Tow capacity-Really?

[Redrider007]

Okay I need some honest answers!! Lol--My truck is rated for 12,700 lbs. 2004 F350 diesel.. Im looking at the Big Country 3070re which st ates a 14,000 full loaded weight caoacity. Is this a concern for me? Ive hot $10,000 going into the motor to make it reliable for just thus reason. No real mods but just bulletproofing the motor. It looks as though most fufth wheels I see out there are bigger than what I am looking at.

 

[jnbhobe]

The truck won't be the problem it will do just fine. The weight numbers just won't match.

 

[emm4273610re]

You'll spent a lot of money on the engine and still have a possible weak drive line, brakes and suspension. Sound like your truck will be at the limit with the trailer empty. The 10k could be a good deposit on a truck with a higher rating. It's your comfort level, just be safe for you and the other around you.

 

[jdamude]

Okay I need some honest answers!! Lol--My truck is rated for 12,700 lbs. 2004 F350 diesel.. Im looking at the Big Country 3070re which st ates a 14,000 full loaded weight caoacity. Is this a concern for me? Ive hot $10,000 going into the motor to make it reliable for just thus reason. No real mods but just bulletproofing the motor. It looks as though most fufth wheels I see out there are bigger than what I am looking at.

Redrider, you will read many different opinions on the forum. All of them are based on members personal experiences. I can tell you that we just purchased a BC 3650RL in the fall. The door sticker shows that the unit rolled off the line at 11,900lbs. We have a 2014 F250 4x4 crew cab short box with a 6.2 gas engine. We installed air bags in the truck prior to taking delivery of the trailer. When we towed the trailer home it was very windy, the truck seemed to have ok power however it seemed very unstable.

I worried all all winter that we were going to have issues with pulling our trailer. My wife and I were in an accident in 2001 where we rolled a 2001 F350 crew cab short box diesel and a 30' travel trailer. Fortunately, there were no injuries.

A month ago I finally said to my wife that we needed to do something about our tow vehicle. This week we purchased a new F450 crew cab 4x4. I haven't had it hooked to the trailer yet but I know just from driving it home from the dealer that we made the right decision.

Your truck will pull your trailer without problems. You will have to be cautious on hills and driving in unfavourable weather and wind. Payload will have to be strategic to keep the weight down.

Good luck with your new trailer, the model you purchased is beautiful.

 

[oscar]

One should not exceed any of the following:

The GVWR of the tow vehicle.
Any of the tow vehicle's axle ratings.
Any of the tow vehicle's tire ratings.
The tow vehicle's trailer ratings. (TT or Fiver, not the same)
The hitch rating. (TT or Fiver)
The GCVWR
The GVWR of the trailer.
Any of the trailer's axle ratings.
Any of the trailer's tire ratings.

The PRUDENT RV'er stays within 80% or better of ANY of these numbers. This is not always easy, but at least you need to know when you're getting close. It's all fun and games until you start blowing tires or bending metal.

I can tell you right now that the CCC (cargo carrying capacity) of many trailers is easily reduced by factory installed options, sometimes to the point that a normal load of "stuff" brings it to or slightly over GVWR…….

Pulling a trailer that's over the trucks trailer weight is not fun.

 

[Birchwood]

Where did you get the 12700 lbs .Use the max GVWR of your RV and multiply by 20% and that will be the Max pin weight on your truck.Add the weight of your truck (with cargo and passengers) and the pin weight.This value should not exceed the GVWR (stamped on door sill ) of your truck.

 

[oscar]

Where did you get the 12700 lbs .Use the max GVWR of your RV and multiply by 20% and that will be the Max pin weight on your truck.Add the weight of your truck (with cargo and passengers) and the pin weight.This value should not exceed the GVWR (stamped on door sill ) of your truck.

Not that simple.

As I stated above, which I assume you read, the truck has a GVWR, each axle has a max rating, the tires have a rating. There is a max rating for the 2" receiver itself as well as a max rating for a trailer that can be pulled with the 2" receiver, and then there is max fiver rating which is different and finally there is a max combined rating, GCVWR.

Some of the data is on placards, indeed, some is in the owners manual. Here's some of the stuff that's in the manual. Note the OP does not state whether it's a crew cab or not, auto or manual, 4x4 or 2x4 and a few other things. It all makes a difference. Here's the data for the 04's.

http://www.fleet.ford.com/resources/ford/general/pdf/towingguides/2004_All.pdf

The 12.700 is a number found under the 1 ton SRW, 4x4 diesels. Note that the GCVWR is 20K…. Assuming the truck is around 8000 he will be well over.

Towing weights have increased dramatically over the last 10 years. The newer 3/4 ton trucks pull more than the 04 one ton.

Now I know there will be sworn testimony that people are well over one or more of these limitations and it works just fine. Whether that's smart or not is another question as it is certainly not legal. An attorney in a courtroom during a wrongful death suit would have a FIELD DAY with it.

 

[Heathcote4]

I was on the Ford Website, building my dream truck. On the configurator it offered a 10k GVWR derating package. I noticed on my door sticker that my truck was rated at 10k GVWR. When visiting my dealer they told me that was a paperwork issue and he mentioned it had something to do with California. Question: are we being forced into bigger trucks because of paperwork?

Josh


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Redrider007]

F450,,,, you should be solid as a rock!! Enjoy

 

[porthole]

a 10k GVWR derating package.

Lower registration and insurance costs in many areas.
In New Jersey for a time, over 10K automatically "qualified" you for commercial ratings.

 

[caissiel]

My truck in NB canada has to be registered for 11700 lbs same as a F350. Cannot lower it because of the dry weight of these heavier Fords.
My friends dullies are registered for less.
For me the door spec don't mean a thing.

