I believe the consensus is:

- Go for it
- Use/get a Brake Controller
- Don't drive like a lobotamy patient

 

Well if that's all you meant I appologize Its quite common to get into a big argument about what's legal and what's not... and how your statement I'm quoting is not actually true since technically (as much as I agree with you and disagree with the legal eagles here) the manufacturer recommendations are not legally binding in any way, even to the law. They will help establish FAULT if you overload and then get into an accident, but they aren't ticketable if you don't get into a wreck. The only legal requirement to drive a vehicle on roads is to have it registered for the correct weight that you are hauling. Unfortunately. I think manufacturer ratings should have much more weight than they do, as far as holding up in court against stupid people towing WAY more than is safe.

 

I pull my 30 foot Cardinal with my 03 PS and I am within my weight limits and my truck handles it with no problems.

 

Aaron,

The question would be what available PAYLOAD do you have on your truck?

The link provide in post #5 indicates a possible payload of ~3000# on your model F350.

Given how big or small your family is and what you carry in your truck and what options came on your truck...you 'could' reduce that number to 2000#. Large boys in the back seats and a decked out truck could easily eat up 1000# of 'rated' payload.

Now if the 5'r went 15,000#...20% of that is 3000# on the pin. Right there you 'could' be 1000# OVER your trucks GVWR which looks to be 9900#. That would be something to check.

The easiest way is to simply load up your truck as you would for camping...people, gear, fuel, firewood, EVERYTHING you would carry IN the truck...get a weight...subtract that weight from 9900# to see how much room you have for pin weight.

The discussions on how much OVER GVWR you can go...I won't get into...Ford rates your particular model at 'xxxx' on the door sticker. Your weight from the scale is what you added to the truck on your way to your 'xxxx' GVWR. The delta is what is left for the PIN weight...

It is a PERSONAL choice to exceed limits and not something to be done lightly.

Good luck...having REAL weights helps you know what you are working with on YOUR truck...each FAMILY and interior LOAD before PIN is different. A small couple in a standard cab pickemup pulling a monster 5'r is NOT the same as a LARGE family in a crew cab pickemup trying to pull that SAME moster 5'r...that's all...

joe.

 

Even a Class A tractor and trailer will get blown all over the road. You have to just slow it down to get a better control. I use to drive doubles, vans, tankers, and flatbeds with the rating for 105,500 lbs. With the vans, loaded or not, it's still going to blow you around.

I also read about being able to stop in an emergency. Hey these tractor and trailer CANNOT stop in a short distance. Just think that a combination tractor trailer when it's emtpy is over 300 ft. to stop from 60 mph. Also, when going down a grade, you have to slow the rig down BEFORE entering the down grade. The brakes are *****! Believe me, I've seen many truckers smoking their brakes when going down the grade. You know what!? These tractors are rated for far more than the weight they're hauling. Yet, they still have the problems stopping or slowing down.

Most DOT watch the GAWR when weighing at a station. When driving a truck/trailer set up, just plan ahead when driving. If you don't know the route, take your time.
Just because you may have the "right" rating doesn't mean that your brain turns to mush. You simply cannot drive your truck/trailer like a car. It's that simple.

 

Grafekie:

I just purchased a trailer (R-Vision Trail-Bay V series) which is on order. It's a 30 footer. Dry weight is 6902, hitch dry weight is 901, load capacity is 2015.

The RV dealer also owns the Ford Dealership in town and he said I could use an F-150 to pull it. Sounded reasonable to a newbie because he could have made more money if he sold me an F-250.

I went to a local Ford dealer today who told me an F-150 would be a real stretch,
especially uphill, and that I should get an F-250. I have some time on this, because the trailer won't be here for 6 weeks.

You seem knowledgeable about this area, can you give me some advice?

Thanks.

cheers,
Ray

 

I would say F250 but would also suggest a PSD or V-10. I use the 5.4 to haul a car trailer that is loaded just over 7K and on some of our hills here in WA it is tough to maintain speed.

 

Hey raycunn, if were you I would get the F-250 with either a V10 or PSD like Martystowrig said. If you wanted to haul something else bigger and heavier, than you'll be set. Besides, the F-250 has a heavier frame, better brakes, and a stout drivetrain for towing.

I haven't heard anything good about the 5.4 towing heavier loads. You'll be better off in the long run.

 

CAn the F150 do it, especially if you already had one? Yes, certainly. And I don't think you'd be disapointed either, a new F150 is quite a step up from mine and mine does not struggle stopping or going uphill. Your trailer sounds like it'd weigh at least 1000-2000lbs more than mine, but the new F150's are said to be able to tow 2500lbs more than mine can anyways, and I'm under my limit so you'd be under yours.

BUT, and this is a big but, you are looking to buy, so I'd DEFINATELY suggest looking bigger. Bigger rarely is a bad thing, especially when towing something this heavy. You will get bigger brakes and a heavier transmission, and every horsepower and ft/lb of torque will help you have a smoother and less worrysome drive. If you already had a F150 I'd say go for it, but if you are buying new than try for something bigger. Dually may not be indicated, but a diesel will rarely fail you. You aren't going to overtruck hauling a 8000lbs trailer

 

You have a similar setup to mine. I have a 27' 5er that I just bought recently.
It shows to be 6,400 lbs, but after weighing it last night, it tipped the scales at
about 7,400 lbs. I have a PSD F250. I can't imagine trying to pull this thing with
an F150. Holy scary.

 

I do pull that weight (which is under my recommended tow capacity) with my 2002 F150, and on top of that its live weight (horses, which move around and shift their weight). The truck can do it (towed several thousand miles with it! safely, and comfortably), and if its you are looking at a 2008 model I don't see why it couldn't handle that weight on a regular basis. That said, again, if you are buying new, there is no reason NOT to get a heavier truck You won't regret it. The power and steadiness of a PSD is something that makes any trip so much less stressful.