BigFoot Tow Vehicle

[earthspun]

Hello fellow campers. I am reaching out for comments from those of you who may tow a BigFoot 25B25RQ or FB with a 1/2 ton Ford F-150 4x4 Crew ECOBOOST.

I already own that truck but shopping for the previously mentioned BigFoot. Dry it weighs approximately 5,500-lbs.

Please share your experience pro or con. I realize the truck is borderline but it is within specs as far as I can tell.

I appreciate you for sharing and looking forward to hearing back.

Best, Joe

[RV Doctor]

Hi Joe.
I tow an FB with my F-150 4x4 2.7 EB. It does amazing and awesome fuel economy also!
We travel the US SW for six months over the winter and the trailer weight is right around 6500#.
Our pickup has a lot in it also. Honda 3000 generator, two electric bikes, fridge freezer and other stuff!
This truck continues to amaze us. We have 60000 Kim’s on it at this point and never a hick up, burp or fart!
2.7 EB with my truck is rated at 7500#. I’ve got to be close to that!

[earthspun]

Hey Tony. Thanks for the feedback!! Have you modified the truck in any way and do you have the large storage compartment on the front of the BG25FB?

[RV Doctor]

Hi Joe.
No mods to truck in any way as I mile them up travelling and using for the RV business in Canada for six months over the summer. I change vehicles about every two to three years.
My next vehicle will be an F-150 for sure. Just not the Diesel. I just don’t think there is any benefit with the Ecoboost range.

Yes we have the storage pod. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Everyone who sees our trailer All comment on the storage pod - how great it is!
Hit my Registry button at left to see pics of Yeti.

[Bruce H]

It will help if you have the"max trailer tow package" on your truck.

[RV Doctor]

Bruce. Absolutely!
I didn’t get on this truck but would definitely make sure I have on the next one. That said, this F-150 with 2.7 came with the transmission cooler. I added the factory brake control and wiring harness at the back with the seven pin socket.
I did add Timbren Rubber Springs on the back and they are great!

[thrifty bill]

The F150 comes with a WIDE variety of towing capability. The more options you have on your truck, the lower the payload capacity. Each option comes out of your payload. Heated/AC seats? Tailgate step? Etc?

And then the payload capacity on your truck is only for the truck as it left the factory. Any options added by the dealer, or you, come out of the payload.

My 2010 F150 Lariat came with a lot of options. Then I added side steps, a spray in bedliner, ARE camper top, towing mirrors. The weight of each one of those come out of my payload.


In my case, I run out of payload capacity WAY before I run out of tow rating.

If I was buying a new truck, then I would get an XLT model instead and enjoy a higher payload rating. 4WD also lowers your payload.

So answering a question on your truck starts with the door sticker that lists the payload. Then get a real weight for your trailer loaded, in the way you pack it for a trip, not some way off factory dry weight.

And IMHO, I would only buy a new truck if it had the maximum tow package. Ford, in their brilliance, has THREE different tow packages, with lots of differences between them.

And figure 13% tongue weight based on the real weight of the trailer. This is what eats up the payload. Have a couple of passengers, a dog, a camper top, a bed full of stuff, and your payload drops A LOT. The tow rating is just about useless, unless you are flat towing a hay wagon. My F150 has a 9,800 pound tow rating, but I run out of payload capacity with a 5500 pound (real weight, not dry weight) trailer.


FWIW, weights in the real world has one weight for a 25 foot Bigfoot, 7,800 pounds and a tongue weight of 1400 pounds. I am not aware of a single F150 model that can handle that tongue weight. Hopefully your loaded trailer will be lighter. But if you are close to these figures, you will be over the rating of your truck. The fact that someone else tells you they regularly tow over the rating does not matter. It is you who makes the decision on whether to exceed the rated limits. I've seen people tow with vehicles that had zero tow rating. It works until it doesn't work.....

All the modifications in the world will not improve your truck's payload rating.

