Can I tow this? Can i tow that? I tow this. I tow that. blah , blah, blah.

Old dogs............Help me here. Give me a bottom line. What can I tow, tongue, total weight, etc......

I have an 08 F-150 FX2 Sport. 5.4, 3.73............trailer towing package.

Your help is appreciated,

Nitzo

 

bump

 

Almost every F-150 is limited by GVWR/tongue weight. What is the payload as listed on the B pillar of your truck (open driver's door)? What kind of trailer are you planning to buy (RV, enclosed cargo, boat, etc)?

 

Left out some crucial info. Transmission, Wheel base, Heavy Duty Towing Package?
Basicly your GCVW (Gross Combined Vehicle Weight) trailer and truck together can weigh between 10400 and 17100.
Your maximum trailer weight can be 8600-11,300.

Usually to get to these levels you will exceed an axle weight rating etc. before you ever get to the published max weight levels for towing.

Bottom line most F150 are best suited towing under 6000lbs total trailer weight although some with the 4.6 are rated as low as 5200 maximum trailer weight.

If you look in your owners manual all the specifics are in a table for your specific year, model with the options and the specific weights.

 

i have a 4.6 that is rated for 6900 but i tow 8000 all the time,and it does well.

 

Thats in the eye of the beholder. I'm glad you feel it does well.
Tow that same load behind a newer 1 ton diesel and compare and it does poorly in comparison.

Does it tow it? YES.
Can it cause damage towing outside the recommended ratings? YES.

I tow up to 24,000lbs. at least weekly; but not on any 1/2 ton.
When you compare rigs that are meant to tow, like the newer diesel trucks the 1/2 tons are not even in the same league.... even down to that 5-6k range that I recommend as a top comfort level with the 150's.

 

Co, that's probably because almost every trailer over 6k pounds puts a 1/2 ton over GVWR. Not enough suspension left to handle the weight. Ford bumped the GVWR on the 2010's with the max tow package by 475/500 pounds which will help get get closer to the speced tow ratings.

 

You CAN tow a lot more than the truck is rated for (and people do it ALL the time), but you SHOULD NOT tow anything that puts ANY parameter over specs. Here are ALL the specs you need to look at:

Max trailer weight
GCWR
GVWR
GAWR (front AND rear)
Max tongue and trailer weights stamped on the hitch
Tire ratings

In the real world, it is VERY likely anything over 7000# will cause one or more parameters to be exceeded on a 1/2 ton truck, even with a WD hitch.