Hey guys,
Have a quick towing question. This weekend I am supposed to haul a mobile restroom trailer from the Bay Area of California to Yakima Washington area (775 miles) The trailer is new and has a full braking system (I have a controller on the truck) it has a ring hitch to pull it from as well. The trailer is just at the legal limit of 8'6" wide and 11' tall and 30' long. My truck is as listed in the subject, fairly simple late model 7.3 with an auto 4R100. The mods are as follows: 4" turbo back, banks 6 gun tune, Tranny rebuilt with higher than stock quality parts 30K ago, Turbo rebuilt same time as tranny to stock specs.
I know the bumper pull (especially ring hitch) capacity for this truck is right about the 10-12K range. My question is, how safe is it to tow this load, both for the truck's health and mine? The route is fairly flat and I'll be going through the night so not a lot of traffic or anything like that, cooler outside temps too. I have towed 8-9K pounds of gravel off the bumper of my old F350 before but have never used this particular truck for a load of this size. Any input would be appreciated, the reviews out there currently are pretty all over the place and so I thought I would ask on here to get a consensus.

 

Well your max weight is 12,500lb Page 19 https://www.fleet.ford.com/resources...s/2003_All.pdf
Taking tongue weight, bed cargo and any passengers into account also adds to the max weight. So Ford says, 12,500lbs MAX, other guys have hauled more, It really depends on how comfortable you are going over the limit, the terrain, your speed and your driving habits all determine if you want to do it. Mind you if you're overloaded and comfortable driving that way, then all you have to worry about is the unexpected driver or animal jumping out in front of you, causing you to lose control. You are libel for your load in an accident, even if they pull out in front of you. Good luck with your trip.

 

You have a class III hitch on your truck. The gross trailer weight for a class III is 6000 lbs with a 600 lb tongue weight. With stabilizer bars that weight rating goes to 10k lbs. If you are using a pintle hitch (ring) then your limit is 6k lbs total trailer weight. You can't use stabilizers on pintle hitches.

It's your trip, you are going to be overweight. If you harm anyone it's your responsibility even if you are not at fault. You are going to be towing in states that will crush you like a bug if something happens. Be careful!

 

I would confirm the hitch ratings by looking at the receiver. it could be that it has been upgraded.

I would also confirm the TBC and the 7 pin connector works beforehand.

I myself would not have a problem with it as long as the receiver hitch and wiring/TBC are in good working order.

 

Thanks for the advice. Tow went great, no issues with truck or trailer. Hauled every grade and handled as expected.