Hello, I'm new to this forum which is great btw. Just purchased my 1st truck, 2011 F150 5.0L 4X4 XTR 3.55 ratio 6.5" bed (long WB), has now 2500 miles on it, LOVE it. I currently tow a 21 ft Travel trailer with it, max 4500lbs and it doesn't even feel it's back there. I have WD and anti-sway bar.
Tow rating is 7500lbs, GVWR 7350lbs, Payload 1570 lbs and GCWR is 13,500 lbs. I plan to upsize the Travel trailer to a 30ft which is 6300lbs dry, 600lbs tongue weight. I usually carry approximately 700lbs of cargo in the trailer, so total loaded trailer should be around 7000lbs. I only carry 4 bikes in the bed, say 100lbs, and in the future, passengers (wife and 2 kids) will total 400lbs max (they are still small kids).
My question: Am I too close to the max towing limit which is 7500 lbs (I include loaded trailer, family and bikes)? Even if I am at the tow limits, I am however over in the GCWR by approx. 200lbs. Is this a big issue?
Any comments will help. Thanks.

 

Welcome to FTE! Fantastic first post btw.

IMO, if you exceed any of the weight ratings on a vehicle it's an issue. I personally believe that these trucks are under rated a little but the posted numbers really cover Ford's back side.

If you were overloaded / over weight and you suffered a crash and the local authorities decided to weigh your rig, you could be in big trouble.

 

Does it have the tow package? If so, tow it.

IMO these are the biggest BS ratings that Ford has ever come out with. Think about it; 5.4 last year can tow over 11K, now 5.0 with more HP and TQ can't even break 10K. (I think max with the 5.0 is 8800) It's just a numbers game to get folks into the 3.5EB or 6.2.

If my 2000 5.4 (260HP/350TQ) with 3.55 gears is rated to tow 7300lbs, your 2011 F150 can easily do much more. Just look at the specs of breaks and what have you. Most of them exceed most Superduties.

Also in my 8+ years as a firefighter/medic I've been to hundreds if not thousands of accidents and I've never heard of a vehicle being weighed. I would say that the vast majority of law enforcement officers have no idea what GCVWR is.

Mike

 

The tow rating isn't based on engine and gearing alone. I have been researching this for a few days now because we are in the market for a travel trailer. I have found that a lot of the trucks with the higher tow ratings that are equipped with the 3.73 axle are also equipped with a larger radiator and aux trans cooler. I have been looking at the 2011 clearance F150's and most of the 5.0 models have 3.55 gears and no aux trans cooler. I have seen more transmissions fried than engines from towing heavy loads. Just my two cents.

 

Just a suggestion: With the money you save on a clearance truck, you can easily add an aftermarket ATF cooler yourself which might work better. Some of the bigger plate coolers from B&M were designed to support heavy trailer towing.

I'd also look into heavier springs and dampers.

The lower ratio rear end is a much more costly modification though.

Do those tow packages include better brakes?

 

[quote=xlt4wd90;11226891]Just a suggestion: With the money you save on a clearance truck, you can easily add an aftermarket ATF cooler yourself which might work better. Some of the bigger plate coolers from B&M were designed to support heavy trailer towing.

Very good point.

 

i think the main killer of trannies is high trans temp. so it would be good to monitor that when towing. thats why its there. but yes, an aftermarket cooler would be good. and btw, if a person were to put air bags on the back of their f150, i think they could really pull some big loads.

 

Not true. Adding air bags does NOT increase the weight capacity of the rear axle, they just allow you to level the truck under a load that is still within the GVW or GCW of the truck. If you want to haul more than you should, go ahead, but don't go running to the dealer when your rear axle bearings go south.

 

Don't forget that Ford does not rate this truck nor any of there trucks to tow a specific amount. IE in this case it is not a will tow 7500lbs, but instead a WILL TOW UP TO rating. If you have a heavier truck (supercab, 4 door, 4wd, etc) or more people / cargo, then you can pull that much less in trailer weight.

