can i tow this trailer with my truck
 

I have a 2006 f150 5.4L 4x4 with towing package. 3.73 gears. I want to buy a 24 ft enclosed pace trailer. The curb weight is 3400# hitch weight is 340# and I plan on putting a 3000# race car in this trailer. My owners manual says maxium trailer weight 8700#. So will I be able to haul this trailer without my bumber dragging the ground. Any input would be great. Thanks

Ur going to be limited in what u can put in ur trailer. ur trailer and ur race car are probally going to weigh close to 7k. How often and how far are u going to be towing this trailer?

I think this is not if you can but if you would want to.

Plus stopping something like that even with trailer brakes, most tow ratings aren't so much for pull rating, but for braking. You would be much better off stepping up to a super duty, even one with 5.4L would be better than an F-150. If you could find one with a V10 that would be ideal, and the mpg aren't much worse than a super duty with a 5.4L. You could do it with the F-150 if not going far and you only have the trailer and the car. anything some one else is going to have to bring.(i.e. tools, fuel, clothing, extra people, any fluids needed)

Bill,

Here's some questions (I know I know you asked for answers...right! :-down )

Do you happen to know what the 'available' payload is on your F150?...not what is listed...what is actually left?

Here's my suggestion on what you would need to do.

Load up your F150 as you would for traveling. People that you would carry, their gear, games, books, food. Put everything in the truck bed you plan on carrying (tools or firewood or whatever)...NOW go to a CAT scale and get individual front and rear axle weights.

With these numbers you know precisely what you have to work with in the way of tow rating and GVW rating on the F150.

Most people have never visited a scale...it is really painless and not very expensive at all...but provides you with the most accurate data you could possibly have to make an educated decision...

What will you do with this info...

Well knowing what your F150 weighs BEFORE hitching will tell you how much payload you have LEFT for tongue weight.

For ANY tag behind trailer to track with 'natural' anti-sway you need to have 10-15% of the load as TONGUE weight. Shooting for 12-13% is better and leaves you a little leeway to move small loads around an not upset the overall balance too much.

So on a LOADED trailer of near 7000#'s...you would have 700-1050#'s of tongue.

If your weights from the scale show that you have that much room on your GVWR before exceeding this rating...well that's a good thing. While the appliction of WD will shift ~15-20% of the tongue rearward to the trailer axles..for the purposes of this exercise let's assume not.

While we are on tongue weight...~80-85% will show up on the REAR axle. Looking at your GAWR-Rear and comparing it to your weight PLUS 85% of the tongue...are you UNDER that rating?...if so...that's another good thing.

There are two other weight ratings to check...one will be harder to verify than the other. If you 'happen' to have the fortune on the drivers door jamb/frame sticker to have 'payload' listed...GREAT...

With the listed payload...subtract that from the GVWR and you will have the 'mythical' curb weight your 'max' tow rating was based on. Now take the 'curb' weight and add 150#'s to it (that's the allowable driver). Take that weight and subtract it from your scale weight. That value is what you must REDUCE your 'max' tow rating by...here's some numbers.

Your scale weight is 6150.

Your sticker payload is 1700

Your sticker GVWR is 7000

You would take 7000 - 1700 = 5300

5300 + 150 = 5450

6150 - 5450 = 700

Your TRUE 'max' tow rating is now 8700 - 700 = 8000#'s.

Were you able to follow that?

The LAST number to check is the GCWR.

You KNOW your loaded F150 weight (in my example 6150) and your trailer will likely go 7000. So if you add 6150 + 7000 = 13150#'s GCW. Is that within the GCWR of your truck?...if so...great...

Here's my take...CLOSER you come to any of your ratings...the more 'unhappy' a majority of the towing public will become...ratings are high dollar marketing numbers today...IMO...but the public needs guidelines...but IMO an F150 5.4L with a max tow rating of 10K#'s and a V10 Ex with a max tow rating of 9600#'s...COME ON...

In general though...the CLOSER you come to the ratings the more unhappy more people will be.

So if you go thru the exercise as laid out...you will at least KNOW where you stand weight wise.

The only thing I haven't mentioned is wind resistance...just take this away on that...it BLOWS :-X22 ... the good news is that the car hauler is lower than a typical RV...that frontal area...creates HUGE forces most simply don't realize play a big part in towing...a low wind profile utility trailer of the same weight as a high wind profile RV...well the utility trailer will pull so much easier...

Good luck and let me know if I have confused you too badly...ask if I have...I type fast and sometimes my brain is even faster and the words don't make sense...

Oh yeah...once you digest my post...if you choose to...we can talk about WD hitch and brake controller!

joe.

my concern would be the 3.73 and the weight and frontal are drag of the trailer. I think the truck would handle it but I do think you you are at the point where a 150 is a tad small and a 250 is overkill. I chose the overkill route but a big part of my decision is I like the SD better then the 150's.


In reading this again if he has an 06 150 I would get a good brake controller, perhaps a WD Hitch and give it a try, then re-gear if needed. I also think with this set up getting the tongue weight spot on would be important.

Eegads, Joe, you think too much. You'll have no problem with that load. The auto industry has gotten very good at convincing that we need bigger, and much more expensive, trucks to tow with.

I'm always over my limit. The worst damage I've ever done was to burn up axle bearings after 100k miles. $400 repair job. Much cheaper than the 3/4 ton upgrade.

Make sure the trailer brakes are working, though. Cargo trailers (even RVs) tend to cheap in that area. Get a decent brake controller, too. I'd prefer you buy mine, but I won't think less of you if you don't. Just stay away from the timer or pendulum type controllers.

Curse of an engineer! :-missingt

Plus if I'm gonna give advice...I give ADVICE! :-tap

A little off topic, but I see you are a sponsor and located in MI. Do you have a link to your site or products? I always try to support sponsors of sites I visit.

Back to our reguraly scheduled program!

Erie, bless you. Our TrailerSaver 5th wheel products are at www.trailersaver.com. Our Hensley travel trailer products are at www.HensleyMfg.com.

We're running our December sale now, too. $200 off a hitch.

Ron

Thanks Ron, now that I think of it I'm pretty sure I have seen your products at RV shows. Very nice stuff.




Billwayne, is there a chance you could "test" out the trailer and stop by the scales while out "testing". This would allow you to see how well the truck handles the load. I was very surprised at how well the F-150 "handled" the same trailer that was a bit much for my cheby 1/2 ton.

You guys arent use to joes posts. The people in the excursion forum are use to it. And believe me, that post wasnt confusing or long. His other posts are twice as long as that. :) Srry joe hahaha:-missingt

Getting back on track, how far are u going to tow this 7k trailer? It is in the range of what ur truck can tow, but how much extra tools and stuff are u going to be able to bring? Not much

I tow a race car trailer too and there is a lot of other weight besides the car and the trailer. Once you start adding spare parts, gas, tires, rims, tools, tool box, other fluids the weight starts to get up there. In our case it is over a thousand pounds of stuff. I would definetly go to the scale and get an idea where you really stand. Sometimes just the passangers add another 800lbs.

I would get a WD hitch for sure. My dad had a trailer close to the same he pulled with his f250 and even behind that the WD hitch was much better. The wind is going to be your biggest factor. Sure it will pull it, but the question is how far do you intend on traveling and how much wear and tear do you want to put on your f150. Enclosed trailers (for me at least) pull harder than the wieght due to the excessive drag. If you are looking to buy it at a dealer ask them if they have a used one or a demo you can try out. Even if it is empty youll get an idea of how it will pull. IMO