i am looking at getting a 5er. i have a late 99 4x4 extended cab short box. i have found that a 02 srw f250 is around 13000. is this the same for the 99? i am looking at a camper that has a gvwr of 14700. could i safely tow this with my truck, if not what is the max that i can tow?

thanks again
shelton

 

I have very little background in towing things with the 7.3 but from what these forums have told me, you can tow almost anything with a 7.3 but the problem is often in trying to slow it down. Don't forget that the transmission in our trucks is the notorious weak link too.


I am sure the knowledgeable RVers will chime in any second.

 

I'll be honest with you, 14,700 is a lot of weight. My 5er's gvwr is just under 14,000 and I feel like it maxes the truck's capacity. I know there are people who have towed more, but most people will tell you that you're really getting into the weight where a dually is necessary. The tricky part is that a dually from 99-03 is technically rated to tow less than a SRW because the GCWR is the same and the dually weighs more. The newer trucks have higher ratings if you're concerned with adhering to them. I will tell you that towing my heavy 5er and adding power with a chip led to a fairly sudden trans failure. The weight you're considering can be done, but you'll have to be extremely vigilant. I'm not telling you not to do it, just making you aware of my experience.

If you want to stay within your trucks ratings there are a ton of numbers to consider, but the ones most people refer to are the GVWR of the truck which is probably the same as mine at 8800lbs. This weight is the combined weight of the truck, its occupants, and the load. The load in your case is the pin weight of the 5er which is going to be pushing 3000lbs. There is no way you will stay under the trucks GVWR with a pin weight that heavy. Then there is the GCWR which is 20,000 lbs, and is the combined weight of the truck and the trailer. Chances are you will exceed that by a couple grand as well.

Just things to think about. I exceed both of those ratings as well, but I am under the GAWR for both the front and rear axles. I haven't had what I would consider any white-knuckle, or close-call situations, but you definitely know the weight is back there and can tell its straining the truck to a degree. Some things to help would be airbags or the roadmaster active suspension, they will really help the truck handle the weight in the bed.

Hope this helps, again I'm not telling you to do it or not to do it, but you need to be aware of what you're asking your truck to do. Good luck.

 

Like said above the truck may pull it but stopping and handling may be different deal. I personally would'nt tow that much with my truck unless it was a one time deal for someone, for a short distance

 

At a minimum I would want a one-ton duallie.

 

Even with a dually, your gcwr is less than 26klbs. I bought an F-550 and it weighs 12klbs which means I can only pull 14klbs with it. In short, Watch your loaded truck weight and gcwr.

 

this is what i am looking at Crankyape.com Bank repo rvs, motorcycles, snowmobiles, atvs, boats, trucks, trailers, go karts, jet skis, sleds, fourwheelers, trailers, motorhomes, rvs.

it looks to be a good deal. but may be a little to big

 

I just pulled a fiver (for hire) just like that one from Reno to Elko (about 300 miles) with my duallie. It pulled like a dream, but I wouldn't want to haul anything that large on a regular basis.

 

Where did you get the 14,700 lbs from? Is that a factory Gross weight? Will you tow it fully loaded. For example if dry weight is let's say 11,000 will you have 3,700 lbs of cargo? Is it possible to have the trailer weighed before you buy it? It may weigh more or less than 14,700.

 

i was just looking that up and the dry weight is 11,700 which should be fine

 

Lot of trailer. Can you inspect it before bidding? I work on repos all the time and would caution about bidding blindly. Strange floorplan? Fridge on its own slide?

Steve

 

i was just looking that up and the dry weight is 11,700 which should be fine

 

I suspect you wil be okay weightwise, although I doubt your rig will feel very nimble. Fleetwood got creative with the floorplans in their fivers. We get quite a few with the living room on the upper level where the bedroom is in most models. Folks seem to either love it or hate it.

Steve

 

this one has the kitchen up top and the master bed room in the back. i found this .pdf that has the floor plans and they look nice

http://www.cheekandshockley.com/pdfs/2006_prax_b.pdf

 

That's what I see looking at all the pictures on the site, 26, if I recall correctly. As you close enough to go see it?

I like the site as they appear to try to take note of what has to be fixed. I have bookmarked the site in case something comes up I think I can flip.

Steve