Ford F-350: Gas vs Diesel, Truck Choices & Weight Balance Deep Dive for RVers 

Your math adds up....The 2580 that you have is about what I would truly have left over in payload capacity currently. Again, the numbers I added like the nominal 400 lb people, 500lb cargo, estimated 1400 lb tongue weight, and the other numbers I rounded make that difference and add up to the number you have there. Again, the payload capacity of my truck is 4009 lb as noted on the sticker. The calculator is just a tool for me to make sure Im in the green. Ive done many rounds through the calculator based on a weight ticket at that time/day. Each time I carry something significantly different int he trailer or truck, I do the calculation again. Each time, the numbers are a little different. You truly need to weigh everything empty and full. Both hooked up and unhooked to get your true numbers. I'll do a follow-up weight video once we get everything situated like I want.

Thanks for watching and your feedback. Im glad you've found what you like and works for you. We have enjoyed the diesel engines in this and our last truck. Although we dont tow a heavy trailer, we do to 95% of the miles on our truck. My gas vs. diesel pro/cons were generic to all manufactures and not specific to Ford and the maintenance intervals are different across the board.

The base model of that truck is 6800lb. As I mentioned in the video, I dont know what the base weight was when I bought it and I didnt want to weigh it until I got everything in it that I planned to always have in it. 9420# is with all of my add-ons, and everything I will always have in the back. The extra 400# for people and 500# of cargo I put in the calculator is for any extra that I might carry. If you see all the other numbers on that list, they are all right under 1700lb. I suspect I have somewhere between 1700-2000lb added to the truck from the factory. Just depends on the day of what I have in the back. If you'd like to discuss further, please reach out via the contact us link on our website and we can set up a time to chat.

We love that engine brake too! Very handy and saves our brake pads on the truck and trailer!

Agree with your numbers and thoughts. It's not quite that high at this time. When I weighed that a few months back it was with 100% water in the tank and a bunch of extra stuff in the front. It's more like 900lb now. I just used the last official weight ticket for this video.

Thank you very much or watching and your feedback!

Its a ton of homework for sure!

Not sure what you're looking for. Why I did it or what they do? Please reach out to us via the contact us link on our site and I can help you understand.

Thank you very much for making us a part of your adventure and for your kind words and feedback.

Glad it was helpful!

Thank you!!!

Thank you very much!

Vehicle tire pressure state that the cold tire pressure at a minimum should be 60/80. Trailer tire pressure says MAX cold tire pressure should be XXX (depending on the trailer) I only change the tire pressure in the truck in snow/sand and to keep it at the tire pressure number on the sticker. Ford guidance is "Tires should be checked often for conformance to recommended cold inflation pressures" Trailers are much different as their tire pressure needs to be adjusted depending on the load carried.

@@ThirteenAdventures( this is a long explanation so it will bore most people to read ). I have to ask, where did you ever come up with this line of thinking. It would appear you have misinterpreted the Ford sticker in this instance as per weights outside of ( meaning below ) the maximum rated axle capacities. If you walked into any tire shop and talked to their tire expert ( or had a chat with a tire company rep who knows their stuff ) and explained your thought process, you would soon be corrected on how your viewing what the sticker on the pillar of every vehicle is explaining. If you have ever heard of the Tire And Rim Association, they along with the major tire companies have come up with certain criteria for tire sizing and tire build type as well as the wheel sizing ( LT "light truck", flotation series ( which tend to be used off road more and can carry a lower minimum pressure for better tire flex and flotation ) , P series "passenger vehicle" and there are other tire types as well, of course heavy transport tires, aircraft tires and wheels, agricultural tires and so on. They create tire inflation charts for each tire type category and each tire size within that and the charts I am referring to for cars and light trucks are based around highway speeds and the weight in which the tire is carrying. In fact I will give you a scenario based on the axle weights you had on your truck scale ticket with the weight of items and people you had at that moment, before you had hooked onto your trailer. Since I am not sure if you have the 18 or 20 inch wheels with the two common tire sizes that Ford is currently using in their higher trim trucks, I will chose the 20 inch wheels. So that would be the LT 275/65R20 tire size for my calculation and going with singles ( not dual rear wheels as the tire charts change the specs for a duel tire configuration ). The tire charts go in 5 psi increments by the way. Front axle weight 4840 pounds: each tire as per that size above @ 45 psi is rated to carry 2475 pounds and multiplied by 2 steer tires = 4950 pounds. So that would mean the minimum cold inflation pressure would be 45 psi for the front tires to carry that weight. Rear axle weight 4580 pounds: each tire as per that size above @ 45 psi is rated to carry 2475 pounds and multiplied by 2 drive tires = 4950 pounds. Note that while the weight was less in the rear and I came up with the same inflation for the rear tires as the front, on the tire chart @ 40 psi each tire can carry 2280 pounds multiplied by 2 tires = 4560 pounds. Just ever so slightly under the pressure required and in reality 41 psi would bring one to the minimum pressure required. As a side note, taking a gas F250 crew cab short box with fairly minimal being carried in the truck, its light enough that 40 psi front and 35 psi rear with that same tire size is quite sufficient to carry the truck and again at highway speeds. That just goes to show the vast inflation requirement difference between a near empty truck vs one that is loaded up to max axle weights. Now having said this, that does not mean one can not run a higher pressure in this scenario of truck axle weights and the plus side is that a firmer tire will increase fuel mileage slightly but also may have the tendency to wear the center of the tire due to being over inflated for the weight its carrying. The other negative to high inflation pressures when not required is the ride of the truck and if one is dealing with rough frost heave highways or the vast amount of gravel roads up where I live, carrying high pressures when not required just beats the truck and the passengers up more than necessary and can actually damage a tire as its more vulnerable for impact damage on gravel roads and without a doubt an F 250/350 ride is horrible on on the roads where I am. But going back to inflation charts, those very same charts apply to a trailer tire as well, choosing the type of tire the trailer in question is running and the size, using the chart after having weighed each axle or axle set if the suspension equals the weight at all times, and arriving at a tire pressure that can properly support the weight at highway speed.

