You're absolutely right, Chris! I just went out and looked at the truck and that's what is printed right on the bumper (actually on the plastic cap on the bumper). I still think Future will need more capacity though. He'll be at 6,500 lbs.
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towing question
- Thread starter VinMan
- Start date
chrisA.
GreatGrady Captain
You know,with the F-150/250's of the 1970's I would have no problem pulling 5 or 6000 lbs with them but todays bumpers? no way!The way they are built,the F-250 of today is the 70's F-150
rorkin
GreatGrady Captain
The rating on the hitch means it is class lll.. Max capacity 5000 Tongue
weight 500 #.. That is if you use a standard boat trailer and drop the
coupling on the ball and go.. A weight distributing hitch is a whole other matter which transfers some of the load forward off of the hitch..
If the boat and trailer combo is over 5,000 then he should go to a class lV
hitch.. THere is some safety margin in the 5000# hitch but if there is an accident you are going to be tagged with using an undersize hitch.
You can still use a 2 inch ball. The higher capacity receiver may have a
larger hole to accept the 2 inch ball with a little bigger shaft
weight 500 #.. That is if you use a standard boat trailer and drop the
coupling on the ball and go.. A weight distributing hitch is a whole other matter which transfers some of the load forward off of the hitch..
If the boat and trailer combo is over 5,000 then he should go to a class lV
hitch.. THere is some safety margin in the 5000# hitch but if there is an accident you are going to be tagged with using an undersize hitch.
You can still use a 2 inch ball. The higher capacity receiver may have a
larger hole to accept the 2 inch ball with a little bigger shaft
If I have to get a class IV hitch, I will but the hitch on this truck is from Ford (its a III) and it says 5000 weight carrying and 9900 weight distributing. I do not plan to put the ball on the bumper (5000). I plan to put the ball on the receiver (9900). The truck tows 8600 according to the owner's manual from Ford. Are you saying I need a class IV to tow more than 5000?
It was my understanding that I need to tow from the receiver, not bumper, and I'll be fine up to 8600lbs???
It was my understanding that I need to tow from the receiver, not bumper, and I'll be fine up to 8600lbs???
Barlow46
Well-Known Member
futureowner said:If I have to get a class IV hitch, I will but the hitch on this truck is from Ford (its a III) and it says 5000 weight carrying and 9900 weight distributing. I do not plan to put the ball on the bumper (5000). I plan to put the ball on the receiver (9900). The truck tows 8600 according to the owner's manual from Ford. Are you saying I need a class IV to tow more than 5000?
It was my understanding that I need to tow from the receiver, not bumper, and I'll be fine up to 8600lbs???
Not really on the 8600 as many are led to believe. All towing involves many different factors as everyone knows. The best way to determine what is really happening with your own vehicle is to load it up with the number of people that will be accompanying the boat, fill the truck fuel tank(s) and the boat fuel and water tanks, put in the coolers, ice, fishing equipment, etc. and take it to the nearest truck stop with a scale. When you get there, unhitch the boat and drive just the truck onto the scale. You will get a printout of the weights on the front and rear axle. Go back to the trailer and hitch up and drive on the scale again. Now you will get tongue weight and trailer weight. Do the math and you will determine what you are really towing and how much is on the hitch. Take a close look at your trucks capacities in the owners manual. You should see a sticker on the door frame with capacities. Read up on what the capacities mean (GVWR, etc.)
Without sounding like an alarmist, keep in mind that some accident investigations involving towing are now looked at closely by insurance companies to determine if the tow vehicle was overloaded. Also, I have always towed with the transmission locked out of overdrive. I have never had a problem in the Fords with an old C6 transmission, a newer E4OD transmission and now the new Ford transmission with the tow haul button mated to the 6.0 diesel. I would strongly suggest that you get a bolt on frame hitch and not use the bumber hitch. Take a look here for some good information on towing and weights. http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/listings/forum/40
Maybe there is a misunderstanding. It has a bolt on frame hitch and that hitch indicates a weight distributing capacity of 9900 lbs. It also indicates a carry capacity of 5000. I think I'm OK if I don't use the bumper and use the receiver.
