# Towing A 30rls With A 2005 F-150 Screw



## Arghknork (Jul 23, 2006)

I have a customized '05 F-150 and want to tow a Sydney 30RLS with it. I realize this is pushing the limits, but I love my truck and fell in love with the TT. My owners manual says my truck will tow a max of 9000# with it's 5.4L and 3.73 rear-end. I've already added an onboard programmer, cold-air intake and custom dual exhaust. I plan to have the factor C-III towing package replaced with a C-IV weight dist hitch and trailer brakes controller put on by the trailer dealer, and add an airbag to the rear suspension. Does anyone out there have any comments, suggestions, tips, etc. for pulling this mych with my 1/2 ton truck? My wife and I are new to RVing and to the forum - thanks in advance for the advice.


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## skippershe (May 22, 2006)

action Hi Phil and Karen action

Sorry can't help you there, but wanted to say hello and welcome to Outbackers.
The weekend posts are sometimes a little sparse, but you'll be getting some great advice soon!
Take care,
Dawn


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## mountainlady56 (Feb 13, 2006)

Hi, and welcome to Outbackers.com!
I just don't see it happening. I had an 04 GMC Sierra 5.3 L ext. cab with 3.73, and was told it would have NO problem pulling the 27RSDS I purchased, both by my auto dealer and TT dealer. It had the factory HD towing package, etc., as well. Wrong! It worked the truck AND me to death. There was no such thing as cruise control, even on flat terrain, and towing in hills the tachometer revved to 4500 RPMs very often. Keep in mind that the weight inside your camper is the DRY weight, which doesn't include any water, personal belongings, etc. I know you love your truck, but I'm afraid you'll send it to a premature grave, where the transmission's concerned. I had to upgrade my TV - got a Dodge 2500 Quad Cab SLT with Cummins Diesel. Hard and expensive lesson learned.
Darlene action


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## HootBob (Apr 26, 2004)

Alot depends on where you will towing the 30RLS
On flat land it may be doable
You're talking 9000 lbs. for the truck that is only with driver
add fuel and passengers and cargo and the trailer is 7100 dry and then add all options and gear and if you say water 8 lbs. a gallon that's 400 lbs. of extra weight
But sorry to say I feel you will be too close the safety sake

Don


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## Arghknork (Jul 23, 2006)

sgalady said:


> Hi, and welcome to Outbackers.com!
> I just don't see it happening. I had an 04 GMC Sierra 5.3 L ext. cab with 3.73, and was told it would have NO problem pulling the 27RSDS I purchased, both by my auto dealer and TT dealer. It had the factory HD towing package, etc., as well. Wrong! It worked the truck AND me to death. There was no such thing as cruise control, even on flat terrain, and towing in hills the tachometer revved to 4500 RPMs very often. Keep in mind that the weight inside your camper is the DRY weight, which doesn't include any water, personal belongings, etc. I know you love your truck, but I'm afraid you'll send it to a premature grave, where the transmission's concerned. I had to upgrade my TV - got a Dodge 2500 Quad Cab SLT with Cummins Diesel. Hard and expensive lesson learned.
> Darlene action


Thanks for the welcome, this looks like a great place to hang out.

I'll be towing mainly around the midwest and southeast, so there could be a few hills, but mostly flat ground. I don't intend trying to take it over the Rockies, but would like to be able to if possible. When I look closely at the specs of the F-250 vs the F-150, the main differences are in frame weight, suspension and brakes (disregarding a deisel option for the moment). I already have better brakes thatn the F-250 as part of the customization of the truck and will be improving the rear suspension with an airbag system. Are you concerned I may be in trouble with the frame? I've also already added about 35HP and 50fp torque to the engine and wanted an excuse to supercharge it anyway if that would help. The custom pacjage also added external oil and trans coolers, but I'm considering adding a trans temp gauge too.


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## Highlander96 (Mar 1, 2005)

Welcome to the forum!!!

Aftermarket mods are great and they really make a truck look and perform well.