[thrifty bill]

Manufacturer dry weights are a joke, and tend to be low, really low. And of course, they never include a single option, like the weight of the front box, A/C and more. Dry weights help RV dealers sell RVs. They do not provide consumers useful information. I got snookered on our first RV purchase. Our tow vehicle could handle the dry weight, no problem. And of course, the RV dealer assured me that my TV was "more than capable" of towing the trailer. They were wrong, I was left holding the bag....

[earthspun]

Right fellas. It’s the payload. My 2013 F150 4x4 crew 3.5L Ecoboost has 1253-lbs payload left per inside door jamb sticker. I did upgrade the tires from P to LT’s. Not sure that means anything significant other than they exceed previous tire capacity which likely means nothing more than I feel better. The GVWR is 7200-lbs. The GCWR is 15,500 with 9,600-lb tow capacity. These numbers come out of the 2013 Ford Truck brochure, I think I can trust them. By the time I add the hitch, the wife, myself, the dog I’m up to about 1,075 using 650 for tongue weight. That leaves about 175 and I haven’t put anything in the bed of the truck. The 25B25FB shows tongue at 612 but that’s without the AC and front storage.
I do not have max tow but do have 3.55 rear end, tranny cooler and 18” rims.

I feel thin on payload, what say you??

[earthspun]

Originally Posted by thrifty bill

The F150 comes with a WIDE variety of towing capability. The more options you have on your truck, the lower the payload capacity. Each option comes out of your payload. Heated/AC seats? Tailgate step? Etc?

And then the payload capacity on your truck is only for the truck as it left the factory. Any options added by the dealer, or you, come out of the payload.

My 2010 F150 Lariat came with a lot of options. Then I added side steps, a spray in bedliner, ARE camper top, towing mirrors. The weight of each one of those come out of my payload.


In my case, I run out of payload capacity WAY before I run out of tow rating.

If I was buying a new truck, then I would get an XLT model instead and enjoy a higher payload rating. 4WD also lowers your payload.

So answering a question on your truck starts with the door sticker that lists the payload. Then get a real weight for your trailer loaded, in the way you pack it for a trip, not some way off factory dry weight.

And IMHO, I would only buy a new truck if it had the maximum tow package. Ford, in their brilliance, has THREE different tow packages, with lots of differences between them.

And figure 13% tongue weight based on the real weight of the trailer. This is what eats up the payload. Have a couple of passengers, a dog, a camper top, a bed full of stuff, and your payload drops A LOT. The tow rating is just about useless, unless you are flat towing a hay wagon. My F150 has a 9,800 pound tow rating, but I run out of payload capacity with a 5500 pound (real weight, not dry weight) trailer.


FWIW, weights in the real world has one weight for a 25 foot Bigfoot, 7,800 pounds and a tongue weight of 1400 pounds. I am not aware of a single F150 model that can handle that tongue weight. Hopefully your loaded trailer will be lighter. But if you are close to these figures, you will be over the rating of your truck. The fact that someone else tells you they regularly tow over the rating does not matter. It is you who makes the decision on whether to exceed the rated limits. I've seen people tow with vehicles that had zero tow rating. It works until it doesn't work.....

All the modifications in the world will not improve your truck's payload rating.

Bill where is all that 1400 pound tongue weight coming from? You are scaring me.

[thrifty bill]

Originally Posted by earthspun

Bill where is all that 1400 pound tongue weight coming from? You are scaring me.

Weights in the real world. Its in the general chat section.

There is so much bad information out there on trailer weights, that real weights have been compiled from actual owners. As I understand it, a guy went to several rallies with scales and actually weighed trailers. 5500 pound 25 foot Bigfoot is not real.

The 1400 pound tongue weight sounds high to me, but I don't have any real data to dispute it. I would have guessed 900 to 1000 pounds.

[earthspun]

Looks like I need a different truck with loads of payload. Ugh!

