Don't get all hung up on the "tow rating" figure for your particular truck config, whatever it is...

The bottom line is this. Your truck has set GWR limits on the Vehicle (GVWR) and Front and Rear GAWR.. These are what is stamped on the tag on the door jamb.

"Curb Weight" means nothing to you unless you have a stripper truck with zero options.

The easiest way to determine what "your" tow rating is, is to find out what your truck weighs right now, as it sits.

Optimally, you would want to load up the spouse, kids, dog and additional stuff you normally carry in the truck and then get it weighed. If you can get the front and rear axle weights, that's even better.

Take these weights and that's your trucks current GVW. Subtract that from your trucks GVWR and that's your true PAYLOAD CAPACITY. If you happen to get the axle weights, compare them to the axle weight ratings and you can find out what your axle payloads are.

Now, what the fine print will say on any 'tow rating' figure is that you still can not exceed ANY of your other trucks GWR figures... SO, lets say if you weighed your truck and it came in around #6000 with just you and the family inside. That leaves you with #1200 payload just on the GVWR.

For any TT to tow well, it needs to have around 12% of it's actual weight as tongue weight. Tongue weight will subtract from your trucks 'payload' amount. Toss in additional stuff that wasn't there when you weighed, and that's payload. It adds up fast! That #8000 TT will have a #960 tongue weight @ 12%. In our example, that leaves you around #240 left.. If I went with you, you'd only have #20 left!, ha, ha!

Anyway, there is a lot more to determining what size trailer you can tow then reading the 'tow rating'. You can't just expect to load your truck to the gills and still be able to tow a trailer that meets that 'tow rating' figure...

Also know that when looking at trailer specs, the will always list 'dry weights' and then the real novice will think they can tow it 'no problem'.... I'm not saying you are a novice, but you'd be surprised how many people take the trucks 'tow rating' and compare it to a trailers 'dry weight' and figure they are 'okay'....

Get your truck weighed, and that's all you can do, if you really want to know YOUR trucks 'tow rating'...

Mitch

 

Well its just stock. Only thing diff on it is I put in a in dash nav system.. That's what.. Not even 5 pounds. I don't think the truck will have a problem pulling the trailer we picked out. But we will see how it sits on the truck and all. I may have to upgrade the rear shocks with some better ones. We will see.

 

Stock what?? XL, XLT, Lariat?? The 'curb weight' is based on a totally base truck... You know, the ones contractors get... White, vinyl seats, rubber floor mat (no carpet), crank windows, no AC... My trucks 'curb weight' is #4000!! ha, ha!! That's not what it weighs just sitting in the garage right now! My truck is 'stock' as well....

Okay, go out and get that #8000 trailer and report back your towing experience after you've taken it on a 200 mile trip with some hills involved.... Or, get it weighed when it's all hitched up and ready to roll and report your GVW figures....

Mitch

 

its a FX4 fully loaded. It has everything besides the leather seats and dvd system.

 

Then it weighs more then the listed 'curb weight' Very nice truck BTW!

Mitch

oh, shocks is not going to make any kind of difference in how the truck 'tows' a trailer... It may help in the comfort level of the occupants, but you'll still have 'performance' issues... In other words, expect to be in 2nd gear alot!

 

I'm with Mitch. And I was thinking like Smokewagon as for available wheelbases. It doesn't even matter for your situation, though. Just a couple more comments.

Shocks don't hold the vehicle up, springs (and torsion bar) do. Shocks do affect how the vehicle rides with whatever weight is on the rear axle, but they do not affect how much it squats.

Say you actually have 1600 pounds of available payload. Feel free to plug in your own numbers:
200 pounds of gas for a full tank
You, wife, passenger, kids, dog, etc. 350 pounds
Anything in the bed?

Even with an empty bed, you have about 1050 pounds left for trailer tongue weight. With 15% tongue weight, that keeps you at a 7k pound trailer.

Fill the bed with bikes, firewood, etc to the tune of 300 more pounds, and you're down to a trailer of 5000 pounds before exceeding the truck's GVWR.

 

Your earlier statement was the towing an 8k trailer with a 1/2 ton shouldn't even be discussed, not that towing an 8k pound trailer with a truck full of gear shouldn't be discussed.

