A little Towing Calculation Help, Please

[Jmeo]

I found a really great towing calculator to help me make a decision on what truck to buy. There are a couple questions I need help with, and I was hoping some more experienced towers can help me with.

Here is th link to the calculator

https://www.engineersedge.com/calculators/towing-capacity-calculator/towing-capacity-calculator.htm

What I need help with is the two questions that I have highlighted below. Can anyone tell me what I should be entering here?

I have included a screen shot for quick access and the actual PDF of the entire result.

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[CND Supercrew]

Calculating weight for a trailer is straight forward. The only number that matters is the payload number on your driver door sticker!
For example, I'll use 1800#

1800# - everything you add to the truck, ie driver, pass. cargo etc. (I have read several places in the past that the payload incl. a full tank of fuel.)

1800# - cargo, - trailer tongue weight.
Trailer tongue weight is typically 13% of a loaded trailer.

GVWR of trailer as listed on the sticker, example 7500#

7500 x 13% =975#

1800- cargo(800#) - 975# = 25# of safe payload still available. Therefore a truck with 1800# of payload can carry a family and cargo of 800#, plus a FULLY loaded trailer of 7500 GVWR safely.

Just note that the trailer hitch and draw bars have to added to the cargo, roughly 80# total +/-

 

[Jmeo]

Calculating weight for a trailer is straight forward. The only number that matters is the payload number on your driver door sticker!
For example, I'll use 1800#

1800# - everything you add to the truck, ie driver, pass. cargo etc. (I have read several places in the past that the payload incl. a full tank of fuel.)

1800# - cargo, - trailer tongue weight.
Trailer tongue weight is typically 13% of a loaded trailer.

GVWR of trailer as listed on the sticker, example 7500#

7500 x 13% =975#

1800- cargo(800#) - 975# = 25# of safe payload still available. Therefore a truck with 1800# of payload can carry a family and cargo of 800#, plus a FULLY loaded trailer of 7500 GVWR safely.

Just note that the trailer hitch and draw bars have to added to the cargo, roughly 80# total +/-

The real problem for me is I do not have the vehicle to get the payload number. The truck is ordered. In fact, I ordered one as a PowerBoost and one as an EcoBoost and my dealer said I can take which ever one I want. I am trying to determine which one I should get.

 

[CND Supercrew]

Depending on trim level and accessories you should be okay. What type of trailer are you looking at? MIne is in my sig.

 

[Jmeo]

Depending on trim level and accessories you should be okay. What type of trailer are you looking at? MIne is in my sig.

I have a 8.6x20 aluminum enclosed trailer that weighs 3,700 lbs and tow a #4,400 lb car.

 

[Calson]

With my 2022 truck with the Max Tow package the limitation is the load capacity of the hitch and not that posted by Ford for the truck. The truck is supposed to be able to tow up to 14000 lbs with a weight distributing hitch but the factory receiver is rated for a maximum load of 11,600 lbs which is considerably less.

If I planned to tow a heavy trailer this would be a concern but in reality for heavy towing I would not buy a 1500 class pickup.

 

[Jmeo]

With my 2022 truck with the Max Tow package the limitation is the load capacity of the hitch and not that posted by Ford for the truck. The truck is supposed to be able to tow up to 14000 lbs with a weight distributing hitch but the factory receiver is rated for a maximum load of 11,600 lbs which is considerably less.

If I planned to tow a heavy trailer this would be a concern but in reality for heavy towing I would not buy a 1500 class pickup.

All good points.

As you know, the standard “tow/haul” class IV hitch is rated to 11,600 lbs. My trailer and car weigh 8,300, so that keeps me clearly in the safe zone.

I’ve discovered trough all this that the biggest factor is payload. Meaning, just because the max tow gives me more towing weight, it means nothing if I don’t have payload available to use when factoring in the increased tongue weight when the weight of the trailer goes up.

For this reason, I dropped the max tow so I can save as much payload as possible, since the non max tow has plenty of ability to handle my 8,300 lb loaded trailer.

 

[Mash150]

From 2021 towing specs

 

[Jmeo]

From 2021 towing specs

It‘s changed since then, but I am within all the specifics. I also tow with a WDH, no matter the weight or vehicle I tow with.

 

[belairbrian]

The problem with "trailer hitch load empty", is the manufacturers still play number games. You have to get into the footnoteds to get the real answer. They publish weight and hitch weight as it leaves the factory. In the foot notes (keystone for example) they say add 90 to 110 pounds to the published weight for propane and battery on travel trailers. These are dealer installed, so not part of factory weight.

On a cargo trailer like the OP it's probably just battery weight.

Just wanted to put that out there for anyone looking to buy there first trailer that might read this.

 

[Calson]

I had a 13,000 lb boat and trailer and towed it with my Duramax diesel that provided 765 lb ft of torque at 1600 rpms. My Ford 3.5L engine produces 470 lb ft of torque at 3500 rpms. I need to be able to accelerate from 15 mph to 55 mph at a bare minimum to safely merge with traffic and the diesel could do this with the 13K trailer load. I would not dream of towing that load with my F-150 and 3.5L engine even though in theory it can tow up to 14,000 lbs.

Ford's excellent trailering guide also covers the frontal area of a trailer and how this affects the true towing capacity of the vehicle as much as trailer weight at highway speeds.

 

[Jmeo]

I had a 13,000 lb boat and trailer and towed it with my Duramax diesel that provided 765 lb ft of torque at 1600 rpms. My Ford 3.5L engine produces 510 lb ft of torque but at 5000 rpms. I need to be able to accelerate from 15 mph to 55 mph at a bare minimum to safely merge with traffic and the diesel could do this with the 13K trailer load. I would not dream of towing that load with my F-150 and 3.5L engine even though in theory it can tow up to 14,000 lbs.

Ford's excellent trailering guide also covers the frontal area of a trailer and how this affects the true towing capacity of the vehicle as much as trailer weight at highway speeds.

I have towed this setup with 4 different trucks. One was a 2022 EcoBoost, one was a 2020 F250 diesel, one was a 2022 PowerBoost, and believe it or not, the last was a 2023 Raptor. In my experience the ONLY thing the diesel did better was getting over a hill with less effort. Well, that and yes it should also accelerate quicker, but I had no problem merging with the F150.

Every single one of them gave me the same MPG. Yes, including the diesel. The 2025 EcoBoost makes 500 lb.ft. torque at 3,100 RPM. I absolutely love the EB, it rocks.

My trailer is 8.6x6 high, so that equals 51.6 sf of frontal area, well below the listed 65 sf.

Would a SuperDuty do it better, yes, but a properly spec‘d F150 can handle 8,300 lbs.

 

[Jmeo]

The problem with "trailer hitch load empty", is the manufacturers still play number games. You have to get into the footnoteds to get the real answer. They publish weight and hitch weight as it leaves the factory. In the foot notes (keystone for example) they say add 90 to 110 pounds to the published weight for propane and battery on travel trailers. These are dealer installed, so not part of factory weight.

On a cargo trailer like the OP it's probably just battery weight.

Just wanted to put that out there for anyone looking to buy there first trailer that might read this.

You are absolutely right, the trailer guide is way more convoluted than it should be.

That said, what is the trailer hitch empty? I still do not know.

 

[NavyChief]

Nice trailer, I’m having one custom built now. Love the dual access.

 

[Jmeo]

Nice trailer, I’m having one custom built now. Love the dual access.

Thanks! it was a must for me as my old @ss had such a hard time strapping the car down in my last trailer so I had one built with 2 escape doors. Now I can stand outside and put my over-the-tire straps into the e-track without getting in a position that makes Gumby cringe.

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