Hi,
Have a 2011 250 CC 4x4 6.7L 20" tires rated 3700#. Trying to figure out if adding a rear (helper?) spring will increase the payload ..over what one would expect given the RAWR. (OK pls don't pelt me over not buying a 350 - it's a long story and involves a spouse)

Now then, I guess the simple answer would be - no, the axle limit is the axle limit - and that happens to be 6100 (or perhaps 6200 depending on which chart you view).

But then again how is the payload increased for the F250 with the camper pkg? And what is the 'new and improved' payload with the camper pkg? Anyone out there with this configuration - what is your payload and RAWR ratings?

Also saw this note (in this doc: http://profleetsales.com/pdf_files/o...er%20Guide.pdf )

CAMPER PACKAGE (471)
Availability:
• Optional on all Pickups
Not available with:
• 20" Wheels and Tires,

Why not with 20" Tires? Any ideas?

thanks - I

 

Just a guess, but the 20 inch wheels may interfere with the rear sway bar added for the Camper Package?

 

Not sure why they say not available with the 20's, but redford's guess would make perfect sense. You may not have even been able to get the camper package with the 6.7 anyway depending on which gears you have. You can add overload springs if you don't already have them, air bags, or timbrens to increase your load carrying ability. If it's sway you're worried about, you should be able to add a rear sway bar as well. Many will tell you not to go over the RAWR or GVWR, but you will have no issues as long as you're not getting too carried away with the weight, and don't drive like a 16 year old... I go a little over the axle ratings regularly, but am under my plated weight, and under tire limits, and our friendly neighborhood DOT enforcement officer has said no problem. Stay under your tire limits though, they limit you to 7400lbs, I'd personally keep it under 7000 for a safety margin.

 

I would also look at the door certification label. That will give you the ratings for both front and rear springs.

I would also suggest that you load up with fuel and most everything else that you carry and go to a cat scale and a certified wt ticket. Cost me 9 bucks but then I know exactly what I am working with.

 

to the best of my knowledge , the camper package only bumps up the springs ,front springs ; one level . it adds the sway bar on the rear .
on my 250 i added rear air bags . don't need the bags on my 350.
what is the weight of the camper you are wanting to put on your truck ??

 

What is the rated load capacity of the 20" wheels themselves? That may be the limiting factor...

And to get it out in the open before the load police chime in, what we are talking about is increasing load CAPACITY, not RATING. The factory rating is what it is, we know that. We're talking about how to safely haul a bit more when we want to.

 

If you're confident the tires, wheels, axle, etc all can handle it, look long and hard at the air bag option.

They let your retain decent ride when truck is empty, and have the side benefit of LEVELING the truck back up. Most mechanical overload springs (extra leaves, Timbrens, etc) kick in only after the truck has significantly squatted down. A squatting truck looks heavily loaded. A truck that isn't squatting doesn't.
Most LEO's aren't going to pause to wonder if your truck could be overloaded if it doesn't look overloaded.

Remove the F250 badges and add roof-top running lights if you want to complete the disguise....

 

Redford - your comment about the tires/wheels interfering with sway bar makes sense.

Senix - I weighed the truck at a CAT scale as you've suggested and came up with a rear axle weight of 3180 lb.

6100 - (3180 + 760) = 2160 available payload
2160 - 400 = 1760 dry hitch weight limit

Subtracting from the 6100 lb axle rate - the 3180 lb already on it plus additional people and truck-cargo including a 300lb hitch, it gives me an available payload of 2160 lb.

Finally, from the 2160 lb available payload I subtract 400 lb - for cargo and a little water/gas in the trailer tanks - to arrive at a 1760 lb dry hitch weight limit.

If I want to be able to take along 4 'healthy' adults I probably need to drop this limit down to about 1525.

Which started me thinking about adding a spring ..if it would give me a bit more leeway. But since I'm working with axle ratings don't know if it will make a difference. Hence my question to those who have the 'camper pkg' which adds a spring to the back among other things.

At this point I'm considering a used Titanium with a hitch weight of ~1565 lb. Which would probably not be a problem. Hard to find low hitch weights.

thanks - I

 

I assume you're talking 5th wheel?

A trick: Experiment with loading heavy stuff towards the back of the trailer to minimize pin weight. MOST trailers come with a much heavier pin bias than is needed to protect the manufacturer from folks who don't consider load distribution.

We have a travel trailer. If I load the truck with both of our quads, water, and firewood, we are at the rear GAWR limit. WD bars shift a couple/few hundred pounds forward, but tongue weight with full propane tanks and extra trailer battery still pushed us over. So I mounted a rack to the rear of the trailer. Shifting just 200 pounds of firewood from truck bed to rear of trailer reduced rear axle loading by over 300 pounds! 200 pounds out of the truck + the tongue weight was reduced by over 100 pounds because that weight is now BEHIND the trailer axles.
Experimentation showed I can haul well over 350 pounds on rear of trailer before I noticed any change in the trailer dynamics. So now I limit to 250 pounds. Less if propane tanks are empty.

Likewise, simply moving a (full) propane tank or battery from front of coach to the very rear can reduce pin weight by close to 150 pounds - about double what the item weighs.

Moral: If you're within a couple/few hundred pounds, you can likely make it work with some experimentation.

 

mwsF250 thanks for all your comments.
Tires E-rated 3700+ not limiting.
Yes I'm looking at fifth wheels

Glad you mentioned the back-of-trailer loading trick. I had been wondering whether people did that and how much.

Speaking of airbags and springs - at what point does the back of your truck start to sag - well short of the axle limit I suppose?

 

In the course of asking this question I've arrived at the understanding that springs detract from rear payload although they do keep heavy loads from pushing down the rear end. DOH Never really thought about it before. Just call me newbie (or was it a girl thing?)
- I (female in cognito .. shhhhh)

 

Definitely check the wheel load rating.

The truck will sag a tiny bit more with each pound you add...

I have the stock overload springs. They would engage once the rear drooped about 1.5 to 2" (measured at the axle, not bumper). Loaded to the gills, the truck would droop at least another inch or so - but still had over an inch of clearance to the bump stops and still drove just dandy. But the truck would go from a slightly tail high look to a noticeably nose high stance. "LOOK AT ME! I GOT A BIG LOAD! MAYBE TOO MUCH?"
Plus I had to adjust headlights down. Annoying.

Now with airbags, I load up and then squirt air until overload spring is about 1/2 to 1" from the engagement pads - basically sitting level. "Yeah, I got a load, but doesn't it look well within limits? I'm sagging a LOT less than other trucks on the road, go harass them. Thank you and good day."

 

Thanks for the explanation - airbags sound like a good idea for leveling headlights and cop attention prevention.

 

Only problems with buying Firestone air bags for the 2011s is they are not making them until August sometime. This is from a phone call I had with Firestone. According to the F250 brochure the camper package gives you rear stabilizer bar, overload springs and a camper package decal in the glove box. I test drove a 2011 F250 with & without the camper package towing my travel trailer. The truck when measured at the wheel wells had to go down about 2 1/2 to 3" before the factory overload springs would hit the bumpers. When I was talking to a Ford mechanic (take this info as you like), he said the only difference between the 2011 F250 & F350 was larger axle, rear end sat higher, overload springs are stand equipment. He said the shocks and springs are otherwise the same.

 

I was wondering if the 350 vs 250 axles are really different, and the rear end as well of course. That would seem like a lot of extra money and production costs to keep them that way. I'm looking at a 350 and trying to de-rate it to get a better ride.

BTW, to the posting about weight loading your camper, absolutely I do that with my 5th wheel now and have been with my old TT's.