We have a 5th wheel trailer that has a GVWR of 11,870 #.

We're found a 1992 F250 4x4 super cab truck but don't have the towing specs for it. We haven't bought it yet.

We're wondering if anyone knows where to find this info such as a website. We've looked at ford.com but can't find anything for this year.

From the VIN it said the truck has a 7.5L and we have been told that we need this to tow our trailer.

But we also want to check out the towing capacities including the tongue weight.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

You will run up against GVWR before you go over GCWR. Your truck cannot weigh more than 8800 lbs on the two axles when hooked to the trailer, loaded for travel and full of fuel.

The 460 is a good strong motor but mileage will not be great. I would consider looking for an F350 single rear wheel diesel. It will do a better job with that load, give you another 1100 lbs of GVWR (although it probably will weigh 400 lbs more for a net gain of carrying capacity of 700 lbs), have better resale value and last longer than the gasser. If you can I would bump up a few years and go for a PowerStroke.

Keep in mind I am prejudiced in favor of the diesels.

Dave / Believer45

 

DiegoMarla, I replied to your other post about this in the 87-96 trucks forum thinking that you were talking about a bumper pull trailer. Some of that info still applies (except the part about 10-15% tongue weight) and now I see why you were so concerned about 'tongue wieght'. On a fifth wheel, it's called 'pin weight', but it's still the same thing.

On a fifth wheel trailer you want 20-25% of the total trailer wieght on the pin, and with a trailer that could weigh as much as almost 12K lbs, that's alot of pin weight for a 3/4 ton truck (could be almost 3000 lbs with the trailer fully loaded). I would recommend you go with at least an F350 single-rear-wheel truck, or ideally, an F350 Dually.

Here's an example of what I mean: my 1992 F350 CrewCab 4x4 Long Bed SingleRearWheel truck with 351 engine and C6 trans has a GVWR of 9200 lbs and wieghs 6000 lbs dead empty (no cargo, passengers, add-on equipment, or fuel). The truck usually weighs from 6400 to 6800 lbs in normal driving with some gas in the tanks, me and some junk inside and a cross-bed toolbox in the otherwise empty bed. What that means is that my payload available for a fifth wheel hitch (say, 200 lbs for the hitch) and trailer pin wieght could be from 2400-2800 lbs, BEFORE loading up the truck for a trip and topping off both tanks. Probably looking at more like 2000 lbs available for trailer pin weight. That would mean a max 10000 lbs trailer wieght, using the minimum 20% pin wieght ratio.

The F250 has a GVWR of 8800 lbs and will wiegh about the same as my truck because the 7.5L (460) engine weighs more than my 351 but the SuperCab weighs less than my CrewCab, if both trucks have an 8' bed (which you will want for pulling a 5th wheel). That leaves you with about 1600 lbs available for pin weight, which would limit your trailer weight to a max of 8000 lbs, using the same min 20% pin wt ratio as above.

An F350 DualRearWheel truck would have a GVWR of 10,000 lbs (or possibly up to 12,000 lbs depending on engine, transmission and axle ratio) and the extra 2 rear tires will be an added safety feature in case of a blowout as well as allowing the dually truck to reach a higher payload capacity and allowing you to hitch up a heavier trailer. Duallys trucks are also a very stable truck to tow with. My old Chevy dually was a great tow vehicle with 454 engine, TH400 trans and 4.10 axle ratio. Hauled and towed solid as a rock.

Whatever truck you decide to go with, you will want to stick with iether the 460 (7.5L) gas engine or the diesel and a 4.10 axle ratio for optimum tow ratings and towing performance. If the truck has oversize tires, you will want to re-gear the axles to a lower ratio (numerically higher) appropriate for the tire size. If you go to the '94 to '97 trucks, they had the Powerstroke Turbo Diesel in those years which is probably the best towing engine you could ask for in a truck from that era (besides the Cummins diesel in the Dodge). Lots of power and descent mileage too.

 

Believer45, looks like you and I both think alike! (I didn't see your reply while I was typing mine).

 

You went in for a lot more detail. Good post, very thorough.

Dave / Believer45

 

diegomarla
i believe your truck is rated to tow 12500 lbs if it has the 410 rear end.all though i see f-250's towing that and more.
your biggest concern will probably be the transmission
good luck.

 

A F-250 with the 460 will pull that fine, just make sure you have a quality brake controller. I tow a trailer that weighs more than that have have never had a problem or felt like the truck can't control the load. Hope this helps.