Help with max towing capacity

[Kevin D Pem]

I was at a CG in KY and a big ole truck/trailer pulled past my site and backed into the site beside me. His trailer was longer than my coach. I was out doing things around the coach and talked to them and noticed he had a f250 pulling that trailer. I mentioned he might be pushing the limits of the truck and he agreed and said he needed a 350 but it was over 120k Canadian and he couldn't afford it right now. I think his trailer was like 43ft.
I pull a 23ft boat that weighs in at like 7k loaded with 140/gal fuel and 40 gals fresh water, with my 2006 tundra (max tow 6900 lbs) 4x4. I have no problems towing it and have launched it at a ramp that was about 100 ft long at a 30 degree angle. Just put it in drive (no 4x4) and slowly pulled that heavy boat up the hill no problem. Surprised a few of the guys there.

There ya go! It's not really what you can do, but rather best practices. Life really is to short to do something that may shorten it even more.

 

[JohnintheUS]

Ok @JohnintheUS I will weigh in on this, not because I am an expert, but because I have been around.

As a disclaimer I would like to say all 6 cyl engines are not equal. For an example a Cummins 6 is a work horse. that said a gas engine of 3.5 l in size is short on engine braking. You will be using your brakes a bunch in anything close to a hill. To make the braking power worse your truck is equipped with 3.55 gears. the steeper the gear ratio the more torque the engine can offer for braking. With a gas 6 set up to tow anything I would expect 4.11 rear.

I would have a hard time arguing that twin turbos would not help a 3.5 l engine with HP and torque, and for sure Ford has run the numbers as to what such HP can move. But! I think Ford is short sited when they claim large numbers like that. All machinery is full of compromise. and I think we are looking at a case that is almost false advertising. When turbos are added to small engines to make claim to fame claims the owner should be aware the engine will be worked to death in short time. The turbos too will have excess strain because of the amount of time they are in service to handle the load claimed.

The specs are a good setup for a daily driver, or for very limited towing. I have a friend that hauls his glider in a box trailer that is roughly 30ft long. He could likely haul it with your truck. But in my opinion it is like sending in the boy to arm wrestle a giant.

For future use, combined weight is truck and camper fully loaded. Payload is the amount you can carry in the truck including the tong weight and bodies, and gas, and lunch pail, Oh yah, hitch.

I could tell you of other trucks I would not question. I could tell you the direction other manufacturers went to give better gas mileage and still be real trucks, but that is not what I am about. For the record. @"EZ" sells commercial trucks. You could call him an expert.

Thanks for the information - appreciate it Kevin.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

If the tongue weight does end up between 1209 and 1395 that will exceed the hitch rating on every 1/2 truck I have checked. Ram 1/2 tons has a sticker on the hitch with two ratings, one With WD and one Without WD. I had the same problem with my Airstream finding a hitch that would except the tongue weight and even a lot 3/4 ton and 1 ton have a 1250 pound limit unless they have the heavy duty towing package and 3" hitch.

I should have let this go but! I just spent an hour looking at my hitch and found no such tag. The as built for my truck says I can tow 10500 lbs with my truck and the hitch supplied with the truck is the one they rated the capacity with. A point, the cross member is in fact 3" the receiver is 2". We can argue about it but that is the fact with my 1500 RAM.

 

["EZ"]

I would have a hard time arguing that twin turbos would not help a 3.5 l engine with HP and torque, and for sure Ford has run the numbers as to what such HP can move. But! I think Ford is short sited when they claim large numbers like that. All machinery is full of compromise. and I think we are looking at a case that is almost false advertising. When turbos are added to small engines to make claim to fame claims the owner should be aware the engine will be worked to death in short time. The turbos too will have excess strain because of the amount of time they are in service to handle the load claimed.

Kevin,
You are absolutely correct. A V6 gas engine with turbos on it can only make the numbers of a big V8 or diesel one way............RPM. Given the same load to pull the turbo V6 will have to push tremendously more RPM's to stay even. That is IF it could catch up from a dead start at all. RPM is what makes horse power. HP does not help move a heavy load. It only helps keep it moving down the road once it is moving. TORQUE is what moves a heavy load at low RPM's. A turbo engine does not make big torque numbers at low RPM like when you are starting up a hill with a heavy camper behind you. There is a reason tractor trailers use diesel engines and not turbo V6 gas engines. When you want to pull a heavy load you need torque not HP. You want that torque at low RPM's. If you are hauling a small boat or a pair of jet skis a Ford with a turbo V6 is probably OK. But for a 30-33 foot long camper plus all your camping gear????? No way.

 

[Amoque]

My first Komfort was ~7000 pounds and I had no issues pulling it with a 150 Eco-Boost Ford; up hill I could keep pace with my brother's Dodge 2500 diesel all day (he pulls a similar spec Lance). Down hill was a different matter... Felt like I had a 7000 pound kid in the backseat yelling "Go faster! Go faster!" every inch of the way. In my humble opinion, far too much is made of what can I pull, and far too little is made of how can I stop it? Trips with family, friends and grandkids should be more memorable for the fun than the white-knuckle grip on the wheel.

