Yes you can. Up to 9,500lbs trailer weight on some models. I just had to post this cause I'm sick of ******* **** *** ****** people bitching me out about when I tell people they can do it.

Putting twin turbos on your truck, and street racing it - voids your warranty.

Putting a chip, or aftermarket intake on your truck - voids your warranty.

Putting a 5th wheel in the bed and pulling a 10,000lb trailer down the road - recommended by FORD.

http://www.fordvehicles.com/assets/p...series9-18.pdf

 

Hmm, right from the link you posted, page 2.

Note: Trailer king pin weight should be 15-25% of total loaded trailer weight. Make sure vehicle payload (reduced by option weight) will accommodate trailer king pin weight and weight of passengers and cargo added to towing vehicle. Addition of trailer king pin weight and weight of passengers and cargo cannot cause vehicle weights to exceed rear GAWR or GVWR. These ratings can be found on the vehicle Safety Compliance Certification Label.

Let's say 15% of a 9000 pound trailer goes on the pin. That's 1350 pounds. Plus a hitch at ~250 pounds. How much payload is left for driver, passenger, extra vehicle options, extra cargo? That's at the lowest percentage of pin weight. If a trailer is designed and/or loaded for 20% pin weight that's over every F-150's payload rating except the heavy duty payload package without any hitch, passengers or cargo.

While Ford's specs say it is possible in theory, the reality is there are very few fifth wheel trailers than keep an F-150 under the GVWR.

I agree that a 5th wheel trailer will tow better than a similarily sized/weight bymper pull, but all things are not equal. A 7000 pound bumper pull trailer that puts 700 pounds on the bumper is better than a 7000 pound 5th wheel that puts 1650 (20%*7000 + 250 hitch) in the bed. One will exceed Ford's specs and the other will not.

Note: putting aftermarket equipment on your truck only voids the warranty if it was the cause of the failure Exceeding GVWR voids your warranty as well if that was determined to be the cause of the failure.

 

As a dealer of trailers and hitches we won't intsall a bed mount hitch in any F-150 or any 1/2 ton for that matter......and as a matter of fact there are no dealers in my county of over 750,000 people who will either....there is just waay to much liablility and potential for over loading.

 

Does somebody have 3/4 and 1 ton envy??

 

Chester as an old farmboy myself I find this funny. I clicked on the link and saw that Ford had specs for fifth wheel towing. I really don't care though. I'll still make fun of anyone who does it because it's just plain stupid. Just like someone pulling a one horse trailer with a one ton dually is dumb.

You always want a bigger tractor than you have plow, just like you always want more pickup than you have trailer to tow.

 

No it's not. Not when you go to stop, or when you make a braking turn. There's a reason that semi trucks, and people that pull heavy loads use them.

I wish you people would quit being stupid about this. Ok, fine. If it makes you happy, I'm an ignorant fool, that doesn't know anything about what I'm saying. Except that I have actually done it, and you haven't. I have also proven that ford says you can put 15% of a 9,000lb trailer in the bed, and my Ford dealership referred me to the company that they sub out their gooseneck hitches to (they only do 5th wheel installs). So I don't really see how you can keep acting like a little kid, and making fun of me, when you can't come up with a valid reason why you can't do it. (eg. you know somebody that bent their frame with a 5th wheel hitch, or it's illegal, or it voids the warranty)

 

You're taking it all wrong. I'm not saying, "go buy a huge gooseneck to pull with your f-150". All I'm saying is, "A gooseneck is a better way to pull than bumper pull". To the point that, "A slightly heavier gooseneck is safer than a slightly lighter bumper pull".

Now, if you're pulling a 2,000lb boat, so what. But if you're pulling a 7,000-8000lb camper, it's the way to go. 3/4 ton, 1 ton, or semi, it doesn't matter. Same principle.

 

Would I like one? Yes. Can I afford one? NO.

It's all the same though. If I had one, I couldn't afford to put fuel in it. F-150 fuel mileage sucks bad enough as it is.

 

OK I see your point about a camper. I just don't see alot of campers that small that are fifthwheels. Whenever I see a fifth wheel camper, it's usually 26-28 ft long or so.

