Towing Specs

[Grandmaof4]

I’ve been looking at the GD 150 series 278BH fifth wheel. The dealership/brochure claims it can be towed with a F150/1500. I’m reading conflicting info on the websites as to what truck can safely pull this. The UVW is 8,345 & the hitch is 1,321. The Ford F-150 is a hybrid with the yellow sticker saying 1530 - I’m thinking that’s not enough. Hubby doesn’t want to go back to a 2500HD Diesel engine, nor does he want an 8 cylinder. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

[JBill9694]

Look at the GVWR of the trailer (10195 lbs) and then figure 20% (2000 lbs) for the vertical load on the hitch. Not sure what year and model F150, but think there might be a digit missing from the "1530" listed in the OP

[Grandmaof4]

These are the stickers the Ford dealer sent me

[howson]

Grandmaof4 -- if that 1530 is the payload capability of the Ford F-150...it will quite a challenge to tow anything of significance with that truck. Remember payload is everything in the truck, including the passengers and anything else tossed into the interior or bed.

The way I approached truck vs trailer was to use the worst case scenario to tongue weight. (I have a travel trailer so the term is "tongue weight" vs "pin weight" for 5th wheels.)

There's a few threads in the Reference Material section of the Towing and Hitches channel that you may find pertinent. Look through the threads here: https://gdrvowners.com/towing-and-hi...rence-material (Every channel has a sub-section named "Reference Material". For more about this forum check out the Welcome Letter to New Members: https://gdrvowners.com/forum/main-fo...to-new-members )

Finally, you're quite wise to question published pin weights and the classic "sure your truck can tow that!" response from a salesman. Having made a huge mistake myself back in the day, it is imperative to understand all of the numbers and how they relate to each other.

Howard

[Jkwilson]

An F150 can have a payload as high as 3300lbs. There is a huge range of capacity, so saying F150/1500 is virtually meaningless. Your sticker shows a truck not capable of towing very much.

[TucsonJim]

There's some really good advice here.

If interested in pulling a travel trailer vs. a fifth wheel, the Imagine 2800BH is a really popular bunk house floor plan. The loaded hitch weight will be around 1,000# if you pack carefully. This would give you another 530 pounds of payload for passengers and cargo in your truck.

https://www.granddesignrv.com/showro...orplans/2800bh

Jim

[acoleman43]

Grandmaof4 The Reflection 150 series is advertised as 1/2 ton towable (hence the "150" in the name). However, the vast majority of 1/2 ton trucks do not have the payload capacity to tow these trailers.

Also the advertised pin weight id typically lower than the actual pin weight. If the advertised pin weight is 1321#, it's probably closer to 1500 or 1600# with options, propane, batteries, etc. For example ,the advertised tongue weight of my trailer is 920#, however the actual tongue weight is typically 1250#.

The truck you are looking at has a 1530# payload capacity. I believe Ford assumes a 150# driver and a full tank of fuel are included. If the pin weight is closer to 1500#, adding the weight of the hitch, passenger(s), tools, gear, food, etc will put the payload over capacity by 20% or more. Even at 1321# pin weight you will likely be over payload capacity by 10% or more.

[Cate&Rob]

Grandmaof4

If you want to tow a 150 Series Reflection with a V6 F150, look for the HDPP (Heavy Duty Payload, Package). This will not be a hybrid and your dealer will likely claim no knowledge of this truck . . . but, it is in the F150 brochure on his desk. This is the truck that Grand Design had in mind when they said “half ton towable”. Payload for a crew cab will be in the range of 2500 lbs. I towed our Reflection 303RLS with one of these trucks for several years and many thousands of miles.

Rob

[Grandmaof4]

Thank you all! Such a wealth of info in this forum. Spoke to the dealership again, he’s got a v6 with eco boost engine with the max trailer package - he’s researching now and will send me the stickers when he has a free moment. It’s a GD 5th wheel model 278BH.

[Cate&Rob]

The F150 “Max Trailer Package” is somewhat of a misnomer. This is NOT the much more capable “Heavy Duty Payload Package”. The best way to tell one from the other is the tires. HDPP will have LT (light truck) 60 psi tires whereas the Max Trailer Package will have P (passenger) 35 psi tires. Max Trailer Package payload will be in the 2000 lb range . . . but, still not the truck you are looking for.

Rob

[howson]

Cate&Rob -- if only you got a commission from every F-150 HDPP you've probably "sold" over the years...lol. Surely you miss the Weight Police stopping at your campsite saying, "You can't tow that trailer with that truck!" (Referencing, of course, your former F-150 and the 303RLS combination.)

[ncitro]

Grandmaof4 As Rib suggests, you want the heavy duty payload package, it's tricky to find on the Ford builder site, but if I recall correctly it's only available on an XLT. I'd be shocked if you could find one on a dealer lot (even before the truck shortage), it's almost guaranteed to be a special order truck.

[StephenO]

Grandmaof4 As Rib suggests, you want the heavy duty payload package, it's tricky to find on the Ford builder site, but if I recall correctly it's only available on an XLT. I'd be shocked if you could find one on a dealer lot (even before the truck shortage), it's almost guaranteed to be a special order truck.

When we were shopping for our truck we were able to find the HDPP on both the XLT and the Lariat; however, once you 'get' the HDPP you were stuck at the baseline for each trim level. For example, an XLT with HDPP could only get the 300a package, which doesn't include any of the extra goodies. A Lariat with the HDPP could only option the 500a package, but since it's a Lariat it came with more upgrades than the base XLT.

Of course this was back in the day (2019....) so things may have changed by now.

The tales of having trouble being able to find a HDPP F150 are unfortunately true though. One dealer even asked me, "Why do you want that!?", and another said "That's only for people who want to put an in bed truck camper"

Frustrating at best

[Grandmaof4]

I’ll definitely be asking about the “HDPP” when I email the dealer. One large problem is NY/NJ dealers are charging $7-10k over MSRP! I’m working with a dealer in DC who is charging $500 over sticker - nowhere near the $10k so it’s worth the drive if he has what we need. Even ordering is a 2.5% over price - it’s crazy, but life’s also too short to keep waiting & waiting.

[ncitro]

Grandmaof4 If you're looking to buy off a lot and want to tow any kind of fifth wheel I'd think you'll have much better looking for a gas F250. You'd still have to keep an eye on the payload sticker but that should be doable. If you wanted diesel I'd say F350 (due to the weight of the engine) but for gas adv F250 should be adequate and more likely to be on a lot somewhere.