Hello everybody. New here. Anyway, here is another trailer/towing question.

I have a 2001 F150-XLT Supercab 4x4 with a 3.55 axle, limited slip (H9). My truck also a camper shell on it. (Just put that in there for weight information). I have a class III hitch, 4 and 7 pin hookups. I recently purchased a Pace 6x12 enclosed trailer and plan on using it to move.

I am moving from California to Colorado Springs, CO (somewhere about 1000 miles - 1 way). Lots of moutains in the way too. I am not planning on packing the trailer full to the brim, but I am going to be doing a fair amount of trailer towing. I'm estimating about 1500-1800 pounds.

I'm sure my truck is up to. I just had it serviced and plan on doing the brakes before I leave for my trip.

Am I asking too much of the truck? I'm really only concerned about mileage, but if I was that concerned, I wouldn't have a bought a truck to begin with. I'm hoping for about 200 miles per tank.

Any input would be great and very much appreciated from the senior towing community.

 

You will be fine.

Make sure your truck is healthy, and if you are going over 3,500 pounds trailer weight look into adding brakes to the trailer and a controller. I have a Tekonsha p3 that fits the bill nicely. Where abouts in CA are you moving from?

Link to brake controller:
http://www.tekonsha.com/p3.html

 

Also, I towed a 6,000lb travel trailer with more frontal area than the Pace and saw about 10 mpg, down from my 12 mpg while empty and not towing.

This is with 6" of lift, 35's and crappy 3.55 gears.

 

I'm currently in Canoga Park, CA. The trailer has a GVWR of 2990 and I'm not planning on it maxing it out. And thanks for the information. It should be a good experience.

 

Ok, I have another question/concern. I am new to towing with my truck, but towing is what I bought it for. Anyway, I forgot to mention its a 4.6, not a 5.4. Anyway, I got my trailer hooked and loaded up today, but after I got it loaded up, I noticed both the front end of the trailer and back end of my truck were sagging a good deal. I took a measurement from the middle of the hitch and before the trailer it was 16", but after the loaded trailer it dropped down to 12 11/16". Do I need to rearrange my load or is that an acceptable drop? I still might need to add a little load to the trailer. There will be three people in the cab with some luggage (instead of the two that were in it when I drove home). Will that help any? I drove home about 2 miles, all surface/public streets. Got it up to 40 mph and it seemed to be ok. The RPMs were under 2000 (1500-1600). From a dead stop (red light), the RPMs were about 2500-2800, but settled back down quickly. Any advice?

 

It sounds like you may have too much weight in the front of the trailer. Rearrange the load, if you have access to scales the tongue weight of the trailer should be around 12% of the total weight of the loaded trailer.

 

you shouldnt drop more then 2/3 the travel of the axle in relation to the bumpstops on the frame (sounds like you are okay though)

you should be fine, i was lowered 3/3 when i towed about 6k and was almost right on the bumpstops. towed about 100 miles

 

No access to scales. The only scales I know of are California Highway Patrol scales and the few around me are always closed. I was told 60% of the load needs to be in the front half of the trailer at the place I got my trailer.

 

See link below...

http://www.curtmfg.com/index.cfm?eve...ntpieceid=1347

 

Most truckstops have scales. Find one that has a "CAT" scale - and here is a neat way to get all weights you need:

https://www.f150online.com/forums/sh...8&postcount=10

You want no less than 10% and no more than 15% tongue weight, 12% is ideal for a comfortable tow.

CAT Scale Locator

Results of search near canoga park, CA

13 miles
View Map SUPER FINE TEXACO
I-5 Exit 152 - Lankershim Ave
SUN VALLEY, CA 91352

20 miles
View Map Pilot Travel Centers
I-5 Exit 176B
Castaic, CA 91384

24 miles
View Map TEXACO
I-10 & ALAMEDA STREET
LOS ANGELES, CA 90013

 

Ok, so let me get all this straight. My trailer has a GVWR of 2990 lbs and the curb weight is 1060 lbs, for a payload capacity of 1930 lbs. The hitch weights in at 159 lbs. So does all this mean I only need roughly 200 lbs at the front portion of the trailer? I guess I could just take everything out and reload while watching the sag. The picture attached is a picture of my trailer empty, hooked up to my truck.


http://www.geocities.com/basicemt/great3.jpg

 

This may be an odd question, but where are you attaching the trailer (hitch, or bumper)? If you are using a hitch (I hope you are), are you using any drop? It looks like your truck is needing to squat in order to get low enough to line up with the trailer's tounge.

That looks like a fair amount of squat for an empty trailer.

 

It has a hitch.
That is a fair amount of squat for an empty trailer.

I take it you aren't the original owner?
The truck may have done it's share of work in it's past life and when you hook up an empty trailer it says, "Oh, lord..." and assumes the position.

My truck doesn't squat that much with me on the tailgate and I weigh a sight more than 159.

How did you weigh the tongue?

 

that camper top is prolly 400-500 lbs of fiberglass and plexiglass, and if its been on its whole life you can imagine how its a little lower then it should be.

your bumper is rated to 500/5000 (and ive towed a grand prix on a single axle car dolly on my bumper once across town)

 

If you max out the trailer weight(2990) you will want to have 300 lbs on the hitch. You can measure this with a bathroom scale if you have not packed it all ready. If your scale does not go to 300 lbs rig up a set up with a 3 foot lever supported on the ground on one side and the scale on the other. Place the trailer hitch 2 feet from the scale and 1 foot from the other end. Double the weight you get and that will be pretty close to your tounge weight.

300 lbs will make your truck sqat a bit but is do able. If you are still concerned you could get yourself an equalizer hitch. It is a bit of an expencive option if you only plan on using it once though.

Good Luck