Would you tow this?

[OES414]

For occasional and short trips on known roads, pushing the truck to its limits would likely be OK.

For longer cross-country hauls or daily use you would want more safety margin - either a bigger truck or a smaller trailer.

(If its only occasional trips, why not just get a smaller trailer?)

Well that is a conversation I had with my wife Honestly, though, it was a very good deal and I also wanted something that could double up when family visited. Originally the seller was also selling his 3/4 ton. I was planning on trying to buy the package but he sold the truck.

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[Yellow Buddy]

Good evening...about to buy a 2020 Whitehawk 28RL...6600 dry...750ish Lb tongueweight...33 feet long. I have a heavy duty weight distibution hitch with sway control. My EV is 2023 Lightning Platinum with everythi g that comes with....looking to make 50- 100 mile trips to parks and ocean here in Western Washington...one day a road trip I5 southbound....so is it too much trailer? ( it will be myself, wife and 60lb of dogs....after everything Ive read and heard I think it will be ok for my needs but Im looking for some anecdotal opinions Thanks.

There are plenty of people who will tow something that they probably shouldn't be towing...

I recommend as a start, go weigh you truck without a trailer. Get your front axle weight, rear axle weight with how you typically are loaded. Once you have that you can calculate some hard numbers.

*I don't have a Platinum, I've got a Lariat ER. Based on my actual weights, combined with the trailer specs I found, and the spreadsheet I built...that trailer would project out to 880lb of tongue weight with my towing setup and I would limit myself to roughly 500-550lb of non-trailer payload to stay within payload and axle ratings. So for me, it would be within spec and I personally would tow it.

 

[Jseis]

I’ll wave as you go by… if headed to Long Beach.

 

[Zaptor]

I'm reasonably qualified to answer, as we have a Jayco White Hawk 28 RBKS with similar weight and dimensions, and I'll say this; these trucks can pull it fine, but it's a *big* trailer to maneuver, park and especially charge with it attached. My dump trailer weighs more loaded, but I'm *way* more comfortable with it, as it's about half as long lol. I was glad when we decided to 'permanently' park it at our timber land... YMMV literally and figuratively.
Good luck, nice trailers
-Zap

 

[WXman]

I appreciate you correcting me with your buddy's opinion but I am going to have to disagree with him. I have been towing work trailers and holiday trailers for decades. I have experienced many close calls in my earlier days by teatering close to max tow ratings.

The lightning tows like a champ and is by far the best light duty truck I've towed with, but again, that is when towing a trailer within its capabilities. There are many 1/2 tons that are rated to tow much more. The super duties start at a tow rating of 16k (almost double a lightning platinum) and can go up to 40k+ tow ratings.

A lot of people put these enormous loads on and think, man I can hardly feel it, so this lightning can tow 25k lbs easy. and they would be right. The problem is, motor performance is not usually the limiting factor that determines tow ratings. Frame, brakes, cooling, wheels, suspension, weight of the truck, width of truck, etc are all factors. As far as I am concerned, the tow ratings they put on all trucks should be a lot lower than they are but competition and marketing want to push the limits. There is a difference between can tow and should tow.

If I am pulling a work trailer and I just need to move this heavy trailer across town on a nice day, will I tow it. Absolutely. Would I tow a holiday trailer with my family across the country near its limits, absolutely not. The difference is one is a short drive in known conditions, the other one has many uncontrolled variables. When I am climbing a mountain in hot weather will the cooling exceeds its limits, When going down a mountain are the small brakes going to over heat, If a wind storm hit us will it put torsion on my wimpy frame, etc... If you think the manufactures over designed for these conditions, you are wrong. If anything, they are under designed for the max ratings they claim in ideal conditions.

The OP asked a question "would you tow this?" Your buddy says "it's the same or better than a super duty" and my opinion is that the OP's trailer of choice is too close to a platinum's max tow ratings when loaded. I would not tow that for prolonged drives in unknown terrain and weather conditions. OP is free to do what he pleases.

First of all, these trucks are rated using the SAE J2807 criteria these days, which means if it's rated to tow X amount of weight, it will tow it safely without harm to the vehicle and without safety concerns.

Second, if the Lightning has a rating of 10,000 lbs. with the Max Towing package, that means ALL Lightnings will also safely handle 10,000 lbs. in terms of suspension, braking, etc. The Max Towing package adds cooling, but if a non-Max Towing truck is staying cool then it can do the same work. There is no magic voodoo going on here.

If OP has a 8,500 lb. trailer, and he's within max frontal area requirement, and his tongue weight is in check then he is 100% fine and well within the capability of the truck. The Lightning (at least the one I have) has a RAWR of over 5,000 lbs. That's far more than most "1/2 ton" trucks.

