Can a Ford F150 tow the solaris T-2499

[Valerie Wilcox]

We would like to purchase a T-2499. (UVW is listed as 4785 lbs. GVWR is listed at 7000 lbs.) Our tow vehicle is a 1/2 ton Ford F150 with a V8 4.6 liter, extended cab. The front GAWR is3100 lb. rear GAWR is 3200 and the GVWR is 6050. I could find all these figures but I don't know what to do with them. I would apprecitate any help I could get. Thanks.

[kanyonkitty]

Can your 150 tow a 2499, yes. Will it be easy, confortable and safe, I DOUBT it. Even with empty holding tanks, no fresh water on board, and you pack very light. Use the GWVR of 7000lbs for calculating, no-one tows an empty trailer.

GVWR = gross vehicle weight rating (the max your TV or TT can weigh)
CGWVR= combined gross vehicle weight rating (the max you set-up can weigh)

Your F-150 has a GVWR of 6050. From that 6050 you must deduct the actual weight of your truck including all passengers, kids, pets, baggage and fuel, this will give you the true weight of your truck then you must also ADD the tongue weight of the trailer to the true weight of the truck. Estimate the tongue weight at 1000#'s. This will give you the loaded weight of the truck. I'm pretty sure you'll be at or over the GVWR of 6050 #'s for the truck.

BUT, there are folks that tow like that everyday.

Is there any chance that you'll be upgrading TV in the near future?

Sure hope I explained that right.

Kitty

[PTHutch]

Hi Valerie,

Kitty's right, I typically use the GVWR of the TT against the TV's tow rating to get an idea if the TV can handle the trailer. So you need to find out what the tow rating is on your TV.

What year is you F-150, is it 2wd or 4wd, and what gears does it have. All those will impact what its tow rating is.

The other weight rating on your pick-up that is useful is its GCWR (Gross Capacity Weight Rating).

A 2005 F-150 Ext. Cab w/ 4.6L V8 has a GCWR of 12,200 and a tow rating of 6,900 lbs for 2wd and 6,600 lbs for 4wd.

Now, what do you do with all these numbers. The best way is to actually weigh your TV and trailer at a truck scale, but some calculations will give you a rough idea. Here's an example.

1st figure out what your loaded trailer weight will be. A good guess will be taking the listed UVW + 1,500 lbs for cargo and options.
That would put your trailer at a loaded weight of 6,285 lbs.

The tow ratings on the F-150 is based on no cargo and only a driver.
So guess at the weight of extra passengers and cargo, lets say 500 lbs.
Reduce the TV tow rating by this amount. If your F-150 is a 2wd that its tow rating would be 6,900 - 500 = 6,400 lbs.

Now your tow vehicle's calculated tow rating should be more than your trailer's loaded weight, which it is (6,400 lbs tow rating vs 6,285 lbs loaded TT, we're ok there).

Then you also want to make sure that the total weight of TV and TT is below the GCWR of the TV. Lets say your F-150 will weight 5,000 lbs loaded with all cargo and passegners and we're estimating your loaded TT will weight 6,285. These combined weights should be less than the GCWR of your tow vehcile, which they are (5,000 + 6,285 = 11,285 < 12,200).

The third weight to check to make sure your within the TV limits is it's loaded weight plus the TT tongue weight should be less than the TV's GVWR. We're estimating the loaded weight of the TV is 5,000 lbs. The listed tongue weight of a 2007 T-2499 is 755 lbs. We'll increase that by 100 lbs to account for cargo and LP gas, so the loaded tongue weight is 855. The loaded TV weight plus the loaded TT tongue weight should be less then the GVWR, which it is (5,000 + 855 = 5,855 < 6050 GVWR).

The GAWR can be used to make sure that the weight on each axel of the TV does not exceed these limits.

Depending on where you live you can get the weight of you TV from its title or registration.

What you need to do is replace the numbers in this example on what you think your TV weight is and what is its tow rating and GCWR. I intentially used numbers in the exmaple that makes it look like your TV will handle your trailer. But once you put the real and more true values in, I think you'll find that you're right on the edge, which is not good.

If you let me know what year your F-150 is and if it's a 2WD or 4WD we can find out what it's tow rating is and GCWR. This information should also be specified within your owners manual.

