Traded in our old trailer and now our old Expedition is not adequate to pull the new travel trailer. Looking to "build your own" Ford F250 truck. I would like to maximize the towing capacity of the new truck. Which truck styles and options would do that? Any suggestions which options on Ford's site would do that or is there a guide? Thanks.


Thanks for all of your comments. Appreciate it. Will let you know what we eventually end up with. Thanks again.

 

This link maybe of the most help for the towing guides:


Towing Guides | fleet.ford.com


What trailer do you have now? What is the length and the GVW? That is vital info to assist.

 

If you order the camper package you will get the overload springs and have the exact same truck as a 350. Other than that, biggest engine and lowest gears you can order for your configuration.

 

I would like to maximize the towing capacity of the new truck. Which truck styles and options

To maximize towing capacity you would NOT want to load it up with weight robbing options. A single cab weighs less than crew cab. Diesel vs. gas, four wheel drive vs 2wd, both heavier. Dual rear wheels, more weight. Sunroof, etc. With that said you may wish - even need- these items and that's fine, just be aware of the compromises that come with them.

And it's well known that white trucks get better MPG, so take that into consideration<grin><grin>. GRIN.</grin></grin>

 

I checked that guide but it doesn't really tell you which options to pick to get you to get the best towing capacity.


We bought a new 39' travel trailer @ 9,200#. Would like to configure to new F250 to maximize it's towing capacity. For instance which style (ie: crewcab), wheel base, gear ratios, etc. increase the towing capacity.


Thanks.

 

To max it out would be a single cab 8' bed. Gas motor with 4.30 gears.


If you plan on traveling long distance then I would opt for a diesel.

 

Go back to the Ford website and look close as you build a truck. It will show you the towing capabilities of each model.


A regular cab XL will tow more than a crew cab. Pick your truck somewhere in between.

 

Personally, I would opt for the F350 over the F250. You do not have to worry as much about towing capacity nor the rear sagging problem many complain about on the F250. I would use Ford Build and Price website to spec the truck and then go to NADA or TrueCar and get the average price you can expect to pay.

Liked mention, I would opt for the diesel engine and a few other options such as Supplement Heat (not available on gas trucks) and the hitch prep package.

New 2015 Ford Truck Prices - NADAguides

 

Actually the 250's are now coming with the taller 4" blocks and if he orders the camper package, he'll get the overload springs. So, the 250 ordered that way will be identical to the 350 and experience no additional sagging. He might want to stay with a 250 for registration reasons.

 

Have a look at the F450. 6.7L with plenty of HP and the DRW 4.30 rear-end. If you really need to tow, the F450 is nice.

 

As much as I agree and would love one too, the OP asked about optioning an F250...

 

The F250/350 SRW with the diesel is rated up to 23,500 combined weight, so the lightest truck gets you the biggest trailer. The F250/350 SRW 6.7 with a tag trailer is hitch-limited to 14K maximum trailer weight (12,500 lbs if regular cab), and since the empty truck doesn't weigh 9,500 lbs, you can have some payload along with your trailer. If you go with a bed-mount hitch (fifth wheel or gooseneck) you can tow up to the combined weight limit of 23,500 presuming you have payload capacity to do so. Most F250's are going to limit you to around a 10K - 12K trailer based on available payload in the GVWR. For example my F250 has a payload of 2600 lbs, after I put my wife, my cat, our luggage, a full tank of fuel, a fifth wheel hitch I have around 2200 lbs of payload available, at 20% pin weight that gives me a maximum loaded trailer weight of 11K

So, if I was optioning an F250 to tow I would order a Supercab XLT short bed 2WD 6.7 diesel with the highest payload package. It's a compromise but I could tow the 14K tag or around a 14K fifth wheel, which about the top limit for an F250 within Ford's guidelines. If I wanted to tow more than that I would get a dually. The 6.2 gas engine is rated lower than the diesel for conventional tag towing, maximum 12.5K vs 14K, and the maximum combined weight is 1500 lbs lower at 22K vs 23.5K.

Brian

 

Personally I would opt for the F350 just in case a few years from now you decide to get a bigger camper. A 9200lb camper isn't really that much of a load for these trucks. So I would just pick the options you want, make your truck as comfortable as want it to be and enjoy it. I have a crew cab dually and could never go back to anything smaller, I have the lariat and love the leather, I could never go back to cloth. Get what you want and dont kick yourself later and say I should have...

 

If the OP upgrades to DRW then I would agree. However, the SRW 350 is identical to the 250 so why not save a few bucks... unless you're really worried about the doorjamb sticker...

 

It is so much easier to spend other peoples money. Unfortunately no one offered to sell me their recent model F350, F450, diesel powered, DRW crew cab, King Ranch, etc for $5000. I'm only pulling at 8K pounds dry, 10K loaded, so I'll splurge on these extra weight robbing nicities.

Let me know if you've got one that I can afford.