I went thru an extensive new truck search a few months ago, also to tow a 24' trailer (enclosed car hauler), and thought sure I'd be getting an F150 Lariat and had identified all the options I wanted. But after really digging the trucks' capacities I determined it was too easy to max out the 150, even with just 2 people, a trailer and a "few" things,
so on Feb 2nd opted for a 250 Lariat. And, if you go gas, bonus! you get the 7.4L V8 called Godzilla!
Note: I was coming off a
transmission failure in my '17 Nissan Titan at only 42K miles less than a year ago, so I was extra sensitive at the time and that was the primary motivator of my new truck search; before this I felt like I'd be enjoying the Titan to 200K or more. Anyway, here's most of my thinking: The GT weighs about 3,500 lbs. A fairly basic steel framed enclosed trailer from TX Trailers from weighs about 3,750 lbs = 7,250 lb combined, and that doesn't include spare tire, winch, winch battery, E-track, anything else you might install to secure the car and other car related stuff, or anything else you might carry in the there. And if you go with the 15% recommended tongue weight 7,250 lbs x 15% = 1,088 lbs just for that. Looking at a '25 F150 Lariat at Brandon Ford the door decal states "
The combined weight of occupants and cargo should never exceed" 1,502 lbs, so with a 7,250 lb GT + trailer, you, your wife, your kids / family / friends / your extra stuff in the trailer and any other stuff in the cabin and bed can only weigh 1,502 - 1,088 = 413 lbs. That's not much, and even if you met that on the number you'd already be towing at the max rated capacity. On the other hand looking at a '25 F250 Lariat at Brandon Ford the door decal states "
The combined weight of occupants and cargo should never exceed" 3,257 lbs, so you, your wife, your kids / family / friends and any other stuff can weigh 3,257 - 1,088 = 2,169 lbs. And the 150 and 250 MSRPs seem to be not
that different (unless you get the 250's diesel which MSRPs at another $10K+). Some 250 models go even higher in capacity, and a 350, which I believe only has a different rear axle diameter and rear leaf springs, is only a little more $ and tends to add about another 1,000 lbs capacity over the 250. If I could've found a 350 optioned exactly like my 250, I would've bought it.
After my Titan's tranny failure I just didn't want to buy an expensive new F150 and already be towing at or over max capacity.
Just sharing what I went thru and how I decided. By the way, my 250 gets around 11.5 mpg in town which is 2 mpg less than my Titan. But I don't drive enough for that to matter to me; of course it might to you. Also, the 250 is longer so parking is not quite as easy, but I've found that in my area finding a spot hasn't been a problem. I've pretty always parked out away from other cars anyway, so not much change there for me. My new '25 F250:
