For planning purposes (worst case scenario) with a 5th wheel towingplanner.com uses 25% of the GVWR to determine pin weight. The 260RD's GVWR is 9495lbs. That means you could see over 2K on the pin when loaded up--and you haven't even accounted for passengers in the truck (which also take away from payload).

For more complete information check out this post with a lot of links to tools and videos: https://gdrvowners.com/towing-and-hi...=9226#post9226

I would come at this is a "less traditional way" . . . which you will understand from my signature . . . but, although I have been doing this for 5 years and 25,000 miles . . . this is only the opinion of another owner, not justification for whatever choices you might make. Your decision should also consider the type of camping you will do. Full time or occasional? Level terrain or the mountains.

Best Case Scenario:
I would start with the 260RD UVW (unloaded vehicle weight) of 7225 lbs. I would add 800 lbs for stuff carried in the trailer. Most RVers carry more than this, but we are able to stay at about this number. So, this would bring you to an 8000 lbs loaded trailer weight. This means always travelling with empty tanks. The Reflection 150 Series seem to be configured with less than the "traditional" 25% on the pin. I have read several examples of less than 20%. (Unloaded, you are at 1200/7225 or less than 16%.) So, lets use 19% or 1500 lbs. 174 lbs for the hitch seems heavy. You have a turning point hitch and a relatively light pin weight, so you should be able to find a non-sliding traditional hitch that weighs less than this. Even with a nearly empty truck, by the exact numbers on your truck door, you do not have enough payload.

The "weight police" will tell you that you are out of compliance (which you are). It is also very doubtful that the Ford engineers designed your truck with no safety margin on the ratings.

Now, back to your F150. Ford makes an HDPP (Heavy Duty Payload Package) that you don't have. If you did, your sticker payload would be in the 2500 lb range. You can pick up some good ideas on how the factory achieves the HDPP numbers. Things like LT tires (rather than your OE passenger car tires), heavier rear springs and improved shocks will all improve the towing stability of your truck. Making these changes will not change the payload rating of your truck. You don't mention which engine you have. If it is the 3.5L Ecoboost, you will have more than enough towing power. If you have the smaller Ecoboost or the normally aspirated V8 you will be pushing the engine to its limits.

There are a lot of reasons to want a half ton for the 80% or more of its miles which will not be towing. You can push a modern truck to its rated limits . . . but, you are right on that limit line. (As am I)

Rob

Cate&Rob

I used to be of the same position that Rob describes and I used to watch the wife load until my stress levels were getting fairly high. My needs at the time were as low as a chain saw, an axe and few changes of clothes. Not the DW. We also had three children that would travel with us back then....and a Brittany and Beagle. Lol. The fact is, my truck was over the payload limit and it really bothered me that I needed to watch the loading to keep the rig as light as possible. The issues with this when your younger is that the family tends to get larger over time and with each the mass they need to bring on board tends to increase. In short, the demands on the truck in most cases will increase.

I would rather have my own safety factor where I purchased my truck to tow at 80% of the camper size I had in mind. This allows us room for additional items such as a chain saw, generator, bikes and many times.... full water. We could also add on several grandkids as well.
Today, because of my history, I would most likely be in the weight police category since I do not believe there is an excuse to overload a truck. But there is cost and how much risk folks are willing to take. One thing is for certain. Those stickers...even the yellow sticker is not for marketing or to skate on load classification so as a forum that would put an emphasis on safety, we should not go there. I work with the folks that test and have a direct input on those numbers along with the tire manufacturers.

Short answer (encapsulating the information above): With a very few exceptions (as noted by Cate&Rob), 1/2-ton trucks are not built or intended for towing fifth wheel RVs - even if the RV is advertised as "Half-ton Towable."

Rob

I have great respect for all the owners posting their perspectives on this thread. You guys all know what you are talking about.