Barlow46
Well-Known Member
futureowner said:Maybe there is a misunderstanding. It has a bolt on frame hitch and that hitch indicates a weight distributing capacity of 9900 lbs. It also indicates a carry capacity of 5000. I think I'm OK if I don't use the bumper and use the receiver.
I think the misunderstanding may be coming from the terminology. A weight distributing capacity of 9900 to me means that you would be using a camper style towing setup with the weight distributing bars connected to the trailer tongue and to the receiver hitch. The carry capacity to me means that you can carry up to 5000 without the bars or just hitched up to the ball alone. The hitch should also show a tongue weight. This should not be a problem with the boat setup but that is why the weight distributing hitch capacity of 9900 is mentioned, should you be hitching up to a heavier tongue weight as a camper would have. Take a look here at the weight distributing hitch thread and see if it makes more sense than I am making. http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/listings/forum/40
Harleyfxdl
Active Member
As I stated earlier, I routinely towed 6-8k with my 1995 F-150 with the factory receiver. In the many yrs of towing that weight, sometimes over distances of 500 miles I never experienced a problem. The previous owner of my 208 adventure towed it with a 2002 F-150 4x2 extended cab for 6 yrs without a problem. The weight distribution previously discussed helps to apply the load evenly across both axels. Here is a link to understanding it: http://www.etrailer.com/faq_weightdistribution.aspx
G8RDave
Well-Known Member
Future, ignore the bumper. The 5000 and 9900 both apply to the receiver. If you are just dropping the trailer onto the ball which is connected to the receiver (like 99% of us do) you need to look at the weight carrying (5,000lbs). The receiver just happens to have the same weight carrying capacity as the bumper.
Can you tow 6,500lbs with the class III receiver? Probably (especially in Florida where our inclines are simply overpasses and not mountains). Will you ever have problems with it? Maybe not, as Harley has shown. If it ever fails will you automatically be on the hook for any damages that it causes? Yes. Is it a better idea to use a receiver that is rated for the weight you intend to haul? Yes.
I'm not one of those guys who thinks you need a semi truck to haul a dinghy, but I do like to have a little cushion. My truck is almost at its towing capacity but the receiver, ball and hitchmount are all well within their ranges.
Can you tow 6,500lbs with the class III receiver? Probably (especially in Florida where our inclines are simply overpasses and not mountains). Will you ever have problems with it? Maybe not, as Harley has shown. If it ever fails will you automatically be on the hook for any damages that it causes? Yes. Is it a better idea to use a receiver that is rated for the weight you intend to haul? Yes.
I'm not one of those guys who thinks you need a semi truck to haul a dinghy, but I do like to have a little cushion. My truck is almost at its towing capacity but the receiver, ball and hitchmount are all well within their ranges.
I think I finally got it. (I'm slow but worth waiting for) I have a class III. I just priced a Class IV hitch that has a rating of up to 10,000lbs, more than enough to tow a 228 (about 6k on trailer). Its about $150 for the F150 version. Do you all prefer Drawtite or Reece or any other brand?
By the way, the 10,000lbs is not just "weight distributing." Its 10,000 conventional towing. Thanks all for the education.
Barlow46
Well-Known Member
$150 is a good price for a 10,000 hitch. Drawtite and Reese are both good. Is your truck the supercrew model? I looked around online and could only find one hitch (drawtite) that would fit and the cost was upwards of 260 including free shipping. http://www.drawtite-hitches.com/hitchsearch?year=2007&make=Ford&model=F-150+SuperCrew#result-anchor
CJBROWN
GreatGrady Captain
futureowner said:I think I finally got it. (I'm slow but worth waiting for) I have a class III. I just priced a Class IV hitch that has a rating of up to 10,000lbs, more than enough to tow a 228 (about 6k on trailer). Its about $150 for the F150 version. Do you all prefer Drawtite or Reece or any other brand?
