Towing Over 5000lbs Capacity (7000lbs Camper)

[lister coggs]

Watch the whole video to understand the system

Amazing video, very interesting. Thank you!

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[BBB]

Hey all -

I rented a 6500-7000lb trailer for a camping trip for a few days. I planned to tow it about 80 miles to a campsite with my Lariat SR (no max tow). It will be over flat terrain, about 86 degrees F.

Given my vehicle tow max rating is 5000lbs, is there anything I should look out for? From forum scanning, I understand the vehicle is structurally rated for a 10,000lbs towing capacity and the max tow upgrade to 7700lbs capacity for the SR is simply an extra cooling loop for towing while in extreme conditions (high heat, steep inclines).

Is this highly dangerous? Or is my biggest worry the vehicle saying it's overheating and having to stop every 10 miles?

I was considering hooking up an OBD scanner to monitor temperatures since it seems like overheating is the main concern.

Thanks!

Your over looking the fact that the gear and supplies loaded add to thetrailer weight and a 6,000 pound trailer loaded up can easily exceed the GCVWR. I'm assuming your truck has the factory installed brake controller? I've towed over weight loads for decades with Ford trucks and never had a single issue but thats no reason to exceed manufacturers recomendations....ohh..forgot to mention occupants, water, holding tank contents, also add to the GCVW. Each gallon of pure clean water weighs in at 8.33 pounds.

 

[lister coggs]

Your over looking the fact that the gear and supplies loaded add to thetrailer weight and a 6,000 pound trailer loaded up can easily exceed the GCVWR. I'm assuming your truck has the factory installed brake controller? I've towed over weight loads for decades with Ford trucks and never had a single issue but thats no reason to exceed manufacturers recomendations....ohh..forgot to mention occupants, water, holding tank contents, also add to the GCVW. Each gallon of pure clean water weighs in at 8.33 pounds.

Thanks, yeah, the trailer rental website is labelled as 5700lbs, but I'm carrying about 1000lbs in passengers and cargo. I should have been more clear.

I have the tow tech package, which I believe comes with the brake controller.

Good to hear you've had success towing over recommended weights in the past with Ford trucks!

 

[TomB985]

I had 14,000 lbs behind my Excursion that was rated for 10K, and I towed that load 1,400 miles from Minnesota to New Hampshire. I’ve also had 12K behind my 2013 F150 with that same trailer, and it was just fine. The trailer brakes worked great and I had a properly setup WD hitch, and they handled each trip without much drama. I only wish they had the kind of power that our Lightnings do today.

I’m cautious about tongue weight, axle weights, and keeping an eye on engine and transmission temperatures. If you don’t exceed those weights or get something too warm, you won’t hurt the truck. Modern electronic controls are calibrated to limit power before you get to that point, and I’ve never seen my battery or motor temps get hot enough to move the gauges.

 

[BBB]

Thanks, yeah, the trailer rental website is labelled as 5700lbs, but I'm carrying about 1000lbs in passengers and cargo. I should have been more clear.

I have the tow tech package, which I believe comes with the brake controller.

Good to hear you've had success towing over recommended weights in the past with Ford trucks!

chuckle...What do you think made Ford trucks so popular? They can be pushed to the limit without often even breaking a sweat. Anymore I tend to follow recommended weight limits but in the old days no one I knew had ever heard of such a thing. <<Craziness>> My experience began in78 when we were working on maintenance of an atomic power plant and we were asked to move several rolls of....was it mc 500....maybe 5000. Well a single roll would not fit in the bed of an F100 so we put it on the bed supported by the sides and tailgate. Truck hunkered down a bit and then a voice said, I'll be we can put another one or two rolls on top of that one. Well you can guess what happened. #two we fully expected to blow out the tires but it didn't so we put another on top. We were stupid, what if it slide forward onto the cab....bye bye driver. We only had to move them on site maybe a mile so a brave soul got behind the wheel and ever so carefully started off and successfully delivered the first load then came back for another roll. I drove that one over and on turns you could feel the frame kinda bending. That old truck was to be sold so no one cared if we killed it it was maybe a 71 model. Five years later at another job site I ran into a guy that said he knew about that truck and was still being used on a mining claim in the Tahoe national forest. I think those rolls were about 1,000 pounds each.
we were sure stupid back then.
Please don't try this stunt or any other if you wish to live long enough to get a pension.

 

[hturnerfamily]

...
Another high heat scenario I presume is if the battery is DC Fast charged while towing...

;

while you can't 'charge' while you are towing, I suppose you meant to say that you might believe there is some additional HEAT concerns when STOPPING to charge, when at the same time, you are in the process of towing something... no, the truck or battery doesn't care about that, as it's FRONT FAN/RADIATOR is designed to OPERATE while Charging, for that very reason.
The front lower valance blinds/fins open, the fan operates, and the radiator sucks air thru to 'cool' the coils that cool the battery, etc.

 

[lister coggs]

The camper towed amazingly well. No issues whatsoever. Tried using the tow tech backup assist but it kept giving errors while calibrating so I gave up.

The estimated range was 118 miles on a full charge. The battery temperature on the dash didn't change at all. We picked it up in the evening, so outside temps were around 68F. Surprisingly, while I was setting up the trailer, it let me set it for the actual weight of the trailer, despite being over the trucks recommended maximum of 5000lbs.

I tried tracking battery temp with my BlueDriver OBD dongle, but it only had two live monitoring options 'Engine Coolant Temperature 1 'and 'Engine Coolant Temperature 2'. Not sure if this is for battery and motor temp, or something else, but the temp stayed the same the entire time.

The provided hitch had sway bars, but no weight distribution.

 

[Wattsun]

Little over 8;000 Lbs no problem, Truck works every day without issue.

 

[ChrisCon]

In regularly tow a 7300 pound skid steer with a 2000 pound drop down tilt deck trailer. It is an absolute dream to tow compared to my much larger 350 and 550 dump trucks . My weight is distributed very evenly over the wheels and I'm able to avoid using one of my vehicles that are DOT registered and have commercial plates . This is a huge time saver when the the state police are doing DOT safety checks and I can just drive by .

Stopping power feels confident . Towing power as everyone knows is fantastic and the tow tech package means I can easily back into tight places.

Hands down my favorite vehicle to tow with and have no issues being over recommended weight.

 

[TomB985]

Little over 8;000 Lbs no problem, Truck works every day without issue.

That’s not true. The weight placards on the truck and trailer are enforceable in some jurisdictions, but that’s it. The towing limits are manufacturer recommendations.

They can’t cite you for that any more than they can test your gas and cite you for using the wrong octane.

 

[TomB985]

Re-read the bottom paragraph. You can be cited if you’re carrying more weight than you’re licensed to carry. That’s about requiring a CDL and how much weight a trailer is registered for, it has nothing to do with the manufacturer’s towing recommendations. I was a professional driver in a past life, and commercial vehicle enforcement is the only LEO I’ve ever seen to care about weight. None of which has anything to do with the manufacturer’s recommendation.

I’m not familiar with every jurisdiction, and I’ve been wrong before. Can you find me an example of someone being cited for exceeding a manufaturer’s towing recommendation? Can you find a statute that imposes legal weight to a manufacturer’s towing recommendation?

 

[lister coggs]

The SR lightning without max tow is identical to the SR lightning with max tow except for the presence of an additional cooling loop, which adds 2,700 lbs to the tow rating.

It seems like the most danger if a regular SR tows 7700lbs is the battery getting too hot and you need to slow down? I can't see how it would cause any stability issues or hitch breakage?

I get your point though if someone is towing a 5000lb camper with a Ford Focus.

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