Did I buy the wrong truck for towing?

[Zco1]

Hey all. I have a 22 Platinum PB with the 5.5 bed. Has max tow and every other option which made me think it was a great choice for a future travel trailer. Well, the future is now, and we bought a 25.4x8x10ft10" travel trailer with a gvrw of 6995 pounds and a hitch weight of 616. Because of the 5.5' bed, I bought a Weighsafe weight distribution hitch, which is one of the best, but tips the scales at 106 pounds. I have 2 medium sized tanks and 2 batteries on the tongue of the trailer. I know the PB will pull the weight no problem, but I am just worried about the payload. We have about 400 pounds of people, and then a regular load of gear in the trailer (food, clothes, etc) I live in AZ, so not worried too much about elevation or mountains, although we will travel to some places like that. What's most important to me is stability and safety as we have two young kids. I have towed a bigger TT before but I had a Ram 2500 at the time. I love everything about the F150 and my wife loves it, but I am just wondering if it would be better to move to a 250. Any thoughts? Thanks

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[Chris GTO TT]

Generally you'll probably be fine, but you'll also probably be over payload. As much as the PB is a great idea for a travel trailer it's extra mass can really reduce the payload capacity, especially on the fancier trims. Basically when you tow your trailer you more or less cannot use your bed because people and tongue weight will use most of not all of your payload.

 

[Snakebitten]

You are sure to get a response or two from the RV towing police on a forum, but I personally think you should set up your rig to the best of your ability and then be honest with yourself about how it handles in your described configuration.

Or put another way, I'd rather have a rig that handled good but was a couple of hundred pounds over Payload, than a rig that just didn't tow well even though it was a couple of hundred pounds under Payload capacity.

Two different RV's with the same exact tongue weight and as-loaded-weight can tow completely different. There's a lot of geometry at play and trailer frame/axle location can be great or horrible.

I also would address some shortcomings of the OEM F150. For towing at or near capacity it would really prosper from better tires, shocks, and even a rear Antisway bar. Then take the time to truly dial that WDH in for good front axle weight.

 

[Buyer2021]

I like @Snakebitten 's IMO pragmatic advice

Not gonna 'police' but I am curious - will you share the sticker 'payload rating' for your truck?

 

[Zco1]

I like @Snakebitten 's IMO pragmatic advice

Not gonna 'police' but I am curious - will you share the sticker 'payload rating' for your truck?

I can check in the morning, but I am pretty sure it is 1303.

 

[Snakebitten]

Edit: was typing before the OP responded.

**********
Platinum Powerboost.

If I had to guess the Payload is just above 1300? Maybe 1340ish?
If it has the panoroof, you lose another 60lbs and can drop below 1300.

Just guessing though.
In my brain I admit to rounding up. ?
I consider a fully dolled up F150 Powerboost, especially with the 6.5' bed's longer wheelbase, as a decent tow vehicle with a ~1500 lb Payload chassis.

Might tow great at capacity.
Might tow not so great.
Depends on the trailer and some chassis massaging.

 

[Zco1]

Edit: was typing before the OP responded.

**********
Platinum Powerboost.

If I had to guess the Payload is just above 1300? Maybe 1340ish?
If it has the panoroof, you lose another 60lbs and can drop below 1300.

Just guessing though.
In my brain I admit to rounding up. ?
I consider a fully dolled up F150 Powerboost, especially with the 6.5' bed's longer wheelbase, as a decent tow vehicle with a ~1500 lb Payload chassis.

Might tow great at capacity.
Might tow not so great.
Depends on the trailer and some chassis massaging.

I'd probably do the 250 before upgrading the 150 too much. I really like the Pro Power, and my wife loves the massage seats of course, but I am finding only one 250 nearby with those options, and it's about $40k more than my truck, and 40k can buy a really nice generator and plenty of good massages, so I'll probably end up looking for something less equipped but better suited for towing.

 

[Snakebitten]

Yeah, I recently added a fairly stripped XLT F350 with an amazing #4750 Payload. I bought it strictly for towing RV's that I wouldn't enjoy towing with my Powerboost.
Brand new, the 2024 F350 was $20k less than my dolled up 2022 KingRanch Powerboost. ?? And I got a decent discount as well. Couldn't resist.

I have 4 RV's and none of them really call for a SuperDuty. But I have my eyes on one that will hopefully be an acquisition next year, and so I am kinda putting the horse before the cart this time. It'll be a bumper pull that will break 10,000 lbs dry. So way beyond the ~7500-8000lb no-fun zone limit I consider for even a well sorted 1/2 ton on long runs.

