Have I Done the Math Correctly?

[DewTheDew]

Mr T. I had almost the exact same set up (though slightly different 150 options meant my payload was 1543 instead of your 1593. We have a 2017 FC FB Twin. I took the rig to CAT scales and found that with the way I was loaded in the pickup (including two Yeti's that had a bunch of stuff in them, some tools, chairs, camp rug, a box of duraflame and a few other odds and ends but nothing heavy like a generator) I was right at 7000 lbs for the truck (3220 front, 3720 rear; trailer stand alone was 7040 and hitched with WD hitch it was 6240). Knowing that I was probably going to be taking along my grandkids for a two week trip at Christmas I bit the bullet and upgraded to an F250. I had felt some porpoising with the F150 when everything was loaded up and that is gone.

Now, the F150 pulled great up hills. No problem towing that weight. For me the issue was payload. Maybe you pack light (those dang Yetis, which my wife insisted on, weigh a lot!) and I could have put a few hundred pounds of the stuff in the trailer (but again, my wife does not want things like tools riding in the trailer) so yes, it was adequate and it could be made to work. But, given my constraints ( ;-) ) I opted to upgrade and I am happy I did. The truck felt much more stable as we drove from DC to Florida and back this past Christmas.

My advice would be to consider what you might want to bring and how you would pack. Realize that what you bring will likely increase with time and travel length (though perhaps you have experience already; this was our first trailer).

So yes, the math is correct. It can work. But I moved up to an F250 due to payload limitations for the way we travel. Your mileage may vary. Good luck and have fun!!!

[Daquenzer]

All of this depends upon how you travel, how much you travel, where you travel. I went with the F150 because we only go out for a week or so. We don’t go to the mountains. It is just my wife and me and our dog. And we camp about 5 times a year. I get 20 to 22 mpg with my truck for highway driving, and 19mpg everyday driving. It drives wonderfully. I bought a truck that meets my needs.

Now if I were going to be out months at a time and hauling all kinds of stuff then an F250 makes sense. So my advice is look at your situation. For me the F150 with the roadmaster works great. I love the set up. And I love my truck as a daily driver.

I am about to fully retire in a year or so. At that time I will probably get a 3/4 ton diesel. I plan on doing more traveling, out a bit longer, and I want to take some mountain excursions. I figure if I can get a good used diesel that’s good enough for me. Not going to spend $70,000 on a pickup. So my traveling style will change. I will then get the TV that matches what I want to accomplish.

In the meantime I love my F150. And you can make it work for longer trips and even in the mountains. I have a friend that took is 1/2 ton (not as good as my F150) across the mountains. It worked. It’s a bit hairy on some of those mountain passes, but he made it.

[2010charlie]

Originally Posted by Mr T

Our tow vehicle is a 2019 Ford F150 Super Crew 4X4 short bed with the twin turbo EcoBoost V6, Max Tow package and 20" wheels. It's rated to pull a max of 12,700 lbs. The truck's GVWR is 7,000 lbs. It's Rear GAWR is 4,050 lbs. It's max cargo & occupants is 1,593 lbs. My wife and I and our lil' dog combined weigh around 330 lbs.

We're interested in a Flying Cloud 27FB Twin with 2 AC's, solar & awning package. Per AS, the Base weight with LP & batteries is 5,868. The max GVWR is 7,600 lbs. The Hitch weight is 791 lbs. Hot, fresh, gray & black H2O tanks are 6, 39, 37 & 39 respectively. I plan to add a WD/anti-sway hitch.

If my calculations are correct, I shouldn't have any problem pulling the 27FBT. And, given a max cargo & occupants of 1,593 lbs minus 330 lbs for occupants, minus 791 lbs of hitch weight, minus approx 100 lbs of WD/anti-sway hitch, I should be able to add a max (approx) of 372 lbs of cargo to the F150.

Have I done this correctly?

We have the same trailer (2015) and truck (2017), with sway bars. No problem towing our trailer. We love the setup.

[yyd]

I have the same truck. I have 4000 miles on it of which 2500 of those are towing

a 2016 30' Airstream Classic. Great performance lots of hills and some

mountains as high as 5000 feet. Never came close to using all the trucks power.

i averaged 12.1 map on our 1200 mile trip home.

[BandLAir]

MrT:

We have essentially the same truck and TT that you are considering and use a ProPride 3P-1400 to connect them together. The ProPride (and Hensley) hitches are somewhat heavier than most others, but we are very happy with the way ours preforms. The only difference is that our truck is the FX4 with 18" rear wheels and OR tires. This lowers the rear-GAWR but our truck still has a GVWR of 7,000# and a tow rating of 12,700#. I think your tow rating might actually be 13,200#s. Also, our stickered payload rating is 1,760# and the Ford towing brochure says our truck as a GCWR of 16,200#. Based on this, I think you GCWR and payloads might be slightly higher, but you are the only one with access to your vehicle stickers.

Anyway, we had the truck weighed separately and then again with the trailer connected, as well as the trailer, all loaded for travel with full fresh water and no waste water. This was individual wheel weights through the Escapees RV Club SmartWeigh program. With the truck with trailer connected, and WD hitch adjusted to get the truck and trailer close to level, the truck was at 7,100#, 100# over its GVWR of 7,000#, and the truck axles were within their GAWRs. The trailer axles were carrying 6,050#, well within the 3,800# TT axle ratings (each). This computed out to a GVW for the trailer of 6,950#, with ~5,916# on the axles and 1,034# on the hitch. The 791# hitch weight is correct for the stock TT without options or a ProPride hitch, but it is not hitch weight you will have to actually deal with. We had a GCW of 13,200#, which was well within our GCWR.

