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Hi Famtwo,
To answer your question, it has NO bearing what others have or have done, Chevy, Ford or Dodge, whatever year, because as far as a rating is concerned unless you are talking about the SAME truck and SAME trailer no one can compare their experience with your chances. What we can do is provide the information you need to figure out the answer to your question, and how to improve (not increase) your configuration.
When setting up a rig, you MUST know the GVWR of your trailer and the Towing capacity and Combined GVWR of your truck. For example, I have a 2006 F250 4x4 (not 4x2) and tow a 2006 3500RL Montana. The fifth wheel tow rating of my truck is 15,200 lbs (travel trailer rating is 12,500). The Trailer's GVWR is less than 14,000 lbs at full load. I have weighed my trailer and found that it is always far less than 14,000 lbs. This allows for more than 1,000 lbs of leeway IN MY CASE but for my case I am well within the specifications. To IMPROVE the ride I have added airbags to raise the rear end and eliminate the shuddering that occurred when I first towed the trailer with my 4x4 but that did not mean I was out of spec. The airbags eliminated the shuddering as an improvement not as an increase of my tow/towable ratings. I also never travel with full tanks because they can get filled at my destination and at an average of 7 lbs per gallon that's a LOT of weight I do NOT want to haul around for hundreds of miles.
If I recall in your case, your truck has about a 15,600 lb (or more? check your owner's book) fifth wheel rating, but your Trailer rating is heavier than mine and that also assumes you are not overloading your trailer either. First, make sure your the Trailer's GVWR weight does not exceed the max rating of your truck. When the trailer is empty it is a LOT lighter so then make sure that what you put in your trailer does not exceed your trailer's GVWR rating. Then you should be good to go. That's it!!! You are done, or might think so...
After that you can make improvements to your truck to IMPROVE the ride like air bags, or fifth wheel air suspension. You CANNOT increase your towing capacity except by getting a new truck with a higher rating.
Other things that can IMPROVE your rig's ride is adding a Diesel tuner or increased exhaust to increase acceleration or can improve mileage depending on how you drive. If you got the Ford tow package in your 2006; mine came with an integrated brake controller and Tow/Haul option so I have not been able to find an air brake system for our model year because they conflict with the intelligence of the Tow/Haul mode. Tow/Haul is different than the older option of turning off Overdrive because it doesn't necessarily avoid the overdrive gear of your transmission but changes the transmission shifting characteristics to increase RPMs before upshifting or better yet, sense when you are trying to slow down and will downshift to assist in braking.
Lastly the way you drive is another important factor for how safe your rig will be. I am amazed at how many rig drivers think they can drive 70-80 mph just because their foot can press the pedal that hard. I have not seen ANY trailer tires that are rated at higher than 65mph so anyone driving that fast is an accident waiting to happen since the higher speeds will cause the tires to overheat, breakdown and eventually fail. Since the speed limit is mostly 55mph for towed vehicles anyway, what's the point of manufacturing tires for higher speeds. If I am going on a long uphill, I cannot sustain 65mph anyway, and if I am going downhill I use the tow/haul mode (depress the brake pedal) to downshift and usually end up less than 65 mph to prevent run away. Mentally speaking it's a mindset I have to instill in myself. Weather is another consideration (rain, fog and especially wind - head or tail or the worse case of lateral winds). If I am on open highway I will enable cruise control, but will turn it off when approaching up or down hills.
Okay, this should be plenty of information to start with. As you can see, you asked a very simple question that with a little research you can come up with the answer positively. After that, there are many factors on how to affect your rig's safety but the good news is if you are within specifications everything should be good, unless things break. Other than that there are many ways want to IMPROVE (not increase) your rig ratings.
Oh-oh, one more thing, in trying to save weight in the trailer, be mindful to not overload the truck and exceed its cargo weight. For example, do not exceed the CGVWR (Combined Gross Vehicle Weight Rating) of your truck with trailer.
Stay safe and Happy RVing,
Art Martinez,
Murrieta, CA
2006 3500RL Montana
2006 Ford F250 Crewcab 4x4 Longbed
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