i had an 6'8"x 24ft gn stock trailer heavy *** one 5800# 2 7000# axles nothing in it. loaded down with a rhino, and 3 500 size and over 4 wheelers pulled with my f150 with out too much of a problem. around 9000# combined probally a lil more plus gear n coolers. ive also loaded that trailer with my l3400 kubota tractor with frontend loader and finishing mower and pulled it with the f150 i have no idea how much the tractor weighs.

 

The type of trailer is irrelevant to my point as is my experience. Towing anything that puts the truck over the OEM ratings is what I tell people to avoid. I did not tell the OP to not pull the trailer in question. Do you know the meaning of the word if? I said if he thinks he needs helper springs, he probably shouldn't be towing with a 1/2 ton. Either that load will be within the specifications of his truck and he should not spend (waste) money on springs or it will be over the specs of his truck and he should upgrade.

My "common response" is to keep your truck under the OEM specs for regular use, such as your multiple times per week. I remind people of what Ford says:

If one can meet the above requirement, I say go for it. I have not said otherwise. The reality is that it is difficult to get all the numbers to work out with the perfectly balanced trailer to tow near GCWR for a 1/2 ton because of the available payload.

I have no idea if you are over any of your truck's ratings. Do you?

We get all kinds of people on here like jrfonte that have no idea what kind weight they pull. Many would be shocked if they ever hit a scale, which is maybe why they don't. Hey, ignorance is bliss. I have admitted multiple times that I have exceeded GVWR, GCWR, and rear GAWR with my own trucks. Two important differences: I do it occasionally, such as maybe 15 times in 10 years vs. every week in the summer towing an RV to the campground or towing a GN trailer at least a couple times per week. Because of my own experiences in life, knowledge and wisdom, I don't tell every random person on the internet with potentially no towing experience and poor driving skills to overload their vehicles. That's just not smart in today's litigious US society, especially doing so on a very Google friendly public forum such as F150online.com.

 

since your mind is made up and you're gonna do it no matter what people say


what gears do you have? probably 3.55's so I'd swap to 4.56 gears at the minimum, add the extra leafs, install a brake controller, an additional trans cooler and go slow

and I woudn't run anything larger than the stock tires

good luck let us know how it goes and poor horses

 

The helper springs and a new set of heavy duty leaf springs will help. I run helper springs and 2 extra leafs on each side on the 1998 F150 5.4L, auto, reg. cab, 8' bed, 4x4. Your truck will ride like a tank and be very stiff when not loaded though.

The 3 factory leaf springs from Ford are weak to say it nicely. 5 should be a min. when towing heavy loads, with 2-3 helper spring on top of that.

Its all about weight when towing.....so you better get some accurate numbers and do some math. They way you are talking, you will probably be overweight. I've pulled around 7-8k pounds with a weight dist (which was overloaded) hitch and a 18' dual axle equipment trailer. It took everything my truck had to move it and stop it. A gooseneck or 5th wheel should handle the weight a little better.

Good gears 3.55 or higher, stock size tires , brake controler, tranny cooler, and the factory tow package will help also.

Either way it soulds like it will be a white-knuckle tow. Good luck.

 

Question for everyone responding is this thread. Do any of you have experience with a GN trailer? It is COMPLETELY different than pulling from the bumper.

 

Yes it is different, I have a 16' stock, 4 horse slant with dress, and a 24' flatbed, GN behaves itself much better going down the road no chance of it wig-waging behind you and such. But he's talking about a 25' GN trailer even if it is an aluminum body with everything in the living quarters (assume it has these) and two 1000#+ animals. Yeah is truck probably can pull it, but it will wear his truck out and when he really needs to stop he wont be able too.

Your trailer appears to be a 3H probably 16' long; add 9 more feet and thats what the op is talking about. Thats a big rig for an f150. He will probably never get the tongue weight even close to where it should be. When i got my 4h trailer (steel body) it sagged out my '99 f250 and it has airbags on it now so it doesn't look ridiculous going down the road.

