i am new to the forum. i appreciate in advance any help you can offer.
i have an '02 F250 supercab longbed. i just bought an exiss 38' gooseneck aluminum trailer. 6k lbs empty. it will carry a 3200lb mustang race car and support stuff(tires, tools, tables and chairs).
i need to know if my truck can safely pull this trailer on hauls of 4 to 8 hours or do i have to upgrade to a dually?
I would prefer to keep the F250. I appreciate your knowledge.
You can figure on 18-22% of the trailer+trailer load will be on your truck. Weight your truck's rear axle with a full load of fuel and normal load that you would have while towing.
Take this number and add the afore mentioned pin weight and see if your tires(rated on the sidewall) will handle the weight. With stock tires 265/75/16 E I think your going to be very close or just a little over.
I'm handling more weight (gross+pin) on my '05 F350 SRW(275/70/18" E), with rating room to spare.
Good luck
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05 F350 Lariet SC 4x4 6.0/auto lgbox Toyo AT's, bilsteins, on board air with airbags & air horns
Wet and loaded weight with one passenger, toolbox full of tools, cooler full of cool, gooseneck hitch installed, normal options such as a spray-in bedliner, tank full of diesel = 7,800 pounds before you tie onto the trailer.
Available payload for hitch weight before you exceed the GVWR of the tow vehicle = 1,000 pounds
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i just bought an exiss 38' gooseneck aluminum trailer. 6k lbs empty. it will carry a 3200lb mce car and support stuff(tires, tools, tables and chairs).
The only weight that really matters is the GVWR of the trailer, which will tell you the wet and loaded hitch weight. That Exiss is probably 14,000 pounds GVWR. A properly-loaded 14,000 pound gooseneck trailer will have a hitch weight of about 20 percent, or 2,800 pounds.
So you're going to be overloaded by about 1,800 pounds over the GVWR of your truck. Not a good.
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i need to know if my truck can safely pull this trailer on hauls of 4 to 8 hours or do i have to upgrade to a dually?
Ford says you should never exceed the GVWR of your truck.
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I would prefer to keep the F250.
I would prefer a Ranger, or maybe one of those cute new Honda pickups, but they're a little too light in the britches.
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My Sierra Blanca in the sig pic was a great pickup for 11.5 years. I sold it last year. Replacement is a 2012 F-150 EcoBoost SuperCrew Lariat.
And no one has even mentioned the extra stability that comes from duals. Your pulling life will be so much easier with a dually, even if the weight issue is a non-issue for you.
And no one has even mentioned the extra stability that comes from duals. Your pulling life will be so much easier with a dually, even if the weight issue is a non-issue for you.
I'll second that. We're now pulling what's in our sig and it's significantly more comfortable towing than when our rig was a 2001 F250 PSD and a 6,000 lb travel trailer. A goose neck set up will probably tow better than our TT would, anyway.
Cobrar05, despite the numbers, it'll depend on what you're comfortable with. Personally, I wouldn't have pulled the trailer and weight you're looking at on our F250. As an alternative, have you considered a F350 SRW. Weights are probably tight, too, but I'd look into it.
David
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2009 F450 Pickup Lariat Plus w/Nav, 4X4 Off-Road Pkg, Rhino bed liner, 50 gal Transfer Flow fuel tank, 24k Reese Signature Series 5th-wheel hitch.
2011 MS 36RSSB3
Everyone will tell you that you need a one-ton dually...hell a 450-550 would be what you NEED. I disagree. People overload their trucks on a regular basis..a 1/2 ton truck with a bed full of brush, or grass that was dug up, is overloaded and people do that all too often. Ever see a Tahoe or Suburban rolling down the road with a 16-20' enclosed trailer? I'd venture to say that if it's not overloaded, that it is unstable at speed. I pulled my 24' er down the road (5 miles) empty with the denali, and it was NOT fun. I do however pull my 24' trailer with my f250 ccsb, and it's lifted at that...I pulled from Tulsa, OK to Waco yesterday and I will be going back today to do it all over again..loaded up weight is about 22k lbs, and it pulls FINE at highway speeds, no sway, no problems braking (yeah my brake controller is cranked pretty hard, but I'm not stupid and allow plenty of room to slow down, and I start braking ahead of time, and I accelerate slow and let the truck work at it's own pace). I have airbags to level the truck out, and I would recommend them on whatever you get, just for the improvement in the ride! Buy what you can afford and what will fill every need you have. A big crewcab dually isn't horribly practical for commuting in town and parking lots etc. One of them crewcab shortbeds would be the cats meow, methinks.
