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What’s the biggest tow behind camper you would pull with your F150?

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So I appreciate everyone's attention to detail in the tons of posts about payload capacity (lack thereof). Quick question: is the obsession with being legal mainly concern for liability / what happens in a wreck? Or is there a significant chance of being pulled over by the authorities and checked for weight?

I know the dangers of over-loading-- just assume for the moment there's a range of "safe in your best opinion" but "not technically legal" payload weights.
I am cautious about it for safety reasons.

If I am travelling to British Columbia, I have heard of the police making drivers drop their trailers if their trucks are over weight. From what I've heard, they tend to look harder at half tons pulling trailers vs HD trucks.....

One example:

https://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/25701836/print/true.cfm

But being overweight is a safety issue as it affects how your vehicle will handle.
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Forest River 26BH. 34’ and roughly 7,800 GVWR. Pulled with my 2021 Limited PB. Made me miss pulling my 5th wheel with the 6.7L powerstroke, but it was still better than I expected. Plenty of power.
 

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I pulled my 8000lb (+trailer) Skid Steer with my RCSB 5.0 and it was definitely a little squirrely, probably illegal as hell but she seemed to enjoy the challenge!

I wouldn’t do that regularly but it’s good to know that in a pinch (which I was) …I CAN!
 

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weights #5820 in photo w/full tank of gas; 2022 k/r 3.5, max tow, no pano roof
looking at a micro minnie 2225rl or grand design 23lde

Ford F-150 What’s the biggest tow behind camper you would pull with your F150? IMG_20230127_135552295


Ford F-150 What’s the biggest tow behind camper you would pull with your F150? IMG_20220829_075932716_HDR
 
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weights #5820 in photo w/full tank of gas; 2022 k/r 3.5, max tow, no pano roof
looking at a micro minnie 2225rl or grand design 23lde
Having a walk around bed in the GD is a huge difference between those two trailers. Also, the GD will cost you a lot less. Not sure about the Winne published specs, but the GD ones are misleading in that the trailer will weigh quite a bit more once you get it. We have the 2250rk which is the predecessor to the 23LDE and we like it. The build quality is pretty crappy, but I think the whole industry is that way.
 
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Look over the Ford Towing guide. There is also a Square Footage frontal area size limit.
correct about the frontal area, the reason iam looking at the micro minnie as its 7 ft wide
 

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I am cautious about it for safety reasons.

If I am travelling to British Columbia, I have heard of the police making drivers drop their trailers if their trucks are over weight. From what I've heard, they tend to look harder at half tons pulling trailers vs HD trucks.....

One example:

https://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/25701836/print/true.cfm

But being overweight is a safety issue as it affects how your vehicle will handle.
Indeed! I follow the Min of Trans BC on IG and they recently posted pulling a tractor-trailer over. Vehicle had tire issues, no paperwork, pulling full tanker of diesel... WTF??

I'm MORE than happy to have them pull over folks that appear over the limit - the highways between the coast & interior are notorious for accidents (they can be challenging going the speed limit with NO trailer) from all sorts of vehicles, let alone ones that are overloaded and that much closer to their limits.
 
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Indeed! I follow the Min of Trans BC on IG and they recently posted pulling a tractor-trailer over. Vehicle had tire issues, no paperwork, pulling full tanker of diesel... WTF??

I'm MORE than happy to have them pull over folks that appear over the limit - the highways between the coast & interior are notorious for accidents (they can be challenging going the speed limit with NO trailer) from all sorts of vehicles, let alone ones that are overloaded and that much closer to their limits.
Agreed. I'd always rather err on the side of caution.
 

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I can't believe that this thread is still active more than a year after it's been started! I'll add my setup now that I've had a chance to tow with it:

Ford F-150 What’s the biggest tow behind camper you would pull with your F150? IMG_5499


I have a 4x2 Powerboost Lariat (1831 payload rating) towing a 6500lb trailer that is 24' enclosed (29' from hitch to bumper). Tongue weight is generally about 900lb (+/- 50lb depending on where gear happens to be stowed). I'm using a Blue Ox Swaypro WDH, but otherwise no other towing-related modifications.

I'm sure the original poster has long ago gained whatever information that they were looking for, but for the sake of others, I'll answer the original question about length. My setup seems pretty comfortable. I would potentially consider going longer, but probably not much heavier. A longer trailer probably won't tow significantly differently than a shorter trailer of the same weight. But there is potential for it to be a worse towing experience: longer means more effects by cross winds, longer will make driving around twisty campgrounds much more difficult, and longer could affect your tongue weight, since the same load placed 5' further away from the trailer axles will have that much more of an outsized effect on the balance of that trailer.

To answer @scuba 's question about staying within the payload ratings: for me it's neither a traffic law compliance issue nor a legal liability issue. Rather, it just tows more comfortably when your truck is well within spec to handle that load. It feels safer. I don't feel quite so at the mercy of strong winds or passing trucks. I've towed this same trailer across the country and back with my Expedition, where I was probably consistently 500lb above my payload limit, and there were some days where I had to drive down the Interstate going 40mph to keep the rig in control (damn west Texas winds!). Those are really stressful days.
 

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Will having a 6 1/2 ft bed increase or decrease the payload? Also how much weight does 4x4 add?
 

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The extra 12" of bed reduces Payload by 21 lbs, according to Ford. A bargain, in my opinion.

I believe I saw recently that someone stated 4WD is ~290 lbs?
I had always used 250 in my head. Don't remember exactly where I got that from.
 

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A longer bed does reduce payload by a bit (@Snakebitten ’s numbers match what I’ve seen in official Ford sources), but it improves the towing experience overall, in my opinion. If I recall my engineering classes correctly, the longer wheelbase is better at counteracting the forces induced by the trailer due to a longer moment arm pivoting around the rear axle. Kind of like a see-saw: the further away your heavy engine is from the rear wheels, the less effect the trailer weight is going to have on your overall driving control as it pushes on the hitch (which is relatively close to the rear axle). It’s why most towing experts recommend avoiding towing big loads with short wheelbase vehicles like Wranglers, even if the engines are plenty capable.
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