F150 Towing

[steve k]

I have a 2010 F150 FX4, 6.5 ft bed with a max tow package. I'm looking at a Reflection 29rs fifth wheel. Any information regarding towing would be appreciated. I have towed a 6,000 lb boat but never an RV. I am considering a pullrite slide hitch as well.

 

[Dave and Monica]

Your limiter is probably the truck's payload capacity more than the max tow capacity. The dry pin weight of a 29RS is 1476# which can easily become 1800 - 1900# loaded.

Dave

 

[Justaguy]

X2 what Dave said. It's really not how much you can pull - it's how much weight you put in that bed and on that drive axle.

 

[Cate&Rob]

Hi Steve K,

We tow a Reflection 303RLS (which is a little heavier than the 29RS) with our F150.
In addition to the max tow package that you have, there are two more things that are important. One is the Ecoboost engine and the other is the max payload package. The max payload creates what used to be called a "heavy half ton" with an additional rear leaf spring and 60 psi wheels and tires. Payload is 2300 on our 2014. This goes up to something like 2700 in 2015 with the new aluminum body.

The Ecoboost is important because it has a broad torque curve (like a diesel but much smaller actual numbers).
This engine can pull at full torque from 2000 to 4500 RPM. This solves the constant transmission shifting trying to keep a gasoline V8 in its high torque RPM range.



More discussion on this earlier thread . . .
http://www.granddesignowners.com/forum/showthread.php/2508-Towing-with-a-F-150-EcoBoost

All this to say that carrying the pin weight of a 5th wheel with a regular F150 might be a stretch.

Rob

 

[Bamaman]

With a published weight of 8356 lbs. dry and a 1476 lb. dry pin weight, you're going to be a the top end of your towability. But you can do it since you do have the somewhat rare maximum tow package.

And I agree about going with a high quality slider hitch with a 1/2 ton.

 

[Cate&Rob]

Hi Bamaman,

"Max towing = 11,000+" is relatively common on F150. "Max payload = 2300+" is the unusual option.
I have one, but have only seen one other in all my travels. The visual cue is the 7 lug wheels. This is the way Ford differentiates the F250 suspension in an F150.

Zoom in on the truck wheels



Rob

 

[Bamaman]

And the top package needed to to a maximum load is something like $1,795 extra. It ought to have some guts at that price. Otherwise, you get the Ford Crown Victoria suspension they put in most of the F150's. LOL! It might not even be priced much different than a 3/4 ton SuperDuty.

I was reading the top option tow and weight carrying capabilities of the new model 2015 F150. In comparison with the rest of the 1/2 ton market, it's in a class of its own. It's not far off that of the 3/4 ton.

 

[Cate&Rob]

Hi Bamaman,

The only reason to build an F150 like this is to get the combination of Ecoboost and max payload. Ford does not build the F250 with an Ecoboost. There is no gasoline engine in the market that can do what this engine can do. It's not a diesel, but it's a "mini-diesel". And, it becomes a really economical V6 when not towing . . . which is most of the time.
I acknowledge the power of a diesel, but I get 10 mpg and pay 20% less per gallon for fuel. And . . . I didn't pay a $10K premium for the engine. I have never been the slowest rig on any grade . . . and have almost never been at WOT.

It doesn't make sense to me to have an engine that will last 3 times longer than the truck. In my case, both will last 3 years and that will be the time to replace both.

Rob

 

[Bamaman]

Another nice feature of the 3.5 Ecoboost is that you can get a tuner with 85 hp increase for a very fair price. It's an engine with a very flat torque curve from 1500 rpm's on up, but I understand a tuner will make the engines run and tow much better even.

I was towing my heavily loaded utility trailer yesterday with my 7.3 diesel with an 80 hp tuner. I just love the incredible power of the diesel. For example, unloaded it'll run from 60 mph to 80 mph in 4 seconds flat. I can stomp on the throttle at 20 mph, and see two black streaks in my rear view mirror. Towability just doesn't show up in dollars and cents. Too bad the new F250 diesels cost twice what I paid for mine on Ford's A Plan. The diesel is what I call a very long term value.

 

[pauliwalnutz]

To save you some payload you could look at the Sidewinder pin box which lets you put regular hitch in the back of the truck. I think the Superglide weighs around 215lbs. My hitch weighs 97lbs and I can remove it by myself in 5 minutes.

