2005 F-150 4.6L, 3.55 Gears

I went to a trailer place to have a receiver hitch installed, and without even looking at my truck (I told him it was an '05 F-150, nothing more), he said that it would not tow over 5000 pounds safely. This was brought up because I asked about a better than standard (Class III?) receiver hitch (something that would stand up to more than 5000 pounds) with possibly some sort of weight distribution setup to stop/help any squatting that might occur.

Is what he is saying true? I've towed 5000 pounds from the bumper over a long distance and it seemed fine. His point was, I think, not if the truck would pull the weight (I feel like it could stand more than 5000), but that it was not safe to do this. I think it would be, but I've been wrong before. What made me suspicious though is when I asked about the advertisements that Ford makes about F-150's having a 9900 pound towing capacity (I hope I didn't make a mistake with that quote), and he just laughed, shook his head, and repeated that it just wasn't safe.

All I wanted was to be able to pull a flatbed trailer (16' or 18' maybe) with possibly a car or something relatively heavy on it without relying on the bumper.

So, which one of us is off base here? I feel like it will do more safely with the correct setup (receiver hitch, weight distribution, a trailer with good brakes), but he does not.

Thanks in advance for your advice.

 

Sounds like one of those guys that think you need a 1 ton truck to haul any thing over the weight of of a 4wheeler.

Is he full of it?

I think so.....but the 4.6L combined with those 3.55's sure aren't helping a whole lot either.

However your setup has a max trailer of ~6000lbs according to this link. https://www.ford-trucks.com/specs/2005/2005_f150_1.html

 

The owner of the dealer where I bought my truck has a 2004 f-150 screw and he pulls a 24' enclosed haulmark trailer with a 3200lb. car, cabinets in the front with a spare tranny, jacks, fuel, generator and more. In the back of the truck he had 45 cases of beer and an engine block and pulled all the way from milwaukee to st.louis. He has the stock reciever that comes on the 150 tow package. He uses a weight distrubtion hitch with the sway bars and it pulls fine. I have a 2004 scab and pulled an open car trailer with a station wagon and had no problem. I would get whatever class reciever ford puts on their trucks, I think it's a IV, and a good draw bar. Just make sure the trailer is loaded right and you shouldn't have a problem. I hope this helps

 

According to Ford Motor Company web site, your truck can tow between 6000 and 6400 lbs. w/ a properly equipped truck (class 3 receiver,weight dist., trailer brake.). You did not say if your truck is a 4x4, 4x2, reg. cab, scab etc. but it is not safe to bumper tow 5000 lbs. even though it may say it on the bumper. Maximum tow capacity includes the weight of trailer and cargo and passengers and amount or fuel ,etc. Your truck w/ the above equipment should tow 5000 lbs. just fine.

 

Actually that would be the Gross Combined Weight Restriction. The maximum tow capacity is only the weight of the towed load. And that can actually vary based on how much load is in the truck at the time.

 

Heck, Ford rates the Ranger with a class III at 5,980. I am sure that little truck could pull this much. I am not sure it could stop it.

If you go to the Ford site and select any truck you will see a "towing guide" link on the left. Select that and enter your truck and it should tell you all you need to know.

For the room: Isn't the factory hitch a class IV for the 150?

 

Why do some of these things hurt tow capacity? Or are they factoring in tongue weight or truck weight somehow?


4 x 4 = subtract 300 lb
SCab = subtract 300 lb
6'bed = subtract 1400 lb
5'bed = subtract 1700 lb
SCrew = same as 6'SCab (because of same wheel base?)




5.4L/3.73/SCab:
5 ft bed = 8100 lb
6 ft bed = 9500 lb

5.4L/3.73/RCab:
6 ft bed = 8400 lb
8 ft bed = 9800 lb


Actually it makes more sense when looking at the GCWR, Gross Combined weight rating (including trailer, payload, everything) It look like it's based purely on wheelbase and gearing... and the different trucks weights affect the leftover weight for towing.

Notice the 8' reg cab and 6' SCab and 5' SCrew have the same GCWR.

 

Towing is complex. Some things increase capacity; some things decrease capacity.

Things that increase capacity:
Longer wheelbase
Stronger rear end
Lower rear end ratio
Bigger brakes
Lower tranny gear ratios
automatic tranny
Bigger engine
Bigger radiator
Bigger tranny cooler
Weight distributing hitch
Sway control
Spring capacity
Frame strength

Things that decrease capacity:
Faster driving
Steeper hills
Rougher roads
Larger frontal area of trailer
Cargo load in tow vehicle
4x4 because 4wd components are heavy (extra diff, xfer case, etc)
Larger diameter tires
High elevation
Winding roads
Traffic congestion

Most of these are safety-related; some are not. Also, people seem to think they should be able to tow at the posted speed limit. This is generally a mistake.

 

Accordinging to my '04 F-150 slick page sales brochure any F-150 can tow over 9000# gross. However, the guy who is putting on your hitch may be more inclined to be talking about the type of hitch you are having installed.

I have built utility trailers and applied hitches to vehicles. There are some vehicles I would not put a hitch on because of the unstable hook up. In the case of the F-150 I would get more data from the guy who is putting on your hitch.

FYI: I recall that I and another welder refused to put a hitch on a Camaro due to the thin, paper strength construction of the frame.

 

I haven't taken a close look at the factory tow package, but the receiver hitch is seperate from the bumper and Ford signed their name to it.

 

If I am not mistaken the F150 when factiory equipped has a ClassIV hitch, You are being limited by your ClassIII hitch, 500 tongue, 5,000tow, with probably 8,000 in WD configuration. The Weight carrying rear step bumper according to the Ford Two guide will handle 5,000 tow and 500 tongue load.

 

I went to my ford dealer to have a hitch put on my truck, i asked about a Class IV and service man said that the largest reciever ford sells is a class III, so I think I will be buying an aftermarket one...

 

they come factory with the IV so ford does have them.

 

Interesting. I think when I went to pep boys the only hitches for sale where class 3 and lower. So maybe I have a class for receiver with a class 3 hitch in it.

 

Go do a search on the web, you can get Class IV for the fullsize F150 - no problem. The attached link has them . Don't think I would assume that the Ford hitch is Class III based on what PEP Boys can get!

http://www.hitch-web.com/vyr.asp?OID=8

Do a web search you will find many Class IV forthe F150

Here's another:
http://search.cartserver.com/search/...F-150&GO=GO%21