Hi.

I'm thinking of getting an ecoboost and want to know how it does pulling a trailer.

We'd like to get a gooseneck trailer so we can wall off the front and use it as a place to sleep.

My biggest worry is how a rig like that would handle on the road. If I put all the load in the back near the axle, and don't have any load in the front. Do I need a bigger truck?

 

First off...Welcome to FTE!

You dont mention length or weight of trailer. Both important considerations.

Secondly... If you dont have tongue weight. NO truck will pull it safely.

Give us some more info. for a better response.

Personally I tow a 31' Travel trailer that weighs 8600+ pounds with no issues.

 

First off, the Eco can pull like a little diesel, I'm still grinning. I tow in the 8000 pound range, and get between 8.5 and 9.4 MPG so far towing. The trailer and hitch set up will need to be addressed, along with proper payload and trailer weight consideration as well for a safe tow.

 

You have a sweet trailer there! Keystone has the best trailer I think. Do you have airbags on your F150? What hitch are you using?

 

Welcome!

generally speaking, half tons are better suited to bumper benders.

the pin weight of a gooseneck has a very good chance of putting your truck beyond it's rated GVWR. especially with any cargo or passengers aboard.

IMO, the only half ton that has enough payload to pull a GN without overloading is a Max Payload standard cab long box.

horsepower is rarely the limiting factor for towing capacity.

 

I use Reese with dual cam sway control with 1200# trunnion bars. My old 2010 FX4 felt a little bit better than my 2013 Lariat on the highway though, so I have 1500# bars on order. My Keystone has a super slide (dinette to bedroom slide), so the tongue weight is a bit heavy. I have no airbags, but I am thinking of going to a different rear shock.

 

I need a 20' trailer that can double as a car hauler.

I looked a bit online, a 20' trailer with a car ramp weighs about 3500 pounds.

So my next question is how much cargo would I be able to pack inside the trailer before I exceed the GVWR of the truck? Skids, boxes, etc. I need to be able to move 2-3 tons.

I do have to have a crew cab, or at least a supercab for passengers, dog, kids, etc.

 

you're probably looking at a trailer rated at 10,400. (two 5200 lbs axles)

figure 3500lbs for the trailer leaves you about 6900 lbs of capacity in the trailer. a tick under 3.5 tons of cargo room.

assuming it is a bumper pull type, and not a gooseneck, you are in the range of 10% tongue weight, or bout 1000 lbs. (minimum)

assuming the max tow package, your hitch and truck would be rated to about 11,200 lbs (depending on configuration) with the use of a weight distributing system (mandatory).

to get an exact answer, you really need to scale your truck and get the true curb weight. without having that available, it is really just a guess. but ... as a guess ... unless you load the truck to the hilt, and have 6 people on board, i doubt you would go beyond GVWR on the truck. the max tow raises the GVWR somewhat to allow hauling a trailer with 1100lbs tongue weight, with a reasonable payload otherwise.

If loading the truck heavy is the plan, then you should consider the max payload package as well.

 

Is this something I have to order from Ford?




Why is that? How do you calculate tongue weight actually, and load a trailer so you don't exceed the truck's gvwr?

 

a weight distributing hitch can be purchased at most camper/trailer sales locations. etrailer online is another good resource.
WD With Sway Control Weight Distribution | etrailer.com

opinions vary, but i'd be inclined to look at one that has built in sway control. there are ones that come with cams that seem to be held in rather high regard for simplicity of hooking it up and effectiveness. Please don't consider this "advice" because i do not own one and have never used one. only that i have looked at them quite a bit online and read reviews from users. a local store could probably get you pointed in the right direction for sure.