 

[Cate&Rob]

I have really come to like my manual slider Reese . . . for a few reasons other than jackknife cab clearance. I find that I often slide it back even when I don't need to.
In the aft (maneuver) position it moves back about 10" behind the rear axle.
It's easy to see out the back window of my crew cab for connecting.
I can open the tailgate even if I am not exactly parallel to the trailer.
There is lots more room for putting things away in the front storage compartment.
And, maybe it's just my limited experience backing a fifth wheel, but it seems easier to get the turn started and to make fine adjustments with the trailer pin behind the rear axle rather than directly over it.

Rob

 

[Dave and Monica]

Rob...I hope you have better success with your Reese slider. I had a Reese Pro Series 15K that was 4 years old and last time I thought I needed it, couldn't get it to slide to save your soul. Perhaps part of the problem was that I didn't exercise it regularly...it was a beast to move even without the camper hooked up. It was a Reese square tube slider but I believe that it got a little twisted over time as it became hard to remove/reinstall on the hitch rails. Interesting that a replaced it with a non-sliding B&W Patriot hitch and it easy drops into place on the hitch rails.

Dave

 

[Cate&Rob]

Hi Dave,

I have the Reese Titan 16K with Round Tube Slider.
It was a bit "ornery" when it was new, but after getting all the interfaces well greased and cycling it many times, it moves easily empty or loaded and locks securely into either position. I read that the round tube slider mechanism was developed to address exactly what you describe. I've had it in and out of the truck a few times, with no problem with alignment to the rails, so far.



Rob

 

[dirtclod-MGRV]

We are pulling a bigger trailer (303) with GMC 1500 with overload air bags, probably exceeding weight parameters, but who cares, fuel mileage sucks, pickup goes up any hill faster than speed limit, and cost $15000.00 less than a diesel !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mike

 

[Gale-n8gs]

Cate&Rob said
"It doesn't make sense to me to have an engine that will last 3 times longer than the truck. In my case, both will last 3 years and that will be the time to replace both. "

What on earth do you do that wears out a truck in 3 years?
My "99 GMC 6.0 gasser had 221,000 on it when I sold it. It had 1 rust spot at the back corner of the ext cab. Our salted Michigan roads are hard on sheet metal. To contrast that experience I had an "87 Ford F250 that was a rust bucket at 2 1/2 years old. I should be interesting to see how the new Ford Alum body trucks hold up to the salt.

Gale

 

[Cate&Rob]

Hi Gale,

I didn't mean to infer that I would wear out a truck in 3 years . . . what I meant is that I will only own it for 3 years. Trucks are getting too complicated (or maybe I'm just getting too old ) to keep them past the warranty period. If one honestly adds up the repair bills after warranty, this is often not a lot different than the cost of owning a new vehicle covered by warranty. And you don't have to live with all the misc little repairs that aren't important enough to get fixed, but are still irritating.

Rob

 

[Paul & Deb]

While I realize it can be a crap shoot, my truck is 8 years old with 100,000 miles and I've only had to replace the glow plugs (although only 1 went bad) and I did it myself so it cost like $80. Oh, and the truck has been paid for for 5 years so I could need a lot of repair bills to overcome that!

Just another point of view

 

[Cate&Rob]

Hi Paul,

You are right . . . beyond warranty, repair costs are a crap shoot. At 100,000 miles in 8 years, your truck is obviously a dedicated hauler. You have other rides in your stable ?. I will put more miles than that on my truck in 3 years because it's also my daily driver. Lots of different ways to come at this.

Rob

 

[Paul & Deb]

Hi Paul,

You are right . . . beyond warranty, repair costs are a crap shoot. At 100,000 miles in 8 years, your truck is obviously a dedicated hauler. You have other rides in your stable ��. I will put more miles than that on my truck in 3 years because it's also my daily driver. Lots of different ways to come at this.

Rob

So true Rob. Being retired we don't drive all that much. My vette turns 8 years old in 2 weeks and has 43,000 miles and our caddy has a few more as it's our real daily driver.

 

[james quinn]

Hey Rob, Can I borrow your bank account ... just for a couple minutes ?