 

[HammaMan]

I recently added a fairly stripped XLT F350...

It's ready for upgrades if you're up to it....

 

[Snakebitten]

It's ready for upgrades if you're up to it....

Lalalalalalalala (fingers in both ears)

Almost every feature you speak of, that I would like to have, would have been less expensive from the factory. Digital IPC, 13" Sync4, LED headlights,.......

I purposely kept the budget down with the intention of rarely being in the truck for any time beyond towing heavy(er). Nothing could be further from a daily driver. ?
Besides, YOU already are to blame (or credit?) for my daily not even being one of my trucks.

Although I really do think Adaptive Cruise is worth it if I don't have to go too far down the rabbit hole.

 

[HammaMan]

YOU already are to blame (or credit?) for my daily not even being one of my trucks.

Although I really do think Adaptive Cruise is worth it if I don't have to go too far down the rabbit hole.

I thought it was your shopping buddy's fault

I was looking at 450s and they don't even give lane centering until lariat highs!? Projector lamps don't even show up until platinums. Each trim is like an instant +10k. Ford and their packages are just poo.

 

[Cobraman428]

Use the Ford Towing Calc with your vin. I have 1323 lbs of Payload on my 21 platinum. That forced me to get a much smaller lighter trailer and to watch how I load my trailer. I'm just under max GVWR 7350 lbs when I tow. Watch your rear axle weight too.
Here are my numbers w/unloaded full fuel tank empty truck vs. a loaded trailer that is loaded up for a 3 week trip and with the wife and dog inside the truck with me. Note I also lost some payload by adding a few things to my truck. So payload is 1170 lbs not 1323 lbs See below.
If I decide to get a bigger trailer down the road, I hope Ford has the PB F250/350 out by 2028. https://www.ford.com/support/towing-calculator

 

[Hullguy]

Yeah, I recently added a fairly stripped XLT F350 with an amazing #4750 Payload. I bought it strictly for towing RV's that I wouldn't enjoy towing with my Powerboost.
Brand new, the 2024 F350 was $20k less than my dolled up 2022 KingRanch Powerboost. ?? And I got a decent discount as well. Couldn't resist.

I have 4 RV's and none of them really call for a SuperDuty. But I have my eyes on one that will hopefully be an acquisition next year, and so I am kinda putting the horse before the cart this time. It'll be a bumper pull that will break 10,000 lbs dry. So way beyond the ~7500-8000lb no-fun zone limit I consider for even a well sorted 1/2 ton on long runs.

Enjoy the Brinkley!

 

[Davexxxx]

Well, the OP has the best hitch to figure if he has a problem or not.

Though, since he'll be so tight on weight, switching to something lighter and a standalone tongue scale, might eventually be worth the trouble.

I use the WeighWSafe Middleweight and its a great hitch, especially if you're borderline, or tow different trailers, because of the instant readings and ease of adjustment but it is heavier than most others.

He never did get back to us, with a hard number on his door sticker but suffice it to say, his available payload will be several hundred less than mine, though his proposed gross load, will be about 500lbs. less.

Based on the tow guides, we know that towing capacity (therefore engine power and braking) won't be a problem but common to all half tons, he'll be up against the payload #.

I can't honestly say that I know what the practical upper limit of the 14th gen is. As has been discussed in recent days, a couple hundred lbs. over, is probably insignificant but somewhere, there is an upper limit that is real and the only hard info we have, is the door sticker and or the VIN specific towing webpage.

So, as the old Cartographers would label the edges of their maps into unknown territories, "Beyond here, be Dragons".

When loaded for the month + trips we take, we're right at stated capacity.

I prefer the tires to be 45psi rather than the factory 36, which helped with cornering under load a bunch and added the 1000lb versions of Sumo Springs on the rear, which helped even more.

Again, I don't know what the upper limit would be and while I don't have trouble with my combined rig, I don't think I'd want anything longer, or much heavier, than the 30', 7,500lb. class.

 

[Snakebitten]

I thought it was your shopping buddy's fault

It's true that she lit the spark that started the fire. But the stack of kindling was present already. I blame you for me collecting the pile. ?

Enjoy the Brinkley!

I won't disparage a Brinkley. ?
But I'm having a barn on wheels designed/built. (Sheep Camp, to be exact)
My plan is to switch to it from the one I have been living in, but actually towing it on occasions. (something I've never done in 9 years of full-timeing)

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