Everytime you see a ad touting that this or that truck will tow a specific amount, it is always noted - "as properly equipped with" AND "is noted as a will tow up to"... and if you research a little farther, in normal instances it is a two wheel drive, regular or smallest (lightest) cab available, NO cargo and only the driver that the maufacture uses to show that it has the highest rated tow rating.

David

 

I agree, I have a 99 Dodge 2500 QC 4x4 V-10, 5 speed, 3:55 gears, with a Dana 80 rear end & a Dana 60 frt end & the newer Ford F150, & most likely Dodge's & Chevy's are rated to tow heavier than my Dodge 3/4 ton with the heaviest rating that year. Crazy. You can't tell me that the F150 has a heaver rear or front end than a Dana 80 or Dana 60 or frame. The V-10 is rated @ 325 HP 450 ft lbs of Torque so it isn't exactly a dog.
So how they come up with these magical numbers is beyond me.
My old 86 F250 4x4 460 C/6 3:55 gears was rated to almost tow a jet ski behind it. Crap my 98 Blazer 4x4 is rated to tow more than that F250 was That Blazer can't tow much without burning up the 4L60E trans.
Craig

 

No, it CAN'T, nor should, do much more. Trailer tow ratings are more about axle ratios and weight capacities than engine power. And, by the way, the 5.0 IS rated to tow 10k with the HD payload package, which includes a much heavier axle rating and 3.73 gears. ANY engine can tow 10k if you gear it right, but common sense must prevail, so you really don't want to do it with the 3.7L, for example, as those behind you on a hill would REALLY get PO'd. Anyway, long story short, tow ratings are more about the chassis than the drivetrain.

 

The other side of things is regardless of what we feel we can tow or what we have proven we can tow, it all comes down to what the people selling you your insurance and enforcing the laws think.

And if your truck is out of compliance or illegally towing or overloaded, then you open yourself up to a rather numbing law suit should someone get hurt by what you are doing.

Unless you have nothing to loose, I would recommend following at least closely the requirements as well as the recommendations.

I know for sure, that if was hurt, or if any of my family was injured by a illegal truck, out of compliance, illegally modded, overloaded truck or some yahoo pulling a trailer heavier than recommended or faster than the tires were rated for (ST tires max at 65mph) I would use every tool within the law to extract as much payback for the others blatent disregard for the law / rules, as well as showing a caluos disregard for others saftey.

Really, the above examples are not "accidents waiting to happen", "or just something that just happened", they are choices that were made that can cause injury and death, certainly not a accident, a choice. And for what, just because someone cannot follow the same rules that apply to all of us?

If you need a truck with a certain rating, then do the adult thing and go out and rent or buy a suitable truck. Trucks are cheap right now to boot!


Just my two cents,

David

 

Hear, hear! Couldn'ta said it better.....
It's all about the right tool for the job... if'n ya ain't got it, get it!

 

Boy how times change. Back in the day your boss told you to go tow something or go get something the last thing he wanted to hear was it is too heavy.
I remember when I was a mechanic for one of the worlds largest core drilling companies. Two drillers needed to get a 40 foot mobile home from a job site near Las Vegas back to our yard in Reno NV. So they hooked it to the Barden Bumper of a new 76 F250 with a 360 & 4 speed with a 2 5/16 ball & towed it to Reno. 450 miles over two passes over 6000 ft. The trailer was so heavy it bent the bumper down about 8" & sucked the rear frame rails in but no big deal, Nothing a little work couldn't fix.
That is part of today's problems, in my opinion, more thought & work goes into how NOT to do something than getting it done.
Just my two cents. I'm just one of the outdated old Bast--ds here.
Craig

 

Living proof that just because something is possible, doesn't mean it's a good idea. The job got done, and ruined a truck in the process. But hey, the boss is always right, no matter how big an idiot he is....