I've pulled several trailers around 7000 lbs with five different trucks, and while the half-tons do the job, they are a pain to set up, and they never end up quite as stable as the heavier trucks. With four people, firewood, generator, tongue weight etc, I'm up against the payload rating every time too. If you tow infrequently, that's a reasonable trade-off to make and one I'd make again in the right situation. Current generation half tons are amazing, but then again, so are the 3/4 and 1 ton trucks . . . There's really not a "wrong" answer here, but some are more right for your particular situation.

 

Size matters. My DD is a F150 Max Tow Lariat and I have a Super Duty 6.7 on order. Recently sold my 2005 V10 F250. I would not consider towing my current 35', 9000 pound trailer with the F150. My previous trailer was 30' and 7500 pounds and I towed it with both the F150 and F250. There was no comparison between the two experiences and it had nothing to do with the motors. The 3.5 EB is a power house but the lighter weight and shorter wheel base of the F150 makes it a much less stable towing platform.

 

Update: Towed a few hundred miles today with my 16 Max tow with my 7x23 inline enclosed trailer. I just put new Duratrac tires on and honestly I feel the truck is even less stable. I was so upset with uncomfortable it towed Im thinking of looking at F350s tomorrow. Love the ride, and power but tired of how it towes.

 

Barry,

I didn't come from an f 150 but came from a suburban which was my DD with air suspension. It was a comfortable ride for a DD. I traded it in on my 2018 F350 Crew Cab SB PSD. I use the F350 as a DD and don't feel like I've given much (if anything) up on ride. Anyone who rides in it pretty much has the same reaction; "this rides really nice". My commute isn't that long (10 miles RT).

Tow experience is a different league. My suburban was similar in payload to a lot of 150s. Like night and day. good luck

 

I had a 2015 F-150 3.5l ecoboost super crew 4x4 6.5 bed max tow, payload 1700 lb.
Great truck, except......
When pulling my 8000 lb 30 ft box Travel Trailer (1000 lb hitch weight) with myself, wife, dog, fire wood, cooler etc. I had problems.
The trailer setup was perfect, truck and trailer were dead level, WDH was set perfect with all axle weights verified on a CAT Scale.
​​​​​​The truck had plenty of power, it was however always exceeding max payload.
The problems occurred whenever I encountered cross winds, or when passed by a semi while towing. Both situations were always a white knuckle adventure. On one occasion a sudden thunderstorm hit me with heavy gusting cross winds. This sent the truck into a violent sway that engaged the automatic sway control. I am certain we would have rolled without it. My wife was screaming, she thought we were gonners. After I pulled over to ride out the storm, and change my shorts, I said enough. The F-150 just does not have the suspension to deal with a big box Travel trailer in those conditions, there is way too much sail area from the trailer box, and it exerts too much force on the truck.
I got rid of the F-150, and now have a F-350.
I tow the same trailer, and bigger loads with no issue at sll. I have towed with the F-350 in similar wind conditions, no problem, and I do not even notice the semi trucks going by.
World of difference, the F-350 is a rock solid stable towing platforms, and the stiff suspension can deal with adverse conditions when they occur.

 

Thanks screamingbear, that payload issue is what I run into as well. by my math (also verified on CAT SCALES) I have 1800 lbs of payload on my typical camping trips. Good to hear the trailer sway control works as intended, and it may have saved your life. It's a good system, but it's better not to need it. Glad you are happy with your setup now.

 

Get about 1000 or so miles on the tires and see if it is better then. Some break in is nice on them.

Griz

 

I'm new to the towing game and have a 2-part question on "cargo capacity" . . . is CC the mfg's maximum recommended weight (including passengers) that you can safely load into/onto your truck? If so, it appears a 5th wheel would limit what you could fit into the bed of the truck, not to mention how would you protect any cargo from rain, etc with a 5th wheel?

 

Cargo Capacity is all the weight that goes into the truck, without regard to if that weight is in the cab, in the bed (fifth wheel or gooseneck trailer) or on the bumper (bumper pull trailer). The Cargo Capacity is displayed on the sticker located on the driver's door frame.

If your Cargo Capacity is 3,000 lbs and your fifth wheel has a pin weight of 3,000 lbs then you have zero available Cargo Capacity with the fifth wheel connected. Don't forget to count the weight of the fifth wheel hitch, some of them can be quite heavy.

I don't have a fifth wheel trailer. As near as I can tell, most folks don't put much cargo in the bed with the trailer connected. Instead, cargo goes in the trailer or the cab.

 

No matter what your truck, you need to pay attention to that cargo capacity. My normal load for camping is around 900 lbs of people and stuff before I hitch up my trailer, and my kids are tiny. I'm sure folks with bigger trucks, bigger kids or more toys haul much more than that too! I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of folks were 1500lbs in an 8 foot box. Then of course whatever your trailer pin/tongue weight is.