Hello, Have a real world towing question, I have talked to my Ford dealer and told "oh yes it will tow 16,000 lbs no problem", have post to my RV site and been told "no way it's not safe". So I have come to the real world for Ford information. This is what I have:
Ford 2011 F250, 4x4 crew cab, Lariat 156" WB, SWR, 6.2L EFI V8, 6 speed automatic trans, 3.73 Electronic locking axle, heavy duty towing package, Camper package 10,000 GVWR, FX4 off road package with LT275/70R18E BSW All Terrain tires.
Looking at a 5th wheel that is 12,500 lbs empty, max is 15,000 with a pin weight of 2,900 lbs.

Now the big question, will it handle it or not?

 

While you have a nice big truck there, I bet it weighs more than #7000 and if the pin weight on that 5ver is #2900, that does not leave you much before you exceed your trucks GVWR of #10000...

You'd even be pushing it with a SRW F350... I'd say that 5ver has 'dually' written all over it!

Could you hitch up that 5ver and get down the road? Sure... But, I doubt it would fall within any of it's weight ratings (not just the 'tow rating'...)

Good luck!

Mitch

 

What does the door sticker and owner’s manual say? I would not trust a salesman to answer that question because there are too many variables to account for. The truck in my sig weighs 8200lbs, full tank, me, hitch, and everything I carry with a GVWR of 11400lbs which gives me a payload of 3200lbs according to the door sticker and our heavy old 5er has a pin weight of about 2,750lbs leaving me 450lbs for the passengers. My suggestion is to find a certified CAT scale, weigh the truck, and each axle so you know what the truck weighs with a full tank of fuel, hitch, your family, and everything else that will be in the truck. To get your answer you will also need to find the GCWR rating for your truck in the owner’s manual to get the correct numbers.

I agree with Mitch, that trailer screams F350 dually or larger.

 

Just returned from weighting the truck loaded with full tank and wife and I, it topped out at 7320 lbs. If I am looking at this right with a GVWR of 10,000 lbs that leaves me with 2680 lbs, not much for a truck this size. The truck does have the camper package with overload springs, understand that has nothing to do with the axle weight but why does Ford state that the truck can carry so much weight (4000) lbs in the bed and do 16,000lbs?? Going to RV center and ask if I can pull 5ther over to scales and weight it with the truck and will update then.

I really don't understand all I think I know about this, LOL.

 

Ford's ratings (and everybody else's too) are based on a completely empty truck with just a driver and a couple gallons of gas, and minimum tongue/pin weight.

I have some friends with a somewhat similar situation. They bought a Chevy 2500 2wd extended cab with a 8.1 gas motor to tow a 22 foot Haulmark bumper pull. No problem whatsoever. However, they then went out and bought a 38 foot 5th wheel toyhauler. On the surface, it just barely made it under the advertised "max tow weight" EMPTY but in reality it was WAY over every rating on the truck. It pulled it fine with airbags, but it got a whole 4.5 mpg and sucked down a quart of oil every 500 miles........

Fortunately they didn't have any mechanical failures or accidents, but they finally got smart and traded it in on a F-450 diesel to pull it. It gets 12 mpg and the stability is worlds better.

 

It would have even less payload if you had the diesel! Go figure!

How does your actual weight compare to the yellow payload sticker on the door jamb? Is it even close?

Mitch

 

Mitch, I noticed the differance between gas and disal and it is crazy to say the least. As for the yellow sticker, there is about a 850 lbs differance between the 5th wheel and what the sticker has on it.