I think I have this figured out but not sure.........
GVWR....6000lbs
GAWR front....3680
GAWR rear....3550
4.2L..Rear axle ratio 3.55/16
GCWR auto trans. 4X4 10.000 lbs
Maxium trailer weight 5400 lbs
This info was taken from the manual and door pillar label.
So the maxium tow weight is the 5400 lbs, I am looking at a small 5th wheel.
I know that this is the max. weight so if the trailer weighs in at 3900(empty) I should be ok ?

I should add in here also that we only travel about 1000 miles or less a year
The truck is a 2000 Ford xl150 4wd long box with 19000 original miles.

 

Sounds right to me. Which small fifth wheel are you looking at??

I tow mine with a B4000 (Ranger), dry weight is 4100 lbs. It's a pretty comfortable ride. Been towing with this configuration since 2000 on the same truck.

And just make sure you have all the other obvious things-Trans. cooler, Good trailer brake controller, towing experience.

 

Don't forget the weight of the hitch, and watch tongue weight carefully. The bed capacity of that truck is 1500lbs, but over 1000lbs and you'll see serious drop. Do you think that it may result in more space and more enjoyment to look at getting a tagalong trailer?

Also, remember that the 6000 rating includes all tongue weight, plus the truck and everything in it. You might want to weigh your truck first to find out what your weight will be. You may find a fifthwheel puts too much weight on the axle.

Second, the 4.2L engine is very weak for towing, you may find yourself extremely disapointed with its towing ability. Definately see if you can rent/borrow a trailer that you can load up to 5500lbs, and drive with it before setting yours up. You may find the pleasure of camping severely overweighed by the displeasure of driving anywhere. You would hate to find this out after investing the money into the rig.

 

Ford spends millions of dollars every year advertising the towing and hauling abilities of it's trucks. They say their trucks will out perform any other truck on the road. They have been the number one work vehicle for 30 years, because they do more than they are rated for.

We have a new poster come here asking about using his truck to pull a relative small trailer less than a thousand miles a year, and he is told that his mighty work machine won't pull a little red wagon. We need to get real here folks.

I guess that is why Explorer's with wheelbarrow boxes and Honda ridge runners make it into the truck field.

Any F150 that won't handle more than 1500 lbs in it's box needs to have a well placed .45 bullet put between it's head lights. IMHO


John

 

Apples to apples, yes, they will out-tow and out-haul. Compare the F150 V6 to a 1500V6 and you'll see a difference. Compare a F150 V6 to a Tundra and you'll see the Ford in the dust. Compare a F150 5.4L to a Tundra and you'll come out on top.

Also notice that the vehicles quoted when Ford says they are the best are ones completely optimized for that paticular job; for the towing example, its a stripped down model with two wheel drive and the biggest payload package and engine. Start adding features (ex/crew cab) and you'll see that capacity drop a ton (literally).

I DO stress my F150 to the limits of its abilities, and put 1500lbs in it day after day (towing a 7000lbs gooseneck). My recommendations are from experience with that paticular vehicle doing the job he wants to do. Can it do it? Yes. But will it be pleasent? Comfortable? Or white-knuckle? That's why I recommended TRYING that setup before spending the money. You can rent a trailer pretty cheaply if you don't have a friend who can loan one. With a 200hp engine you might find 5500lbs wishful thinking. Doesn't matter if you are towing 1000 miles or 10,000 miles, if every mile is living hell. And that's what it can turn into on a windy highway going up and down hills in rush hour traffic. His truck will pull a little red wagon, mine will tow a medium sized red wagon. But when you push things to the limits of their design, while its still physically able, performance and safety start to decrease. Find out first if your truck can handle that kind of load. It may very well be able to. But you don't want to spend all that money and then park the trailer because its too hair-raising to drive.

