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Pulling the Ford F150

Yahoo Message Number: 16036
Are there any of you out there with the Chevrolet Chassis flat towing a Ford F150. I know the Freightliner could probably pull it fairly easy but was thinking of converting my pickup to tow and selling my Tracker.

thanks

Mark

2006 Seneca 34SS

Re: Pulling the Ford F150

Reply #1 –
Yahoo Message Number: 16037
I have a 2007 Seneca 34SS. The gross combined vehicle weight is 26000 and the GVWR is 22000 which implies there is only 4000 for towing. Not sure how heavy the F150 is but guessing it's a tad over 4000. That said, the CCC is over 3500 so if you are not using all of that (I do not) you can tow 5000 it even 5500.

My CR-V is 3400 and my MC trailer is 4000 with two full dressers so I'm good. It tows both easily. I typically only carry 1/3 fresh water to keep weight distribution forward anyways, the rig handles better.


Re: Pulling the Ford F150

Reply #2 –
Yahoo Message Number: 16038
with what you said, that rules out pulling the F150. even the new aluminum ones come in a tad bit too heavy to pull behind the chevy chassis.

thanks for reply.

mark
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Re: Pulling the Ford F150

Reply #3 –
Yahoo Message Number: 16039
All the weight ratings are in the driver side door and the cabinet door under the kitchen sink. Gotta believe it's the same as mine.

Brochure for the rig says 8000 towing but the rig weighs more than 18000 dry so not possible - very misleading. On the hitch itself it says 10000 - so they put a really HD hitch on it!! So the frame can handle it, the problem is the combined weight and there has been much discussion on this site whether that's right or not. The gas version with 8.1L Vortex has GVWR of 19500 but still has 26000 combined rating. So it can tow more with much less power - maybe it's not a going issue but a stopping issue.

Re: Pulling the Ford F150

Reply #4 –
Yahoo Message Number: 16040
With a 34 SS you may be low enough in weight to pull a F150. It will be close.

Re: Pulling the Ford F150

Reply #5 –
Yahoo Message Number: 16043
i think i will play it on the safe side and continue to pull my chevy tracker. sometimes even doing everything right a curve will catch me off guard and i get a white knuckle or two..
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Re: Pulling the Ford F150

Reply #6 –
Yahoo Message Number: 16044
We have a 2007 Dutchman 38ft diesel rated at 19,500 and 26,000. While we are always at or slightly over, we have been towing since 2012 Ford 150 supercrew 4x4 with zero issues. However,  we upgraded the shocks and misc bars (all recommended from members of this site, thank you very much) as well as added a Predator Tunable Performance Programmer. I'm very happy and we've towed over 20,000 miles. Average just under 10 mpg, up and down the West coast. The only change is going into a head wind.

Re: Pulling the Ford F150

Reply #7 –
Yahoo Message Number: 16045
Phil, you will find that since 2007 I've pointed out those weights several times. When we made the decision to get a 2007 we went with the gasser even though I wanted the Duramax for the torque and an exhaust brake (the two things I really missed from our DP). After studying all the data I had concluded that I could NOT get a diesel and tow my 2007 Tahoe LTZ and stay under the GCWR. From what I've seen since 2007 there area a lot of Kodiak based motorhomes towing that are over the GCWR. Thor brought out the 30,000 lb GCWR unit but from what I could learn they did not produce many of them before Kodiak bit the dust. As I recall, the primary improvement was the transmission that was bumped to the Allison 2500.

On one occasion we were

Re: Pulling the Ford F150

Reply #8 –
Yahoo Message Number: 16046

Don,
You are correct that the Allison 2500 was the only difference. With that said in my discussions with an ALLISON tech at their service center and one of the head SENECA design engineers at JAYCO the only major difference between the 1000 and 2500 was the internal parking pawl. Even the Allison owners manual said "overloading the trans could result in sudden movement". The Allison tech told me that " if you always set the parking brake" you will be fine if over the 26,000 GCVW.
JAYCO stuck with the 1000 because of the licensing restrictions that some states imposed once you exceeded the 26,000 limit with an RV.