The simple laws of physics dictate that a 6,500 lb. truck towing a 8,500 lb. trailer is FAR safer than a 8,000 lb. Super Duty towing a 30,000 lb. trailer.

The only drawback to towing with a Lightning is that you can't make it very far on a charge.

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

I wouldn’t at any speeds above about 45 mph. It has about 1.5x greater surface area than recommended in Ford’s trailering guide. I don’t mind going a bit beyond that surface area recommendation, but 1.5x is too much for my taste.

 

[RickLightning]

Some very valid points. I should have clarified myself better. I am definitely only considering driving short trips (less than 100 miles) from the house. These routes are known to me and dont include mountain passes or areas known for high winds. I am planning on loading it and driving the 30 miles to a CAT scale before I set off any further. Thanks again!

Make sure when you do the CAT scale you bring the people that are going to sit in the vehicle on the trip, otherwise it's hard to get the per axle weights and wdh settings accurate. Of course if it's just one 120lb person plus you, that's not a big impact. But, adding three 250 pound guys would be.

When you weigh, you want to get 3 weights (you can find this info all over the web. You can skip the "fill the gas tank" part...

1) Truck with trailer hooked up and wdh connected.
2) Disconnect wdh bars/chains.
3) Truck by itself.

You can then see if the wdh is properly set, and if not make adjustments and go back and weigh it again. Reweighs are inexpensive. There are CAT scale calculators online too.

In addition to seeing the tongue weight, and weight you are putting on the back axle, you will clearly see the wdh transfer weight off the back axle to the front axle and back to the trailer.

 

[OES414]

Thanks!

 

[Altivec]

First of all, these trucks are rated using the SAE J2807 criteria these days, which means if it's rated to tow X amount of weight, it will tow it safely without harm to the vehicle and without safety concerns.

Second, if the Lightning has a rating of 10,000 lbs. with the Max Towing package, that means ALL Lightnings will also safely handle 10,000 lbs. in terms of suspension, braking, etc. The Max Towing package adds cooling, but if a non-Max Towing truck is staying cool then it can do the same work. There is no magic voodoo going on here.

If OP has a 8,500 lb. trailer, and he's within max frontal area requirement, and his tongue weight is in check then he is 100% fine and well within the capability of the truck. The Lightning (at least the one I have) has a RAWR of over 5,000 lbs. That's far more than most "1/2 ton" trucks.

The simple laws of physics dictate that a 6,500 lb. truck towing a 8,500 lb. trailer is FAR safer than a 8,000 lb. Super Duty towing a 30,000 lb. trailer.

The only drawback to towing with a Lightning is that you can't make it very far on a charge.

WOW! You make some pretty bold claims here and try to pass them off as if they were facts. Let me help you by providing some actual facts.

Yes Ford uses the SAE J2807 standard that most manufactures use to determine tow ratings. Do you even know what those test consists of? Its just a bunch of basic test such as climbing a mountain in a certain time, Braking in so much distance, accelerating in so much distance, etc…. They do this in normal weather conditions and try to max out the best rating they can get. When I drive, sometimes I leave in nice weather and a half hour later, I’m in a storm with 60mph wind gusts, Sometimes I go camping in the mountains and it happens to be in extreme heat, hotter then their testing. TFL does torture truck tests and most of them fail climbing a single mountain in extreme heat.

Second. You claim that ALL lightnings are rated at 10000 lbs. Below is from Fords website saying you are wrong. Or do the SAE J2807 ratings no longer apply because it doesn’t fit your voodoo narrative? (look at footnote #6 for what applies here)

Do you think they reduced the platinum rating because they love having different numbers and lower marketing numbers or because it failed the test at 10k lbs? These ratings also come with the following conditions, which further reduce them based on the elevation you are driving.

Then you go on claiming a super duty, well under its tow ratings, is less safe to drive than a maxed out lightning. Based on the laws of physics…. What happened to the SAE J2807 standard you were so fond of. All things being equal, you would be right. The laws of physics would dictate it’s safer based on mass differential. But Tow ratings are based on much more than just mass otherwise a super duty would not be rated for 40k lbs. For example, If the lightning brakes were replaced with tiny ones that are normally found in a compact car, would it still be equally safer than a superduty? The laws of physics when it comes to mass did not change. In other words. There are many factors other than mass. that determines a tow rating. (Which technically means safe to tow this weight). Ignoring them because you know best about the laws of physics and won’t let the voodoo zapper take away tow weight, is the exact reason I see trucks and trailers flipped over on the side of the road.

