F150 and X-Star?

[Tookeymonster]

Your concerns aren’t totally unfounded, however there is absolutely nothing illegal about towing a, what, 8klb trailer with a well equipped half ton truck.
Nor is there a bit of issue safety wise. Of course a F250 is “safer”, it’s bigger. A dually would be even “safer”. How about a sport chassis? Even safer but probably slower up the hill than a new Ecoboost on premium. May as well stay home. That would be the safest option....

Wanna tow like a baller, rip up every steep grade at 80mph, put minimal wear n tear on your truck, etc? Get the baddest diesel your wallet can handle and make sure it has the platinum long horn Denali package too while your at it.
I’m that guy. My personal truck is and has been a tuned diesel for many years. And I tow a X2 and a 7klb snowmobile trailer. Why? Because I can afford to have the luxury of a truck that is more than necessary.
But over many years, I’ve towed and still do, almost interchangeably with everything from 1/2 tons to class 5 trucks. Guess I don’t think much about it.
What I do know is 500/5000 max without a wdh is a ridiculous nanny clause.
Want to, for zero dollars, tow your boat safely at highway speeds in virtually any terrain? A new 1/2 ton will do that all day long. Just because it has to work at it doesn’t mean it’s the wrong application.

Your only as strong as your weakest link, and I have gotten a ticket from a TX state trooper for over exceeding my hitch specs, but well under my truck specs. I'm actually lucky thats the only ticket I got. He let me know that all is good if nothing ever happens but in the case of a bad wreck you will get hammered if your over weight on anything with a trailer in tow. Again just look at the F150 or any 1/2 ton and the new Xstar will be out of spec with the hitch without electric breaks and a weight distribution hitch.

[Tsumi]

Boats are actually relatively safer to tow than an RV. Other than the vastly different profile, boat trailers have the axles near the back of the trailer due to boats having a lot of weight at the rear. The relatively longer wheelbase lends itself to stability.

When manufacturers (really, the lawyers) make ratings, they have to use the worst case scenario, which is usually a high profile RV. Law enforcement of tow ratings is variable, but insurance in the case of an accident is most definitely not.

[mrfixit108]

I used to tow my 08 Chaparral 276 with a F150. Definitely need a WDH to achieve max towing capacity. That being said I only towed it 4 times a year. If I was towing it more I would have went with a F250. Launching a 28' boat is not something you wanted to do frequently. I did have to drive cautiously maintaining a good stopping distance.

[tmothy07]

Southwest Misery sounds like a rough place to be, but in all seriousness that max tow is rated at 13,000 pounds. With all of the additional upgrades that come with it you shouldn't need another truck for the XStar. Though most people on the forum think you need a 3/4 ton to tow anything larger than a canoe.

Hahahahaha

+1 for keeping the F150 and towing with that on the regular. You're well within the truck's capabilities, weight-wise, so if you go slow up some hills who cares?

[Tsumi]

Hahahahaha

+1 for keeping the F150 and towing with that on the regular. You're well within the truck's capabilities, weight-wise, so if you go slow up some hills who cares?

The monkey wrench is that if you are ever in an accident and insurance finds out that your truck wasn't properly set up per manufacturer guidelines, there is a very high chance any claim you have will be denied.

[MC25]

The monkey wrench is that if you are ever in an accident and insurance finds out that your truck wasn't properly set up per manufacturer guidelines, there is a very high chance any claim you have will be denied.

Supremely doubt that would happen in this scenario

[Roman]

I doubt insurance wouldn't pay out, but they may drop you after they pay out.

[cmasty]

The monkey wrench is that if you are ever in an accident and insurance finds out that your truck wasn't properly set up per manufacturer guidelines, there is a very high chance any claim you have will be denied.

If this logic is true, any mc owner with a newer boat (except for pro stars) are out of legal compliance unless they are in a 3/4 ton or larger tow vehicle. Every single boat is over 5000lbs with a tandem trailer. Hell, even the pro stars are within 3-400 lbs of 5000 on a tandem trailer, and this is assuming no fuel and no gear.

https://www.mastercraft.com/media/kmkdjit2/trailer-weight-matrix_final_2021my.pdf

[Tsumi]

Supremely doubt that would happen in this scenario

If this logic is true, any mc owner with a newer boat (except for pro stars) are out of legal compliance unless they are in a 3/4 ton or larger tow vehicle. Every single boat is over 5000lbs with a tandem trailer. Hell, even the pro stars are within 3-400 lbs of 5000 on a tandem trailer, and this is assuming no fuel and no gear.

https://www.mastercraft.com/media/km...nal_2021my.pdf

It's what everyone on the internet says will be the case when towing over your weight ratings, if the insurance finds that it can be in any way a factor in causing the accident (obviously someone running into your trailer wouldn't count). Whether or not it's true, I'm not entirely sure.

[j.mo]

F150 and X-Star?

It’s rarely ever the max tow capacity, and nearly always the PAYLOAD capacity.
I’d say the majority of these wake ships are out of the payload capacity of half ton trucks.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[j.mo]

Wanna tow like a baller, rip up every steep grade at 80mph, put minimal wear n tear on your truck, etc? Get the baddest diesel your wallet can handle and make sure it has the platinum long horn Denali package too while your at it.
I’m that guy. My personal truck is and has been a tuned diesel for many years. And I tow a X2 and a 7klb snowmobile trailer. Why? Because I can afford to have the luxury of a truck that is more than necessary.
But over many years, I’ve towed and still do, almost interchangeably with everything from 1/2 tons to class 5 trucks. Guess I don’t think much about it.

This is the most Xstar thing I’ve heard in quite some time [emoji23]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[John Johnson]

It's what everyone on the internet says will be the case when towing over your weight ratings, if the insurance finds that it can be in any way a factor in causing the accident (obviously someone running into your trailer wouldn't count). Whether or not it's true, I'm not entirely sure.

No insurance policy says this. The contract governs.

[curver900]

The monkey wrench is that if you are ever in an accident and insurance finds out that your truck wasn't properly set up per manufacturer guidelines, there is a very high chance any claim you have will be denied.

this is an internet myth... your insurance company will pay for an accident when you are driving intoxicated... and will pay if you are over some manufacturer guideline... all day long every day... and twice on sunday... the manufacture guidelines are just that guidelines.. they are not law...

[John Johnson]

this is an internet myth... your insurance company will pay for an accident when you are driving intoxicated... and will pay if you are over some manufacturer guideline... all day long every day... and twice on sunday... the manufacture guidelines are just that guidelines.. they are not law...

100%.

[Tsumi]

It’s rarely ever the max tow capacity, and nearly always the PAYLOAD capacity.
I’d say the majority of these wake ships are out of the payload capacity of half ton trucks.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The 2021 F-150 (and most other half ton trucks I assume) have a payload capacity around 2000 lbs for the crew cab configuration. Going back to 2015, this is the case as well, so I presume most 2010+ 1/2 ton trucks can handle around 2k lbs. 800 lbs tongue weight will allow 1200 lbs in the truck. Subtract 800 lbs for 4 adults, you still have 400 lbs of gear you can carry.

A weight distribution hitch actually moves about 10-20% of the tongue weight onto the trailer axle, depending on setup. If you take your truck onto a scale with a weight distribution hitch, you will find that overall truck weight is lower and trailer weight is higher than without a weight distribution hitch. Theoretically this does increase your payload.