5er (truck rated for 14k). If it was in the flat lands it would have been ok. We have a couple hills here in PA and pulling the hill at 3500 and 45mph in a 65 zone is a bit slow. I do not push it, I am sure I could have and got back over 50 at over 4k but I do not like doing that. Diesel gives you the torque to keep the load going. also note that while the trucks are stronger the trailers are generally bigger and heavier also.

 

(GVWR - Curb wt.) / .15 = Trailer GVWR

disregard the combination "rating" provided by ford. It is absolutely meaningless.

 

Remember as you are looking at 5er..the king pin wt is gonna come in around 20% of the gross fully loaded wt of the 5er.

So look at the data plate on the proposed 5er.

Also as stated get your truck, full of fuel and everything u think will be in the truck and get it on the scales.

Cat scale can do each axle and then total it up for you. This is important.

That will let you know what is available for the added king pin wt...king pin wt and 5er hitch become payload.

Check your tires as well. Need to have good e-rated LT tires for any serious loads and towing.

 

According to your "formula", My F-350 can tow 24,000 lbs and my 95 F-150 can tow 10,000 lbs. I don't think so.

 

slightly off topic a bit, but with your new(er) truck, and if you are going to get into a 5er.....one word to make sure you keep in mind.....tires,tires,tires......obviously you have towed/hauled before, but when going into a 5er or even a gooseneck, tires play a more critical role than that of hauling a regular travel trailer! just an FYI...keep us updated, and some pics...happy camping!

 

Just curious, how'd you come up with this? I agree with it along the lines that if there's no load-bearing aspect, then these trucks can pull amazing amounts of weight, like multiple hay carts loaded down with tens of thousands of pounds; I've even seen a 90s F150 tow over 20k. But for something like a 5ver RV where there's usually a heavy bedroom right over the pin? You can't balance an RV the same as a deckover loaded with pallets of concrete, you can blow the RGAWR easily at lower trailer weights because of how the trailer is built.

 

in my experience, NO Super Duty (250 or 350) will blow the RAWR before the GVWR...

(GVWR - Curb wt.) - this is the payload of the tow vehicle... also known as tongue weight when talking about pulling goosnecks or 5th wheels... curb weight isn't entirely the correct term unless you consider the hitch, fuel and driver as included... which I generally do as those three things are required and not optional.

.15 - this number varies actually... .15 is a good safe tongue weight percentage, but not always attainable. this number should be what you are capable of actually getting... it might be .20 or .25. The equation as written is actually for gooseneck trailers that you can shift the load on the axles... avoid dropping below .10 as you're getting to "tail wagging the dog" territory.

and yes... 24,000# for an F350 and 10,000# for an F150 sounds about right...


The only other thing to consider when figuring out your trailer weight is keeping in mind minimum speed limits. I have a 5.4L in a 2008 that will do 20,000# just fine until you start getting into steeper grades. It'll make it up the grades, but not legally as I'll generally drop below 40 mph on a maximum 70 mph road.

 

There's no way you can SAFELY tow that kind of weight with a pickup. I know the truck will do it, but that doesn't mean it's safe to do so. If you are towing that much weight, any input from the tow vehicle becomes merely a suggestion, but the trailer is going to do what it wants to. It doesn't have to do with the skill of the driver, either. It's just simple physics.

I do understand that it may not technically be illegal to tow that much weightvas long as you don't exceed the GVWR of either the tow vehicle or the trailer, but get in an accident (your fault or not) while exceeding the GCWR in your owners manual and you could easily be found to be negligent. This can have both civil and criminal consequences.