I totally agree that a gooseneck is the way to go when pulling a trailer. That said, I don't see alot of small gooseneck trailers out there. The smallest gooseneck cattle trailer I've ever seen is like a 20x6. Most flatbeds and enclosed trailers are at least 24' long. Whenever I see a gooseneck trailer it's usually pulling a big load, like a tractor or backhoe or a bunch of hay. I wouldn't want to pull a load like that with my 1/2 ton.

 

I managed to find a powerstroke for well under $5k. Hardly expensive. Hell, I sold my '94 F-150 for MORE than my Powerstroke cost me

And my Powerstroke gets better fuel mileage than my F-150 EVER did. Loaded or unloaded, even having the 4:10s.

 

That 26-28 ft camper is equal to what at 7x16 foot cattle trailer ain't it. I don't have a clue as to how much campers weight, but the load in a 16 ft cattle trailer can be nearing to over 8,000 lbs (7x1100) . I see alot of new gooseneck 16 ft trailers for sale, more so than bumper pull.

It's really not fair to say that a 16 foot trailer is equal to a larger camper now is it. Ya your right it's not the 16 foot trailer has live weight on it. It will move and push your pickup around like you won't believe, even when parked, til they settle down a little bit.

Another part I haven't figured out yet is how does the DOT say your pulling two much. Well besides the Registration Card there is nothing. Well except your GAWR on the tow vehicle and trailer. So I can pull as much as I want in their eyes, but Ford has a Guideline in which they say your safe. Is the DOT guy gonna say give me you owners manual so I can see what your tow rating is? I don't think so. DMV Registration say's I just need the tow vehicles card registered for the amount I'm going to tow. If tow ratings were to be followed wouln't they be on the Safety Certification sticker also.

Basically if you going to tow/haul anything use common sense. No matter how much you tow/haul your rig is not going to react the same as unloaded. That is the problem, that I think plagues alot of people.

I've got alot more to say about weights along with questions comparing trucks to pickups, but I've bs'ed enough.

 

I've never heard of a 7x16 stock trailer. Dad has a 5x16 trailer, and we regularly put 8 800lb steers in it or about 7000 lbs. His old F250 with the non powerstroke diesel pulled it like it was nothing. You're right about the live weight though, they get to jumping around and it'll shove you around too.

I've never seen a 16 foot gooseneck stock trailer, but I've never looked either. Even if I had one I still woudn't pull it with a 1/2 ton. I wouldn't pull any stock trailer with a 1/2 ton. A 3/4 ton or 1 ton just pulls the trailer so much better. And besides who wants a dinky 16 ft stock trailer, it's better to have a 20 or 24 ft one. That way you make a lot less trips.

 

I don't think that anyone here has ever said that you CAN't pull any 5th wheel trailer of any type with an F-150. We've never argued that a bumper pull is any more or less stable than a 5er. You somehow seem to be singularly focused on those aspects of the argument that aren't being debated.

What we HAVE said over and over and over again is that it's difficult to find a 5th wheel camper that will not put an F-150 over its GAWR or GCWR once you load up the camper and the truck. Yes, there are a few of them out there that may fall into the specs on paper, but the numbers on paper seldom jive with the real world scaled weights. How is that being unrealistic???

-Joe

 

Here's one thing I can't figure out. How does the DOT know what our GCWR is?
I really doubt their going to ask for the owners manual, or have anthing with them that will say what year, brand, model, and spec pickup rating is. I'd like to know how they figure the weight out for these pickups. I know how they do it for trucks, but how for pickups.

 

That's great for vehicle that are designed to hold more tounge weight. 1/2 ton pickups don't have the GVWR to handle most fifth wheel trailers.

Just because you or someone else has exceded their GVWR, does not make it safe or legal to do on a regular basis bt purchasing an RV for example to tow twice a month.

Where? I have yet to see it. 15% of 9000 = 1350 pounds. How much does the hitch weigh? How much do you weigh? Are you taking any other passenergrs or cargo? Does your truck have any options, or is it a work truck stripper? Take the ~1650 payload availbile minus 1350 for the trailer pin weight. That leaves 300 pounds for the driver, passengers, the weight of the hitch itself, and any cargo you put in the cab or bed of the truck. So, how is that 9000 fifth wheel possible again? Where does Ford say you can exceed the GVWR when towing a fifth wheel trailer?

I've given several examples why you cannot do it. Have you given just one example that proves you can? You have ignore the fine print in that PDF you linked, the part I quoted above. Do you only read the parts that you want to and ignore parts that prove you are worng?