My ford F150 Has a Tow Limit of 8,300 and GCWR of 14000....I really like the Layout of the 28 RLS I would Like a F250 Diesal .......However My 2005 5.4 F150 Is Paid For. If Im doing the numbers right I should be ok. What do you guys think? Im new to Travel Trailers so please be nice.
Ford F150 vs 28 RLS
- Thread starter Ptoms
- Start date
jimtoo
Moderator
Hi Ptoms,
Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum and hopefully to the family. We have a great bunch of people here with lots of information and all willing to share their knowledge if needed.
I'm sure you will get some answers soon. Hopefully and almost always the folks here are nice. We are not like some of the other threads.
Enjoy the forum.
Jim M
Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum and hopefully to the family. We have a great bunch of people here with lots of information and all willing to share their knowledge if needed.
I'm sure you will get some answers soon. Hopefully and almost always the folks here are nice. We are not like some of the other threads.
Enjoy the forum.
Jim M
Bighurt
Well-known member
You are within limits for the 28 RLS given the specs above. That being said your F150 will be worked hard. Some things to look into would be a Tranny cooler and shift kit if not already equipped. Also you will need a weight distributing hitch, which I would recommend anyways. The F250 Diesel has its own issues and expenses. If its a budget killer you can hold off on the F250, and just be gentle with the 150. Ford has a new 6.7L Diesel engine that comes out in a few months for their 2011 Superduty. I would find a used...or 2010.
Bighurt is dead-on. I had a Tahoe 5.4l with "Soccer-Mom" gearing (323) with my 28RLS and it was a bear but doable. If you have the "standard" 383 gears (or better!) you will be OK but stay away from the mountains out west. Just be sure to get the weight distribution hitch then enjoy the adventure, not how fast you can get there....
Thank both of you guys for your replys....hearing that I should be ok being gentle on my F150 (from experienced TT Haulers) helped influence my decision to go ahead and spring for the 28RLS. My F150 pulled it over the Alaska Range on my way from Palmer where I bought the Unit to Fairbanks Alaska where I live. At the crest of some of the Hills my RPMs were in the 3500 range and Id slowed down to about 40MPH by the time I made the crest. I keep my OD OFF and keep the speeds to about 55MPH. I did have a weight distrubiting Hitch installed as well as Anti Sway. In the future I will definantly upgrade to at least an F250 (For piece of mind and safety if nothing else) but I think my little 1/2 Ton will suffice in the mean time.( I hope the transmission holds) Thanks for the time you both took to answer my question.
Pat
Pat
JWalker
Northeast Region Director-Retired
Ptoms,
We were in a similar situation, We have a 28 BHS and a 2004 F250 with a 5.4l. The 5.4 worked just fine, as long as you kept in mind its limitations. We lived on top of the mountains and camped at the bottom. There was about 1000' of elevation change with around 6% grade. The 5.4 worked hard in the mountains. but ran smooth on the flats. When we would go the the beach, it would run 60-65mph with no problem and averaged around 11 mpg.
We recently moved to a F250 Diesel, not because the 5.4 was a problem, but we would like to move to a Sundance 5th wheel. We can't afford both at the same time.
Happy Travels
Jamie
We were in a similar situation, We have a 28 BHS and a 2004 F250 with a 5.4l. The 5.4 worked just fine, as long as you kept in mind its limitations. We lived on top of the mountains and camped at the bottom. There was about 1000' of elevation change with around 6% grade. The 5.4 worked hard in the mountains. but ran smooth on the flats. When we would go the the beach, it would run 60-65mph with no problem and averaged around 11 mpg.
We recently moved to a F250 Diesel, not because the 5.4 was a problem, but we would like to move to a Sundance 5th wheel. We can't afford both at the same time.
Happy Travels
Jamie
Consider buying a tuner to reflash the trucks ECU. Firming up the shifts by changing the pressure at shift and lockup will make the truck tow better and extend the life of the transmission. I towed a 7000 pound fiver with an 04 4.6 F150 for a year and while it worked, I'm sure the drive train suffered and it's life was dramatically reduced from this.
I went ahead and traded in my F150 for a F250 Diesel. The New Truck is a 08 4x4 with 24K miles on it, and has the 6.4 liter diesel. I hated making the swap but the idea of pulling full time with that half ton just doesn’t seem realistic. I want something I can reliably and SAFELY tow with whenever and wherever I want. I just did not have the confidence with the F150 for a full time TV; I don’t believe it would keep a transmission. If I were only going to tow a short distance 2-3 times a year.... I would have kept the F-150 however I will be full timing it most of the summer and driving some really rough roads to boot. From reading this post and getting a realistic feel for what the more experienced folks are doing. I think I made a wise call to trade in the half ton while it still has a reasonable resale value….. Least ways I drop a tranny and take a heavy 5k + financial loss for repairs and that doesn’t even include downtime, inconvenience or lost wages. It is better to man up and get the proper equipment right from the get I guess.
We have a '10 F-150 w/ Max Tow Package and a Sundance 285BH. The tow package puts the tow rating at 11,300 and GCVWR of ~17k. We recently pulled some 4k miles on a vacation starting in Montana thru Wyoming, S. Dakota over to the Great Lakes and back. Most of the time, I didn't notice the trailer was even there ride wise as it didnt squat the truck more than an inch. I did have to trade off some RPM to maintain speed on some hills and just had to give up some speed on the worst hills, but for the most part I am very happy with the combination.
The area we need to watch is pin weight as the RAWR is the limiting force. For that trip, our first out of town, we emptied the 5er pretty good. I am going to go to the local CAT scale to get a full set of axle weights done with full camping load, not a minimized to see where we are at.
If we were going to be pulling full time, there is no way I would have gone with such a small truck, but I dont see us goin gout more than 1/2 dozen times per year right now so I wanted a truck I would be happy with the other 11 months of the year.
That being said, I have ready many people say that it can't be done, it shouldnt be done, etc. But if you are defensive and cautious and stay within your abilities as a driver it is a suitable weekender combination.
The area we need to watch is pin weight as the RAWR is the limiting force. For that trip, our first out of town, we emptied the 5er pretty good. I am going to go to the local CAT scale to get a full set of axle weights done with full camping load, not a minimized to see where we are at.
If we were going to be pulling full time, there is no way I would have gone with such a small truck, but I dont see us goin gout more than 1/2 dozen times per year right now so I wanted a truck I would be happy with the other 11 months of the year.
That being said, I have ready many people say that it can't be done, it shouldnt be done, etc. But if you are defensive and cautious and stay within your abilities as a driver it is a suitable weekender combination.
