rowekmr
Chicago
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Hello
I read the placard on my 98 Forest River Georgetown with a Ford 460 engine that it has a empty weight of approx 14,000 and GVWR of about 17,000 (3,000 payload) and a GCVWR or about 25,000 which leaves almost 8,000 for a trailer. What kind of weights are other Ford chassis owners operating at. I am new to MH's having only towed TT before with total weights of 16,000-17,000 and didn't think the 460 had to power to pull around 20K+ of weight.
03 Ford Excursion Ltd 6.0L
00 Acura RL
08 Jayco 31 BHDS G2
96 Regal 258 Commodore
1 Wife 3 kids
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RLS7201
Some Where
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Joined: 10/26/2002
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The 460/F53 chassis, as delivered from Ford was rated for 17,000# GVWR and 8,000# towing capacity. But most coach manufactures added frame extensions and de-rated the towing capacity to 3,500#. The drive train is up to the task but the receiver and frame extensions are not. There are many 460/F53 owners that exceed the coach manufactures towing limitation. I personally would not.
Richard
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Gale Hawkins
Murray, KY
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RLS7201 wrote:The 460/F53 chassis, as delivered from Ford was rated for 17,000# GVWR and 8,000# towing capacity. But most coach manufactures added frame extensions and de-rated the towing capacity to 3,500#. The drive train is up to the task but the receiver and frame extensions are not. There are many 460/F53 owners that exceed the coach manufactures towing limitation. I personally would not.
Richard
2x in a nutshell. The Ford big block is not one of several weak links. Go under the MH and you will see what RLS7201 is talking about the light duty added frame holding the hitch. Some bolt chains from the real factory frame to the receiver hitch framing just case of a major failure to the hitch to towed will stay better attached to the chassis OEM frame.
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Big Katuna
Deland, FL
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And don't forget stopping. I felt the brakes were poor on my f-53
My Kharma ran over my Dogma.
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wolfe10
Texas
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The LEAST strong component determines towing capacity. That could be hitch, frame/frame extension, engine, transmission, etc.
So, check with BOTH chassis and coach builder and the lesser of their answers is the correct one.
Brett Wolfe
1997 Safari Sahara 3540
EX: 1993 Foretravel 36' U-240
FMCA Forum: www.community.fmca.com/index
Diesel RV Club:http://www.dieselrvclub.org/
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Dutch_12078
Great Sacandaga Lake, NY
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In addition to the other info given, note that your chassis is a 1997 F53, not a 1998. There were no 1998's made. Knowing that could help when sourcing parts.
Dutch
1995 Coachmen Catalina 322QBXL
F53 chassis, 460 V8, TST TPMS
Quadra Bigfoot EZE Levelers
2011 Toyota RAV4 4WD/Remco pump
ReadyBrute Elite tow bar/Blue Ox baseplate
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rowekmr
Chicago
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Thanks for all the responses. I will check under the frame to see the structure supporting the hitch. We travel light and don't have a toad yet. I don't plan on carrying or pulling much just wanted to hear what weights others are operating with.
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John&Joey
Some Location
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Joined: 05/20/2007
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There is a lot of us on the road that just do what needs to be done. Sometimes all of this great forum knowledge just makes people paranoid.
Once you're on the road you will met many that live in their 460's from a couple of months to full time. Open the bays and a ton of stuff is going to fall out of their rigs. Look at the toads and they range from small to large.
Do be safe, but don't let the forum scare you off from enjoying your rig.
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ryanallie1
Magalia, Calif
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Hi All.
I would crawel under the rear of your Motorhome, and see what you Hitch says on it.
We also have a 1997 F-53 Chassis, with the 460 EFI in ours. Most all of these F-53's are rated for either #3500 or #5000 lbs, for Towing.
Ours is clearly stamped for #5000 lbs.
As stated, your engine in not the weak link, the Over-Hang and the Hitch they installed is.
Good Luck. Happy Travels. Dan & Jill
1998-33.5 Rexhall, Rexair SL. 460 EFI. F-53. 7.3 MPG. TST TPMS. HWH Levelers. 5.5G Gen. Convection/Microwave Water Purifier/Water Softner. 2 A/C's. Alarm Systems. Honda EU2000i's W/Kit. Steer-Safe. CR-V W/SMI System. FMCA #F414397 Nam-Vet, 66-67-68&70-71
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rowekmr
Chicago
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I looked under the body at the rear and couldn't see any add on frame extensions. The frame channel appears to have a consistent size from front to back. The hitch looks to be solid and securely attached.
RLS7201 wrote:The 460/F53 chassis, as delivered from Ford was rated for 17,000# GVWR and 8,000# towing capacity. But most coach manufactures added frame extensions and de-rated the towing capacity to 3,500#. The drive train is up to the task but the receiver and frame extensions are not. There are many 460/F53 owners that exceed the coach manufactures towing limitation. I personally would not.
Richard
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