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Old 01-04-2025, 12:09 PM   #1
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2025 Tradewind Tow Vehicle

I purchased a F150 in 2020 with a 3.5 L eco boost which included the tow package. It would be helpful to know what to expect when towing a "yet to be purchased" 25 foot Tradewind. Thanks in advance for any insight members can provide.


Thank you!
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Old 01-04-2025, 12:24 PM   #2
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We use an audi q5 3l with our FC 25fb
We use dual 1000lb WD bars plus dual sway

Canamrv reinforced our vehicle

We traveled over 25,000 km with no issues all across can and usa
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Old 01-04-2025, 02:10 PM   #3
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First, check your yellow payload sticker from inside the driver's door jamb. If you have added any aftermarket accessories, you are going to have to subtract the weight of those, as well as any passengers or cargo you plan to have in the truck.

When I was considering an F150 (to tow a 2018 FC 28RB), I figured 1000 lbs of tongue weight, 500 lbs of dogs and humans and a few hundred lbs for accessories and any stuff I load in the bed. I figured a minimum of 1800 lbs of payload might work, but really wouldn't give me the safety margins I wanted. Didn't matter, because you aren't gonna find a Lariat or higher (if you want an Airstream, you probably don't want a stripped work truck) with the 3.5 and max towing with anything close to that much payload.

I ended up with an F250 Lariat Ultimate with the 7.3 gas engine, and a Weigh Safe weight distributing hitch. I'm very happy with my rig, and with over 3400 lbs of payload I never have to worry about throwing too much weight in the truck.

As always, YMMV and be very careful taking advice from randos on the internet...
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Old 01-04-2025, 06:56 PM   #4
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Great advice to check all your payload numbers. Pay no attention when they say, towing capacity of ####lbs. You will run out of payload far before you get to the towing capacity. Not all F150s are set up the same way. A good half ton can tow a 25ft Airstream but you need to check your numbers. Not all 25 footers are the same either. Don't feel as though you need to run out and get a bigger truck.
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Old 01-05-2025, 09:41 AM   #5
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Thank you
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Old 01-05-2025, 09:53 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by aftermath View Post
Great advice to check all your payload numbers. Pay no attention when they say, towing capacity of ####lbs. You will run out of payload far before you get to the towing capacity. Not all F150s are set up the same way. A good half ton can tow a 25ft Airstream but you need to check your numbers. Not all 25 footers are the same either. Don't feel as though you need to run out and get a bigger truck.
Thanks to all for the insight…starting to get a better understandings of what’s possible and what’s more ideal.

Should I include the anti away hitch in the payload calculations?
BTW—Payload is 1729 lbs
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Old 01-05-2025, 11:55 AM   #7
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This is a fun response

OP is asking a question that it’s really popular on these forms and I have a fun response.
1. Other travelers will flash their lights and honk when they see you coming down the highway.
2. Total strangers will approach you at the truck while refueling and ask you questions about your trailer including “is that a new trailer” which we heard a couple years ago, while towing our 1964 Overlander.
OK, now for a couple serious items that some of the responders have already addressed:
1. Know your weight ratings not just your payload, but your axle rating, your gross combined vehicle weight rating and forget about the towing capacity because if you were towing at your capacity you would always be very close or over the other weight ratings. Take your tow vehicle and trailer to a CAT scale and determine how much weight you have on your tongue as well as the entire weight of your trailer so that when people ask you on these forums what your tongue weight is, you’ll be able to figure that out, which really impacts your payload capacity. In your scenario with a 1700 pound payload capacity include the tongue weight, plus you and your wife’s weight and subtract that from your payload and that will be how much cargo you can put in the backseat and the bed of the truck.
2. Hopefully, you also got tow mirrors on your F150. Back in the day when I was ordering my truck, the F150 with a tow package required a separate order for tow mirrors.
FINALLY - Join the AS club and start attending local club rallies and regional rallies and international rallies and possibly even caravans and meet some of the greatest people in our country!
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Old 01-05-2025, 02:35 PM   #8
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According to AS hitch weight is 725#s. That really eats up the payload. Does it help to transfer items that could go in the bed of the truck to the trailer?
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Old 01-05-2025, 05:26 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Edgemoore View Post
According to AS hitch weight is 725#s. That really eats up the payload. Does it help to transfer items that could go in the bed of the truck to the trailer?
Most people put stuff in their Airstream so 900#s would be closer to reality when ready to camp.

It can help to transfer items to the trailer, just remember in the Trade Wind most storage is in the front which will add tongue weight and the Trade Wind doesn't have a huge payload capacity either.
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Old 01-05-2025, 06:08 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Edgemoore View Post
I purchased a F150 in 2020 with a 3.5 L eco boost which included the tow package. It would be helpful to know what to expect when towing a "yet to be purchased" 25 foot Tradewind. Thanks in advance for any insight members can provide.


