F150 vs F250 towing capacity...

Been looking into this not only for a car trailer but possibly addition of a 5th wheel travel trailer............going with a 4x4................I'm surprised to see that the F250 with a Diesel that makes outrageous amounts of TQ yet, the tow capacity:

F150 with the 6.2 gas V8 = 11,300ish (this capacity with 4x4) F250 with V8 diesel = 14,000 (16,000 with 4x2)

Just seems odd to me that the "Heavy Duty" truck with 4x4 doesn't have a more substantial increase in tow rating considering 2x the engine TQ, what am I missing?

It's not that I can see needing to tow 20k lbs or anything, just curious.

But, the diesel will tow longer, with lower rpm, and better gas mileage. It will also make it up and down the large hills

Tow rating isn't just engine, it's also the transmission, frame, brakes, and axles.

Given some of the GVWR ratings I've seen, I don't think the engine even factors into it. (The heaviest GVWR E250s were the V6 models!) The Diesel probably has a heavier rating because they know that's why people buy those in the first place.

Figure that either engine is more power than most Class 8 trucks have/had. I'm showing my age, they're around 250-350hp, right?

Also it's not uncommon for the F150s to have the shorter beds which can interfere with towing 5th wheels due to the overhang

Towing 11,300 on a F150 would be stressing a lot more stuff to the max than towing 14,500 on a f250

If they made a pickup that would haul 20K lbs, it would require a CDL to drive it because the GVWR would (likely) exceed the Federal CDL limits of 26,000.

Just because a F150 can POSSIBLY tow 11k+ #'s, doesn't mean I would openly do it every time I could. Just to reinforce the point, should have I towed home my F250, 6500-ish#, with my 1500# trailer with my wife's 5500-ish #, might have been closer to 7k with stuff and people, Avalanche with a Class 3 hitch with a 6000# 2 5/16" ball? The Av is rated for 8800# GVWR with a 5k hitch.

In reality if you tow over 10,000lbs you should probably have CDL any way.

SVreX wrote: If they made a pickup that would haul 20K lbs, it would require a CDL to drive it because the GVWR would (likely) exceed the Federal CDL limits of 26,000.

Actually the newest trucks have that issue. Pickuptrucks.com had to get their CDL to do the test they wanted to do.

I think you are being hoodwinked.

Ford (and maybe others) is now adding as much confusion to truck buying as possible.

An F150 4x4 is not rated to tow 11,300. It is rated to tow 9700 lbs. Actually, some of them are rated to tow as little as 5500 lbs. You can get it up to 11,300, but you are gonna have to add the maximum towing package. Expect prices north of $50K.

It's a marketing numbers game. The fine print has the details.

Basically, they are calling it an F-150 (to be able to be included in the 1/2 ton class, for marketing purposes), but then they are selling you big upgrade packages which make it more like an F-250.

11,300 is not a comfortable load with a 1/2 ton truck.

There is a big difference between MOVING a heavy load and CONTROLLING the same.

Jeff

Knurled wrote: either engine is more power than most Class 8 trucks have/had. I'm showing my age, they're around 250-350hp, right?

Typical fleet rating for over the road class 8 is 455 HP/1650 ft-lbs with 1850 ft-lbs when the cruise control is on. Owner operators spec up to 625 HP/2250 ft-lbs. More power=less shifting=better fuel economy plus happier drivers.

Yeesh. I remember a thread a long time ago (think pre-WWW) where a guy with a Prelude was incredulous that his 2.2 made more power than a semi.

There's 2.2 190hp, and then there's drive it all day long at full power 190hp...

GVWR has more to do with trying to get the truck to fall into a registration/legal category than the pickup's abilities. My truck is within 1200 pounds of its factory GVWR when empty. Tow ratings are a different animal and have much more bearing on reality. I have found the tires and wheels to be the first failure point when hauling-not towing- with a pickup. Diesel, quad cab, etc.. With the camper on, each rear wheel has about 3000 pounds worth of load on it. Ended up cracking a rear wheel before upgrading to a stronger wheel. Separated the cords in a set of tires driving in 115 degree temps while hauling the camper and towing a trailer. Jeff

There's also no standardized way of measuring towin ability. Yet.

Don't know this as a statement of fact, but I've always figured the reason the 4x4's all have lower tow ratings than comparable 4x2's is because:

They are up higher,

Have more suspension travel,

Have taller sidewall tires,

Weigh more themselves.

Back when I was a fleet manager (late 90's) I was shopping medium duty trucks and came across what I dubbed the "cheater package" It was upgraded axles, brakes, frame etc, but the tires kept the GVW under 26K. Swap on better tires and you were good for 32K...

SVreX wrote: I think you are being hoodwinked. Ford (and maybe others) is now adding as much confusion to truck buying as possible. An F150 4x4 is not rated to tow 11,300. It is rated to tow 9700 lbs. Actually, some of them are rated to tow as little as 5500 lbs. You can get it up to 11,300, but you are gonna have to add the maximum towing package. Expect prices north of $50K. It's a marketing numbers game. The fine print has the details. Basically, they are calling it an F-150 (to be able to be included in the 1/2 ton class, for marketing purposes), but then they are selling you big upgrade packages which make it more like an F-250. 11,300 is not a comfortable load with a 1/2 ton truck.

Ram makes it pretty clear. I like the typical weight details too: http://www.ramtrucks.com/en/towing_guide/

The heavier the truck is, the lower its payload and towing capacity. Unless the extra weight comes from things that actually increase towing capacity, like a heavy diesel engine or an uprated axle.

I've always like how people bag on the "compact" trucks for their Low towing/hauling capacities relative to Half tons. Then when you really look at the options packages for the 1/2 tons that most people buy that represent most of the trucks you see the specs are really very very similar. The Tacoma and Frontier are 6500, 6100 respectively for towing. Doesn't look so weak compared to dodges 1/2 ton offering, and I know Fords is actual worse becasue the new F150 is so heavy and it's GCWR isn't much higher than the other 1/2tons. That said if you are going to consistently tow 6000lbs it's probably not the right tool but neither is a Ram that's rated to 6500lbs you probalby want one of the 8900lb towing capacity ones.

I can tell you that there's no comparison between my 2000 Tundra with a one-car trailer and the 2010 Ram diesel with a two-car. The Ram loves it, the Tundra was always working hard.