i am a newbie at towing and was wondering if using an 04 f150 fx4, with 3.73 rear, and 18" wheels with the towpackage and ,5.4 engine can handle towing a travel trailer with a 600lb yamaha vmax motorcycle in the bed. how much tongue weight can the truck handle? it is set up to toy up to 9500 lbs right now. how do i figure out how big of a trailer i can safely pull? i think the tongue weight of a trailer is 10-15% of the total trailer weight? we are heading to valley forge to check out an rv show and trying to figure out if going to a travel trailer and the bike in the bed will work ok....the wife likes the idea of more space for camping and not using the space for a garage for the bike as in a toyhauler.....going with a toyhauler i would need an enclosed rear garage so as to not smell fuel from the bike.....all thoughts welcome please! thanks....

 

Nice Vmax Jim, I have a 83' Magna V65. I know, yours is faster. ha-ha. I dont understand your set up. How heavy is your trailer ? You said something about toy up to 9500 lb ? I dont think your truck is rated for 9500 lb. What ever the case, I think a motorcycle in the bed would add to the gross combined weight, just like adding a few more people in the cab. I think the tonge weight is really for stablility (10% rule). Look in your owners manual for the max tow weight. How heavy is your trailer ?

 

You'll need to get your truck weighed first. Then look at the door jamb sticker and see what it's GVWR is. Subtract the actual weight from this and that's the amount of payload you can have.

Payload is anything added to the truck that was not there when you got the initial weight. Add that bike, payload.... Add an additional person, payload.... That cooler full of beer, payload....

What's left over after loading up the truck is what you can have for a trailers tongue weight. IMO, after putting in a #600 bike in the back, you will not have a whole lot left over.....

That #9500 tow rating does not take into account ANY additioanl payload in the truck...... So, basically, for every pound over the trucks base curb weight, you have to subtract a pound from that "tow rating".....

Good luck!

Mitch

 

i don't have a trailer yet, that is why i was asking....the wife would like more space in the rv trailer without a garage, and i want to make sure if i put it in the bed of the truck what size trailer i could get....the gvwr is 7200# i believe.....and thanks for the comment on the bike!

 

Without knowing what your truck weighs before the bike goes in the back, no way to know that......

Lets just take some numbers at random. Lets say you weigh your truck with you, your wife and a full tank of gas in the truck.... Lets say it weighs in at #6000.

So, you subtract that from your trucks GVWR of #7200 and that leaves you with #1200 of additional payload you can add to the truck. The bike weighs #600... That leaves #600 of additional payload. That leaves you with another #600 of potential trailer tongue weight you can have and still not exceed the GVWR of the truck. But, if you also put in that cooler full of beer and some tools, firewood, kids, whatever, you have to add that into the mix as well.... It'll count directly towards the trucks GVW.

My #4500 travel trailer has a tongue weight of around #550. When I'm all hitched up and ready to roll with just me, wife, firewood, tools and a pair of mountain bikes in the bed (beer is in the trailer.... ), I'm just a tad over my trucks GVWR of #6250.... The thing is, I'm still about a 'ton' under my trucks GCWR, so the combo tows very well and I don't have any performance issues at all.... But, I'm basically exceeding my trucks GVWR..... I know the truck is not going to buckle up and break because of this, but it tells me I can't really go much heavier on the trailer, or add much more "stuff" to the truck......

Just remember that the minimum tongue weight of any trailer should be 10% of the trailers total GVW.... 12% is better, and you don't really want to go over 15% for the most part. Boat trailers are different, in that they get away with lighter tongue weight because of where the trailer axles are placed....

IMO, if you look at travel trailers with GVWR of around #6000 you should do just fine. Don't get all hung up on the trailers "dry" weights and your trucks "tow rating", as the two are not really what you will find as being true in the real world... That trailer WILL weigh more then it's dry weight and your truck will never be able to tow a trailer at the weight of it's "tow rating" because who buys a truck that weighs in at it's curb weight??

Mitch

 

You can also go to RV.net and do search. You'll fine more info than you want. If you ask any questions, they'll tell you get a F-250, PSD. One guy was asking for help picking out a truck to tow a motorcycle trailer. Most people said get a F-250. I thought that was insane.

 

thanks mitch! that really helps alot.....so in the same scenario you listed, if i didn't put the bike in the bed of the truck and instead got a toyhauler, i would be able to get a larger trailer as far as the weight goes? everytime i start reading the gcwr etc....i get confused. you helped to put it in laymens terms...thanks. jim

 

Unfortuneately, Toy haulers with separate garages are 1) 50%-100% more expensive than similar quality TT and 2) 50% heavier.

Weigh your truck with the bike in it. Do the math like Mitch gave, with your real numbers.

There is one toy hualyer that might work for you. Check out the Sunline Transport 2675. It has a mini garage that can one your bike. Sunline has a high reputation for quaity. Listen to Magnawake and check out RV.net too.

 

just got back from an rv show in valleyforge pa....one of the dealers suggested a load leveling hitch/weight distributing hitch. made it sound like either in a tt or a toyhauler didn't matter. that is the weight in the back of the truck with the bike in the bed would be more evenly distributed between all the axels including the tt axil. still have to do the math, but a 6k or possibly a 7k trailer could work.....thanks for all the input guys.....it is a learning experience for sure!

 

Yep, you'll need a WD hitch setup for sure. I use one on my setup and it really makes a difference.....

Even thou you are distributing the weight over all the axles, you still have the same basic GVW on the truck..... All you've done is move some to the front axle..... In addition, a full WD hitch setup weighs in at about #80-#100 all by itself! So, you've just added more weight to the whole thing!!

Like APT said, Toy Haulers have even heavier tongue weights, because they need to offset all the weight you are putting in the rear... If you have a bunch of weight in the rear, and not enough tongue weight, it'll tow like cr@p and you won't be having a good time at all.....

Yes, if you stick to something in the 6-7000 lbs range for a fully loaded trailer (not the dry weights), then you should do fine....

 

You need a WD hitch if towing 4000+ pounds regardless of the type of trailer or what's in the bed.