Being new to towing and being in the market for a TT of some type, I have been closely watching the information regarding max weights and whether or not a truck can be modified to increase its overall ability to tow more weight. In many cases people have been told that increasing the Horsepower on an f150 would not effectively increase towing capacity. Now I realize that there are a lot of factors that effect this ability, but looking at some published tow charts it would seem that you may in fact increase your ability to tow more with increase HP. Here is what I found
F150 Supercab 4x4 5.4 can tow 8300lbs with 3.73 Rear
F250 Supercab 4x4 5.4 can tow 7400 lbs with 3.73 rear

on the 250 with the addition of 4.10 rear it adds 2000 lbs and the addition of a v-10 adds nearly 3000 lbs additional towing.
I understand that the 250 has heavier duty brakes and wheels and such and I don't expect a 150 to be able to tow the same, but why wouldn't adding 4.10 gears and 100 to 200 horses in the engine increase the capacity of this truck by some amount. Obviously not the same curve as the 250 but perhaps 1/3 as much. (Not that I have any plans to do this, but was curious as why this seems to be so frowned on)

Here is where I found the tow info:
http://www.rvsafety.com/F-150.htm

 

Some of the other factors you didn't think of include the leave springs shocks and transmission just to name a few the 250 and 350 will have beefed up trany's and spring and shock so they can tow a bigger load so if you want to change your F150 to tow more you'll have to do more than change the gears and add some extra HP.

 

Changing the gears would give you more effective capacity but not legal capacity. If you get in a wreck towing over the door jam sticker you may find yourself in deep doo-doo. IMO you shouldn’t be towing anything near the rated capacity anyway.

BTW I would forget a 5K dry weight, That could easily be 6.5K when loaded to go. Too much IMO.

I am considering 4.10 gears just to make towing my 5.5K 5er a little easier to handle but not so I can get something bigger. 5.5 is all I would recommend due to brakes and suspension. Others have done it but I tow at high altitude a lot and DON’T want to trash my truck.

Good luck

 

Actually I did think of those and mention it in the original post. My question is simply, why is there such a variance in the two trucks when equiped with the same engine and rear ? They have almost identical towing capacity. If the limiting factor on the 150 is the trans and suspension, then it would seem that the 250 should have a higher capacity with the same engine because it is heavier duty. As I stated in the original post, I don't plan to pull beyond the limit of the vehicle.

 

The difference in the two vehicles is the weight of the heavier duty components of the F250. By adding to the load of the F250 itself, you lessen the payload and towing.

Towing capacity is determined by engine horsepower & torque, suspension, hubs, trans, etc. Specifically it's determined by the weakest link of all these.

Adding horsepower and torque will give you increased towing capacity IF the engine is the weakest link and all the other components can go higher.

For example you can use switching to more powerful engines in the F250. But in this case Ford has determined that the non-engine components of the F250 haven't been maxed out. If you add more power to the 250 beyond what Ford has available, you don't know at what point you've exceeded the capacity of the other components.

In the case of the F150, I believe that in order to get the highest payload available with 3.55 gears you also have to upgrade the trans.

Hope this helps.

 

Thanks...that makes sense. I am surprised how confusing it can be to match a trailer to a truck. Its not like I have any experience in the field, but I do already OWN a 150 that is in too good condition to trade in, and really I don't need a big truck or a big RV. I plan to rent some various TT at our local RV establishments to determine what works best for me and what I am most comfortable hauling around.
Thanks for the response

 

It's the actual rear end as well. An F150 is only going to have a 9.75". The F250 gets the 10.25" and it's a "full floating" rear end. (has the large center hub that sticks out). This allows for a much larger GAWR.

An F250 with the 5.4 still has a GVWR of #8800 (even with the Power Stroke, it's still #8800). It probably weighs a good #1000 more then an F150 (which only has a GVWR of #6250). It also has a much heavier frame. It's the GCWR that is different in the F250 depending on the engine/tranny.

That #8300 max trailer weight limit is worthless. It's calculated by taking the GCWR of around #13000 and subtracting the weight of a bone stock model of your truck. Zero options, no payload, one person.

Your truck will have options, people and you are most likely going to have some payload. Remember that the tongue weight of the trailer is "payload".

I have a #5000 22' TT and it's all I want to lug around with an F150. It'll tow more, sure, but I like having some performance left over for emergencies.

Here's what I'm towing. It's a great little camper. Has a queen bed up front, full bath in the rear, lots of storage. Tows really well.

 

Is that 5000# dry weight?
I have a 150 with 3.73s a 5.4 with 17" rims. I figure 5000 to 6000 fully loaded would be acceptable.

 

Nope, that's fully loaded, max weight for the trailer (my 'dry' weight is #3400 per the sticker inside the cabinet door).

I figure it's around #4500 when my wife has it loaded and full of water. I'm going to take it to the scales soon....... (I've been saying that for a month now!!)

Anyway, you should be ok going to #6000 fully loaded since you have the 3.73's. I've only got the 3.55's and 31" tall tires, so I don't want to go any heavier on my end.

But that's the max I would go if I had the 3.73's. Remember, your truck is only going to weigh #6000 too. It's not fun to be towing something that outweighs you.

Maybe a 5th wheel is the exception, but I've not towed one before, and I know some of those beasts can have a GVWR of #15000!!

 

Dry weight is listed as 4200#, pin weight is listed as 820#. I am clostest to my drive axle rating of 3500#. I would be careful when backing in hot weather, my tranny got the hottest then.

 

think the 6 foot beds have a bigger towing rating than the 150 or 250 eight foot beds.

I thought the reason was the extra two feet of the eight foot bed moving the transfer weight back further away from the rear axle.

any one agree

 

Reg cab or extended?

 

when I bought mine there where two trucks with extended cabs one 6 foot and one eight foot. The six foot was able to tow more.