Okay, so I'm not really regretting my purchase, and I fully understand that it's completely on me to know the capacities of my own individual truck, but has anyone else found themselves disappointed at the actual payload capacity of their F-250 once they ran the numbers?

Okay, let's take a step back...if you look at the payload numbers listed in the 2019 Ford Super Duty Brochure for the F-250 Crew Cab 4x4 with 160" wheel base, they list a payload capacity of 3,480 lb with the standard line that payload capacity varies according to an individual truck's configuration, blah blah blah. Now check the 2019 Ford Super Duty Pickup Trailer Towing Guide and the 5th-Wheel/Gooseneck Towing with the diesel engine and 3.55 rear end is listed as 14,700 lbs. Sweet. Assuming up to 25% tongue/pin weight, I should be good to tow a trailer in the 14k lb range. That makes for a badass and very capable truck and really opens up my options for a future upgrade to a 5th wheel travel trailer.

The problem comes when you weigh your truck (or read the payload capacity off of the door jamb sticker) and work through the fact that your payload capacity is really 10,000 lb minus your curb weight. In my case, for a King Ranch F-250 (8,100 lb according to the scales), I'm left with a payload capacity of just 1,900 lb. That's only 55% what the brochure suggests for payload capacity (and not even a full ton of deer corn)! Keeping our 25% tongue/pin weight estimate, my 5th-wheel/gooseneck capability just dropped to 7,600 lb. That just flat out sucks!

Now consider that conventional towing suggests a Max tongue weight of 15% of the trailer's weight, meaning that my bumper pull towing capability is 12,666 lb. Doesn't that just seem odd that the bumper pull trailer capacity is so much higher than the gooseneck capacity? That seems counter to everything that I thought I understood about gooseneck towing!

Ugh.

 

That number listed is for a striped down XL with zero options and the 6.2L motor. Ford doesn't know what options you are going to pick, so they go with the best case scenario and it's up to you to understand that every option you choose subtracts from your payload. Anyone wanting to tow a 5th wheel needs to be looking at an F350 at the minimum.

My Diesel 4x4 CC XLT has almost 2500 lbs payload, which is exactly what I need to tow my toy hauler and have a comfortable margin. It's a lot cheaper to register an F250 where I'm at, so the F350 makes no sense in my case... But I knew this going in because I did my homework and bought what I needed.

 

I chose a 250 understanding that the payload capacity would limit gooseneck/5th wheel towing options. Not a problem for me since I have no plans to do any gooseneck/5th wheel towing. The conventional tow limit of 14700 lbs should be sufficient for my needs. But again, I also knew this going into it. My payload sticker says 2239lbs.

 

Hi there, Im Assuming you have the powerstroke diesel engine since your payload is only 1,900lbs.
What happened here is what happens to a lot of people bc auto manufactures are not exactly 100% clear on how the payload of a specific vehicle is calculated.

The base model trim level XL work version with rubber floors and no cruise control with a gasoline 6.2L engine will have that maximum 3,000-whatever Ford advertises. Since your truck has the diesel engine that is 700+lbs heavier then The 6.2L gas engine, you lost 700+lbs of legal payload. Since you have a King Ranch, it is loaded up with 100s of pounds worth of leather seats, nav, running boards, tailgate step, fender flares, bigger wheels, sliding rear glass, glass roof, all the extra wiring for all the extra electronics, & da da da and on & on. All those added options add weight to the vehicle counting against your legal payload limit. Also, all those added options count against the vehicles Gross Combined Weight Rating.

So Ford didn't lie to you or anyone who buys pickup trucks from GM or Dodge. All vehicles are calculated this way. Even cars.

A conventional pull trailer is ideally loaded properly with 10-15% tongue weight. A 5er or gooseneck is ideally loaded no less then 17% - 25% hitch pin weight. A 5er or gooseneck will require more available legal payload.

I had a 2017 F150 HDPP with 2,523lbs legal payload and i towed around a 41.5ft triple axle 5th wheel toy hauler RV that weighed in at 10,300lbs unloaded. Hitch pin weight was normally around 2,000lbs when loaded to 12,000lbs. It gave me just enough payload room for the lady and the dog. I also ran a super light Andersen 5er hitch that was an incredible 39lbs vs 150lb for a normal 5er hitch. The hitch counts against legal payload.
All was good for 8,000miles in 10 months until the 5.0L gave out in the Colorado high altitude thin air + 93 oct tow tune with no 93 oct available out there. Ping ping ping clunk clunk clunk. BOOM! 🤣

Your truck has the engine and trans to move a 25,000lb trailer hooked to it no problem at all. The issue is the springs and brakes.

Will your F250 tow a 15,000lb loaded 5th wheel? Yes it will. Will it sag way down and possibly hand poorly? Yes. Will its brake components be overworked? Probably.
Can you add some Timbrens or air bags(i dont advise air bags) or helper springs and make it handle better? Yes.
Do people do it every hour of the day? Yes.

I however will not tell you to go ahead and add helper springs and go for it. Some will

Will you be over your legal payload limit? Yes.

Is this a long and drawn out explanation? Yep! Haha.


I hope this sheds some light on the subject of payload.

