Is it O.K. to have a 5th wheel set-up on an F150 5.4 3:73 LS rear and an 4r75
trans?? as long as all weight constarints are met- or just go with an f-250

 

This gets asked quite frequently. It's POSSIBLE to tow a 5er with a 150, but it really isn't recommended, it's very unlikely you will officially meet ALL weight constraints. If you are going to buy a truck with towing a 5er in mind, it's best to get a SD properly equipped. Whatever you get, make sure it has a 6.5' or 8' bed. The 5.5's are difficult to 5th wheel.

 

Depends on the 5er....

I've seen ones that are basically the same size as a 12' cab over camper, so they are probably only around #4000 or so.. Others are ones that I can fully stand up in the front bedroom area and I'm 6'3" tall! Those come in at around #14,000 or so..

The 'problem' with 5ers is the pin weight.. They are usually 20-25% of the trailers total GVW.

When my Dad found the 5er he wanted, it had a 'dry' pin weight of #2500!! He had a nice Dodge 2500 diesel, but even it didn't have the capacity for that.. He sold it and got a dually Dodge diesel and is maxed out on it! (yeah, I know it's a Dodge, but he really likes that Cummins diesel.. What can I say?)

I'm guessing you have a '04 or newer F150 because you mention the 4R75 trans, so you probably have a GVWR of around #7200.. Not bad, compared to my weak #6250 GVWR, but your truck weighs more then mine to begin with.. Once you load up that bed with a #200+ 5er hitch, load up the spouse and any other stuff, you will be lucky to have around #1200 of payload left.. That's only a #6000 GVW 5er you will be looking at... (not much bigger then the 12' cab over camper!)

So, all of this means, you WILL exceed at least your GVWR and or rear GAWR before you exceed any "tow rating" figure if you go the 5er route with an F150..

Sure, people do it all the time, but if you are in any way concerned about the 'other' weight ratings besides the 'tow rating', then you might need to consider a 'bumper' pull trailer.. Tongue weights are in the 10-15% range there...

Good luck!

Mitch

 

As long as all the weight constraints are met, an F-150 is fine. The "problem" is finding a 5th wheel that keeps a 1/2 ton pickup under GVWR. Pretty much all 1/2 ton trucks have about 1500 pounds of payload, that incldues trailer pin weight, passengers, cargo, etc. Take a light 6000# 5th wheel RV with 20% (lower than average) pin wight, 2 150 pound passengers and you don't have anything left for the $200 pound hitch in the bed or other cargo. The numbers are just too hard to make work.

 

However, there are several brands of 5th wheels out there that will meet the weight criteria for an F-150 and will be safe tows.