F150 tow R5, R6, or R7?

[Cmagne]

Hello! New to the chat and excited to join the Cobalt Fam from Lake Lewisville Texas.

Shopping for R5s, R6s, and R7s

I have a 2012 F150 FX4 5.0 V8. I'll be dry slipping it just an eighth of a mile from the ramp. For longer trips (like cross-town), I'll rent a bigger truck.

If anyone has experience towing these R models with an F150 or any mods you'd recommend, I'd really appreciate your advice!

Thanks a bunch!

[NautiGirl]

Several folks on here tow R5's and R6's with a 1/2 Ton Trucks, myself included. For a short trip like you described I would say go for it, but do know you will be over the hitch rating on the truck. R7 is getting a bit aggressive with a 1/2 ton truck, but everyone has a different opinion on what is safe an what isnt.

Almost all 1/2 Ton Trucks, F150 included, are rated to 500lbs weight carrying on the hitch. Above that Ford requires that you use a weight distribution setup. This is to limit squat and transfer some of the weight from the rear axle back to the steer axle. If you crawl under the truck you will see a sticker rating both the weight carrying and weight distribution ratings of your particular setup. I attached a pic of mine.

20210822_162015.jpg

Boats are usually really light on the tongue for their overall weight, and due to the trailer setup they really dont sway. Due to both those factors very few folks run weight distribution on boat trailers. That said an R5/6/7 is going to put more than 500lbs on the hitch.

Your other issue will be controlling the 7,000lbs behind you and making sure you can stop it. Make sure the trailer has good brakes on both axles.

I say be careful, but go for it. Especially if you rent a 3/4 Ton for longer trips. There is an entire thread on towing and tow setups. Check it out. There are a ton of opinions out there, we have folks towing R5s with Jeep SUV's all the way to people using 1ton trucks. All comes down to what you are comfortable /w, how far you are pulling it and how often.

Pic of our R5 behind our F150.

Truck2.jpg

[Cmagne]

Wow!

Thank you so much for your detailed response and the picture! I really appreciate your advice on towing with a 1/2 Ton Truck and the insights on weight distribution and trailer setup. Your experience with towing R5's is invaluable. I'll definitely keep your recommendations in mind to ensure safety, especially regarding trailer brakes.

Thanks again for taking the time to help out! Back on the hunt to find the right R model for us .

-C

[NautiGirl]

Wow!

Thank you so much for your detailed response and the picture! I really appreciate your advice on towing with a 1/2 Ton Truck and the insights on weight distribution and trailer setup. Your experience with towing R5's is invaluable. I'll definitely keep your recommendations in mind to ensure safety, especially regarding trailer brakes.

Thanks again for taking the time to help out! Back on the hunt to find the right R model for us .

-C

Of course - and really the pic was just to show off the new boat - we just brought her home a few weeks ago so any chance to post a pic is welcomed.

The 3.5 Ecoboost has more than enough power to pull the R5, you do feel it back there, mostly because of the weight on the rear suspension not due to a lack of power. I havent driven a 5.0 F150 always had the twin turbo but I am sure for short trips it will be fine.

Good luck /w the search, that is half the fun, or so I have been told.

[Cmagne]

That's awesome about your new boat! Stunning, how did you decide on the R5 over the R6?

[jhnmdahl]

I think Nauti is spot-on.

A lot of weight distributing hitches are easy to move between vehicles once the necessary parts are installed on a trailer. I've used the Equalizer and the Blue Ox, and both are similar and work fine. Biggest downside is that you end up jacking the trailer tongue up and down to get the weight distributing bars in place, but it's not so bad for the peace of mind when driving.

You're also venturing into the realm where people like a brake controller over surge brakes on the boat trailer. Lots of threads on here about those too, and they do make a difference.

[Cmagne]

Thanks for the insights! This group is the best.

It's good to hear more about your experiences with weight distributing hitches like the Equalizer and Blue Ox. I'll definitely look into those options.

Do you have any recommendations on brake controllers for boat trailers as well?

-C

[NautiGirl]

Thanks for the insights! This group is the best.

It's good to hear more about your experiences with weight distributing hitches like the Equalizer and Blue Ox. I'll definitely look into those options.

Do you have any recommendations on brake controllers for boat trailers as well?

-C

In the truck you can't beat the OEM Ford brake controller. Your Ford dealer can install it for a couple hundred bucks and it's really well integrated into the truck.

The trailer side really depends on what the trailer is equipped with. Most will be surge brakes which actually don't need a controller at all. Other options are electronic and electronic over hydraulic. Those two options are more rare but as John said do come into play at higher boat and trailer weights.

[NautiGirl]

That's awesome about your new boat! Stunning, how did you decide on the R5 over the R6?

Thank you. We searched for awhile and had actually stopped looking then this one came up for sale about two hours away. Ticked almost all the boxes. 8.2 Merc, tower, trim tabs. It was missing captians call but had to sacrifice something lol.