Thank you for taking the time to explain everything so thoroughly. I’m always open to learning more, and your explanation aligns with my understanding of tire inflation as well. I believe there may have been some miscommunication over email. I fully agree that tire pressure can go lower based on the tire inflation charts (as I mentioned with trailer tires in my video). I just mention the differences in this video because so many people do not understand their trailer tire info and how to properly do tire inflation on their RV's (Also my channel is based around RV travel, upgrades and maintenance). Ford recommends that the minimum PSI be XX and thats what I use. Airstream does not recommend a minimum PSI, only a max. Therefore, many people often over inflate their trailer tires unnecessarily. That said, I typically stick with the manufacturer’s recommendation for my vehicle and maintain the minimum PSI they suggest. I understand that this PSI is based on the vehicle’s max weight rating. I trust that the manufacturer has tested these values to balance ride comfort, road noise, and tire wear. If I noticed uneven wear at this PSI (too much in the middle), I’d adjust the pressure accordingly. I also adjust my tire pressure in sand/snow and other non paved conditions. My whole point was to have people understand that the RV tires tend to need more attention than their passenger car. Thanks again for your insights!

Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching and your feedback.

Thank you very much! Glad you found it helpful

For sure!

Thanks! Airbags smooth out the truck and anything attached to it. Also provides a bit of leveling. Hitch smoothes out the trailer coupler and front end but not the truck. Hitch is very heavy and cumbersome. If you havent seen our friend Rick to a video on the hitch, please watch: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE--YPAT2lUxv8.htmlsi=HG4qwsvioXLeNVqw

@@ThirteenAdventures - I saw the Rick video on Airsafe. Are the $$$s roughly the same between airbags and Airsafe?

The Airsafe that I would use is $1300ish. The airbags and compressor were about $1200. I didnt pay for the install though so that would be an added cost.

Thank you very much for your time in watching the video and your feedback. Im glad to know Im not the only one out there who knows their data and takes it very seriously.

Sorry to hear you had this issue. Rarely will you find any RV dealership that has a salesperson who has taken the time to learn and understand this. Most RV sales people have never spent a night in an RV. I hope you've been able to get a vehicle that supports your camping needs.

Thank you for watching and your feedback. The new truck is exactly what we had before (2017 F-350 Platinum) just newer version. Our current Airstream is about 20 months old at this point and we have always towed on just the ball with this one. Our previous 30" Airstream was towed with an EQ hitch for the first 18ish months and then on the ball for the last year.

@@ThirteenAdventures Yep. Like it. Thanks,

Big and heavy!!

Glad it was helpful!

I personally have no experience with them and the only person I know who's had something similar is Rick from @thewrightlife and he has the Air Safe hitch. Ive had a number of questions on the Shocker Air in the last few weeks though. I personally do not think you need a EQ hitch with that truck and that trailer. Unless you plan to carry a ton of extra gear with you, I think you should be fine. Also, of note the Pottery Barn comes with all sorts of extra stuff that a normal Airstream does not come with. Please make sure you take it to get weighed so you have a firm grasp of the numbers. As I said in that video, I believe much of the FES issues come from WD hitches too tight. I have towed this current trailer only on the ball for over 20k miles now and have no issues. The sales folks at the dealership get a commission on all the add-ons they sale too. I would have them explain the numbers to you and why it's necessary. if they can explain weight and balance to you in a way that I did in this video, they likely dont fully understand the concepts. I would also ask what their towing experience is with a truck/trailer combo like yours.

@@ThirteenAdventures Many thanks for the insights , appreciate your thoughts , it’s a real conundrum as unfortunately my closet Airstream Dealer is 1200 Kilometres away or 750 ish miles. This makes my first tow a long one and I’d hate to regret not having the EQ installed half way home. I’ll try and see what kind of rear squat or front end raise I get by trying to find a trailer similar in tongue weight and GVWR to see how it affects level and yes on the way home although mostly not equipped for full camping I will get the set up weighed as discussed in you video ! Thanks again !

The hitch should only be about $900 USD. I think it's a worthy investment if you are unsure. You can always test your thoughts on it later by not installing the bars and just using it as a ball hitch.

@@ThirteenAdventures Agree and thanks again, the dealer is charging $1110.00 USD ($1500.00 CAD ) to supply and install so seems fair for labour and the hitch and I do not have the 380 FT # torque wrench required. I will try it with and without and if I find the front squat is only 50% recommended by Ford , I’ll try and run it without the bars. I can always sell it a loss later if I switch to the Shocker system.

Check FB marketplace and you can often find a used one pretty cheap. Also the dealership may have some laying around from a trade in that they cannot resale.