 

One common false believe is that aluminum trailers are lighter than steel.
Generally speaking this is not true.... they are very very close in weight.
The amount of aluminum that needs to be added to strengthen a trailer usually negates any weight savings.

Ok, yes generally aluminum trailers do weigh a little less.
But for comaprison a 3 horse slant trailer in aluminum vs. steel weights will be within a few hundered pounds of each other. Really not a factor when you are dealing in thousands of pounds.

The reason to buy an aluminum trailer is to prhibit rust if you live in an area where rust is a problem.

Another problem occurs in aluminum trailers because they are more prone to cracking and breaking.

For most the best alternative is an aluminum skinned steel frame trailer.

Yes, I tow a GN trailer daily. Yes they can fish tail or wig wag. They are easier to tow and back up. They tow more fuel effieciently.

What would you like to know?

EDIT: OH YEAH, not with a F150 though... F350 or 3500 tucks.

 

Yes I have, but not with my truck, nor with any 1/2 ton truck, but it does not take away from the fact that a GN or a 5th wheel will have a higher pin weight then most bumper pull trailers tongue weight, thus putting a 1997 F150 just that much more over it's GVWR then the bumper pull probably already does...

hwm3, you have a 2007 F150 and the OP has a 1997 F150. Your GVWR is probably #7200. Our 1997's have #6250. Your 5.4 has more hp/tq then a 1997 one..

But, the question here is not about power. The 5.4 will move a lot of trailer, no matter what year it is. The question is how much over GVWR is 'okay'... I go over my GVWR with a #5000 TT that has maybe a #650 tongue weight. My TT tows great and I have no power issues. Your GN probably has around #1000 pin weight when it's loaded up, so just tack that onto a 1997 F150 that is already low on available payload... I don't think a few hundred pounds over is anything to worry about, but add another #400+ to that, and well, it's your choice of course, but the numbers add up and it don't matter what kind of hitch you are using.. Overweight is overweight.. It's how much are you willing to go over and say it's 'okay'??

I'm overweight when I hitch up, is it 'okay'? Technically, no, but am I being unsafe? Depends on who you ask... I don't think so, but others may say I'm an accident waiting to happen.. Just as you feel you are fine with your rig, which looks very good BTW, but I'll bet you are over your trucks GVWR too when all the numbers are added up (and that's the actual #'s... No 'dry' weights and no 'tow rating' #'s)

Anyway, the OP has not posted back again, so this is just a war among others that have their own opinions and experiences and just shared them to try to help someone else and then got into a pissing match based on those opinions and experiences...

Mitch

 

Do you have any air bags or helper springs?

 

i suppose i phrased that wrong when i said i have no idea how much the tractor weighs i should have said i dont know how much the implements added to the weight of the tractor i know how much the tractor weighs by itself but since i can pick up the implements to the tractor by hand with two people i doubt they add that much to the total weight of the load and since i only towed it 2 miles and the load was centered over the trailer axles and not on the tounge its not that big of a deal. especially when it was on farm market roads and not on highways or in city areas. it is not an everyday thing to pull that much weight with such a little truck. . besides when i have to pull something that is heavy heavy for long distances i own an 06 f250 stroke.

 

I have a 1.5" Autospring AAL in the rear on my truck. The only reason I added it is because I have a 2.5" Autospring kit in the front. I towed this trailer for over a year before I got the AAL and the stock springs support the trailer fine.

FYI, I measured how far the trailer squats the rear of my truck today. With 3 horses in the trailer, it squats the rear of the truck 2.5", so I highly doubt I'm over the GVWR.

 

That is not an accurate method of measuring. You really should weigh your truck and truck/trailer combo. I don't care if you tell me you are over or under, but you really should know for yourself. I know how much my truck squats the rear at the GVWR which depending on exactly how that load is distributed can be close to your measurement. Your pin weight is as far forward as just about anything, so it will be better distributed between axles which is one of the benefits to GN/5er.