 

StonedGrey, why do you advise against airbags?

 

Only item I would disagree with here is the issue of brakes. I'm not sure why the brakes would be any more overworked than on a 11500GVWR SWR F350, as they have the same braking system.

 

Ram now makes individual payloads available
to consumers.
It's time Ford does the same.

 

I spent a lot of time asking around for payload stickers on 250's before I bought to get an idea of what to expect based on selected options. Ironically the High Capacity Trailer Tow package is one of the most penalizing options in terms of lost payload. And camper package, moonroof, etc. I'm expecting my recent order to come in at about 2180, which is enough for my needs.

 

I didn't need to run the numbers on my truck. The available payload is on the yellow sticker inside the drivers side door. I knew exactly what I was getting before I purchased my truck. The payload was the main reason I have an F350 over the F250. I look at the brochure payload the same as I do the dry weight of travel trailers... Its just a ballpark number and what is on the lot is the number that matters. I am confused are you just upset that the brochure advertises the max payload of a barebones truck and towing capacities?

 

superduty towing guide

It looks like ford goes with a 15% king pin weight. I'll admit I was frustrated at my swb F350 taking a 3000lb conventional towing hit over the long wheel base, but I just weighed my BP trailer loaded and it was 13640, truck with tools is 9100. I think we're getting a little spoiled with towing capacities now, I know I am.

 

That’s exactly why I went from a 150, to a 250, to a 350, then a 450, and then I tried to buy a freight liner m2 - 106.

no matter how much truck you have, it will never be enough.

 

I have been struggling with this in my move to get back to slide in Truck Camper...start playing around with 5000++ lbs sitting in the bed of your truck and pulling a trailer too!

I won't claim to know it all, but there are a FEW on here that do and have enlightened me.

Yes, the numbers are low when you begin to look at them on the door jam, in short, this is the Legal arm of Ford or GM or Tam talking, this is their protection. In reality, the trucks are overbuilt, WAY overbuilt, but only you can make the call as to your safety and comfort zone. For that reason, I am stepping up to an F 450 for my next truck that will haul my next Truck Camper.

IMO:

At the Super Duty level, Ford has 2 trucks, F 350/450, not sure what the 250 does for anyone. If you are looking at dollars then the 250 is no bargain as for a few dollars more you get a 350, try it, I did, do an online build 1 on 1 250 vs 350 same same, I was apart by less than a $1k bucks and a lot more truck. When I did the same build: F 350 vs F 450 King Ranch, CC, LB there was $14xx difference.

You cannot increase your tow/haul capacity, BUT you can increase the safety and performance envelope BIG TIME!

Toss 5500 lbs in the bed of a F 350 KR CC LB dually and it wallows like a pig in fresh chit, but with a LITTLE $ you make that rig handle like a sports car.
TorkLift Stable Loads Upper springs only
Hellwig BIG WIG rear sway bar
Rancho RS 9000 adjustable shocks

Do those 3 things and you will be amazed, even my wife could not believe the difference in handling.

You might NOTE, there are NO airbags! I have used them before, I bought into the mantra of airbags are the end all be all for y our truck, AND cures athletes foot, bad breath and a whole litany of fixes...it does NONE of that...OK when I ran them on my F 350 dually with my truck camper, they would allow me to level out my truck when I overnighted in a camp...I also had 4 electric legs that allowed me to do same. In addition, airbags provide a softer ride and if you believe that a softer ride is a solution to road wallow and poor handling then go ahead but all you are doing is increasing the amount of wallow and sloppiness along with decreasing your safety and performance envelope!!!

Airbags have been around a LONG LONG time and properly, I have run them on multiple vehicles over many years and I have no problem with them when employed in the correct application...

 

You have the truck you have and there is nothing you can do to change the payload sticker. The biggest difference between a F-250 and F-350 is the fact that a 250 is assigned a 10,000 lbs. GVWR and the 350 gets a 11,500 GVWR. The good news is, from a mechanical standpoint, your F-250 is 90% of a F-350 equipped in the same way. Unless you ordered the High Capacity Tow Package, you have a different (but still very capable) rear axle. You also have different springs in the rear. Everything else; chassis, engine, brakes, cooling system, etc. is identical. Suspension is about the easiest and cheapest thing to upgrade. From a practical standpoint, you will have no problem preparing your F-250 to safely tow a reasonably sized fifth wheel but you will definitely exceed the GVWR/payload rating of your truck (it is easy to exceed those numbers on a well equipped SRW 350). If you go that route, I suggest you stay within your truck's tire, wheel and axle ratings. If you aren't comfortable with that, you can buy a new truck or stick to bumper pull trailers.

 

I don’t buy a new rig very often so I lived with my 04 F250’s lackluster payload for 14 years. I had a flatbed on it so I ended up adding a pair of AirLift bags to keep it from bottoming out when I had a pallet of tile on board. Yes, it was technically overloaded at that point but it worked. When I went shopping for this new 18 I made it a point to get a beefier truck. At this rate I’ll know exactly what I want/need in a truck about the same time I die.

 

If you need a light duty truck...buy a light duty truck

if you need a medium duty truck ...buy a medium duty truck

most insurance companies won’t insure passenger use of heavy duty trucks