I have the a 2002 F150 V8 4.6L base model with a 5 speed lowest offered limited slip gear. I can tow 3500 lbs. The same truck from Mopar can tow 5800 lbs. The Dodge is 65% more Truck than mine. I bought a Ford because of X-plan figured all 1/2 ton trucks were the same, wrong there is a huge difference between Dodge and Ford.

 

One is the Dodge a 5 speed or an auto? and what V8 does the Dodge have? The largest? Secondly, that Dodges tranny is going to go out if you try to tow that much. dodges are cheap because they are cheaply made, the new ones that is the old older ones are nice. and what about price? comfort? ride? handling? braking? compare in everyhting not just the tow rating


And your truck can easily tow more than 3500 lbs, my 4.2 liter can tow almost 5k and it is a 5 sd

 

I'm not saying the Ford isnt built better, just comparing specs for identical trucks:

Dodge Ram 1500, 4.7L V8, limited slip, lowest offered gear, 5 speed manual, no other options = 5800 lb TRAILER TOW

Ford F150, 4.6L V8, limited slip, lowest offered gear, 5 speed manual, no other options = 3500 TRAILER TOW

I know these are just some engineer's numbers, BUT it says a lot for those few of us who buy the base V8 truck like our grandfathers used to.

I'm sure in reality the Ford can tow just as much as the Dodge but why is the Ford rated on paper so much lower?

 

liability. if the Ford breas towing 5000lbs. you gotta pay the bill, you voided the warranty.

if the dodge breaks towing 5000lbs, dodge pays the bills.

Ford is just playing it safe, either that or the fac that the Ford will last for 200,000 mies towing only 3500 lbs, where as the dodge might last 100,000 miles towing 5000 lbs.

 

He's right, Ford just doesn't want to be replacing clutches under warranty all the time. So that's part of why they have lower towing ratings. Also, the Dodge motor makes 300 lb./ ft. of torque...and the Ford engine isn't even close.

 

These #s have nothing to do with the truck. Check the towing capacity on the exact same truck with an auto and you'll see it is much higher. I had a '98 f150 with the 4.6 and a 5-speed that I traded off in Feb. For my super-duty. It had 80,000 miles on everything and I regularly towed 6500lbs with it and on occasion as much as 11,200lbs. (I wouldn't recommend this) factory rated towing capacities have nothing to do with how much the truck will tow, all they represent is how much the manufacturer is willing to back people who have no idea how to "use" a stick.

Also the 4.6 makes 295lb/ft of tq and I doubt many people could tell the difference between that and 300 which makes them pretty darn close in my book.

 

Please take off caps lock man. And that is why, most people are going to slip a clutch , especially when towing, which is why the auto has the higher towing rating, when it comes down to it, if someone knows how to use the clutch, the stick might actually be able to tow more.

 

Bueovalman, how did your truck do starting from a stand still on a grade up hill?

 

I have towed just a hint over 5k lbs in my 02 150/ V6 5sd. a little ruff trying to stay above 70, but it did it. The rating on my truck is not even a ton.

 

Last I checked, the torque rating on the 4.6 was in the 260 lb./ft. range. I didn't realize that recently, Ford turned up the 4.6L to be more competitive. The first few years it was out, people complained because the 4.2 V6 was putting down almost identical numbers. So I assumed this had a little to do with Dodge's higher tow rating.

 

sorry if the caps lock bothers anybody i just hate having to hit the shift key at the beginning of a sentence. my '98 4.6 was rated @ 295lb/ft @ 3200rpm so if they upped it from 260 it would have been before feb. of '98. also the '98 autos were rated @ 290.

if your talking empty then starting on a hill wasn't much different than any other takeoff. i can't honestly say i remember starting much of a load on a hill so i can't really comment on that but i assume it would take some clutch-work to get it going.

 

No the torque has nothing to do with the lower tow ratings, heck a V6 auto F150 is rated to tow 5000.

As a matter of fact the V6 manual is rated at 3600lbs compared to the V8 at 3500lbs! I paid $1000 for an engine that has a lower tow rating than the V6!

The low tow rating, according to the guy from Ford I talked to today, is because of the clutch coming from a stop going up a steep hill. I agree though that these ratings are just #'s with no real meaning. I'm not trading my truck in, I'm going to use it to tow and possibly add a Kevlar clutch and 4.30 gears. I'm sure it would tow good like that, I think the transmission could handle it and the worst that could happen would be a burnt clutch.

 

I have a 97 auto w/ the 4.6 and it is factory rated at 290 ft. lbs. and 210 horsepower. It must have been the early car model 4.6's w/ the low torque rating or something. Oh, and my girlfriend's dad just pulled my old truck 65 f-100 w/a 351w because of a clutch linkage problem a good 10 miles using the ball on the bumper and an old log chain without any problems, and his truck is a 97 w/the 4.2 v6 and a 5 spd. I think he may even have an open rear end.

 

These numbers are taken from a 2000 F-150 with the 4.6L V8:

Horsepower: 220 @ 4750 RPM

Torque: 265 @ 4000 RPM

Bore and Stroke: 3.55 X 3.54


So I assumed the 4.6L still was a dog like it used to be when everyone complained about it. I didn't realize that recently Ford upgraded the 4.6L to be more competitive. So no, the new numbers wouldn't have anything to do with it...but I thought there was still a big difference between the two, that's why I originally said it might be one factor in Dodge's higher towing capacities. My bad...

 

those #'s for torque must be wrong. My 97 with the 4.6L was rated at 290 ft/lbs of torque. Maybe a misprint!