Either brand is good, and a little heavier hitch rating is also cheap insurance for liability sake. Definitely worth making the swap.
The factory hitches are generally a little under the towing capacity of the truck, not sure why they do that, but probably to save $$ I think mine is a Class 111 rated for about 6k lbs on a truck rated for 12k lbs. Anyway, the difference is the reciever thickness and reinforcing, and the mounting flange guage and general construction of the hitch. They will generally use Grade 8 bolts to mount as well. And over 5K you generally find a 2-5/16" ball as the 2" maxes out at about 5K. The bigger ball has a bigger bolt too, and your trailer will also be a little beefier to handle the higher weight capacity.
I don't care what these guys say about towing that kind of weight with a half ton truck, you're going to find it's maxed out regardless of the factory tow rating. If you're really just a mile away from a launch you'll be fine. If you're going to do any hiway travel with it then get these upgrades:
trans-cooler (yes, an additional one in front of the radiator)
change the ATF to synthetic, amsoil, redline, mobil1, any are better than standard
synthetic diff fluid
Heavier rear shocks, like Bilstiens or Koni's or something with more damping action. You're going to get some good bounce from the trailer.
And make sure the brakes are always working well on the trailer as you'll find that's an awful lot of weight to stop.
Don't mean to scare you, and some of these posts are a little over confident, but there's some really good advice overall. I just don't want to hear that you've had problems or you break your new rig.
Let us know how it goes.
G8RDave
Well-Known Member
Tunaboyyy
Member
I purchased a Putnam XDR tow hitch. It's overkill for your needs but I am sure they have the smaller versions. Although I have not towed with it yet I did extensive research and can tell you it comes highly rec.
Just curious what your owners manual says about towing and hot climates?
Just curious what your owners manual says about towing and hot climates?
Harleyfxdl
Active Member
My response to the question about towing has not been about the hitch itself but the vehicle pulling the boat. Yes I agree you will need the proper hitch that is rated for your boat. My opinion is about the truck itself. I agree with most that the hitch should be within the specs you plan to pull. As far as the truck, I stand by my opinion.
Well, I hate to beat this dead horse, but the plot thickens. My truck is an 07 F150 SuperCrew with a factory hitch receiver. Apparently, I can not get a hitch receiver from Reece, Drawtite or Curt for that truck because it has a factory hitch that shares hardware with the bumper. (Apparently this is only on the Supercrew model). You can buy 10,000lbs hitches all day for F150's but not the SuperCrew with a factory hitch.
A local hitch installation shop told me that he would "beef" up my current hitch and that it would be fine. I'm not sure what "beef" up means yet. I have called Ford and they have not answered but stated that a research person would call within two days. They were very nice.
The bottom line is: The 2007 F150 SuperCrew that I have has a factory hitch with a 5000lbs max carry weight (conventional towing) even though the truck is rated at 8500lbs max carry weight (conventional towing). HOW DO I TOW MORE THAN 5K BUT LESS THAN 8.5K?
A local hitch installation shop told me that he would "beef" up my current hitch and that it would be fine. I'm not sure what "beef" up means yet. I have called Ford and they have not answered but stated that a research person would call within two days. They were very nice.
The bottom line is: The 2007 F150 SuperCrew that I have has a factory hitch with a 5000lbs max carry weight (conventional towing) even though the truck is rated at 8500lbs max carry weight (conventional towing). HOW DO I TOW MORE THAN 5K BUT LESS THAN 8.5K?
By the way, one of my neighbors has an F350 that regulary tows 10k lbs. I looked at his hitch and it has the same sticker: Max carry weight - 5000lbs.
Another neighbor has an F250 that regularly tows a 31ft Jupiter that weighs over 8000lbs. His hitch receiver has the same sticker: 5000lbs max carry weight.
Strange to me...
Another neighbor has an F250 that regularly tows a 31ft Jupiter that weighs over 8000lbs. His hitch receiver has the same sticker: 5000lbs max carry weight.
Strange to me...