His platinum is rated to tow 8600lbs at sea level. SAE J2807 uses low utility trailers for their tests. There is also another warning that states if a trailer has a large frontal area, you should choose a truck with a higher rating. Meaning, take these ratings as a low ball max and get something better if you are towing near the max.

Again people are free to do what they want. 999 times out of a thousand everything will go fine. You just don’t know when that one time is, but if it gets you, you can do all the should of could of dances you want. Also know, if you exceed your ratings and get into an accident, you can be charged with gross negligence and your insurance will not cover you.

 

[Yellow Buddy]

The Lightning (at least the one I have) has a RAWR of over 5,000 lbs.

Mine is just slightly under (2022), are you estimating? If not, I wonder what changed between 2022 and 2025.

 

[Lightning Rod]

The Lightning weighs the same as an F350 and has more power and more torque.

WOW!

 

[Yellow Buddy]

WOW! You make some pretty bold claims here and try to pass them off as if they were facts. Let me help you by providing some actual facts.

Yes Ford uses the SAE J2807 standard that most manufactures use to determine tow ratings. Do you even know what those test consists of? Its just a bunch of basic test such as climbing a mountain in a certain time, Braking in so much distance, accelerating in so much distance, etc…. They do this in normal weather conditions and try to max out the best rating they can get. When I drive, sometimes I leave in nice weather and a half hour later, I’m in a storm with 60mph wind gusts, Sometimes I go camping in the mountains and it happens to be in extreme heat, hotter then their testing. TFL does torture truck tests and most of them fail climbing a single mountain in extreme heat.

Second. You claim that ALL lightnings are rated at 10000 lbs. Below is from Fords website saying you are wrong. Or do the SAE J2807 ratings no longer apply because it doesn’t fit your voodoo narrative? (look at footnote #6 for what applies here)

Do you think they reduced the platinum rating because they love having different numbers and lower marketing numbers or because it failed the test at 10k lbs? These ratings also come with the following conditions, which further reduce them based on the elevation you are driving.

Then you go on claiming a super duty, well under its tow ratings, is less safe to drive than a maxed out lightning. Based on the laws of physics…. What happened to the SAE J2807 standard you were so fond of. All things being equal, you would be right. The laws of physics would dictate it’s safer based on mass differential. But Tow ratings are based on much more than just mass otherwise a super duty would not be rated for 40k lbs. For example, If the lightning brakes were replaced with tiny ones that are normally found in a compact car, would it still be equally safer than a superduty? The laws of physics when it comes to mass did not change. In other words. There are many factors other than mass. that determines a tow rating. (Which technically means safe to tow this weight). Ignoring them because you know best about the laws of physics and won’t let the voodoo zapper take away tow weight, is the exact reason I see trucks and trailers flipped over on the side of the road.

His platinum is rated to tow 8600lbs at sea level. SAE J2807 uses low utility trailers for their tests. There is also another warning that states if a trailer has a large frontal area, you should choose a truck with a higher rating. Meaning, take these ratings as a low ball max and get something better if you are towing near the max.

Again people are free to do what they want. 999 times out of a thousand everything will go fine. You just don’t know when that one time is, but if it gets you, you can do all the should of could of dances you want. Also know, if you exceed your ratings and get into an accident, you can be charged with gross negligence and your insurance will not cover you.

Adding to this, since I don't have a platinum I pulled a random used 2023 Lightning Platinum VIN and plugged it into Ford Towing calculator (https://www.ford.com/support/towing-calculator)

Assuming a 200lb driver, 150lb passenger, a 60lb pet, it spit out a max tongue load of 850lb and max trailer weight of 8500lb.

Now based on that, I personally like to keep my tongue roughly 12-13% of overall weight, it's what I personally - subjectively - find to be comfortable towing so the tongue weight. A 850lb max tongue load would put me at roughly a maximum of 6800lb for a travel ready trailer. That's partly why I decided to go with a Lariat ER instead of a Platinum.

Long Story:
My last trailer was at the limit of what my Lariat ER could handle due to tongue weight, not trailer weight. I would occasionally get onscreen messages of being overweight if I got lazy and didn't set it up properly with scales (ie, hooked it up like last time I towed) In general I couldn't carry more than 1 adult, 2 little children and no bed load with that trailer. Yet, the person who bought it from me picked it up in a Platinum, with one extra adult and a bed full of gear.

They made it ~800 miles home w/o incident. Not something I recommend, but people will do something even if they shouldn't.

Along those lines, one more guideline I haven't seen mentioned here is the wheelbase one. There's a rule of thumb out there that says 20' trailer for the first 110' of wheelbase, every 4" extra wheelbase allows for 1' more of trailer length. That puts our recommended trailer length at 29' - which I guess we should do, but I personally do not do.

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