I was thinking of buying a used trailer. I want to do some traveling with my family next summer after my oldest graduates high school and before he runs off to college.

I have a 2006 F250 CC, long bed, also known as an aircraft carrier. What's the largest trailer I would want to pull with it? Am I better off adding a fifth wheel hitch, they seem like they tow so much better? I guess at a minimum I would want to add a weight distributing hitch.

Thanks fellas.

 

I would check in your owners manual to see what Ford recomends as far as trailer weight, I've seen F250s pulling pretty large trailers both conventional pull and 5th wheel, its kind of up in the air about the weight distributing hitch, I have an F350 Dually and pull a 24' enclosed car hauler trailer with either my '65 Mustang of my Wife's '57 Chevy inside and my local expert hitch guy said I really don't need the weight distributing hitch-I did get a sway control kit though-check your manual and don't forget the brake controller!

 

I have a prodigy brake controller already installed.

 

Lots of good info on trailers and trailer towing down in the Trailer Section ( https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/forum68/ ).

If you buy a 5th wheel, you won't need the Weight Distro hitch. You will need a the 5th wheel hitch tho. I went from a rear tow to a fifth wheel...Would much rather tow the fifth wheel.

If you do buy a conventional tow trailer, you DO need a anti-sway devise of some kind WITH the W/D hitch. The first time a big rig passes you without a W/D hitch WITH sway control you will be convinced!

 

I used to have a bumper pull also and went to the 5er and would never go back. I have had every type of rv (tt,camper,mh & now 5er) and this is the best for me by far. Everything has its good points and bad points and to me the 5er is the best. They have some very nice 30' to 34' range 5ers that your truck could tow and if you get a triple slide they are very roomy. Good luck in your search.

 

I'm pulling a 31 foot 5er that weighs 11k dry. Have no problems pulling it with truck in sig. On the highway I usually don't even know it's there. 5er will be alot easier on you when and if you encounter heavy crosswinds. The pin weight is directly over the axle and has less tendency to whip you.

 

I pull a 34' 10.5K bumper pull with my 2005 F350 CRW DRW 6.0 PSD with NO weight distribution hitch or anti sway bars and can barely tell it is there. I went with the bumper pull because I did not want a $1500.00 5th wheel hitch in my bed and I always bring my golf cart camping. I know there is toy hauler's but they consume space in the camper and most of them were set up for 4 wheelers and motorcycles and decor is not as nice as the camper I wanted. I got every option on my F350 including the camper package including the integrated brake controller that is the best I have ever used. I have several other ford vehicles I tow with and this set up is the best by far for me. I like the 5th wheel campers and they do tow nice but I wanted my bed clear for the golf cart or anything else I want to take camping like bikes, fire wood, kayak etc. I have never had any sway issues at all. Pulls like a horse with no negative characteristics. The key is balancing your load on the camper and making sure it is level on the hitch. My friend bought a similar camper as mine with a SRW truck and it was leaning forward causing major sway issues. He purchased a weight distribution hitch and anti sway system and was still leaning forward. I removed his hitch and used mine (adjustable height) got it level and removed the WDH and he didn't need it anymore. I also gave him some pointers on how to load his camper to balance the weight. Campers generally have allot of tongue weight and loading cargo behind the axles will offset the weight and in some cases eliminate sway issues. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>

 

MAxOut, you mean to say that you drop the hitch of a 34' travel trailer directly onto the rear hitch ball of the truck, plug in the electric and drive away? There are no bars with chains to hook up???

I really find this difficult to imagine!! The weight of the trailer should point your headlights skyward!

 

I recommend a fifth wheel over a conventional trailer due to stability on the highway. They're not nearly as affected by wind and big rigs blowing you around when they pass. Airbags make huge difference in stability too. My truck easily tows a 35 ft toyhauler that weighs in at the maximum gcvw or maybe a little over. It pulls the hills out west no problem.

 

I agree with the above posters. 5th wheels make towing more pleasurable. I tow a 32' that weighs about 12k. I have also seen F250s pulling much heavier trailers. But, I will go with a dually when we get a larger 5th wheel.

 

When you have a crew cab with a long box your going to want a fifth wheel a bumper pull is going to be miserable to pull. Look at it this way you already have a truck that has over a 160 inch wheelbase. Trying to make corners with a long truck pulling a bumper pull RV that is 24 feet long its going to be interesting.

A fifth wheel pulls alot nicer no big sway to deal with no saggy rear end to deal with your getting the max payload out of the truck.

 

Yeah, I'd like to hear more details on this too. I have not loaded up a dually, so I don't know how the truck would handle the weight. But you NEED 10% tongue weight, and micro managing the load in the camper is not going to get around that requirement. So, on your dually, you say you've got 1,000 minimum on the tongue (10%) plus your golf cart in the bed, and your truck sits level? Air bags? Timbrens? This does not sound right and we don't want to mislead any .

 

Yes, I drop it on the factory hitch with saftey chains and break away cable. Thats it. Think about it, the tounge weight of the traler is under 600lbs and the payload of the truck is nearly 3 tons. I will also load my 900lb golf cart and 400lbs of wood and absolutely no sway issues. It is more about the balance of the load then the actual weight. Our trucks will pull allot more than they can carry. My truck suspension is 100% stock with the FX4 and camper package (additional leaf spring) With this load it only drops about 2". I have 25 thousand miles of towing this set up in varying conditions and will drive anywhere a fith wheel will go with one finger on the wheel passing tractor trailers or whatever.

Kenwood- contrary to your post a longer wheelbase trucks pull much better than a shorter ones at the sacrafice of manuverabillity. That's why most duallys pulling large car trailers professionally have crew cabs.

I agree a fith wheel will handle better and pull your max load as the weight is centered over the axles but for me I did not want to sacrifice my bed and my truck pulls and handles my 34' traler with ease at any speed.

 

I agree with maxout when pulling a bumper pull with a dually because I pulled mine for a while with my dually and used no weight dist. hitch. But when I pulled it with a srw 2500 dodge and it sat level etc. I still had sway and had a sway bar and weight dist. hitch. I think dually offer's a bit more stability than a srw.

 

http://www.trailerlife.com/output.cfm?id=42175 Here is the towing guides from Trailer life magazine for years 99-2008. This will give you more precist answer. Also go to the RV section of these forums and look there.