I tow an ~8k pound horse trailer with my 1/2 ton at least a couple times a week. My Screw 4x4 weighs 5500lbs with a tank full of gas and me in it. When I'm towing the trailer the only other thing in the truck is my 12 year old daughter. The truck handles it just fine and rarely has to shift down to 2nd gear to maintain speed on the interstate.

 

I think some people are just scared to hook weight to their trucks... I have a 7700 pound fiber optic splic trailer and my truck pulls it just fine. That trailer is a little over 8000 when we load it full of our crap.

 

Horse trailers and RVs are different situations. It still comes down to using the truck on a regular basis within the OEM specifications and ratings. If one does that, I'm okay with 8k pounds for an F-150. It is just very difficult to actually accomplish, especially for an RV such as the OP is discussing.

Besides, just because people do (tow over ratings) it does not mean they should.

There is an F-150 has that heavy duty payload package (GVWR 8200#), but that is not mainstream. It's relatively low trim/features and not available for any Supercrew.

I've had my 1g Screw on a scale with the low fuel light on and me in it - 5350 pounds. Have you had yours on a scale to verify that 5500 pound number? I really doubt that number. 7200# GVWR - 1630 payload = 5600 pounds with no passengers. My understanding of the 2004+ F-150 is that is weighs about 300 pounds more for the same drivetrain/cab/bed config.

In the last 6+ years I've been reading this forum, I have seen only one example of someone towing close to GCWR (and theoretical tow rating) that was not over the trucks GVWR. No one else has proven it on here. That is not to say it is impossible to do so, but statistics suggest it is not common. So, should we discuss it? If someone (you?) really wants to, but most people cannot keep an 8k# trailer under the trucks GVWR.

That all said, I have knowingly exceeded my own trucks GVWR, GCWV and rear GAWR. I don't tell just anyone on the internet to do it, especially on a regular basis. My response in this thread is pretty much my philosophy when someone asks about exceeding their truck's limits.

 

Well, I'll chime in again. I drag a 6900# travel trailer (gross) about a dozen times a year. We just dumped our last travel trailer that had a gross of about 5,500#. The difference is night and day. The smaller trailer had 2X the tongue weight of our current heavier trailer (see my gallery), and towed like it weighed 10k. The new North Trail we have has a wide track axle, enclosed underbelly, sloping front end, and about 500# of tongue. I will confirm the numbers on the scale in spring.

That said, I'd never care to approach 8,000# with any comfort. My rigs tweaked as my sig denoted and I still think I'm about at my fair limit in flatlands and mild hills. With my experience alone, I'd not care to address that weigt with p-metric tires, either. I still can't fathom how Ford has boosted towing numbers on my same truck in excess of 11,000# for 2009. It's just scary.

I'm with the others... for 8k, I'd consider the 3/4 ton, unless the towing is limited and you think you'll feel comfortable. I know the OP was looking for his ratings, which I think he now has, but the closer you creep toward the limits, the faster you'll exceed them. Payload is the prime example. Heavier trailer equals heavier tongue, means cutting payload, means cutting GVWR, etc. And let's not forget, towing an 8k flatbed is nothing like an 8k flying brick travel trailer with 60+ square feet of frontal area you're pulling against.

 

Oh, stx2006, you'd better do some recalculating, too. Your truck sure looks like it has the 5-1/2 foot box, which makes it the 139" wheelbase. Pictures can be deceiving, but it sure looks like the shorty. As you can see below, mine is the 6-1/2 foot bed, 150" model.

 

STX2006, I would pay close attention to what Smokewagun, Mitch150, and APT have said. I had a 04 F150 FX4 SCAB and my wife and I are going to buy a camper in the near future and I couldnt make the numbers work for the size camper that we want and still tow it safley with my F150 so I traded my truck for a F350 4x4 CC Diesel do I need a one ton as a daily driver no but I can tow and know I am doing it safely with my family in the truck. I remember towing my parents 27ft Holiday travel trailer with a 1/2 ton suburban and it was not a fun 90 mile ride home so after that we towed the trailer with a 3/4 ton pick up and it was night and day.