However, you have overlooked a serious implacation......The legal one...........

God forbid you get in a accident and kill or maime someone. Insurance companies and law enforcement look at the GVWR of the truck and the GCWR.

Sorry to sound like a naysayer......I tried to tow with an sub par tow vehicle and learned very quickly!!!!

Remember most RV lots uses fork lifts or small tractors to move units around........

Good Luck and Happy Outbacking!

Tim


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## NJMikeC (Mar 29, 2006)

Air bags do nothing but hide the fact that you don't have an adequate suspension. In fact they hurt more than help.

Allow me to explain. Consider if you will that the rear axles is the axis of rotation. The tongue weight is applying a torque if you will around that axis and thereby lifts the front end. By pushing back on that torque with air bags you are inturn applying more force to lift the front end, because some of the linear push of the airbags is translated to rotational push as the weight of the tongue didn't disappear. This will cause you to put more "spring" in the weight distributing hitch stressing yet another important component. But you still didn't re-spring the front which allows you to steer and applies 60% of your braking.

As for brakes I hope you increased the size of the rotor and drums or else you really did nothing but heat them up more by applying a caliper or brake cylinder with extra push. You need the extra rotor or drum surface to disipate the heat that the extra force of the calipers created.

A supercharger is for the race track not for towing.

I humbly submit that that F150 just isn't up to it, mods or no mods. The modifications are generally suited to going faster or off roading none of which is towing.

This is a nice place to hang out and many of us like to watch out for others. A huge amount of us changed tow vehicles after the fact. We all will tell you that it is better to change before the fact.

Best of luck!


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## Lady Di (Oct 28, 2005)

What others said. The legal and safety side is just not worth it.

If you wand to get there safely, and without white knuckles, you either need to downsize the camper you are looking at, or upgrade your TV to something that will do the job.

We upgraded from a light duty, to a super duty 250 for that reason.


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## Devildog (Sep 8, 2005)

First of all welcome to Outbackers Phil!

Next question is what is the weight on the Sydney 30RLS?

I tow the 25RSS with no problems, it weighs around 4900 lbs. plus around 500 to 700 lbs of cargo.

I take overdrive off while towing, and we do have a few hills here in the south, so it will downshift sometimes on steep grades. I have never run over 3000 RPM's in SC or Georgia which are relatively hilly towing this weight.

I probably would not want to get too much heavier myself, the 28RSDS was another we had considered that I would tow w/ confidence in the F150. Hope this helps somewhat!


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## 3LEES (Feb 18, 2006)

action action Welcome to the Forum Phil and Karen! action action

You have come to the right place for information regarding your purchase. Unfortunately the camper you want does not fit your current tow vehicle.

Outback lists the 30RLS at 7105 tow weight. This weight does not take into account an airconditioner, awning, two tanks full of propane and other items. They are considered "options", but Outback does not sell units without them. For arguement sake, let us put that extra weight at 600 lbs.

Now when you go camping, you aren't just going with an empty camper! You have gear to put in the camper. Bedding, clothing, pots and pans, utensils, etc. That could easily add another 400lbs.

If you chose to tow with a full tank of water (most of us don't), that would add another 300 lbs plus to your tow weight.

Now add in the weight of your spouse, your kids, the dog, etc.

You are now asking your very nice F-150 to tow at it's max towing capability. I have heard a rule of thumb that I have taken to heart. Only tow up to 80% of the tow vehicles max tow rating

Sorry to rain on your parade, but better to be informed before you buy, than disappointed after. I made a similar mistake and had to trade in my SUV for a 1/2 ton pick-up. Costly miscalculation on my part.

Best of luck to you and your family! See you around the forum!









Dan


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## freefaller25 (Mar 19, 2006)

Hello and Welcome,

The biggest concern I would have is the chance that you are exceeding your specification limits for the F-150. As has already been mentioned, the legal implications of this can be unmanageable. A date with the scales would be a must and you might be surprised.