[thrifty bill]

I think you are super thin on payload, mine is 1450 pounds, which I thought was low. And anything you add to your truck after it left the factory deducts from the payload. For instance, I added two side steps to reach into the bed. Then spray in bedliner, camper top, and tow mirrors. So my payload after those additions is a little under 1200 pounds (camper top weighs 180 pounds by itself).

650 tongue weight on that 25 foot Bigfoot? Not going to happen. Figure tongue weight at 13% of actual real weight, not make believe dry weight. Front storage box will increase tongue weight more.

Its not just tires. Its the ratings of your wheels, your axles, your frame, etc.


I love my loaded Lariat pickup. Its super comfortable. But with that comfort comes lower payload. I think an XL model truck my year would have had 2000 pound payload. Its the deep dark secret of truck tow ratings. The dealers love bragging about the tow rating (mine is 9,800 pounds). Want to get them stuttering, ask them about the available payload......

You will see on this chart that Bigfoot trailers are heavy. Its a double hull design, lots of wood cabinets, four season trailer. The 17 foot Bigfoot weighs more than my 19 foot Escape. Bigfoot trailers are really nice.

My next truck will be an XLT model, and I'll pay close attention to payload. Some of the luxury items in the Lariat and Platinum models is kind of over the top.

http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...rld-43010.html

[earthspun]

Thanks for the tips Bill (Thrifty) & Tony (RV Doc). Looks like the reality is that a 3/4-ton is required if I'm going to pull around the BigFoot 25RQ or 25FB.

Thanks much for the wisdom guys!!

[RV Doctor]

My two year business lease on this F-150 is up in June. I never planned on getting the Bigfoot when I got the truck. It was meant to be a two year truck.
I need to find out what the dealer is going to do. This F-150 is an amazing truck, works very hard but does it very well.
That said, I am leaning toward an F-250 with 6.2.

[thrifty bill]

I’d start truck shopping, study all the ratings. Get the max tow package with the factory tow mirrors. Ford has something like three towing packages! First two are marginal,

Check door tags on trucks on their lot. Don’t settle for what they have in stock.

[Bruce H]

An F-150 can be set up with the max tow package and the max payload package and the 3.5 ecoboost and it will be rated to tow 11,300 lbs. That is the way my 2013 F-150 was. It was a fantastic, powerful truck. It had the Lariat package. As it approached 100,000 miles last summer I went back to the dealer to order a new one. First he checked the in house vehicle locator. There were NO New F-150 s set up with those options on any dealers lot within 1,000 miles of Missouri. I had him look up the window sticker on my old truck and figure the cost of ordering an exact duplicate in a new one. It came back with a$59,000 plus window sticker and they would sell it for$54,000 plus. They succeeded in running me off.

When you get a 3/4 or one ton truck you don't have to pay extra for the extra capacity. But you can't get the ecoboost. The only gas engine is the 6.2 V8.

I found the below pictured truck in stock at another dealership. It is an F-350 gas single rear wheels. But it is the XLT trim. It had some options I would not have ordered but after having them I will order them next time.

Bottom line, this one stickers at $54,875 and I got it for$44,000.
I will post a copy of the window sticker.

Fuel economy?? 1,400 miles from Missouri to Las Vegas, total weight 15,800 lbs, running 60 to 67mph, fighting a 20 to 30 mph head wind for 800 miles, 8.1 mpg. About 1.5 mpg worse than the ecoboost would have done.

I Love this truck.

[earthspun]

Great detailed info Bruce. Is that a 2018? I think gas is just fine rather than diesel for this weight pull.

[Bruce H]

With this truck I removed my much hated "equalizer" hitch and threw it in the storage building.

[Bruce H]

Window sticker with options.

Weights, with and without trailer. Two 200 lb men and a 75 pound boy in truck while weighed.
850 lb ATV not on these weight tickets.

You can use your algebra skills to figure out the tongue weight and trailer weight between these two tickets.