Ford also has an excellent web page on towing. Here's a link to it https://www.fleet.ford.com/showroom/...ng/default.asp

Hope this helps.
Hutch

[Valerie Wilcox]

It's a2001 2WD with an automatic ttransmission. The Ford site was helpful but it did'nt have the year 2001. We were trusting the dealers when they told us our TV could tow 5000 lbs. Then my friend told me a dealer sold her brother a trailer. The dealer said he would have no problem towing it and quess what, he had major problems going up lone inclines. I would like help finding out what our tow rating is so this does'nt happen to us.

[nasa42a]

Valerie....

Having previously towed a heavier trailer with a 2000 F-150 (traded earlier this year), and knowing that your Ford is rated as having sufficient capacity to tow the 2499, I suggest you consider the following:
The Ford 4.6 liter engine is not a "strong" performer. And the automatic transmission on these Fords is NOT designed for towing in overdrive.
Although your Ford may "have" the capacity to handle the towing load, that does not mean it will do so without a bit of a struggle. Sometimes, slowing a bit and accepting the need to downshift saves both the equipment and lots of fuel.

Good luck!

Frank

[PTHutch]

Hi Valerie

Your 2001 F-150 2WD is rated to tow:

2,000 lbs if it has 3.08 gears
5,900 lbs if it has 3.31 gears
6,900 lbs if it has 3.55 gears and 16" or 17" tires

I got this information from Trailer Life's Towing Ratings
Here's the link http://www.trailerlife.com/output.cfm?id=42175
And the specific link for 2001 model year:
http://www.trailerlife.com/downloads/01towingguide.pdf

On page 5 they list tow ratings for F-150, Automatic Transmission,
Conventional Towing. Your extended cab is refered to as a SuperCab.

My opinion is that your pick-up will tow your trailer.
BUT you will not be happy with its towing ability.

Remember you need to reduce the tow rating by the weight of cargo and passengers in the truck. I think you're right on the edge.

I think a truck or SUV or Van with the 5.4L engine with a heavy duty transmission will tow your trailer much better and you'll be a lot happier.

My suggestion - if you have both the trailer and truck now, get a good weight distribution hitch with anti-sway control and a good brake controller and try towing.

I feel it's just (if not more) imporatant to make sure you can stop the trailer than it is to pull the trailer.

See how the truck feels, handles, pulls and stops with the trailer hooked up. Take Frank's advice on speed, don't drive in OD, and downshift if needed.

A lot depends on where you'll be towing (flat, hills, mountains), how far (short distances, long distances), highways & speed (rural roads, expressways).

I think your truck will have dificulty pulling the trailer up hills.

Good luck.
Hutch

[1boomer]

All of the previous answers are on the mark.

We had a '98 F150/4.6/355 and it was barely adequate to pull our Trail-Lites through any mountainous country. My opinion of the 4.6 is mighty low.

We upgraded to our present 2001 F150/5.4/3.73 and it does a fairly good job pulling our T-2499. We've had a bit of a struggle when the elevation gets in the 6500' + range. Heading eastbound on I-70 climbing past Vail, CO was a real struggle.

Wish'in and hope'in for a 250/V10

[Tweety]

Our friends use their F150 to tow a 2553. They are happy with it, BUT they only use it for local travel under an hour, AND we don't have mountains here in south eastern PA.

[mrmanny]

Hi Valerie. We tow our 2499 with a 2004 ford f-150 5.4L engine and we definitely know there's a trailer back there! The 2499 ain't no pup tent! Personally I think the 2363 might be a better fit because of the 4.6 engine. But if you have your heart set on the 2499 then pack light, tow with all your tanks empty, install a proper hitch/brake controller and stay under 65MPH. I think you would ok for local 1 to 3 hr. trips. Your acceleartion will be very sluggish and you won't like hills and bridges! Good luck with whatever trailer you choose.

[Mark]

The under 65/go slower is not only good advice is what the trailer tires are built for.....

You need to look at your trailer tire Manufacturer guidelines, you will most likely see that the tires are not to exceed 65. With the price of gas this summer, traveling at 55 MPH will do WONDERS for your gas mileage.

I think a smaller trailer is in order for you too, but keep it at 55 if you stick with your current setup. Heck on some hills you may not have a choice!

[Shelly]

We have an F-250 with the 5.4 liter (F250 light version = F150+heavier suspension, only made one year). Just got back from PA to CA trip via Montana. We got the T-2363. The truck was able to do 55 on most climbs and we went over several high passes. Only a couple times did we slow to less than 55. However, we didn't get over 60 mph very often either. I would have loved the 2499, but after driving the 2363 I think at least here on the west coast the 2363 is about as much trailer as our truck can handle. We were lightly loaded in both truck and trailer for the trip.