Thank you!
As long as you have a properly set up weight distribution hitch and anti-sway bars, I do not see any problem with that combination. The 3.5 L eco boost will have no problem with that trailer and your payload seems quite decent for a half-ton.
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Old 01-05-2025, 06:15 PM   #11
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What do you mean when you say the tradewind doesn’t have a huge payload?
I interpret that to mean a lot of storage space due to the bank of batteries.
My thought is to spread some of what might be in the pickup to along the floor space.
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Old 01-05-2025, 07:06 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Edgemoore View Post
What do you mean when you say the tradewind doesn’t have a huge payload?
I interpret that to mean a lot of storage space due to the bank of batteries.
My thought is to spread some of what might be in the pickup to along the floor space.
The first year of the TW was rated at 7300 pounds GVWR, same as the other 25 foot models. But with the big battery bank, big inverter, extra plumbing, etc., the empty weight of the TW was a fair bit more than the others.

There's a thread here where early TW owners shared their payload numbers as shown on the sticker placed by the AirStream factor. You might find that interesting. The variation between different trailers with the same options is surprisingly large.

A more recent posting (maybe the same thread, maybe not) said that the current TW 25FB has a 7600 pound GVWR, so the payload is higher.
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Old 01-05-2025, 07:49 PM   #13
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Thanks, I’ll do some digging.
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Old 01-05-2025, 08:12 PM   #14
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Tj

I pull a ‘22 International 25 with a Ford 150, 2.7 eco boost w/tow package. I have great stability and power and enjoy 14.5 mpg to boot.😎
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Old 01-05-2025, 11:44 PM   #15
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Originally Posted by T James View Post
I pull a ‘22 International 25 with a Ford 150, 2.7 eco boost w/tow package. I have great stability and power and enjoy 14.5 mpg to boot.😎
Good to know
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Old 01-12-2025, 10:46 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Edgemoore View Post
I purchased a F150 in 2020 with a 3.5 L eco boost which included the tow package. It would be helpful to know what to expect when towing a "yet to be purchased" 25 foot Tradewind. Thanks in advance for any insight members can provide.


Thank you!
You can expect terrible fuel mileage with any tow vehicle that burns gas.
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Old 01-12-2025, 10:51 AM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by T James View Post
I pull a ‘22 International 25 with a Ford 150, 2.7 eco boost w/tow package. I have great stability and power and enjoy 14.5 mpg to boot.😎
That must be some of that new math you use to figure your fuel mileage. Either that, or you don't reset your fuel mileage calculator before the trip, and it is still figuring previous has mileage. Or maybe you drive 30 mph the whole trip. There's no way to get 14.5 mpg pulling that trailer with a gas burner.
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Old 01-12-2025, 11:17 AM   #18
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Originally Posted by mejess1964 View Post
That must be some of that new math you use to figure your fuel mileage. Either that, or you don't reset your fuel mileage calculator before the trip, and it is still figuring previous has mileage. Or maybe you drive 30 mph the whole trip. There's no way to get 14.5 mpg pulling that trailer with a gas burner.
Maybe good tailwinds on flat land? Our F-150 with 3.5 Ecoboost & tow package pulls our 25’FC ((CAT scale full loaded weight is always between 6200 - 6350) usually gets about 10 - 11 mpg. With moderate headwinds (10-20 mph) as low as 9 on flat terrain. We have gotten as high as 13.5 on flat terrain with a good tailwind (15 mph). Unfortunately this rarely seems to happen!

I have received a very modest increase (.5 mpg) in recent test of using my Yakima wind screen deflector on the REAR roof rack. The big advantage is keeping most of the bugs off the front of the Airstream. This required installing roof rails on my F-150 which I use for carrying kayaks.
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Old 01-12-2025, 12:06 PM   #19
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You rarely hear an Airstreamer saying we sold our 1 ton or 3/4 ton and moved down to a 1/2 ton 6cyl Turbo. You will hear a lot of folks saying they moved up to a 3/4 or 1 ton diesel. Having had both, the F-250 w/Diesel is a much better towing platform for numerous reasons. We simply "bumper pull" without any issues (including sway). We get 15mpg minimum when towing and up to 23 when unhitched. These are both better than what we got with our F-150. Have fun, save some $ for a new truck.
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Old 01-12-2025, 12:10 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Edgemoore View Post

Should I include the anti away hitch in the payload calculations?
BTW—Payload is 1729 lbs
Yes! Look at the hitch carrier under the rear bumper for the sticker displaying your truck's gross trailer weight and tongue weight limits; you will see that both of these numbers are significantly and critically much higher with a weight distributing hitch vs a normal "weight carrying" hitch. You will want to include a weight distributing hitch in your setup in order to be with the truck's specs.

This is the sticker on my 2024 F150 PowerBoost XLT for reference:
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