Re: Pulling the Ford F150

Reply #9 –
Yahoo Message Number: 16047
Greg, I'd like some info on that Predator. My 2006 struggles up the grapevine pretty bad. If I do make power I have overheating issues. Did you have to do anything to upgrade your cooling system to account for the power gains from the programmer? Thanks,
Chris

Re: Pulling the Ford F150

Reply #10 –
Yahoo Message Number: 16048
I'll get back to you tonight Chris with the details on the unit but I didn't do much. The only time I've had to really watch it was going up the grade out of Bishop on 395 during hottest part of the day.

Greg

Re: Pulling the Ford F150

Reply #11 –
Yahoo Message Number: 16049
Definitely! When I was running the SCCA circuit, we saw tons of vehicles
grossly over-loaded. My "boss" did it with one rig and I warned him what
would happen to both truck and trailer. It took about half the season
for my prediction to come true. The next time he found religion and did
it all right.

When Bill bought his latest race rig, he bought an F-450 dually and a
gooseneck 36' trailer. We all went down to DMV to get "RV commercial"
endorsements (for over 26,000 lbs) and the people didn't know what to do
with us. They finally found a guy who was familiar with it and he took
us to the parking lot. We each hooked and unhooked the trailer and
backed it up 30 ft. That was it...endorsed. I think the endorsement has
since been eliminated.

Take care,
Greg

Re: Pulling the Ford F150

Reply #12 –
Yahoo Message Number: 16057
We have a 2007 Gulfstream 6319 with the 8.1 and tow a 28ft Pace enclosed. We are about 1800lbs over the 26k rating but have never had a problem either pulling, handling or stopping. The coach is fine with the trailer and I figure I will just pay the fine if stopped and weighed. We are 18,179 with full tanks and everything but food and trailer runs about 9300. I do notice the difference on hills when the 3400lb Mustang is in instead if the 2700lb Fairmont but the coach just keeps trucking along. I was pulled over to a spot DOT weigh station on one trip and when I was pulled up to the scale point the trooper said "oh, you're a gas engine motorhome, we don't have to have to weigh you, have a nice day." Seems they were looking for overweight diesels with altered emissions.

Re: Pulling the Ford F150

Reply #13 –
Yahoo Message Number: 16058
I had to call the Michigan Department of Transportation directly to find this out, but in Michigan, if an RV and trailer are for private use only, there are no length or weight restrictions. Seems insane to me, but that is what they stated.....

When I slept in a truck rest area last year in New York, I asked a New York trooper what the restrictions are for motorhome weights and he said they don't ever check motorhomes....



Re: Pulling the Ford F150

Reply #14 –
Yahoo Message Number: 16059
Quote
What state weighs any motorhome, gas or diesel?

We have a 2007 Gulfstream 6319 with the 8.1 and tow a 28ft Pace enclosed. We are about 1800lbs over the 26k rating but have never had a problem either pulling, handling or stopping. The coach is fine with the trailer and I figure I will just pay the fine if stopped and weighed. We are 18,179 with full tanks and everything but food and trailer runs about 9300. I do notice the difference on hills when the 3400lb Mustang is in instead if the 2700lb Fairmont but the coach just keeps trucking along. I was pulled over to a spot DOT weigh station on one trip and when I was pulled up to the scale point the trooper said "oh, you're a gas engine motorhome, we don't have to have to weigh you, have a nice day." Seems they were looking for overweight diesels with altered emissions.


Re: Pulling the Ford F150

Reply #15 –
Yahoo Message Number: 16060
On the Atlantic city expressway they run spot checks for diesel emissions and on the day they stopped me they were also weighing trucks. Like I said, the trooper said they should not have had me stop but their ma