-Jason
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'02 F-250 Super Duty CCSB 4x4. 7.3L Powerstroke, Lariat Trim, Black and Tan with Tan leather, 5% tint all around, 5% eyebrow, 4" MBRP Turbo-Back, 6" tip, A-pillar Guages, (Boost, Pyro, Trans) 6-position chip from Matt at Gearheads Automotive, ITP ported housing, Alpine WMA/MP3/IPOD Headunit, JLAudio G1300 Amp, JLAudio 12 w1v2-4 12" Sub, Leveled, 305/60/18 ProComp Xtreme A/T's, on 18x9 ProComp 1089's, Firestone RideRites. Garage Kept DD/Tow Pig.
Play it safe and get the right truck for your needs, you will never regret it in the end. Plus it makes driving easier without the stress of "what if".
My 30ft travel trailer and my 25ft boat trailer are both balanced to the "T" and I just relax and enjoy the ride. I took the time to weight and measure to the point of moving my dual axles on my boat trailer forward for the perfect setup. You are on the right path, take your time and do what you have to do. The right tool for the right job.
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2004 6.0 liter(stock), 4x4 Dually King Ranch Package. Goose Neck Hitch, Bull Bar, 130 watt off road lights x 2, Vent Visors, Stainless Steel Exhaust Tip, Edge Insight Monitor, E*R Spool Kit, Dieselsite Coolant Filter Kit, GatesHeavy Duty Fleet Runner Serpentine Belt, Tires: Hankook Dynapro AT RF10 LT235/85R16 ROWL M+S. Use PM-22-A Motorcraft Diesel Cetane Booster with every tank. Pullin' 33ft Travel Trailer or 20ft Deck Boat.
simply yes it will handle it now legally or keeping within gross weights and that idk dont wanna figure and everyone else has for you its kinda nice aint it lol
but itss pull it just make sure you have good trailer brakes maybe both axles?
and take it fully loaded first time and see if it squats if it does get helpers to keep level for the long haul you want level it rides much nicer
and the fully loaded rig whould be test drove for a few miles once the truck is levelish and see how it handles get used to it and go from there
does it feel safe to you?
can you stop as you need to?
you need to tune youre rig to youre driving style
not listen to gvwr and weight class and weight police all day
worst case you dont feel safe with youre truck and you get a dully remember if its a used dully ask to test it with ur trailer if its got a gn hitch if not put the pin weight in the bed
and do not yell at me for saying all that everyone i wont read this again for a while lol so its a waste of time
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88 F-250 body,550 rear frame setup, 7.3 idi, back up camera, class 5 bumper hitch welded to frame and gusseted, front mount hitch and off road lights,93 front clip, headache rack, 37" humvee tires, ac power converter,factory buckets from quadcab, power windows and locks,cobra 29 cb w/ 102" whip, high lift jack behind seat, toolbox for the junk, visor, running lights, huge front bumper, oba,
in progress western style mirrors, holset turbo, airhorns, and some other goodies
Here is the trailer I am buying and Ive been offered the attached dually at a good price. Its a steal as a package. So if I can get my current rig sold, I will play it safe and buy the package they use complete.
ditto. Plus that's just a real nice looking setup !!!!
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2009 F450 Pickup Lariat Plus w/Nav, 4X4 Off-Road Pkg, Rhino bed liner, 50 gal Transfer Flow fuel tank, 24k Reese Signature Series 5th-wheel hitch.
2011 MS 36RSSB3
Here is the trailer I am buying and Ive been offered the attached dually at a good price.
Much, much better.
If the dually is a 2005-up, it has 23,000 GCWR and 13,000 GVWR. It will probably weigh around 8,500 ready for the road, so that leaves 14,500 for gross trailer weight and 4,500 for hitch weight. That's plenty for your 14k trailer.
If it's a '99-'04, then it will be borderline. Plenty of GVWR, but 20,000 pounds GCWR means you'll struggle up steep mountain passes unless you hot-rod the engine with gauges and a towing tune. But if you emulate mine with gauges, intake, exhaust and DP-Tuner 60-tow tune, then you'll love it.
Don't listen to those that tell you to ignore the weight ratings of tow vehicles. The engineers that developed those ratings are bright guys that know their business. Yes, you can use "seat of the pants" impressions to give you an idea of how you're doing, but the CAT scale is your best friend if you wish to keep you and yours safe on the road. Just because others overload their tow vehicles doesn't make it a good idea.
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1989 E350 UHAUL 7.3 L 17' box van, DRW dana 60-HD rear, New HD 4000 lb. 10 leaf springs, semi-truck batteries. 
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