GEN 1 Towing Questions

[Adam Ratatat]

FRF Ladies and Gents,

I have scoured the forums and found a bunch of conflicting info and hoping someone here can help a brother out.

I have a 2010 SCAB 6.2L with a Max towing capacity of 5000 LBS. I am going to be towing a 6500 LB 25 ft Travel Trailer with a Weight Distribution Hitch and Anti Sway Bars. I am going to be putting on the ATLAS Expedition Leaf Springs (Recommended by ATLAS for Towing) but before i do this i will be doing a 6hr Tow in stock configuration.

Am I putting to much stress on the Truck with the travel trailer? The tongue weight will be around 500lbs and want to make sure I am doing this right. Thanks in advance for the help all.

 

[MEIRONMAN207]

As in my info states I have a SCREW stock (so I should have a better platform for towing, right?) and a 6.2L...So recently I loaded up and traveled 4600 miles FL to CA 2000 miles Maine to FL X 2...Cali trip not as heavy in bed and a small tow dolly with a Fiat, FL trip tools and such in bed and small trailer around 2000#s. The Cali trip seems to handle the config better than the trailer setup. I was riding the bump stops towards the end. FYI

 

[MEIRONMAN207]

The Raptor sucks in its stock form as a towing truck or even for load outs...My SCAB FX4 with a 5.4L kicked the Raptor in towing and loading. And it held its own off roading farm roads...full disclosure; no desert runs except for a very short trip while in Arizona. But other than that no real experience or test. My trucks were Stock vs Stock OEM, BTW.

 

[Adam Ratatat]

@MEIRONMAN207, Appreciate the info. Seems like it should do just fine but i figured there is more reliable info on the forums than if i called the RV dealer or Ford dealer. Best to hear from people who have done and not from people who just read a book on it. I like the graphics (or wrap) you have. It looks really good.

 

[SVTTrooper]

maybe motortrend has it wrong but your towing capacity is listed as 6000 LBS, not 5. and your GCWR is 12,400.

realistically, any time you over load your truck you're putting additional stress that's not accounted for. I loaded my 24 ft car lauler which weighs 4k dry on my Raptor and watched it's ass drop a fair ways. now take 500lbs over design and I'm betting you'll be on bump stops or damn near.

if you can get springs first to get your truck over the differential in weight that would be best course of action. I know if my truck was squatting hard and I rolled past DOT or any cop they'd nail me to the wall.

 

[Adam Ratatat]

@SVTTrooper, Appreciate the input. i have towed a 29' weighing about 6500 lbs and it didn't look to bad but as you said, anything over recommended weight can put unaccounted for stress which is what my concern is. I will take your advice into consideration and see if I can get the springs completed before the big trip.

 

[SVTTrooper]

glad to help! hey maybe see if you can get timbren bump stops? i've heard great things about those too.

safe travels!

 

[Dane]

FRF Ladies and Gents,

I have scoured the forums and found a bunch of conflicting info and hoping someone here can help a brother out.

I have a 2010 SCAB 6.2L with a Max towing capacity of 5000 LBS. I am going to be towing a 6500 LB 25 ft Travel Trailer with a Weight Distribution Hitch and Anti Sway Bars. I am going to be putting on the ATLAS Expedition Leaf Springs (Recommended by ATLAS for Towing) but before i do this i will be doing a 6hr Tow in stock configuration.

Am I putting to much stress on the Truck with the travel trailer? The tongue weight will be around 500lbs and want to make sure I am doing this right. Thanks in advance for the help all.

Is 6,500 the dry weight, or fully loaded as you'll be towing it? You are past your weight rating, and as such, could have issues should an accident happen. I think the truck will physically handle it, being only 500 over and using a weight distribution hitch. Your tongue weight is concerning to me, it should be at least 10% of your trailer. You may get some wagging, hard to say. I suspect your tongue weight will actually be right (and more than 500). I expect to see some noticeable squat in your truck. Definitely keep it chill.

 

[poltrup]

Had a Gen 1 SCAB. Towed a 5800 lb. dry RV with 600lb tongue weight. Stock with weight distribution hitch and sway bar. Absolutely zero issues, and it very nicely passed pretty much everything... even going uphill.

That being said... and your question is a good start... educate yourself on towing in general and always be mindful that when you are hooked up, you are a tow pig not a race truck. Safety comes first. You want a level hookup (not nose in air), you can exceed actual tongue weight with the WDH so long as you don't break gross vehicle weight (weight doesn't change, WDH just shifts the load). And set your trailer brake sensitivity *before* you pull out onto roadways. Both should stop you at same rate... a few practice pull/stops and you'll be able to tell when the trailer is pushing the truck (to little sensitivty) or trailer is slowing the truck down before the truck (to much sensitivity)

If going over Ford towing/weight specs then definitely look into improved springs/brakes/etc. Deaver makes some HD spring packs that will help with the additional load yet still be effective once you unhitch.

 

[Adam Ratatat]

Is 6,500 the dry weight, or fully loaded as you'll be towing it? You are past your weight rating, and as such, could have issues should an accident happen. I think the truck will physically handle it, being only 500 over and using a weight distribution hitch. Your tongue weight is concerning to me, it should be at least 10% of your trailer. You may get some wagging, hard to say. I suspect your tongue weight will actually be right (and more than 500). I expect to see some noticeable squat in your truck. Definitely keep it chill.

@Dane My total weight is about 6,500 lbs. Dry Weight is 5,300 Lbs. I didn't squat to much when i did some local runs but got the Timbren Bump Stops to help. According to the dealer the Weight Distribution hitch should take my tongue eight down to 450 lbs (just got told that today). I plan on taking it easy for sure and will add my post trip synopsis on this thread.

I really appreciate the feedback as well, i am learning a lot from you all and am excited to learn more.