I am in the market for a bigger trailer & have a few ??'s.  I have an '06 F-250 4X4 with the tow package.  My GCWR is 23,000.  I have looked & my truck curb weight is somewhere around 6,500 lbs (can anyone confirm this?).  The trailer I am looking at has a dry weight of 8,000 lbs & a GVWR of 16,900.  I will be up there near the 20 - 22000lb range, thus at the top of my payload capacity.  Yes, the truck is capable of doing this, but is it safe & will my truck struggle pulling this kind of load??  It is not a dually either - can I get beefier springs & rear tires to help me out?  I love the trailer & hate to pass up the deal, but I do not want tear my truck up either.  Thoughts/opinions greatly appreciated!!  Thanks!

HH

I'm surprised your max combined weight is so high for a 3/4 ton. I tow 12k with a srw and have had no problems, in fact I prefer it to a dually, unlike many others.

You would have to ask yourself how much weight you will routinely carry in your trailer. If you plan to max it out, it is doubtful that your truck would be capable of those continuous loads.

You can get beefier springs, but instead of ruining your empty ride, systems like air bags or Timbrens work much better. Larger capacity tires would probably require larger diameter wheels. A complete set of wheels and tires will be expensive.

If you can realistically lower your towed weight to a maximum of 12K, your srw 3/4 ton truck will do fine with some Timbrens. I've had this combination for several years and am very satisfied.

Gard

I will research the timbrens (never heard of them before but this is also my daily use truck & I don't want to ruin my everyday drive).  Thanks for that advice!  Any idea how much it will run me to have Timbrens installed????

I looked in the owners manuel & that's where it said my max. payload for my diesel (for gas it was 21K).  I think I could stay within the 12K limit.  With the empty trailer weight of 8K & 2 large horses (weighing a combined 3K) that still leaves me a thousand lbs for feed, hay, water, and our clothes, etc.  Hopefully the trailer weight is an accurate description.  If so I think we may be okay. 

The max. payload capacity for my truck is 2900lbs.  Okay, so here is my math....does this sounds right???? Oh yeah, I read that in a goosenack trailer, the tongue weight should be roughly 25% of the overall total weight (this trailer is 8000lbs. so tongue weight would be 2000lbs).

Max. GVWR = 10,000

Curb weight of truck = 6400

Cargo, fuel, etc. = 700

That leaves me 2900lbs.  My tongue weight is 2000 lbs.   This sounds do-able to me......am I right????

I would agree with your reasoning.  Also consider that the hitch weight is mostly on the rear axle.  Your axles' weight rating is on the door jamb.  position of the load in the trailer and truck is critical to keeping the axle loads within their limit

I would also add that being so close to the truck's limits, the only way to be safe, is to load everything up and take a trip to the truck scale. 

In order to tell you what your truck is rated for, you need to know Engine type, Short bed vs Long bed,  Cab type, 4x4 or 4x2

There is not much difference between an F250 and F350. On the truck forums, they argue if there is any difference at all.  Most of the P/Ns for Axles, bearings etc are the same regardless of which truck you buy.

The main difference I see in a F250 vs the F350 is the tires. The F250s don't always come with "E" rated tires.  So you could change out your tires from a "D" rated to a "E" rated tire to help with load capacity and not change the wheels.

Also if you look at the tire specs. You will see some  tires have higher load limits for the  "E" rating by going to a taller tire.  Make sure the rims you have are rated for the higher load capacities. Most "D" rated tires run at 65 psi and "E" rated tires run at 80 PSI.

The stock Conti 275/70/18 that my truck came with are rated at 3640 lbs per tire

A one size upgrade to Toyo 285/75/18 jumps to 4080 lbs per tire

The Toyos will fit on a 7.5-8.0-9.0 inch wheel   While the stock Contis want a 7.0-7.5-8.0 rim.  I think the stock Ford wheels are 7" wide, so you may have to go a wider wheel in order to use the bigger tire

If the hitch weight on the ball is 3000lbs, how do I determine how much total weight is on my rear axle? 

Okay, the front GAWR is 5600......Rear GAWR is 6100.  And I think the rim part of the sticker says 17X7.5J.  Does this mean I have a 7.5 wide rim & can go up to the Toyo tires (how much will they cost?)?  And can I just pull into a truck stop to get weighed?  Not sure how that works.  Since the trailer is at a dealer they won't just let me take it away to be weighed, but at least I can get the curb weight of my truck.  It is a crew cab with Lariat package....probably the heaviest one I can get!  Your thoughts are VERY MUCH appreciated!!!

It's a simple process.  Pull on to the scales. There will be three sections. Stop with your front tires on the first section, rear tires on the second section.  If you have a trailer, the trailer tires will be on the third section.  Go to the desk inside, give them $8 or so.  They'll give you a "genuine" certificate with each axle weight. 

If people knew how easy it was to scale their rigs, more folks would do it.