Sent from my LG-LS720 using Tapatalk

 

[mmomega]

The engine is "almost" never the issue when determining what it can pull.

On TV they showed a Toyota pulling a Space Shuttle.

The only time it really matters is if something unplanned happens. If there is any accident, it doesn't take a detective to crunch 2-3 different numbers and find out you were towing over what your vehicle is rated for and you're at fault.
What I think about is, what if I caused the problem and injured someone else and it could have been avoided with a smaller trailer or me getting a larger truck?
or flip that, even if someone else caused the accident, could I have avoided that accident had my tow vehicle been more suited to towing that amount of weight.

Get a bigger truck or a smaller RV.

 

[Jim.Allison]

The Toyota was pulling the shuttle on a perfectly level or declining surface. The Toyota delivered enough torque to move it.

The engine is "almost" never the issue when determining what it can pull.

On TV they showed a Toyota pulling a Space Shuttle.

The only time it really matters is if something unplanned happens. If there is any accident, it doesn't take a detective to crunch 2-3 different numbers and find out you were towing over what your vehicle is rated for and you're at fault.
What I think about is, what if I caused the problem and injured someone else and it could have been avoided with a smaller trailer or me getting a larger truck?
or flip that, even if someone else caused the accident, could I have avoided that accident had my tow vehicle been more suited to towing that amount of weight.

Get a bigger truck or a smaller RV.

 

[Jim.Allison]

That truck will pull your trailer. The 12,700 LBS is the GVWR (gross vehicle weight rating) which is the amount the truck can weigh, whether it is loaded with two pallets of lawn grass, or the hitch load. If you pull your truck onto a scale with your trailer hitched to it, and the trailer is off the scale, the weight of the truck should be no more than 12,700 LBS.

The next weight that you did not mention can be found somewhere on the truck or owners manual is the GCVWR (gross combined vehicle weight rating). That number is the max that your truck and trailer can weigh in the travel configuration. This is the weight of the truck and trailer on the scale at the same time.

You did not say if the truck was a DRW or a SRW. If it is a dually then you probably have the correct tires on it. But if it is a SRW, you need to look at the rear tires and see what you have. Used trucks have a bad habit of having the wrong tires on them. So when you get your truck and your trailer hooked up, go get it weighed, weigh the front axle, then the front and rear axle, then the rear axle by itself, then the truck and trailer, then the trailer only all while hitched. This will give you all the information you need to determine if your truck is within specs. But when you get that trucks rear axle weighed with the trailer hitched, compare that weight to the weight rating of your tires. Like I said If you have a dually you are probably in good shape, but if you have a SRW, you need to watch the tires. I have never heard of a SRW with a 12700 lb GVWR so I'm thinking you have a dually.

You should be looking for a number between 24000 and 26000 lbs GVWR for that truck in a SRW, in DRW the number is probably 30,000 lbs. This data should be on your door post. If not its in your owners manual. Options move these numbers up and down, the addition of crew cabs, 4X4, axle ratios and other options can change these numbers.

Hope this helps.

Okay I need some honest answers!! Lol--My truck is rated for 12,700 lbs. 2004 F350 diesel.. Im looking at the Big Country 3070re which st ates a 14,000 full loaded weight caoacity. Is this a concern for me? Ive hot $10,000 going into the motor to make it reliable for just thus reason. No real mods but just bulletproofing the motor. It looks as though most fufth wheels I see out there are bigger than what I am looking at.

 

[mmomega]

There's your numbers for a 2004 F350 towing a 5th wheel.

 

[Bohemian]

Remember. Each individual truck is different. The trimn level matters. Each option matters. Everything you add matters.

 

[Miltp920]

i think the 12,700 lbs is the weight of the 5er you can pull behind your truck, not the weight of your truck with the 5er hitched up as stated in a previous post. your owners manual will tell you the max your truck can weigh, and that includes the added pin weight, and passengers, and fuel, and hitch, and anything you put in the bed besides the hitch. pin weight is typically 20%to 25% of your 5er weight. my 5er is 16,000 lbs and my pin weight on the truck is 3200 lbs. . i have a 2003 GMC and my 5er weight rating is 14,700 lbs, gcvwr is 22,000 both truck and 5er. I am guessing your gcvwr is similar. you might want to put $10,000 into a newer truck over a bulletproof engine IF you want to be legal. your truck will pull it, but you wont be legal. i am shopping for a 3500HD so i can be legal. i need a relatively new SRW or DRW to be legal. IF you need to pull 14,000 you will not need to go so new. do your research.

 

[mdamerell]

http://www.fleet.ford.com/resources/ford/general/pdf/towingguides/2004_All.pdf

Problem is 2004 was the year before the tow war started. If you look there is no difference in ratings past a certain point. EI 3.73 and 4.10 have same tow rating. Not so after 2005. I tow 12,000# (by CAT Scale) with the cruise set at 60 mph easy peasy through PA. Just need to watch you pin weight.

 

[G-town]

So we have decided to purchase a Big Country 3650. We will be getting it in April. We have also decided to purchase a Silverado SRW HD. Now for the hard part. Our Gross RV weight is 15,500. Will we be okay with a HD 2500 or do we need to get an HD 3500? I want to make sure we can stop this rig when we need to!

Lucy and Ethel
We can't wait to start the adventure!

 

[Bohemian]

http://fifthwheelst.com/2015-three-quarter-ton-truck-towing.html

//heartlandowners.org/showthread.ph...Truck-Payloads?p=386013&viewfull=1#post386013