The combination tows like a dream and we get between 11 and 12 MPG, depending on speed, terrain, and perhaps weather (winds). The F-150 is also a dream get-around vehicle when we are camped.

~Bruce

[Spartan Rick]

2011 F150 3.5 ecoboost towing a 30 Foot Spartan. No problems. I did fit a Heartthrob 4 inch cat-back exhaust, not overly loud but a bit better power and economy.

As I understand the newer F150 rear axles are basically F250 units.
One more vote for rear axle airbags to level things but leave a good ride unladen. Have also towed with a 600 lb ATV in the box..
Enjoy (don't forget to engage the towing setting)

[DC Bruce]

with a rated payload of 1940 lbs. towing an FC 27 FB with my wife, myself and a 100 lb. dog inside (using a PP hitch) is that it works fine over 40K miles. Since we were full timing, we carried some trunks in the bed with out-of-season clothes together with tools, a small propane grill, a 2Kw Honda generator, 3 gallons of gasoline, a big container of dry dog food and a satellite dish.

The issue is not having enough power to pull the trailer. You will have that. The issue is overloading the rear axle which could cause steering issues as a result of and underloaded front axle (especially in rain) as well as headlights aiming for the sky. A realistic tongue with for the FC 27 seems to be around 1000 lbs., as people report.

In my case I went half way across the country to find a 1/2 ton with a rated cargo capacity (per the door sticker) of over 1900 lbs. Most half ton crew cabs seemed (in 2015) to be at around 1600 lbs. , which I didn't want. A 1/2 ton makes a much nicer "daily driver" than a 3/4 ton, which is why we didn't go for a larger TV.

[DaneSomers]

Have 2017 Expedition Limited 4x4 towing 2017 FC 27. WITH HD TOWING Package...MUST HAVE. Also have automatic self-leveling rear suspension.

Rides like a luxury SUV with or without trailer hooked up.

Have been all around country including up and over Rockies 10-12 times.
TV is great and handles trailer like it is made for it. Caution- watch tongue weight and have a WD hitch.

Same TV without the HD Tow pkg is a whole different situation and would not recommend it.

Happy roaming!

[SailorSam205]

I'm driving a stock 2019 F150, SB, 3.5 EB Max Tow, 36 gal fuel, platinum trim. Towing a SOB 29' trailer using a PP hitch. TW 950 lbs, trailer scaled at ~7k lbs. I have >25k miles on this setup (also had a similar 2016 F150). Glad I have the PP hitch. From Michigan, I've been to the Grand Canyon and Albuquerque, into Minnesota, and down to Florida. Sea level to 7,000 ft elev. Truck has performed admirably.

Good luck with your rig!

[David Fuches]

Hi, We have that exact truck. We're pulling 10, 000 lbs. 33ft Classic. No issues. Plenty of power to spare

[coolbabe]

An Airstream can be pulled with a smaller truck than recommened because of the aerodynamics. Believe it or not I towed a 26' Argosy with a straight 6 Jeep Cherkee in Florida.

[kscherzi]

Towing a 27FB with a 2017 F150. According to CAT scale all is within spec. Maybe 200 to 300 lbs below GVWR on the truck. Towed 25,000 miles so far. No issue. Get a F250 if you want it, not because you need it for this mission.

Now if you want to carry your Harley in the bed of the pickup too, that's a different discussion.

[EarStreaming]

All good points here, but, IMHO, people will exceed their payload before exceeding anything else. His payload numbers is cutting it close so do your due diligence and get to the scale and verify your weights. From there, you'll know what to put in the bed, what to put in the TT and what to leave home.

I have a 2017 SCREW XLT, HDPP, Tow Mirrors and all the Tow stuff with a payload of 2541 that hauls 4 of us and a dog including the kitchen sink in the bed and our 23' TT

[uncle_bob]

Hi

I suspect that at some point all of us have run a vehicle well past it's rated payload numbers. They don't instantly explode when you do. They don't start uncontrollably swerving all over the road. They may not even bottom out when you hit a normal bump. Simply put, there is no obvious feedback that you are past the limit.

The gotcha is that *something* in there is at limit. There may be multiple things. That limit isn't "breaks right now" instead it's "wears out a whole lot faster". If that particular item is your transmission ..... hmmmm ..... ( Yes, I've fried a transmission on an overloaded vehicle ).

There isn't a lot of magic to this. The closer you get to the limits, the quicker things wear. Stay back from the limits and they last a lot longer. Do all vehicles wear out one specific part 22.97% faster at 98.37% of payload? Of course not. Pretty much any part that goes has a random component to it. My truck lasts for a million miles without any work at all and yours breaks in the first 250,000 miles ... you got unlucky ....

Bob

[Bill M.]

I think you have done the math correctly. We are in the point in the discussion where it is no longer a math problem. 2 + 2 = 4 has been added correctly but some of us would rather get to 6 somehow. Some feel like 4 is plenty.