Ford EcoBoost and Fifth Wheels

[Doering]

Hi,
We will be picking up the truck next week with the Max Tow and HD Payload options. We are looking at the Cruiser Fifth wheels. An 8500-8700lb unit will be 75-77% of the tow limit and well below 75% payload limits. Anyone out there with an Ecoboost and a Cruiser 5th wheel in this weight range that can comment?

[Hamops]

When you think of trailer weight, ALWAYS think GVWR and not dry weight.The lighter 5vr's from Crossroads are in the 10,000 to 11000# range. You could easily be looking at 1800 to 2000#'s pin weight on the truck and about 7 to 8000#'s on the axle, depending on how you load it.

[wincrasher]

Looks like a good match for a 3/4 ton truck crew cab short-bed, non-dually. If you got a diesel you'd have plenty of hill climbing power in reserve.

When I was looking at F150s optioned up, they weren't much cheaper than the Chevy diesel I ended up buying.

[Doering]

Originally Posted by wincrasher

Looks like a good match for a 3/4 ton truck crew cab short-bed, non-dually. If you got a diesel you'd have plenty of hill climbing power in reserve.

When I was looking at F150s optioned up, they weren't much cheaper than the Chevy diesel I ended up buying.

If we were pulling more than 3 to 4 weeks of the year, probably would have looked at a diesel. With the extensive rebates and the excellent gas mileage with a 6 cylinder when not towing we just couldn't resist the F150!

[Doering]

Originally Posted by Hamops

When you think of trailer weight, ALWAYS think GVWR and not dry weight.The lighter 5vr's from Crossroads are in the 10,000 to 11000# range. You could easily be looking at 1800 to 2000#'s pin weight on the truck and about 7 to 8000#'s on the axle, depending on how you load it.

Spoke with a dealer today and he said they had several units between 8000 and 8500lbs (scale weights leaving the factory). I know how you are thinking in order to be safe. We will be well under 9000lbs loaded based on the contents of our previous trailer. We travel light!

[Lloyd]

If you haul any liquid in "any" of the tanks, plus 60# of LP, clothes, food, tools, chairs, and people, you will never get by on the weight you just mentioned.
Got nothing to do with the Eco Boost, but something for you to think about.

[avvidclif]

Originally Posted by Doering

Spoke with a dealer today and he said they had several units between 8000 and 8500lbs (scale weights leaving the factory). I know how you are thinking in order to be safe. We will be well under 9000lbs loaded based on the contents of our previous trailer. We travel light!

Scale weights leaving the factory doesn't include propane, battery, or anything else. A dealer will tell you anything to sell a trailer. The trailer in my sig line weighed 8528 leaving the factory. With food clothes, battery, power cords, sewer lines etc but no water and empty holding tanks it's weight on the tires was 7820 (actual weighed) The GCVW was 18,200 (actual). The truck is probably 8500-9000 of that.



Start looking for smaller 5th wheel than mine, 25' or thereabouts, just my thinking. My TV handles my trailer just fine but I wouldn't even think of putting it behind a 150.

[artgpo]

I think just about everyone here would tell you that a 1/2 ton truck is not sufficient or safe to tow just about every Cruiser fiver. You have to know the carry capacity of the F-150. That includes the weight of the truck, passengers, full load of fuel, any cargo in the truck, weight of the 5th wheel hitch AND the pin weight, usually about 25% of the weight of the RV. An empty 8,000 pound Cruiser will have a pin weight close to 2,000 pounds. You never tow empty. Your F-150 is going to be seriously and unsafely overloaded.
Most of us have at least a 3/4 ton pickup, many with diesels. My Cruiser weighed 8,209 when we had it weighed in order to have it registered here in TX.
Beware of both truck and RV sales people as they will tell you any of what they are selling can tow/be towed by whatever.

[Captain Mike]

We have the CTX Cruiser "1/2 Ton Rated per sticker". I think it is around 1500lbs empty + 100lb hitch.
The problem is by the time you pack your closets and storage under the bed your looking at another 100lbs or more.
Try loading 1800's in your bed and see how the chassis responds to the weight. You may need to add to your suspension.

[Doering]

The truck has a Max tow capacity of 11,300lbs and a payload capacity of 2,600. It was a special order. This is not a regular 1/2 ton truck. The truck is easily capable of towing 9000lbs with a pin weight in the high teens.
I do appreciate the comments and have been told never to exceed 80% of the truck's specs.

[mwebber78]

Sounds like you've made up your mind. I won't restate the math but the only half ton Cruiser is the CTX, and that's assuming you don't throw gear into your truck, and load up the coach.

You can get a gas Ford F250 for less then a tricked out F150. If your buying a truck for gas mileage, well, I won't go there.

Good luck.

[Hamops]

I had a look at the Specs for the F150 and you might get away with it. You didn't mention whether it's a extended or crew cab but I'll assume that it's crew cab. You stated that you ordered the "Max Tow and Heavy Duty Payload Packages", so from the specs, the maximum 5vr weight is a 11300# for a 4X2 and 11100# for a 4X4 with a 3.73 rear axle and standard 6.5 foot box. Your GCVWR would be 17100#. The one area of concern is your payload capacity because 2620# is just too light for me, and it's because of the tires. The standard tires on the truck are P-rated and ultimately determine the payload capacity. You may want to change those to an E-rated tire all around.
It's obvious that you did your homework with the truck but as previously advised, trailer sales people want sales and you need to take their advice with a grain of salt. As much as we like to think that we'll pull light, that never happens. Before you know it, you'll have your trailer nearly loaded to capacity. Our 5vr has a dry weight of about 8500# sitting on the ground, but when I rolled it over a CAT scale, and crunched the numbers, that 8500# balloned to 10800# which is about 500# under my GVWR for the trailer. By the way, the distributed weights were 1980# on the kingpin and 8820# on the axles.

Edited by: Hamops

[wincrasher]

How do you discern if the tiresare limiting you or the suspension/frame?



My 2500 HD Duramax w/3.73 has a payload limit of 2351 - says so in the door frame sticker. It has a note that payload has been reduced by 150lbs because of equipment.



In the manuals, the trailer limit for ball hitch is 13,000 and the GCVW is 24,500. Most of the 5ers I've been looking at are around 2400lb pin weight dry and 12,000-12,500 lbs dry. So my truck is quite capable execpt for the payload. As a note, when I hitch up my travel trailer that has an 1100 lb tongue weight, the truck only sinks about an inch.



I have a hard time believing a F150 with a tow package and a v-6 engine has a higher payload than my 2500HD with tow package.



I do have big 20" wheels on this truck, but the manuals make no allowance for tires. In fact, it only shows difference on the 3500 trucks - either dually or single wheel and a difference in payload.

[artgpo]

I went to the official Ford towing guidehttps://www.fleet.ford.com/showroom/...12_default.aspto see about the limitations. What is the torque rating of the F-150 EcoBoost? The Ford Powerstroke diesel is an amazing 800 lb ft. That is a whole lot of towing power.
If 1/2 ton trucks were capable of safely towing fifth wheel RVs most of us would have saved the $10,000 - $20,000 more we spent for the 3/4 ton and 1 ton trucks we drive. In 2012 there is simply no substitute for a 3/4 or 1 ton truck for towing a fifth wheel RV.

Edited by: artgpo

[wincrasher]

I did some more research and can answer my own question. Here's what I found.



Chevy says the payload for my truck is 3123#. Max trailer is 13,000#, max 5er is 16,700#.



The door sticker is for the tires. These are E-Rated LT265/60R20. That sticker says max passengers and cargo is 2361#.



Other info - Curb wt=6376, GVWR=9500, GCWR=24,500, Max Front Axle=4800, Max Rear Axle=6200.



So if I understand this correctly, my tires are reducing my payload by 762#. So I could probably handle a bigger trailer provided I could get a higher rated tire.



I don't think most guys looking at the brochures and published truck ratings are considering what's on this door sticker and are probably overloaded and not knowing it.



One of the guys in the office told me that perhaps I'm also limited by the aluminum wheels - that going up in tire may not be an answer at all - that the wheels may have to be changed out. Of course, no documentation on this that I can find.Edited by: wincrasher

[Doering]

Originally Posted by Hamops

I had a look at the Specs for the F150 and you might get away with it. You didn't mention whether it's a extended or crew cab but I'll assume that it's crew cab.

