Towing with F150

[MaryHolderby]

.275/55R20 BSW All Terrain tires. TIA.

[MaryHolderby]

Any other suggestions for a travel trailer that would be better to tow with the F150? Obviously the pickup is new so not going to be switching towing vehicles anytime soon. I appreciate all the input you guys are giving. My husband and I are new to this, having farmed and ranched all our lives we are ready for some relaxation and fun.

[Thorvald]

I spent ages agonizing over this myself. My payload is WAY lower than yours though... I settled for the Imagine 2800BH (assuming one wants bunks) since it had a comfortable GVWR (7500) which would be a tongue weight from 750 to 900 lbs.

I was aiming for the 80% of max tow which falls in line with the 2800BH. I can tow 9850 lbs max (SAE2807). Even then my payload will be “over” when I have 5 people in the cab of the truck and no cargo.

I looked at the Reflection line but they were all way to heavy for what I had and compared to friends that towed “monsters” with 1500’s and have since moved to 2500’s and up.

The issues they had wasn’t the truck could not do it, they all had more than enough power for a 9999 lbs trailer, the issues were:

1. Truck could not stop the trailer “on Demand” on grades. The brakes just were not up to the task when they got hot and worn. Yes new it did it fine but then...

2. Tires were “skittish” at the back (their words), they moved to 10 or 12 ply and that was a lot of cash.

3. The large trailer causes “rocking” or “porposing” when coming to a stop. Could likely be fixed with air bags etc.

4. Large trucks/semi’s passing at highway speed (passing them) were mild to terrifying. A ProPride hitch might solve that but then again a $2500 hitch would be better invested in a 2500 pickup (the cash that is).

They had no idea on trailer tongue weight and payload since none of them had a tongue scale (I now have a Sherline scale).

—

The math is actually pretty simple but you need to know exactly what your truck weighs (empty but full fuel). I found that when I took mine to a CAT scale, it was VERY close to the tire sticker max payload, so it is likely a good number to go buy.

GCWR (Gross combined) = Truck loaded + trailer loaded. Best to simply take your GVWR from your truck and the GVWR from the trailer and add them together. If they are below your GCWR, your in the range and can start digging deeper.

Lots of other formulas to post (GVWR - Payload - Driver - passengers - cargo) etc.

—

That being said, since you have such a capable 1500 (compared to mine lol), what is your criteria for a trailer?

A. Bunks
B. Rear Living
C. Couples or Family
D. Big Kitchen
Etc.

That will determine where to look. I ended up making a huge spreadsheet of all the trailers we liked and features and the weights and measures to ensure we got the best bang for the buck AND could tow it very comfortably (with tanks full if we wanted).

By the way, I just went through this myself... bought a “Max Tow” loaded 1500 with a huge tow rating thinking we would be fine. Forgot (or didn’t know) about the insanely low payloads on 1500’s... Now we are stuck with a brand new truck (which we love) but was way under the type of trailer we wanted. Oh well, this will do for a few years and then move to a 2500/3500 and 5er!

Cheers
Tim

[TucsonJim]

That is excellent information that Tim added. To expand on the Grand Design Imagine product line, there are seven models that come in with a GVWR of less than 8,500#. They are the 2150RB, 2250RK, 2400BH, 2500RL, 2600RB, 2670MK, & 2800BH. Here's a link to the Imagine specification page:

https://www.granddesignrv.com/showro.../imagine/specs

If you click on the floorplan for any model, it will take you to a page with details and pictures so you can get a better feel of what each unit is like.

Jim

[Thorvald]

I made of copy of my “rant” that I posed to the Ram forums regarding how “incapable” my “max towing” 1500 really is (after removing some of the ranting and swearing) and made a blog post.

This should give you a good idea of what we went through (and are still going through):

Blog Post: 1500 Pickup’s and Towing - The REAL numbers with example
https://www.mygrandrv.com/fo...s-with-example

Cheers
Tim

[Cate&Rob]

Any other suggestions for a travel trailer that would be better to tow with the F150? Obviously the pickup is new so not going to be switching towing vehicles anytime soon. I appreciate all the input you guys are giving. My husband and I are new to this, having farmed and ranched all our lives we are ready for some relaxation and fun.

A couple of ideas come to mind . . .

Everybody tends to talk GVWR for the trailer and this is often 2000 lbs over UVW even for smaller trailers. You don't have to load the trailer to GVWR . . . in fact, I think this is rather difficult to do if you tow with empty water & waste tanks. We carry just over 1000 lbs of "stuff" in our Reflection 303 and this is quite sufficient for two people, two dogs, one cat and 5 months .

So, if your Imagine is coming in around 6500 lbs, with 15% on the tongue (975 lbs) plus a 150 lb sway control hitch = 1125 lbs on the Class IV hitch which is rated for 1200 lbs, you are OK. You also have to keep whats in the truck to under 500 lbs . . . not too difficult to accomplish. I have noted on this forum before . . . you can run an F150 at its limits . . . it is designed to do that.

Although you can't change the numbers on your door label, if you were to change to the factory LT 17" or 18" wheels with the factory spec LT tires from the HDPP, you would have rubber on the road which is a lot more "appropriate" for trailer towing.

Rob

[Cate&Rob]

MaryHolderby - See this thread for discussion of a successful combination similar to what you are considering.
https://www.mygrandrv.com/fo...lue-Ox-SwayPro

Rob

[[email protected]]

I have a 297 ( 2018 ) and tow it with a 2015 f150, 5.0 v8and have no problems. With the equalizer hitch adjusted properly there is minimal sway, plenty of power and with the trailer brakes adjusted correctly i have no white knuckle moments.

[sande005]

.....
From various discussions on this forum (and personal experience), I think a small 5th wheel is a better choice for a HDPP F150 than a large TT. Several are towing these 5ers without the HDPP, you will have to be more careful about pin weight.

Rob

Been there, done that. My HDPP 2012 150 has a payload of 2166 lbs. At the time, also had the second smallish Jayco Fifth (26.5RLS). After all was said and done, while traveling we were spot on the max. for payload. I had to be real careful in picking the right hitch combination, etc. to keep the payload down (forget about getting a slider - too heavy!) Last year lost it due to delamination. Went shopping for a replacement, and no matter the brand in the same size/configuration, they all had gained 4-600 lbs. and I was not willing to go that far over payload. Grand Design had not hinted at their 150 series at that time, which might have worked - but it is a bit smaller than my old one. The new F-150's with HDPP will be much better suited, but you still have to shop very carefully - you'll still be very close to the line. Since a new truck was not in the budget, changed it up to the GD 2670MK. Now have lots of excess payload.

While not quite as "luxe" as the Reflection line, take a look at the Imagine's. Ignore the published weights - concentrate on the GVWR, and assume about 13% of that on the tongue. This will give you a "fat" number to estimate with. In most cases, trailers are not loaded all the way up to the Gross, so you can be reasonably comfortable that your actuals will work, even if your math suggests you are getting pretty close to maxing out. But heed the advice, and start with actual weights from a truck scale, to see where your truck is starting out before passengers, trailer and stuff.

[Ctdecuir]

As a point of reference, we just picked up a new 2018 F-150 Lariat Crew Cab with Heavy Duty Payload Package, Max Trailer Tow Package, 18" heavy duty wheels, and LT275/65R18 C load range tires. Attached are 3 pictures - Truck, Payload sticker, and Hitch receiver sticker. I spec'd this truck mainly for towing. Just putting this out there for anyone interested in going the new F-150 route.