As far as R5 vs R6...that's almost like asking coke or Pepsi or Ford or Chevy. Not trying to start a fight but in my opinion unless you are surfing the odd series R's are better boats as compared to their even cousins.

Deeper V 21 vs 17 degrees means it rides better. I don't love the squared off interior of the R6 and I think the dash on the R5 looks way better. Finally to really start a fight 2017 was the last year cobalt was really cobalt.

No malibu didn't change things right away but it's impossible to argue that things haven't changed since the malibu purchase. Some good like cobalt finally did stereos right. Some not great like the focus more on surfing and less on the deep v that made cobalt a cobalt.

If you are going to surf I would 1000% do an even series new enough to get the surf gate system. Surf gate is Another good thing malibu brought to the table. The giant tabs on the original system cobalt was using on the surf boats were
ridiculous.

They are both great boats and all this is my opinion. Agree or disagree. Plus the real reason we are in a 5 and not a 6 is new boats are super expensive. We also went used for budget reasons.

[Cmagne]

Thank you for sharing your insights! It sounds like you found a gem with your R5. I hear you on the choice between R5 and R6 being a bit like Coke vs Pepsi! Your points about the deeper V and interior preferences resonate with what I’m looking for. It's cool to hear your perspective on the changes since Malibu's involvement too.

-C

[bruceb58]

I towed my R5 with my F150. I used an E4 Equilizer hitch and I also installed electric over hydraulic and removed the surge brake actuator.

I have since moved up to a 3/4T GMC but that was more prompted by my travel trailer towing than boat towing.

[mdadgar]

I tow my A25 from CA --> AR --> CA every summer with a 2019 Navigator L, which is mostly F150 underneath. The trailer is a custom Pacific aluminum built for the boat with EOH brakes on both axles.

Flawless, easy tow, terrible gas mileage. It's a 4000 mile round trip. Your truck should be fine.

One thing I will note is that my Navigator has a 600 lb tongue weight rating. I don't know why it's higher than the F150, but there you go.

[NautiGirl]

I tow my A25 from CA --> AR --> CA every summer with a 2019 Navigator L, which is mostly F150 underneath. The trailer is a custom Pacific aluminum built for the boat with EOH brakes on both axles.

Flawless, easy tow, terrible gas mileage. It's a 4000 mile round trip. Your truck should be fine.

One thing I will note is that my Navigator has a 600 lb tongue weight rating. I don't know why it's higher than the F150, but there you go.

The various Weight Carrying limits have been debated to death on the F150 forums. The new Ranger has a 750 limit, which made a lot of F150 owners scratch their heads, and I think the Expedition is also 600.

The general thought is there could be a few reasons:

First, there is more distance between the Rear axle and the hitch in the F150 than the Ranger, your Navigator, or the Expedition. Since the rating is all about how much weight is leveraged off the front end it makes sense that a longer distance between axle and hitch would cause a lower rating.

The other theory is Ford is lazy and only made one rating for the entire F150 line. There are so many F150 configurations, 5.5ft, 6.5in 8ft box. Standard Cab, Extended Cab, Crew Cab. Until this year 5 different engine choices - they finally dropped the 3.3 N/A and the 2.7 Ecoboost is now the base engine.

All this to say - there is no way a 8ft Regular Cab 3.3L Work Truck tows the same load the same way as a 5.5ft CrewCab with the 5.0. Ford Rated the lowest capacity setup and extended that rating to all F150 instead of making a rating for each combo.

Both solid theories, who knows what is true, but its one reason I don't feel terrible about putting 600lbs on a hitch rated to 500.

And to the original poster - the A25 is HEAVY for a 25ft boat. I believe its almost 500lbs heavier than the R5. If he is pulling that around w/o issue you are fine.

[mdadgar]

First, there is more distance between the Rear axle and the hitch in the F150 than the Ranger, your Navigator, or the Expedition. Since the rating is all about how much weight is leveraged off the front end it makes sense that a longer distance between axle and hitch would cause a lower rating.

That's a fair theory. The F150 has leaf springs instead of my coil springs+IRS and is way stiffer at the rear, though. You'd think that would more than offset.

The other theory is Ford is lazy and only made one rating for the entire F150 line.

My money is on this.

Car companies, amirite?

- Mark

[NautiGirl]

First, there is more distance between the Rear axle and the hitch in the F150 than the Ranger, your Navigator, or the Expedition. Since the rating is all about how much weight is leveraged off the front end it makes sense that a longer distance between axle and hitch would cause a lower rating.

That's a fair theory. The F150 has leaf springs instead of my coil springs+IRS and is way stiffer at the rear, though. You'd think that would more than offset.

The other theory is Ford is lazy and only made one rating for the entire F150 line.

My money is on this.

Car companies, amirite?

- Mark

Most likely option 2 yes. Maybe not due to laziness, I assume it would be a ton of work to certify every F150 Engine / Body Combo.

Or Lazy.