That much aside, you can downsize the camper to keep your favorite ride. A 28RSDS should be no problem for you. I tow the same with a 5.4 machine without much bother. A correctly setup non centrifugal type supercharger is just as much help in towing with a gas engine as a turbo is with a diesel. The transmission temp and specs. are for sure the things to watch in this case. I also have a 4 corner air bag system. As long as your weight distribution is set up correctly without the aid of the air bags, the air bag system works great for consistent ride height. The bonus is a nice smooth ride with or without the trailer.

Good luck with the hard decision,
Tony


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## BritGirl (Apr 7, 2006)

Welcome to Outbackers !!!!









My DH & I had the F-150 with Mods and we were pulling the 27RSDS with it. Our F-150 had the same specs as yours, we added the Airaid Cold Air Intake, Edge Programmer, Borla Cat Back Exhaust and Troyer Performance Dual Electric Fans and went off on our 1st trip over two sets of mountains. The truck pulled great until we had to try and maintain a decent speed going up over the Pass in the Cascade Mountains here in Oregon. We did maintain the speed and overtook other vehicles who weren't even towing but we were hitting high revs/RPMS. You also have to realise your towing maximum, both our Ford Dealer and our Outback Dealer said we were at our absolute maximum length for towing.

My DH loved that truck, really loved it but realised that trip after trip after trip would wear it down quickly and all the money we had put into the truck would eventually be worth nothing, so we upgraded to a Dodge Ram 3500. Why a 1 ton, because we could and the money difference between the 2500 & 3500 was less than $1,000. We are also looking into the future a bit and can trade up the TT when we want to with no issues. Full-timing is hopefully in our not too distant future. I would also go with Dodge over any other diesel because of Cummins. Best Diesel out of the big 3. I would either sacrifice the F-150 and trade up vehicle, (employee pricing is going on now) or trade down the Travel Trailer.

Law and Safety is the biggest issue you would face.

This last trip we could barely feel that the TT was there.

Britgirl


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## dougdogs (Jul 31, 2004)

Phil and Karin,

Double check the fine print in your manual carefully. If you have 18" or greater rims (which 99% of the F150's do) you loss another 500 pounds of capacity. Not sure why, but only the steel 17" rims allow you 9000 pounds of towing

8500 not 9000

If you are going to make mods, don't forget to beef up the brakes


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## Grunt0311 (Aug 23, 2005)

Phil, first off, welcome to the site. You came to the right place for sound advice!

Now as far as your question, I have to respectfully say absolutely not! The truck, the towing specs, the brake system, the trans, are just not up to snuff to tow a trailer like that. I know that is not what you want to hear, but it is a fact, based solely on the numbers, and the fact that I will be driving on the roads in the midwest. Everyone else have brought up excellent points, and I wont beat a dead horse. However, I think the bottom line is, for lack of a better term, you have to pay to play. Want a big TT, need a big truck. Want a smaller truck, need a smaller TT. Kind of like living within your means. Legality and safety need to rule here, and they both say no. I hope you find a happy medium between a TT and a TV. Good luck!

Bill


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## Arghknork (Jul 23, 2006)

dougdogs said:


> Phil and Karin,
> 
> Double check the fine print in your manual carefully. If you have 18" or greater rims (which 99% of the F150's do) you loss another 500 pounds of capacity. Not sure why, but only the steel 17" rims allow you 9000 pounds of towing
> 
> ...


WOW! This is a lot of advice and all of it has value. Thanks everyone! I just got back from the truck stop where I weighed my SCREW to see what it really weighs with a full tank of gas and my wife and I sitting in it. That was eye-opening as well. The thing that seems to be consistent throughout all this great advice, amd most troubling, is the legal aspect. I can deal with the difficulty of pulling that much weight with mods, but I don't want to deal with being illegal and possibly negligent should something go wrong. I already have beefed brakes (larger rotors and better calipers), more engine power, better breathing, etc., but if I'm over legal weight, I can't "mod" that out.