 

I agree with Nathan on this one. It's better to be safe than sorry. I have seen some amazing dangerous loads pulled behind all makes and models. But if it were me I would like to be safe and safe for other drivers on the road than be careless with a load. If my truck isn't big enough I'll find one that is or I won't haul the load. Your truck still has to be able to tow and more importantly stop a load. You never know what can go wrong, brake controllers can die, wires can come unhooked, wires can brake, you still want to be able to stop the load if something happens with just the truck brakes in an emergency. Also the commercials about ford trucks always reads at the bottom with a properly equiped vehicle. I personally wouldn't consider V6 F-150 properly a equiped to pull heavy loads. More than maybe a boat and trailer.

 

Well that kind of sucks I guess I thought for sure that the ford would handle it no problem.
As far as towing I have been towing something around most of my driving years, right now I have a small travel trailer (17 ft) that I tow with my 10 year old Dodge Caravan that has 265 thousand on it and it pulls it with no problems (3.8 V6 auto) but the wife saw this little fith wheel and wanted it so I checked it out as far as weight and thought it would be ok but maybe not...... I thought that the towing cap. was more if you where looking at a 5th wheel according to some charts I was looking at.
I do have all the nessacary items such as elec. brakes, tranny cooler and wiring...etc
CougarXR02 the trailer i was looking at was a 20ft Terry 5th wheel actual weight was 3795 dry. and as your set up goes I have a friend that has the b4000 4x4 and he tows his old trailer with wieght distribution hitch and it weighs 4500 dry (has been for at least 5 or 6 years)
So the majority are telling me that the Ford just won't do it or it would be a night mare trying....?

 

Hello all;
Something else to keep in mind, many smaller (think V6 here) trucks have an additional rating shoved into the manual in very fine print that is a "frontal area" rating. What this means is how much wind you are cutting. Stick your arm out the window at 60 MPH and you will see what I mean. I currently tow a 5th wheel with a F 250 with a 460. For me the weight is not really an issue but the trailer has a HUGE frontal area. I can stand up straight (I'm 6'4") in the up stairs. Currently I am near the limit for the truck power wise due to this wind resistance.

Even if you are within the weight requrements you may be better with a standard trailer over a 5th wheel. The energy required to tow it is significantly less for the same weight.

I do not know the ratings for the F150 with a 4.2. You may want to do some homework on this.

 

Umaxman: we aren't saying "A" Ford can't do it... we're questioning whether or not YOUR's will do the job with enough power left over to keep everything safe. It may very well pull nicely; I don't know! But you may want to try it first. The v6 already is working pretty hard to move a full load, even without a trailer. The wind resistance comment is very important as well... is this trailer you are evaluating oversized? or is it an older style, more shaped like a horse trailer? (ie not overlapping the truck like those monster RV's you see cruising the highway) No offense intended whatsoever, but a V6 pickup of any make or model is not designed to tow large loads. They are made for towing a mower, boat, atv, etc. They are not really intended for RV's, horse trailers, etc. I know what my V8 F150 can do, and I push it hard. I also know what the V8 F150's can not do, and pulling a RV is one of the things that I'd hesitate doing, myself. The wind alone can make problems.

 

One thing on the empty weight of 3900#. Remember your other half will add a lot of stuff to the trailer. Mine added 1900# to our 30 ft and she wasn't done!!! We have a scales next door so weighed it while she was gone to the store. Sushh don't tell her..

 

We have a new poster come here asking about using his truck to pull a relative small trailer less than a thousand miles a year, and he is told that his mighty work machine won't pull a little red wagon. We need to get real here folks.(qoute)wow i thought UMAXMAN was asking for some advice thats what he got good advice!jmo nice job grafeki!

 

Towing 1K a year. If you don't encounter 6% grades and not on the fast lane. You'll get there OK but just take it slow and easy. might want to invest in a good engine and tranny temp gauge to be safe. Enjoy the ride....