But . . . I think that the game is changing for both light weight 5th wheels and the capability of half ton trucks. Loaded trailer pin weights are dropping below 20% and half ton payloads are in the 2000 lb range for all manufacturers. The launch video for the Reflection 150 Series showed a short bed F150 making 90 degree turns with a 5 1/2 ft box. This was probably an empty trailer, but the 5 1/2 ft box truck can't be an HDPP. It certainly was not sagging at all under the weight of the new 150 Series 5th wheel. (I can't find this Bill Martin video at the moment)

Guest Jim and I have very similar backgrounds. In the automotive/truck OEM world, there are Design Engineers and there are Validation Engineers. The job of the Validation Engineer is to break whatever the Design Engineer designed . I was the former . . . and I never met one of the latter who was willing to test only to my design specs. The validation safety margin on every component is significant.

You can find substantially overloaded trucks in any campground . . . when was the last time you saw a "broken" one ?

As I stated earlier . . . the decision to stay under, stay at, or go past the label specs for your tow vehicle is a personal decision and should not rely on the "advice" from any other owner.

Rob

Lots of good info so far and I will add a little myself.
My opinion on a tow vehicle is I like the biggest one I can afford to do the job with ease. This is not only for the towing aspect but also for the handling and braking. Having a truck that has a greater curb weight will help with handling the trailer during strong winds and turning at speed. A often over looked item is braking. If for some circumstance the driver looses control of the trailer brakes , broken wire , blown fuse , of even greasy brakes , then you are relying on the tow vehicle to stop what ever you are towing. A larger truck will have a better braking system , larger diameter brakes , larger brake pads in most instances , that along with the weight of the truck will help the driver control the trailer better than a smaller vehicle will.
With all of that said and as stated above it is up to the individual to make up there own idea.
Good luck and happy camping.

Brian

Rob,

Yes half ton trucks are becoming more capable as well as 5th wheel rigs getting lighter so folks should look at the numbers. With SAE certification with respect to powertrain, SAE tests are based on testing at Davis dam and other locations such as Baker grade where if we could claim additional GCWR it would be done. Testing is done where the truck must be able to endure these conditions if they were loaded for their entire life cycle so there is some cushion. As an example, those that end up with smoking hot oil temps a few times each year may feel they can load heavier and go 10C higher than last time? There may be a failure. Buy the way, I have a story for you when I towed a cutaway chassis (I had calibrated) up stovepipe in death valley while being overloaded on GCWR. Today, its great we have SAE certification as well as towing and payload certifications on todays modern truck. For GCWR and Payload, I make a similar claim where some folks may say... "Last time was no problem so a few hundred pounds more this time will not matter".
There is no doubt you can make a capable and sound decision with good engineering judgement but we know some folks if given the choice will push these limits and then some without that background, so this is why I am in the weight police and for safety will state to follow the sticker rules.

Jim

Although towable RVs are required to have their own brakes, there is no performance specification for these brakes. This is why trailer manufacturers get away with still building with 1950s technology electric drum brakes. Truck manufacturers have to make sure that their vehicle brake systems can handle the GCWR that they claim for their truck and any trailer . . . assuming that the trailer brakes are non-functional. Payload is usually the limiting factor as we have discussed . . . but GCWR should never be exceeded.

I have told the story of towing our 10,000 lb Reflection 5th wheel with our 6,000 lb F150 (less than our GCWR of 17,000 lbs) down the Monteagle Pass http://www.crashforensics.com/monteaglemountain.cfm with 3 of the 4 trailer brakes completely covered in grease. (This was part of the LCI "greased brakes" fiasco from a few years ago.) Obviously, I did not know that my trailer brakes were covered in grease. The decel braking capability of the (gasoline) Ecoboost engine handled most of the downhill speed control. Snubbing the truck brakes once every minute or so, handled the rest of the decent speed control. I am quite confident that my F150 can handle braking of our entire rig, even if the trailer brakes were to fail completely.

As an aside to this conversation, I have upgraded to disc brakes on the trailer and this is probably the most significant safety improvement that anyone can make. Stopping distance is cut in half.

Rob

Y'all talkin' about payload, but with a 5er what's the rear axle rating on a F-150? The ones I looked at were 3800#, hence my move to a f-250.
And if the real weight police started weighing half ton crew cabs towing 30' bunkhouses there would be a lot of unhappy campers.

This is where the HDPP option is important . . . my F150 rear axle GAWR is 4800 lbs.

Rob