It looks like it's going to be real close, and will actually depend on the "true" base weight of the TT - not the number on the sticker. I'm going to tell the dealer they need to get the TT weighed as delivered before I'll finalize the deal. I'm okay by about 1600# at the moment based on the sticker, but since that may not be the true unloaded weight of the TT, I may be too close. I can probably live with only 1600# of total cargo capacity (TV+TT), but if the TT comes in much higher than the sticker I stand a good chance of being over the DOT max, and you guys have scared the crap out of me about that (it's okay, that's a good thing). I'll tell the dealer to get me a certified weight ticket before I'll do the deal.

Thanks again for all the great advice. I love my truck and am willing to downsize my TT if that's what it takes.


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

action *Welcome to Outbackers, Phil & Karen King!* action 
I'm glad you found us before you jumped!









The good news is, you are doing this right asking questions first, buying later.
The not so good news is, that is a lot of trailer for an F-150. It sounds like you have made some great mods, and it will depend on where and how you tow, but if it were me, I would look for something smaller in the way of Outbacks.

In any case, keep asking questions, and I'm sure we can help you get this sorted out!









Happy Trails,
Doug


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## campmg (Dec 24, 2005)

Welcome to the site. You're asking the right questions and taking the information to heart. I towed my 25RSS safely with a 1/2 ton Yukon but always wondered if I could be safer. I upgraded to the 3/4 Yukon XL and know I did something for the safety of myself, wife, and 2 beautiful kids. Although the old one got the job done, if something ever did happen I'd kill myself wondering why I didn't upgrade.


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## Reggie44 (Aug 12, 2005)

Hi Phil, I have the 150 screw. Ours is the 2003 and yours can tow waaaay more than ours. We only have the 21RS. I just recently took a real interest in our weights and towing capacity. I knew our tow rating was fine. We can tow 6900 and the 21 RS is only about 5400+/-. BuuuuT here was the shocker. Even with distribution bars I am towing at all of my maximums. Rear axle, front axle, GVWR & GCWVR are all at between 99-101 % of max recommended. I do have 4 bikes 2 teenage boys and a large dog. I guess what I am saying is do not get wrapped up *in only your tow limits*. Confirm tongue weights and all the things you want to throw in the bed on the truck when you go out. Good luck in your decision making. JR


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## proffsionl (Feb 19, 2005)

Our '05 30RLS weighs in on the Cat scales at 8000 lbs with full propane tanks and all other tanks empty. The posted "unloaded" weight on ours from Keystone was 6910 lbs. We were towing with a Nissan Armada (tow rating 9100 lbs). However, by the time you add in people, gear, food, etc., we were right on the edge of our limit. The engine had to work pretty hard with it, as well.

We upgraded to a Dodge 2500 diesel. This is a major improvement on two fronts. First, the diesel is MUCH better (obviously) at towing (and gives me 14 mpg vs. the original 8 mpg I got with the Armada). In addition, it also helped to stabilize the trailer on the highway (the longer wheelbase makes a HUGE difference).

Good luck...just remember, don't believe everything the RV dealer tells you about towing. They're trying to sell a trailer. Oh, and don't trust their setup on your hitch. They're usually in a hurry to get you hitched and going, so you'll probably want to redo the setup when you get it home.


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## MC56 (Jun 21, 2006)

I had a F150 5.4 with a 25RSS, it would pull the 25RSS ok on flat highways but would have to stuggle on steep hills. I just ordered a 2007 30RLS but I also have a 2006 GMC 1500HD 6L, 3.73 and it is right on the edge with the 3/4 ton I may have to put a 4.10 rear end in it. The F150 mite pull it, but I don't think you will be happy with it.
Stan


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## BenandTina (Jul 13, 2005)

When I bought my 30RLS I had a regular cab 5.3 GMC Z-71. I made it home and no farther. Just too much. Even with my truck I have now, you certainly know it's back there. Good Luck with your decision.


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