Hi Guys. I have a 17' F150 3.5 eco screw shortbed, max towing, rated 1700lb max payload, 11,200 max tow. Not planning to rv full time, 4-6 times a year. I see alot of of ultra lite fifth wheels on the market with 1000-1300 hitch weights. Will this be a problem or should I go with a hitch mount.

 

I pulled a 8,500 lb 5er with a loaded pin weight of 1,300 (1,070 dry) with a 2012 F150 Ecoboost. Plenty of power but marginal situation for long tows. Our payload was 1,820. But it is amazing how quickly that payload disappears. 150 for hitch. 400 for occupants, dog, and personal items. Another 200 for aftermarket add-ons. (step bars, tonneau cover, etc). Bottom line is that we were about 300 over GVWR.

The truck was fine for local pulls; say 300 miles or less. But we towed to Tucson from Minnesota a couple of times; even through the Eisenhower tunnel. We found the wind, when towing out West, made for an uncomfortable tow. Some roll motion imparted to the truck and some trailer wag. I added a Hellwig rear anti-roll bar to the F150. It helped a lot but was still not the setup for open plains/mountain towing.

We have since upgraded to a F250 6.2 with 4.30's.

So, if you aren't in a hurry and not going too far, you may be fine with the right 5er. Otherwise, I'd go hitch pull. In all likelihood, you would be over GVWR with even a small 5er.

A word to the wise. Be careful on 5er design to look at where the axles are placed. Some manufacturers will bring the wheels forward to reduce pin weight. That leaves a lot of trailer behind the axles which adds to instability. And be VERY wary of the label Half Ton Towable. Most 5ers labeled as such are, in fact, substantially beyond the payload capability of most 1/2 tons.

Best of luck to you. Happy camping and be safe.

 

you need to go by the GVW of the 5th wheel, not what they advertise.

Then figure 20% of that GVW will be the pin wt, or payload.

Get your truck on the scales loaded with every thing you would take and see how close you are on the truck. That will tell you how much left to add to the axles.

 

I find this very interesting, as I just delivered a Keystone Cougar Half Ton to a dealer in Wyoming. It pulled pretty nice behind my truck, but I did notice it reacting to overtaking 18-wheelers. I thought this might be due to the overall lighter construction, but now I'm wondering if it might have been caused more by axle location.

 

I used to tow a 26' 5th wheel with an 06 F150. The truck handled it just fine, only an 1100 lb pin wt, even hooked my little 14' fishing boat to the back. But then I got a bigger 18' fishing boat, that made a difference and I was pulling over weight then too. The handling and braking was fine, camper and boat each had brakes, but taking off from a dead stop or pulling up any kind of a hill made the 5.4 work pretty hard. I have since traded trucks and got an F350, but I'm sure the wife will be looking for a bigger camper now.

 

Real world numbers are closer to 23% of the trailer's GVWR on the pin. As stated, pay no attention to published dry and pin weights. They are useless.

Rob

 

I pulled our 10K fiver for 3 years with my F150 Ecoboost SB and payload of 1848. The dry pin was 1410 and loaded it was 1650-1700. I upgraded to a Super Duty after putting 65K on the F150 just for flexibility in a bigger trailer and more bed space. I never felt like the F150 wasn't up to the job.