79 f150 supercab 4x4 400ci C6 front is leaf spring, elevation 6100ft

Wife and I would like to buy a bumper pull camper. What is the legal towing limit for this truck?

We found a 26' dual axle camper dry weight as optioned 6248 with a max loaded (55gal hold tank and cargo) of 8200. The dealer said our truck could not legally tow this unit. He did not look at any books or go on line to look, just said no. Vehicle was to old. So that raised the question, "what total weight should we stay below? Might do a couple 7100ft elevation but mostly 4000ft and less.

Thanks, Chris

 

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...questions.html

 

There are too many variables when it comes to towing with a 40 plus year old vehicle. Sometimes due to a vehicles age and condition, a towing limit stated when the truck was new would need derated.....if there was a way for engineers to assess it but there is not. Just going by common sense my gut feeling is the trailer you are looking at is too heavy. Looking at linked chart shows that as well. I don't know your trucks condition but I'd stay under 5000lb to build in some margin of safety error....but that's a guess.
Having said that; Will the truck pull it even if it exceeds the rating? It should if its well maintained, and probably do it with no issues as long as you drive sensibly knowing the truck's as well as the drivers limitations and aren't unfortunate enough to get into a panic situation on the highway. But no one in their right mind is going to suggest you do that. I love my dentside but modern trucks are far superior when it comes to towing safety.
If you plan to tow, get an auxiliary tranny cooler if you don't have one.

 

I believe by the charts you are not able to tow that much weight. The SC/4X4 and elevation all take away from towing capabilities. Can you do it? Probably but tried myself with old 78 F150 on an advertised 21ft ULTRA Lite. County parks close to home not a big deal, across state, 2.5 hours of foot on the floor in 1st and second gear engine wringing its guts out. You're going to lose around 20% of the mighty 400 156 horsepower due to altitude. Not meant to come off as a downer, been in the trap before and still. Nice camper/ not enough truck/new truck, bigger camper/new truck/ fifth wheel looking better. Yes, you can do it, but reputable dealer shouldn't sell it saying you can. And yes, transmission cooler the size of radiator. 55 gallon holding tank full is going to weight 450 lbs.

 

I think if you had a 3/4 ton you’d be pretty close to okay. 8800 pounds is only a stout 2 axle flatbed and then maybe a 4500-5000 pound car. Which isn’t that big of a deal for a 3/4 ton and larger truck. I’ve never owned a 1/2 ton so I really can’t say what one can or can’t do but I think even with your truck set up really well you’ll be pushing the limits of it.

 

When I was coming up, 26' with dual axles and 8,000+ weight was a "home on wheels", a house trailer ... not a camper. A camper is (still is in our view) a single axle maybe 12 -14 feet long. A teardrop is a nice camper. When growing up, we had an Apache "Eagle" pop up, that was camping. Pulled really well behind a station wagon. Wife and I (and our dog) had a blast camping in the '77 of mine with fiberglass shell. TV was smaller than normal at home models, but we did have a TV.

 

Thanks for the replies. Thus does have the 250 front/rear leaf springs. The only 1/2 tone is the axles.

 

And Brakes. Springs are not very important when you can't get 12k lbs stopped before crunching the civic that just stomped the brakes for a squirrel crossing the road.

 

"Legal" is determined a few different ways. The weight your axles, wheels, and tires are rated for vs. the weight you actually have on them when you get scaled seems to be the most common way things are enforced. Keeping things under GCVW and GVW are another thing that can be checked easily. That being said, it doesn't seem like most people ever get checked unless they are commercial. Unless your setup looks way outside it's capabilities, you will not likely be bothered. You need to keep things safe and that probably starts with brakes, suspension, steering, and last of all enough engine.

You are way out there from what the factory rated the trucks at. If that is what you want to stick to you will need to go a few sizes smaller on the camper.

Here's a picture from a couple pages of the 1978 Ford Trucks owners manual. I doubt things changed much in 1 year, and this is the one I have saved on my computer for reference.

 

My FIL had a '77 F-250 and after he passed away, his son inherited it. Not long afterwards, I bought my '77 F-150. A year or two later, I and my Wife took my '77 F-150 on a trip to visit my BIL and his wife. One day in boredom and curiosity, and since he had a clean paved driveway, I slid under each truck, several times looking, measuring. The F-250 and F-150 had the exact same number and thickness rear spring leaves that were factory. The frames were of same thickness, same depth, same top and bottom rails. The F-250 did use different holes for mounting its front leaves than my F-150 used for the front coils. Both trucks had Dana 44 front axles. The F-250 had bigger brakes at both ends, and it had the bigger Dana rear axle. When I needed a new radiator, I went with a larger super cool version, the F-250 he had already had one. The F-250 did have extra slapper springs that my FIL had made up and installed using older narrower leaves with eyes cut off. The F-250 was rated for heavier carry weight, likely heavier tow weight as well. Was a car mag, back in the late '60s did a road test of a 440 GTX, an Impala 427-SS, and a Ford Galaxie 7 liter. They tested these cars together in quarter mile, top speed, stopping from 60 in repeated stops, and compared results. The really interesting thing was all tests were also done while pulling a tandem axle Airstream Travel Trailer. They also tested the cars without the trailer. All the cars stopped shorter from 60 mph in a panic stop with trailer in tow as the trailer had its own brakes and they were large enough that pounds per square inch brake swept area was better than that of the cars, so they helped stop the car too. I remember the trailer also was thought to help by reducing the car's rears from going so high unloading the rear tires. Of course, equalizer hitches were used.

For what is worth, just thought it was interesting then, and still do.

 

That's quite a bit of weight for a half ton. especially an old one. as far as the law goes in Oregon you'd be legal but I'm not sure in your state.

If you just want to get from your house to a camp spot down the road you could but you'll need an ez lift probably. if you really plan on putting some miles on I wouldn't it's going to be a white knucke show. get a smaller trailer or better yet a newer heavier duty pickup. .

 

black and blue - is the GVWR of your truck only 6400lbs?

 

Yes, be legal here too as long as he had registered the truck for sufficient weight. It's a little higher registration fee only.

 

Semi trucks are made to carry weight. So taking the trailer off the back of a semi truck can throw the weight distribution so bad a lot of times they actually stop WORSE than with a trailer. In the rain or snow a bob tail semi truck can be extremely dangerous. 8 tires in the back with no weight on them versus 2 tires in the front with a 2000 pound engine the cab the front suspension and every thing under the hood. A lot of times the only stuff behind the cab is the 5th wheel and axles. Which as heavy as they are don’t add up to aaaaallll the weight on the front.


Definitely possible for a truck to brake faster with a trailer depending on the type of brakes how they are tuned and the road conditions. Also possivle to have a trailers brakes set to tight so they lock up and smash you into something. Also possible to be to loose so they don’t work at all. Or for 1 side to stop working or any number of things.

 

Sorry for the delay. 71 hour week.

Yes on the 6400 GVWR. What else is the cert telling me?

Hijack my own thread. In the lower right corner in the box, what is the "F0094 / T0688" mean? I don't recall anyone ever discussing this information. Thanks