Hi Guys, I have a 14 f250 fx4 4 door swb, do you think I would be within range on the following tow capacity?

I am looking for my first 5th wheel, it has a gooseneck adapter and the specs are as follows:
dry weight 11230
cargo weight 2770
hitch weight 2340
length 38'6"
I am just looking for suggestions, thanks in advance

 

You'll be pushing it on the numbers I imagine. But me personally? I'd do it.

But here in NC, we're not overly strict on numbers and I've been pulling campers for 15 years. The pin weight would be my only concern.

 

You will probably want some air bags but keep it in your comfort zone and you'll be fine. FYI if you haven't put a goose neck hitch in your truck yet do the airbags first, I learned that lesson the hard way.

 

Always a good idea to load your truck with people and stuff like you would on a trip and then weigh your front and rear axles separately. Saves the guess work. Find a Cat scales, feed mill, junk yard etc that has scales.

 

That's 14k loaded to camp and closer to a 2800lb pin weight is my guess.
Probably slightly over on payload once loaded up.
Diesel or gas as you're close on towing capacity too at around 14700 for diesel and14k for gas with 4.10 gears in it?

Griz

 

Is your F250 a Diesel, you didn't say.
Will it do it? Yes
Will you need air bags? most likely
Will you be over your 10000# gross of the truck? Yep even if you have a gas burner.

A 2340 pin weight is about 21% of the 11230 dry weight, which is about where we would expect it to be. If we assume that the 21% would also apply to the 2770 cargo capacity, then you are looking at about another 580# of pin weight putting you at just over 2900# pin weight. Add driver, passengers, and assorted stuff in the bed and you are easily adding another 600 to 800 pounds or more to the load. Even a Gas F250 doesn't have the capacity to handle 3500# or more and stay within its 10000 limit. But as stated earlier, it will do it, but you might not be happy with the result.

I had a 2013 F250 Lariat with 3.55 gear and a 2109# cargo capacity based on the door sticker. With me, my wife, our two Great Danes, and fire wood in the bed of the truck, we were down to about 1000# load capacity available. I bought the truck to two a 35 foot travel trailer and it did great! But we decided to upgrade to a 5th wheel and bought a Sierra 371 REMB. Sales said it would pull it no problem. I didn't do my homework, and went ahead bought the unit and then tried towing with my F250. The Sierra 371 REMB has a 15500 gross and about a 12800 dry weight. At the time pin weights were advertised as 1835#, so I figured heck I had a 2109# load capacity, didn't consider everything else I was loading in the truck or that loading the trailer would drive the pin weight up as much as it did. I needed air bags pumped up to 50# to level the truck up and handle the 2800# pin weight of the camper when we were loaded for camping with a 14000# gross, but it got the job done. Longest trip was about 500 miles out and 500 miles back, had no issues other than it felt greasy when big side winds hit us causing a lot of tail wag and she like to porpoise, but it did the job for a couple of years. Now I tow with an F350 Dually and don't worry about exceeding the trucks 14000# gross.

Hope this helps a bit.

Brent

Not sure if that helped you or not,

 

As long as you don't exceed the tire ratings and rear axle ratings then you would be fine.

As others have said, you need to get it on the scales to be sure of what is available before purchasing the trailer.

 

d50h........if you have the 6.7 Diesel, your payload capacity is going to most likely be around 2100 lbs +/- either direction. You will be way overloaded on your payload numbers (Cargo Carrying Capacity...CCC). Check the sticker, which is white/yellow (driver side door post.) and find the actual number for your truck. There are folks that will tell you that you will be fine as long as you don't exceed the tire capacity and or the rear axle capacity.....I'm not one of them! Ford tells you very clearly in the owner's manual to NEVER exceed ANY of the capacities.....GVWR, front and rear axle rating, towing capacity, combined towing capacity. They don't say that it's OK to pick and/or choose which one or more to exceed.....They say to NEVER exceed ANY of the capacities. And let's face it, if you start out with the pin weight already over payload capacity, it's only going to get worse from there.....5ver hitch, passenger(s), tools, firewood, extra fuel.....anything and EVERYTHING that goes in or on your truck has to be calculated against the 2100 lbs of payload ( or whatever number yours actually has), based on that door post sticker. Air bags might help your overloaded truck to ride more level, but they do absolutely nothing to increase the payload capacity.

And one final thought here, since the title of your thread mentions "opinions". Towing capacities are NOT based on someone's "opinion", they are hard numbers that are determined by the manufacturer of the vehicle. People constantly try to "bend", "twist", and manipulate those numbers for their own use and then justify it by saying that they aren't over this capacity or that capacity. To me, if it's clearly stated that you should never exceed ANY of the capacities, then it's case closed.

 

I debated the F250/350 and listened to feedback on FTE, The 2017/18 F250/350 have exact same frame/brakes. F350 has more spring's..The F250 rear axle I believe was the standard 2016 F350 rear axle. You will be over sticker ratings, but stopping etc will be fine, make sure you have highest load rated tires..

 

Thanks for the advice, Yes it is 6.7

Another question, is there much difference towing a 34 footer vs 38 footer?

 

I don't know if anyone can answer that completely. Every truck/trailer combo has its own little quirks due to many factors ...weight placement, axle placement, tire composition, height of camper, slope of roof, etc. I would not expect a big difference if all other things were equal; it's just kinda hard to make all other things equal.

For me, I don't want much longer than I have (32 feet) mainly for maneuverability reasons.

 

One of the main reasons we have so many questions about towing and payload capacities is the owners' manual is full of specs that are influenced by marketing and legal as well as engineers. And I blame Ford as well as other manufacturers for playing loose and fast to try and satisfy everyone. The problem with adhering strictly to the owners manual is that it can cause confusion, dissatisfaction and even dangerous situations. For instance, some owners manuals say spark plugs are good for 100K miles, tranny fluid is good for 150K miles, no need to flush brake system or power steering, etc. And looking at tow/payload this truck in question is okay for 17,500 lbs conventional towing but when considering payload it's only good for around 7,000 lbs fifth wheel. All this info is in the owner's manual which makes it true and the owner would be justified following it to the letter, but...good sense needs to enter the equation at some point and help sort through the info.

My 2002 diesel 3/4 ton with 8 foot bed and extended cab is rated for 3400 lbs payload (and verified by weighing the truck empty). Did Ford make the new trucks less capable? is there any reason for buying an F250? Kinda hard to answer that and comply 100% with the owners' manual.

 

You will be fine. I would suggest air bags to level the load. I towed a 44' Gooseneck Race trailer, 12k dry, 2300 pin, with my '14 F250 4x4 6.7L CCSB for years. Drove like a dream, very stable, and stopped very well. The 5th / gooseneck tow capacity on the 250 is 17.5k and you are within safe limits of the truck. When we bought a new 5er I last year I upgraded to a F350 4x4 6.7LCCLB DRW because the 5er is '45 & 21k lbs. The wife got a new toy hauler so I got a new truck.

BTW - Take the tow police on this forum with a grain of salt. Most of them would have us towing with a semi rig

 

Yea - I like advice - backed up with technical details, a 50 cal bmg is not needed for rabbit hunting but - cool to own..

 

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