As for goosenecks, they generally carry a higher percentage of weight on the pin vs a bumper bender. GN's are in the 15-20% range on pin weight. MOST half ton pickups do not have that much reserve in their GVWR. a crew cab pickup, or even a super cab, is much heavier than you would think. and to try to carry an additional 2000lbs usually puts you over the limit on GVWR. the exception is a standard cab with the max payload. the payload capacity on that particular configuration is in excess of 2000lbs, and with only 3 seating positions it has the greatest chance of success of pulling a GN without being beyond GVWR.

as for what to do ... to do it right is a LOT of work. you would have to weigh your truck empty, know how much cargo you expect to carry, and to be safe re-weigh it. then hook up your trailer, adjust your weight distributing bars, and weigh each axle, and readjust as needed.

you can get close before hand if you do enough research. some of the numbers are out there, such as typical weights for a crew cab XLT, if you dig deep enough. then figure 10% of your trailer weight will be carried by the truck, and that gets you in the ballpark.

not sure if that makes any sense .... its late and i'm tired

 

like i said, it was late last night

i forgot to add:
there is another way to estimate the curb weight of your truck.

if you look in the driver's doorjam there will be a sticker which lists the cargo capacity for your truck (yellow). say, 1840lbs.

if you look at the other sticker in the driver's doorjam (white) it will list the GVWR for your truck, say 7700lbs.
(both numbers for a long wheel base crew cab, max tow 2013 Ford F-150 | View Payload Specifications | Ford.com )

so the curb weight in this example would be:
GVWR - Cargo capacity = curb weight
7700 - 1840 = 5860 lbs

the 5860 lbs includes the truck, all options as equipped, a full tank of fuel, and 150lbs for the driver.

don't take the numbers on the website as gospel, though. they are somewhat misleading because many of the trucks on the lots have more options, and they all add up.

the best way is to use the actual numbers from the stickers on your truck (specifically the cargo capacity), as those numbers reflect *your* truck as equipped.

of course, really what we are concerned with is the cargo capacity. so if you know you have 1840 to play with, and your trailer has 1000lbs tongue weight, then your family and all their stuff (anything additional onboard) can only weigh 840 lbs. Remember to subtract the weight difference on the driver as well. if you weigh 200lbs, you have to take an additional 50lbs from the 1840 to account for yourself driving it.

as you can see, it all adds up in a hurry.

beware of lariat's, king ranch, platinum, and limited's. these trucks are heavily optioned, and have a cargo capacity due to the weight of the options. ... or at least look at the sticker to make sure it will work for you before pulling the trigger.

 

So the gooseneck is out. Thanks for clearing that up.

According to Ford's spec sheet, the GVWR for an f-150 with max payload is 8200 pounds.

Even with 4 passengers, it looks like a 10,000 trailer is totally doable.

 

You are kidding yourself. Run the numbers and you will quickly find you wont pull 10k without going over the ratings.

I have been down that road many times. The only way you will come close is to run a heavy duty payload packaged truck. The tongue weight on 10k to keep things in order will easily be 1,200 to 1,500 pounds. Right there, you've shot your chances with a max payload supercrew with any options, and more than you and the significant other in the cab. Your two other passengers are standing on the sidewalk, and your bed is empty.

Dont forget, advertised tongue weights are usually light since they dont include your battery and propane weights.

I tow just under 10k with a 6.4L smoker, and have been trying to work an EcoBoost F150, but even with the HD Payload, it is close.

 

the 8200 GVW represents the max payload package AKA HD payload.

also, he's not talking about pulling a travel trailer, he is talking about a cargo trailer, so tongue weight is probably whatever he makes it. More is better for stability, but if it pulls good with 10% on the tongue, he can probably load the cargo such he can achieve it. he will not be constrained by the fixed nature of a travel trailer.

the hitch should be rated up to 1100lbs tongue weight with a WD setup. even with just the max tow option, it should be possible to haul 10k, but i agree it is tough with a family, and especially if you have a truck with a lot of options.

max payload gives you the best chance to make it all work within the letter of the law.

8200lbs GVW is respectable. our SD is only 8800lbs GVW, so it's not that far off.

 

1. Besides heavy duty payload and max tow what else do I need to make this a work truck? What gears are best? 80-90% of the time this will be my daily driver, and ecoboost fuel economy is probably the only reason I'm not looking at the superduty. I do drive with a light foot btw and usually set the cruise at around 50-55mph, right where the motor goes into overdrive.


2. My plan is to get a 20' car hauler with a GVWR of 10,000. That'll give me enough payload to move a small apartment going one way, and take a couple skids or a car coming home.

I checked out the trailers. If I want a car hauler with a solid ramp that can support a forklift for loading skids it'll be around 3500 pounds. That leaves 6500 payload.

Realistically how much car can I put in there without worrying about tongue weight?