Moving from Jayco Greyhawk RV to a Grand Design -Seeking input on F150 towing numbers

[trek2ride]

This community is amazing!!!!

We are selling our Jayco Greyhawk class C and returning to a travel trailer. We are excited to join the Grand Design family. It opens up greater camping options when we travel to Montana in the summer.
I currently have a 2018 F150 XLT 4x4 Supercrew 3.5 Ecoboost with the Max Tow Capacity package. I thought about upgrading to a 250, but I'm not ready to incur that cost this year, so I'm trying to figure out what Grand Design XLS is reasonable and safe to tow with an F150.

I'm looking at a 2022 Grand Design Imagine XLS 23BHE. It's a great fit for my son and two golden retrievers.

I've done some research and based on what I'm seeing from several calculators, I'll have 20% remaining top capacity with this RV behind my F150.
I also plan on a good-quality load distribution hitch. I've towed a previous travel trailer with one (GVWR 4950) and didn't even notice it was back there.

2018 F150 XLT 4x4 Supercrew 3.5 Ecoboost numbers:
Wheel Base 157”
Rear axel - 3.55
GVWR - 7,050
GCWR - 16,000
RGAWR - 3,800
TVTW (empty scale weight) - 5,200
Max Payload - 1661
Max loaded trailer weight: 10,700
Hitch Weight-Distributing Max.Trailer
Capacity - 13,000
Max. Tongue Load (HWR) - 1320

Grand Design Imagine XLS 23BHE numbers
Dry Weight (lbs): 5325
GVWR - 6995
Hitch Weight (lbs): - 504


Based on these numbers and several tow calculators, it looks like I have 20% remaining in my total tow capacity and I will be under the truck payload with 400+ to work with.

Ford F150 XLT pulling the Grand Design (https://canitowthis.com/):
Under payload (1640) by 586
Acceptable GCVW. Combined weight = 14595. Under GCVWR by 1505

And this calculator from Keep Your Day Dream.

View attachment Towing Capacity Calculator F150 + Grand Design.pdf

I'm looking for input from F150 owners who are towing their Grand Design to get their input and experience before I finalize my purchase in the coming weeks. Thanks in advance for your insights.

I'm also looking for recommendations for the best weight distribution hitch to purchase for this type of rig setup. Thanks!!!

 

[traveldawg]

Nice weight calculation site.

Welcome to the forum.

As a new (first time) use your post got put into a holding bucket (moderation) because it had an attachment (and ultimately a URL link) so the moderators get to review it before releasing it to the forum members. It's just a safety check to keep bad people out.

 

[NB Canada]

Where is that 1661 number from?

Manual?
Door sticker?
Weigh scale?

Unless it is a weigh ticket number you can guarantee your actual payload is lower. How much?
Only weighing it with everyone and everything that will be camping will answer the question

Now that trailer is imo within range of your truck. The posted tw though is unrealistic. It will and should be over 750 pounds when ready to camp. With the weight of the hitch and passengers,dogs,cargo I would guess you will be right at payload maybe under maybe over

Also “safe” is more than weights and capacities it involves the driver. Only you can determine the safety of your setup

Now the trailer. We have the slightly bigger sister to that model ,2400bh. We went this way because of the increased ceiling height and drastically larger outside storage. If you or any others in family are in the 6 foot plus range you may want to consider this
That trailer also has a sink drain issue,discussed widely here and elsewhere, that is concerning

Good luck

 

[Soundsailor]

Welcome to the forum [MENTION=45158]trek2ride[/MENTION], sounds like you've gone through a pretty thorough evaluation. Just one word of caution, the published tongue weight is going in most cases be well below the actual. The posted weight is for a dry camper, add propane and/or some water, and it will rise. Same with your gear. There are many on this forum who regularly weigh their rigs. It seems to hold that tongue weight will end up somewhere between 10% and 15% of GVWR, in your case 700 lbs or more.

 

[sande005]

Ditto on the above. Assume your TW will be about 12% of the GVWR of the camper. While this will be a "fat" number, if you can still be at or under your truck payload using it, then all will be well.