Looks like you're heading in the right direction and are rated for up to a 7900lb conventional trailer. Just need to weigh your truck with it loaded as you will be going on trips so you can estimate if the 6500lb trailer will allow you to stay within your truck's payload. I'm not sure what the "Special Edition package" is...might be just an appearance package. It may increase or it may decrease your truck's capability. For instance, not having it may allow you to tow 9100lbs. I don't know for sure.

The 80% rule is not actually a rule. It's really just the comfort zone for some people. With a good WDH and hitch sway bar I think you'll be fine with a 6500 lb trailer.

 

65Ford, thank you. I really appreciate your and others input in helping me. Sorry to say I have been working on trying to figure this out for a month and your help is invaluable to my understanding.

 

As 65Ford said, the 80% was put out there to make for a more comfortable towing experience. The more weight you pull behind you the more it stresses the truck and the driver. Pulling at 100% of your rated weight on the flats is easy. Pulling at 100% going over 11,000' mountain passes is a different matter. For almost every camping trip I do, my 120 gallon fresh water tank is empty or has only a few gallons in it. A full tank is right at 1,000 lbs. I try to fill up with water as close to my destination as possible. I do a lot of boondocking. Sometimes I have to be a little creative in finding a water source.

My prior truck was a 2007 Nissan Titan with a tow capacity of 9,200 lbs. My trailer is a toy hauler with a GVWR of 11,000 lbs. I pulled the trailer with my Titan when the trailer was completely empty and weighed less than 8,000 lbs. It was no fun. Getting over 45 MPH was sketchy. Using my trailer isn't a very good example because of the high tongue weight an empty toy hauler has. My point being that just because the manufacturer says you can tow X amount doesn't mean it's going to be an easy tow.

 

HRTKD thank you for your input. I read that some feel manufactures inflate their numbers to account for your point. Do you feel this is a accurate point of view?

 

It's not so much that they inflate their numbers, it's more a case of knowing the whole story. Which one of the two trailers do you think would be easier to tow with a truck that is rated for the trailer's weight?
1. A camping type trailer that is let's say 30' long, 98" wide, and 12' in height. with xx sq. ft. of frontal area that will have a lot of wind resistance at highway speed. This trailer also has a certain amount of tongue weight that is pretty much a "fixed" number because of where the storage compartments are located.
2. A flat bed trailer that hauls construction equipment...say a bobcat, a small bulldozer, etc. This trailer is 30' long, 98" wide, very little frontal area for wind resistance, and when loaded, weighs the exact same weight as the travel trailer in example #1 above. This trailer is loaded with equipment that can be placed directly over the axles...or slightly forward of the axles, or even slightly behind the axles.....depending on how much tongue weight you want it to have.

So, as you can see, two different trailers that weigh exactly the same in my example, yet one is going to be much easier to tow than the other. My point is this. When a truck manufacturer states trailer towing capacity, they are talking about "best case scenario"....which would be the flat bed trailer. But because people buy and tow camping trailers too, they automatically think the tow rating is for a camping trailer....and it is NOT. Nowhere will you find a truck manufacturer that will state their truck's trailer towing capacity is rated for a CAMPING TRAILER.....it just says trailer. So the truck that might do just fine towing that xxxx lb.flatbed trailer and may really struggle with a same xxxx lb. Camping trailer....because of wind resistance and tongue weight.

 

Adding to xrated's excellent points, it's also WHERE you tow. Towing in flat Florida is one thing. Towing in the mountains of Colorado is very different.

 

That ^^^^^^^^ is exactly correct! The truck I had when I lived in IL was fine for my enclosed trailer. After I moved to E. TN.........not so much. Even our small mountains (small when compared to the Rocky Mountains) were too much for it.

 

Thanks. Great example.

 

Frontal area is covered on page 15 of the towing chart from Ford. The OP's F150 falls under the category of F150 with >7700 lb tow capability. The OP's 6500 lb TT will probably be around 8 feet wide and roughly 7 feet from roof to bottom...so about 56 sq ft.

Yeah, you'll notice the wind drag especially over 65 mph will start dropping the mpg. And you'll eventually find hills that require you slow to below 60 mph so you'll have move to the right lane and take your time. I try to remind people it's a recreational vehicle so try to enjoy the ride. Helps to avoid heavy traffic times.

I've never driven an F150 with the 5.0 L. Based on its specs, I think you'll be good with a 6500 lb TT. Today's engine lineup is formulated differently than they were as recently as 20 years ago. Over head cams with variable cam timing makes for a motor that purrs at idle but can smoothly handle more rpms when needed. This makes for an engine that is relative smaller for better mpg when power is not needed but an engine that can make power (at higher rpm) when needed. And don't forget modern trannies with enough gears to keep the engine in the "sweet spot".

 

We have a 2013 F-150 with the 5.0 in it, but it is the wife's daily driver. We don't tow with it. Runs really good. 46k on it currently.

We tow with the F-250 6.2L and it is nice pulling our little 35' TT at about 8500lbs loaded out. It sits when not towing.

Griz