 

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/677168-towing-weight-calculations-guides-and-defs.htm

In the past 8 years we have traded trailers 3 times, and each time the trailer got bigger. We also went from Chevy Suburban & tagalong to F250 5.4 & 10K 5th wheel to F350 V10 & 14.5K fifth wheel. If I had it to do over, I'd buy the the bigger truck in the beginning. Big truck, small trailer works fine, & leaves room to upgrade.. If you decide you like the rv scene, the pressure is always there for a newer, bigger, fancier trailer, so get the bigger truck first time out. JMHO.....l

 

As of right now he has a smaller trailer, and tow vehicle. He has decided it might be worth stepping up. So it isn't like he is going to find himself not liking RVing, or liking it more.

If you take a look in my Picture Gallery on here (99 Ranger, titled "Towing with Fords") You will see I have a 24' Terry Resort Fifth wheel. I believe the 20 footer has the same roof line as mine, which isn't any higher than the standard Tag-a-long. And I am convinced after the years of towing this setup that having it in the bed even further reduces drag. It makes a steady step up from the front bumper, to hoodline, to truck roofline, to trailer roofline. There isn't swirling air in the bed between cab and camper.

Also in that album you will see pictures of a 4.2 powered 150 5-speed towing that kind of size and weight in a Tag-a-long. That had 3.08s. Was rated for 2000 lbs. Power wasn't an issue. And that was climbing 8% grades into New Hampshire, as well as 8% and 6% grades over the Berkshires to New York. As for in the fast lane, when towing these size trailers you shouldn't be in the fast lane. In fact around here it's illegal.

That all being said, there are some things that would make me say no. If you have a 4x4 auto with that 4.2, I think you would be better off upgrading trucks. 4x2, I say yes. If you do long hauls with a weeks worth of gear and food and full tanks of fresh water and a bike rack off the back, you might be overdoing it. But it will do it. I am willing to guess, like the majority of travel trailer owners, you are mostly a weekend warrior type. Camp the holiday weekends within a couple hours of home, at a campground that has hook ups. And the occasional week vacation. If this is the case, go for it.

Also consider the expense of the fifth wheel hitch. It you find you want a bigger truck, the hitch will switch over, but you are limited to a pick up for the fifth wheel. You can't decide your next tow vehicle you want to be a Van, or SUV for instance. Unless you change your trailer as well.

I love stories of the Chrysler mini vans towing. My Uncle towed a 24' Layton from 1990 (new) til 1998 with a 1989 Grand Caravan, 3.0 V6. It was the one year it was rated for 4500 lbs, then they limited all FWD to 3500. The Torque curve on that engine peaked at 2000 rpms and didn't drop off til almost 5000. He turned 100k miles towing from Boston to the Dakotas. Replaced that with the Mountaineer in my album at 160K. The kids continued to drive that van into the 200k's. He got a lot of strange looks at campgrounds.

 

Thanks for the info and I am taking it all in and listening to it.....
I guess I am the week end warrior type as it is just on weekends and holidays and probably not further than 50 to 70 miles away and no fast highways.
My kids have grown and have their own cars and tents if they go with us( not cool to show up at the camp ground with your parents) So it is just the wife and me.
We do not fill the water tanks......etc as you are right there are hook ups at the camp grounds.
We love the small trailer that we have and it has lots of room unless it starts to rain hard all weekend and the kids want to come in But what she doesn't like is having to make up the bed every night and the small older style 5 th wheel has the bunk over the truck. It is an older style and not one of the hugh big ones that you can stand up in. As far as upgrading the truck......not a chance as I would never find another one in mint shape with that kind of mileage (19000 still has original tires and slept every night in a heated garage)
I guess what got me interested in 5th wheels is everyone that I talk to tells me that they tow easier than a tag along and the dealers even told us that also(Ford not RV ) I am concerned for the safety of us and others that is why I am asking instead of just jumping on this trailer right away.
I am not trying to start any fueds here and if I do I am sorry, My next question has to be ...would a bigger tag along of around the same weight (3900 lbs) with a weight dist. hitch pull easier than the 5th wheel type? and again thanks for the info I do appr. it