Right, it all has to be w/in limits.
I was reading in the user booket and it has more info that may help completing my door sticker info.
The first thing I ran into is the user booklet doesn't list R6 axle code in the booklet (8.8" Traction-Lok). But the shop manual does list it, so I'm pretty sure R6 would be correct and it was just omitted from the booklet in error. F6 is the 7.7" and mine is 8.8" and it's listed in the shop manual. All the axle codes regardless of ratio or size have the same rating, 2,750 lbs, so I'd say I'm safe to call the Rear Gross to be 2,750. Check off one more known item.
What I am missing then is Front Gross and the reserve weights (Front and Total).
Here's how I believe these can be determined:
The Total Reserve is how much you can load into the truck, distributed correctly, AFTER you account for 150lb passengers in ALL seating positions. I'd assume that if you have bench seat and it has three seat belts, that means five passengers (750 lbs) and if you have bucket seats like I do, it's four passengers (600 lbs).
My Gross Vehicle Weight is 4,920 (this is known from Oasis and from Ford). Subtract 600 = 4,320. From this you'd have to subtract curb weight (includes full tank gas, jack, spare, user booklets, nothing else - just as it came from the factory). The only way you will know curb weight is to weigh the truck, which is perfectly do-able, and I have to believe they weigh it at the factory to get these numbers because it will vary depending on the options and model. For this weight you want the total truck weight not per axle.
Let's say for example the truck weighs in at 3,900 lbs (a guess, for the example). Then the Total Reserve woud be 4,920 less 3900 less 600 = 420 lbs that can be loaded, properly distributed, and not exceed GVWR. Now they may have a safety margin in there, but if they do a strict calculation that should be the number. For trucks that have 5 seating positions, it would be 150 lbs less (so 270 lbs) and those number seem to be in the range you usually see for Total Reserve.
Front Reserve is something else. For this, first you need the Gross for the front axle, this I'm missing. Usually you see Front Reserve small like under 100 lbs so we'd expect it to be in that range.
Here's how I would approach this:
Having weighed the truck you already know the Total Reserve. But you don't know how the weight is distributed front/rear. Weighing it per axle, which you can do, tells you something, but it doesn't tell you how the weight is distributed with passengers. I don't know how you would determine this short of adding 150 lbs to each seat position then weighing it per axle. Someone who has worked in the assembly line could probably tell me how they do it. Anyway, if you do this, then you will get the Front Reserve (you have to know Gross Front, and subtract the front weight you get from the scale) and it's usually quite small which says if you are running with all passengers you can't add much to the front axle weight. There is no such thing (on the sticker) as Rear Reserve but I suppose in theory it would be Total reserve less Front Reserve (maybe). It's not required, so, moot point.
That's why when you look at Reserve weights they are always some odd number that you cannot figure out by looking at axle weights or gross weights. It is just going to depend on the curb weight which can vary all over the place and it's possible that they (Ford) just knows that for specific axles when you add x lbs for passengers, this is how it affect the front/rear weights.
In the user booklet they say, weigh the axles separately. Also weigh the truck total. Also weigh the truck and trailer together. None of these number should exceed the ratings, after you have added in for your passenger and cargo weights.
I think I'm getting close to being able to reconstruct the sticker. All I need is the Front Axle Gross and I suspect it's the same for all '97 4x4 trucks with 4.0L. I don't know if they had different front springs. My truck has the 2" blocks oem in the rear to account for the 31" tires oem (ok, 265/75, but same size) but do they also raise the front, I don't know, and would it affect front axle rating, I don't know.
Long slog, but I think by getting the curb weight with and without passenger weight, total weight and per axle, I should be able to accurately state the total reserve weight and if I know the front axle gross I can know the front axle reserve and those reserves should be at least as accurate as the factory numbers maybe even more so. Reserve weights are just a guide that say, -if- you fully load with 150lb passengers, this is how much you have left for cargo. If you normally run with 2 passengers and you know their weights, then you will know how much additional weight you can carry and if you load it reasonably distributed, probably you will not exceed the front or rear ratings, but you'd have to weigh it loaded to know that for sure.
My gut tells me, you don't want to load a 26 year old truck to the max or tow to the max. You can't load the truck to max (4,920) -and- max out the trailer (5,600) because you will exceed the Combined rating of 9,500. But you can probably run the truck with 2 passengers, not much else, and max the trailer (in theory). I'd think it wise to stay maybe 10% under max for the trailer (say 5,000 lbs).
Note that the average man weights197 lbs and the average woman weighs 170 lbs so the 150lbs they use is just a benchmark number probably assuming you are not carrying 4 or 5 men 200 lbs each. Obviously if you do then you have to factor this into your calculations.
The upshot of all this is, if it's in fact true that I could tow 5k lbs (safely), then if the car I want to trailer is 2,400 lbs, that leaves me (safely) 2,600 lbs for the trailer, and I think you can get a decent trailer that weighs in at less than 2,600 lbs or around there. It doesn't leave much room for spares, tools, etc, but you could do it. Admittedly if it's something you do a lot, you probably want a different truck (thus this thread) but if it's an occasional thing, I am theorizing you could do it (and I see others have done it). So maybe, while it might be nice to have an F-series, I don't think I can make a strong case that I will necessarily have to have one.
Open to comments. And suggestions, like, where do I find my truck's Font Axle rating? Still hoping to find it in shop manual, but not so far. It would be helpful to look at several '97 4x4 4.0L stickers and see if they are all the same that would lead me to believe mine is that. So for those of you with that truck, if you can post the Front rating (don't need the whole sticker) that would be very helpful. Your Rear axle rating for this truck should always be 2,750. Once I have that I think I can put this to bed and print out a new sticker (meaning, there are lots of places that will print it for you if they have the info).
I'm holding off doing the weighing for the moment hoping I can get my truck's Front axle rating. As to the tool box, I guess I'd take it out to get the numbers for the sticker. Then I'd weigh it and add back to get my normal curb weight. I think I could weigh it by two people on two scales with and without holding the box. Or just another trip to the scale, not hard to do.
I'm not worried about misleading anyone with wrong Reserve weights. First of all, they're guides only and remember they assume fully packed with 150 lb passengers which isn't probably the usual situation so they don't come into play except in theory because you will always weigh the truck front/rear and total if you are concerned you are maxing it. Secondly, the number I get will be accurate as the truck stands and the only way they could differ from factory oem sticker is if there is a safety margin in there. But you know they have to be small, front usually about 100 or so and rear in the small hundreds so if you get a number much different then something is amiss.
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