Well I guess there is no one here with an EcoBoost pulling a 9000lb fifth wheel.

Yes, it is a crew cab in the 6.5 foot box, 3.73axleetc. etc. and the truck comes with LT tires.
Yes, I did my homework on this engine. Just watch the videos. I test drove an Eco and the power is phenomenal. I think it delivers 420 foot lbs of torque even at low RPM. It is all new technology that is proving itself. This truck and engine is more than capable of pulling an entry level light weight fifth wheel.

I can tell you right now, that there is no way that this truck will leave the driveway with the trailer a pound over 9000!

Yes, likely a Cruiser CTX and the other unit on the radar is the Crusader by Prime Time.

[NorskeNY]

I have a friend that is looking at the F150 with Eco-Boost. Same reason - good economy and decent towing capability.


If the truck does not have LT load range E tires - I would put them on. Won't increase the GVWR of the truck but the tires will be better suited for the fifth wheel pin weight.

Pay load will include: dealer or self installed options, pin weight, passengers/driver, fuel, fifth wheel hitch & rails and anything you put in the truck. It does not take long to add up.

Run synthetic fluids in the engine, tranny and rear diff. Change the rear diff. fluid after 600

miles of towing – you would be surprised what the fluid will look like when you

drain it.



Info to consider:



My curb weight

according to GM is 7457 lbs. With

my fifth wheel hitch, running boards, Â? tank of fuel, bed rug bed liner and air bags my curb weight is 7860 lbs

(no driver or passengers). GVWR of 11,600 lbs.



Advertised weight of my trailer is 9740 lbs– weight at the

factory was 10,050 lbs. GVWR of 12,380





Edited by: NorskeNY

[Doering]

Originally Posted by NorskeNY

I have a friend that is looking at the F150 with Eco-Boost. Same reason - good economy and decent towing capability.


If the truck does not have LT load range E tires - I would put them on. Won't increase the GVWR of the truck but the tires will be better suited for the fifth wheel pin weight.

Pay load will include: dealer or self installed options, pin weight, passengers/driver, fuel, fifth wheel hitch & rails and anything you put in the truck. It does not take long to add up.

Run synthetic fluids in the engine, tranny and rear diff. Change the rear diff. fluid after 600

miles of towing – you would be surprised what the fluid will look like when you

drain it.



Info to consider:



My curb weight

according to GM is 7457 lbs. With

my fifth wheel hitch, running boards, Â? tank of fuel, bed rug bed liner and air bags my curb weight is 7860 lbs

(no driver or passengers). GVWR of 11,600 lbs.



Advertised weight of my trailer is 9740 lbs– weight at the

factory was 10,050 lbs. GVWR of 12,380

Thanks for the tip on the fluids. This is the first year Ford permits the Max Tow and HD payload option in the Supercrew. When shopping around, many Ford dealers did not realize this. The HD option on top of the Max Tow gives you another 300-400lbs of payload capacity (covers off on the hitch and a little more).

[Lloyd]

Here's a few more weights for you to look at.
We have a 2008 26RK----
empty weight----6622
GVWR----11625#

Awhile back I put it on the scale just before we headed up north. If I remember right there was 3/4 tank of fresh and more then likely pretty well packed up. Here's my weights.
truck and camper---15680#
truck---7200#
camper---8480#
rear axle---4940#
steer---4080#
pin weight---1820#

This is just something for you to look at when choosing your new 5er.
I told my wife the other day, if I was inclined to get a new truck I would do a serious look at the eco-boost.
Keep us updated on what you end up doing with a truck and RV. I have been following the thread and I'm interested in the out come.

[artgpo]

Lloyd, do run to drink the EcoBoost Kool Aid. While not from Missouri I believe in "show me". No way, no how is a V-6 EcoBoost 1/2 ton going to tow anywhere near a 6.6 or 6.7literV-8 turbo diesel. Just the suspension on the 3/4 and 1 ton trucks make the 1/2 ton puny. Ok, maybe you can hitch up a very small 5th wheel to the F-150 but not any of the regular Cruisers no matter how carefully you pack.