There is always the option of going to one of the specialty companies and having your srw converted to duals. Any really good towing shop or heavy truck place can do this. All you need are the adapters, wheels and the fenders. The rest of the truck would then be up to the task quite readily. The sticker on the doorjamb would still read the same, but the tires, wheels etc would be up to the job. If you are worried about the axles and springs, they are very often exactly the same with minor differences in attachment points, between srw and drw trucks.

 

If you look at fords website, they list the F-250 crew cab, with the 6.0 auto and 3.73's as having a towing rating of 12,500lbs, not 10,600lbs.
Also, I'm pretty sure that ford rates thhe trucks for 15K with a gooseneck..

As for going over the 20K, the truck will handle it without breaking a sweat. now, what I would do, is just go to the DMV and license the truck for 30K if it makes you happy.. As long as your tires and axles aren't overloaded, you can pull as much as you want, provided the truck is tagged for it. Also, since your pulling a RV, you don't have to worry about any commercial laws or registrations if your over 26K.

 

wow bounch of info here on this subject. i have a f250 srw 7.3 and to a river canyon that weights 10200 empty. i have attempted to take everey precaution and ive had absolutely no problem. i have 265 D rated tires, 5000 lb airbags, 4 inch breaks on the RV along with 14000 lb axles. once you level the real of you truck it shifts some of the toung weight to those RV axles. from what i know about the srw 350 that extra weight its allowed is based on the 4" block and those D rated tires.

 

D-rated tires are good. There are E-rated tires that size as well. If you step up to the 19 inch size, there are F-rated tires too.

I've pulled E-rated loads with C-rated tires before. I just made sure they had plenty of air, and went reasonable speeds. As long as you keep it under 75-80 you should be o.k. The ambient temps have a lot to do with that as well. In the summer when desert temps put the pavement temp into the 160 range, tires shred like no tomorrow. That's when you need to keep speed to 65-70, or less and take your time.

I wouldn't worry too much about it. There is a lot of give in the over-design of most products. They expect you to over-load things. That's why they design in more strenth than you really need.

 

I'm a retired truck driver - hope I can be of some help. I have a
2004 Ford super cab Lariat F250 Super Duty with 6.0 Diesel with Air bags. I pull a Cedar Creek 36" RLST. The door post reads GVWR (Gross Vehical Weight Rating) #8800 LBS - The GVAR (Gross Vehical Axel Ratings) read's Front Axel 4,850 lbs with rear at 6,084 lbs. As long as either of these axels does not exceed these limits or if GVWR doesn't go over 8,800 lbs you are legal.
On the TLR the GVWR (mine 13,710) the total of both of these GVWR is 22,510 lbs GCWR (Gross Combine Weight Rating).
BUT according to Ford the GCWR is 20,000 lbs - (page 17 in the 2004 RV & Trailer towing Guide but out by Ford you can pick one up at a ford dealer), if the GCWR is 2510 lbs less than the GVWR of both vehicals
I think as long as you do not exceed either GVWR you are legal and meet all of Ford and Cedar spec.. The Ford Guide book
(page 26) says: I can pull a 13,300 TLR in one place and 14,200 in another part of the guide.The guide trys to explain all of this.
I have pulled this Cedar Creek with my 1996 Ford F250
7.3 diesel all over Alaska and never had one problem. I put
136,000 miles on the 1996 truck before trading in on my new Ford. I love the my new Ford with the new 6.0 diesel has more horse power than my friends 1999 Ford F350. Big Bob

 

Hi all, this entire column above has been some what sad, considering FORD is still hiding the truth about our wonderful ford trucks. Don't get me wrong, I love ford trucks, and I wouldn't own anything but a ford. But they need to get real about there (MDT) Medium duty trucks! I have had a total now, of 11 of there trucks, and went through what you are all going through now. Here is the bottom line with your F250, or even the other guys 350! Check out your BREAKING CAPABILITIES, and your rear end TORQUE! Keep an eye on the trannies temp!!! The weight problem can, and should be remedied at DMV. That way you don't get a ticket! I, myself pull a 5er its a Teton 40 ft Royal Scottsdale, it is to big for a MDT, so I moved up to a F-550 CC 4X4 witch is a real SD. The brakes on it are great! I was so frustrated with ford over what I went through, which is precisely what you are going through. The info above is pretty much dead on, but here is a helpful suggestion from a 5er to a new 5er. Keep everything you can in the 5er, and down low, as to keep the weight in the 5er as low as it can go, and you will find in most 5ers that all of the cubbards are on one side, or the other. With that keep in mind to equalize your load. And I would think about those air bags for sure. Don't forget to keep it safe! And have fun, 5ing is so much fun! Me and my wife love it!

I have more fun in my F150 SUPERCREW KINGRANCH 4X4 OFFROAD THAN I DO IN MY SD, SO DOES MY 5 YEAR OLD!

Just a note; If you went over the weight by even 2000 lbs, you would have a hard time hurting your truck, if it is cared for right! The bottom line is always going to be stopping the 5er, stuff happens out there, you have to be ready, your livea depend on how you prepare yourselfs for your adventure. Dont White nucel it!

 

The next time you get worried about whether a truck will handle the load put on it. Go look at some of the pictures in a museum of the people leaving the dust-bowl in the depression. Most of their trucks were model T type or similar. Many times they would pile all of their worldly possessions on top of that thing until it reached so high they couldn't pile any more on it. Then they took off across country on roads that were more like off-road trails these days. Many times they had a hard time, nothing was easy back then. But my point is that people made journeys like that all the time. I myself have loaded a 1970 bronco with a flat-bed equipment trailer with 12,000 lbs of scrap iron on it. Yes it pulled hard and it was twitchy. I couldn't get more than 50 mph out of it, before I had a hard time holding my side of the road. Stopping was a gear down and start braking 1/2 mile before the stop-sign. Going was no problem, it had pleny of power, but I know my limits. I have driven things like this all my life. The road I was on was basically un-inhabited, I only passed 10 or 15 cars in a 45 minute trip.

Would I do it every day? Not if I didn't have too. But times were tough those days and that's all I had. So I made do with what I had.

Don't let Ralph Nader and all the other worry warts convince you to stay at home hiding under a bed with an environmental suit on. Life is a risk. Sometimes we fall down, sometimes we don't come home. But what else would you have us do. Stay at home and never leave the house. What happens if a meteorite falls from the sky and hits our house landing in our bed, on our pillow?

Live life, that's what it's here for.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

God Bless.