1/2 ton towing a 5th wheel

[Louiseintx]

Hello,
I have a 2019 F-150 with the towing package and and considering getting a small fifth wheel rated as 1/2 ton towable. Does anyone have experience with this combination? If so, would you recommend or discourage? Pin weight, UVW, GVW all seem within specs for vehicle. Just don't want to make a mistake and have a problem with either the truck or the 5th wheel.

[2112]

OP has left the building

[LITEPHIL]

I know I would end up with a 3/4 ton. I don't want to be near my limits but most the towing in Az is extreme. I went from 3/4 ton down to a new 1/2 ton and am towing 6,000 lbs and it works well but I'm ordering a 3/4 ton next year. It's so much more relaxing with the bigger truck and I'm not talking about power wise. Full floating rear axles are so much safer too.

[Thermoguy]

To the OP - there is some good advice on this tread. The ones you need to pay attention to go regardless of trailer. Get a trailer that is not too much trailer for your truck. If a fully loaded (full tank) trailer is under your weight limits, then go for it. There are plenty of small 5th wheels that can be towed by a 1/2 ton truck. Not all the 1/2 ton towable models meet the actual requirements, but some do. Just get your actual truck specs and start shopping - remember, brochures and websites under size everything or don't show the whole picture. You need to look at real world weights and weight limits.

[Thermoguy]

Groover wrote:

LowRyter wrote:
If you're within weight limits, it should work. Be prepared to get 5 mpg when towing. Keep it under 65.

My daughter gets about 11mpg towing her 3 horse gooseneck with living quarters behind her 2013 Ecoboost at 70mph. You can figure about 85% of what a diesel would give under the same situation.

A 3 horse trailer with living quarters could have a pin weight of under 2000 lbs or over 4000 lbs - not enough information here to think an F150 is OK towing a 5th wheel. I have a 3 horse no living quarters and the pin weight is OK for a 1/2 ton, but for stability, emergency braking, etc, the 3/4 ton is much better. I have looked at living quarters, but my 3/4 ton diesel is not enough truck... that is living quarters with water, waste, etc. Something you can actually use. Some living quarters are not much more than a bed and some cabinets.

[Groover]

LowRyter wrote:
If you're within weight limits, it should work. Be prepared to get 5 mpg when towing. Keep it under 65.

My daughter gets about 11mpg towing her 3 horse gooseneck with living quarters behind her 2013 Ecoboost at 70mph. You can figure about 85% of what a diesel would give under the same situation.

[mkirsch]

Sure you can buy stouter tires and jam sections of well casing between the frame and axle to keep the truck from squatting, but you may never get things to where you will be happy with the results.

It's a very expensive guess. The whole point of looking at things on paper is so you can get an idea of what you're in for BEFORE you spend the money. I'm glad these guys who are just telling you to go for it and prop up the truck have infinite money and can just keep throwing cash at the problem, but most people don't. Not everyone is made of money. Some of us have one shot to get this right.

Right now, 1660 payload vs. 1375 EMPTY pin weight, it's not looking good. I don't consider GVWR a stone wall not to be breached, but F150s don't have the "hidden" payload capacity of an F250 or F350. It's more like 400lbs vs. 1000lbs+ on an F250 and a ton or more on an F350. You're going to be into your "hidden" capacity just towing the empty trailer home from the dealer with the family in the cab of the truck.

[mooky_stinks]

LowRyter wrote:
If you're within weight limits, it should work. Be prepared to get 5 mpg when towing. Keep it under 65.

You lose all credibility when you make a statement like that.

[time2roll]

LowRyter wrote:
If you're within weight limits, it should work. Be prepared to get 5 mpg when towing. Keep it under 65.

Even my old dog gets 8 mpg 😉

[LowRyter]

If you're within weight limits, it should work. Be prepared to get 5 mpg when towing. Keep it under 65.

[blt2ski]

Grit dog wrote:
OP.
Tires wheels suspension is easy. Slap some good E load tires on any OE or similar quality rims. Suspension, you have multitudes of options.
Any 9.75 axle 150 is good for 5klbs so the afformentioned 2500lbs payload is about right and a practical limit iMO.

Grit generally good thoughts.
BUT some 15 series rigs like my new to me GM, it has a 10 bolt 8.5" RA. NOT the 12bolt 9.5" like my son's 05. I believe in GMs case, the 6 cyl get the smaller RP setup. The V8's the 9.5" setup.
Like ALL things great and small, one needs to look at actual parts to see if you have the X or Y version.
Im not recalling OP saying engine, probably did, I would swag small eco boost and NA V6 could have smaller axles vs the larger EB and 5.0 V8.

Marty

[Grit_dog]

OP.
Tires wheels suspension is easy. Slap some good E load tires on any OE or similar quality rims. Suspension, you have multitudes of options.
Any 9.75 axle 150 is good for 5klbs so the afformentioned 2500lbs payload is about right and a practical limit iMO.

[noteven]

I tookalook at the Ford 2019 towing guide.

There is a listing of maximum trailer weights the different vehicle series can be spec'd for. (can be not all are can be not all are can be not all are....)

F-150 can be spec'd for a tick more rear tow trailer max weight than 5th wheel coupled max weight.

That's kind of interesting.

[IdaD]

I was careful with the weight rating on my aftermarket wheels to be sure I didn't de-rate my truck. As Shiner says, same goes with tires if you change the size or type.

My take on a half ton with a fifth wheel is you can do it with the right combo but there aren't too many options that will fit the bill in terms of the particular half ton or fifth wheel. That said, beef up the tires and supplement the suspension and you can probably cheat a little on your official payload rating. At the end of the day you'll probably be happier just upgrading to an HD truck, though.

[ShinerBock]

FYI, the sticker on the door jamb is as useless as tits on a bull if you replaced your stock tires/rims with ones that have a lower rating. It also goes out the door if replaced any suspension components with a lift.

Case in point, my nephew replaced his stock rims and tires on his 3500 with 35x12.5x20 BFG T/A KO2's which has a max rating of 3,195 lbs. The 6,390 lb combined rating of the new tires had a lower rating than his stock axle rating of 7,000 lbs which effectively lowered his GAWR making the number on the door sticker worthless. It actually put him below the rear GAWR of my 2500 which is 6,500 lbs.