While I'm new here, I been around some. Howling wind, pouring rain, sharp corners at the bottom of the hill, all kinds of unexpected issues on the road... It'd take some doing to talk me into pulling much more than a 20ish footer with a 150/0. Not much over 30ish footer with a 250/0. I know, you'll hear people talk all day about how they've done it for years, but for me... traveling is supposed to be fun, stress free, and a time to relax and enjoy.

 

["EZ"]

My first Komfort was ~7000 pounds and I had no issues pulling it with a 150 Eco-Boost Ford; up hill I could keep pace with my brother's Dodge 2500 diesel all day (he pulls a similar spec Lance). Down hill was a different matter... Felt like I had a 7000 pound kid in the backseat yelling "Go faster! Go faster!" every inch of the way. In my humble opinion, far too much is made of what can I pull, and far too little is made of how can I stop it? Trips with family, friends and grandkids should be more memorable for the fun than the white-knuckle grip on the wheel.

While I'm new here, I been around some. Howling wind, pouring rain, sharp corners at the bottom of the hill, all kinds of unexpected issues on the road... It'd take some doing to talk me into pulling much more than a 20ish footer with a 150/0. Not much over 30ish footer with a 250/0. I know, you'll hear people talk all day about how they've done it for years, but for me... traveling is supposed to be fun, stress free, and a time to relax and enjoy.

I have this conversation with Commercial Truck buyers every day almost. Guys want to save money and buy the Ram 4500/5500 because the Cummins engine will pull ANYTHING!! But the loads they are pulling need the air brakes found on a Freightliner or International so they can safely stop that heavy load. Some listen and some don't but a lot of guys are shocked when I tell them my truck isn't right for the job and they should go somewhere else to buy. Apparently truck and RV salesmen have a bad reputation of telling someone whatever they want to hear so they can make the sale. My integrity means more to me than the sale so I shoot them strait every time. As a result after 30 years I do more repeat business than some sales people do business.

 

[kayakterp]

'I wouldn’t do it. Get a bigger truck or a lighter trailer. Never trust what a dealer says. Once you’re off the lot it’s not their problem. The only way a dealer might care at all is if they were selling a truck and trailer package. Even then. They’d probably only care that the truck could pull the trailer off the lot."

^^^^ I agree with MapNerd - these are my thoughts as well - too much trailer for a 1/2 ton

 

[redbaron]

I have a 28Ft Bumper pull trailer. I pull it with 3 vehicles.

1 - Toyota Tundra TRX 5.7L
2 - Suburban 2500 HD
3 - Dodge Ram 3500 DRW with Cummins HO


All 3 will tow it very safely. All 3 are under the 80% rule.

For the Toyota, I have to use the anti sway bars and load leveling. It is the only way that truck will safely pull it and be comfortable.
For the suburban, the anti sway & load leveling really help, and we just do it.
For the Dodge Ram, the anti sway & load leveling are attached--because I have it. I doubt they do anything as the ram has air suspension and automatic load leveling.

Both the Toyota & Suburban will handle very different with the trailer. You know it is there, and you have definite increased stopping distance, and poor acceleration, etc. These are still both capable of pinky driving on the freeway, and I would consider either of these safe to take this round the country.

With the Ram-- you barely notice the trailer. Sure you have extra length, etc, and you have to watch your lane changes, but cruising 80MPH on the interstate and coming to a fast stop is easy. This truck was designed for a 30k + load, so the 7200lbs load behind it is minimal.

You can never buy too much truck. The larger the capacity of the truck, the better it will handle the loads, making you more comfortable AND SAFE

 

[kayakterp]

What year is the suburban 2500 HD?
I hear those are hard to find - did they stop making those?

I started with a Tundra with the 5.7 - it was made in Canada and they owners manual was in French.
It had to be an HD package because it had 4 leaf springs instead of 3 with heated tow mirrors and an 8 foot bed along with the 4 door SR5.
I loved that truck and it got better gas mileage than my F-250 - the biggest difference was the braking was not as good as the 3/4 ton. Unfortunately it got totaled when a teenager pulled out in front of me.

 

[redbaron]

What year is the suburban 2500 HD?
I hear those are hard to find - did they stop making those?

I started with a Tundra with the 5.7 - it was made in Canada and they owners manual was in French.
It had to be an HD package because it had 4 leaf springs instead of 3 with heated tow mirrors and an 8 foot bed along with the 4 door SR5.
I loved that truck and it got better gas mileage than my F-250 - the biggest difference was the braking was not as good as the 3/4 ton. Unfortunately it got totaled when a teenager pulled out in front of me.

My suburban is a 2011. They stopped making them shortly afterwards. I custom ordered it, and plan on driving it until it won't drive anymore.

They are coming out with a new limited run of 2500 suburbans. It is primarily for the government, but they recently opened them to fleet sales. Fleet sales is largely dependent on the dealership you are working with. My local dealer has no problem selling me a "fleet" vehicle, but the current configuration options are not good. I am waiting for the supply chain to fix itself and for Chevrolet to desire sales more than they do right now.

ANother new vehicle to consider is the Grand Wagoneer. Engineering specs on it are very good.