I think most of us agree that towing with any truck is uncomfortable when you are "pushing the limits" of the truck.

Most of us towing nerds also love looking up the published tow ratings in the Ford Towing Guides :https://www.fleet.ford.com/towing-guides/

I've heard a few people say they like to keep to 80% of the trucks rating, or 75% or one person even said 50%.

I don't have a percentage rule of thumb, and I only tow one trailer, so it hasn't been an issue for me, but I always like to think about it.

For example, from the 2017 Ford Towing Guide:
Truck A) F150 Supercrew 4x4 3.5 EB Max tow can be rated to tow up to 11,700 lbs.
Truck B) F150 Supercrew 4x4 5.0L V8 can be rated to tow as LITTLE as 8900 lbs. As far as I know all F150's have the same brakes, frame, hitch etc.
Truck C) F250 Crew Cab 4x4 with 6.2L V8 can be rated to tow as little as 12,500.

Clearly the platform of the F250 is better for towing, and the suspension will handle the tongue weight better, but I always find it crazy that the Two extremely similar F150's can have tow ratings that are extremely different, and the F250 is almost rated the same as the F150 Max Tow.


Would you use the same de-rating factor for all three trucks? In my mind the F150 Max tow is closer to it's engineering and safety limitations when it's pulling at it's rated capacity compared to the F250 at it's published capacity.


Anyway, I don't use an across-the-board de-rating factor. I buy used trucks pretty often as I usually make sure 1) I'm not over the rating, which is easy with my 7500lb trailer, and 2) that SOME VERSION of that same truck is rated to pull something much larger. That's also easy with modern half-tons. I've occasionally bought 3/4 tons, and they handle that load really well too.


So, really just musing, and wondering how everyone else approaches this?

 

Ford publishes numbers... from there engineers...

then the fudge factor....
then the legal factor.............

and the 'Real' number is someplace between the fudge factor and the MOON....

I limit my use to the number on the Door Tag.... but I am just less then 1,000 pounds of limit.

a truck is like a steel chain.... its as strong as its weakest link .. whatever that might be... and Ford is NOT going to say..

 

You will almost always run out of C.C.C or payload before you run out of tow ratings. So, to me, that is more of a factor.

 

With out geeking everybody out with one of my many spreadsheets, and acknowledging that it is possible to create a scenario where your vehicle can tow the claimed amount by removing all gear and passengers from the vehicle and attaining a perfect 10% tongue weight on a low profile load with out much wind resistance; in the 1/2 class I generally figure 60-70% if I have passengers and gear (higher GVWR), 75-85% if by myself. Most of the new 1/2 tons will pull much more than there advertised rate, however their stopping ability (which is more important to me and probably the other drivers i'm trying to avoid)........ not so much.

For 3/4 ton and above I feel 75-85 with passengers and gear is fine.

This is under normal operating circumstances, vacation, work......... I do fully acknowledge that there are times when I have chosen to go far far far past any recommendation on everything that I have owned at one time or another. But it's not part of any general % of safety i would use as reference for my family or coworkers.

My .02.

 

Tow ratings mean little to me as there are conditions that tie to them, and controlled test results which back them. So unless I follow those exact same test conditions, the ratings result more in guides than specs when it comes to real world use.

If pressed, I will work to show how my use is within the design specs as I do not care to get in a situation of insurance pointing to an exclusion. Naturally, this is a whole debatable topic of its own and not meant to fan any fires

Case in point about curiosity about tow ratings is the rear differential determining the payload / trailer weight. Really . . .? Only thing that makes sense to a non-engineer like me on this one is marketing over physical limitations. If two trucks only differ by a rear gear, then it is tough to see why the one with the lower ratio has the lower rating outside of the manufacturer not wanting people complaining about sluggishness off-the-line or dropping gears & speed when pulling up grade.

Naturally, there are some things that affect towing capacity like cooling and braking. So, I can see where lack of aux tranny coolers will limit the tow capacity as this in turn results in a physical limitation (heat shedding).


And from real world experience, I came across a SUV rated for 9K#. It struggled with 7,500# (not stable). Even had a fancy 7 speed automatic. That SUV was replaced with a 3/4 ton SUV (IIRC, 9K# rating as well) and problem solved. So, that just goes back to the point about ratings having questionable value in terms of physical limitations.


Back to the question about de-rating. It depends. I would consider it in less than a 3/4 ton chassis truck. Especially if the tranny was not beefy enough for the task. If the tow vehicle was a minivan or auto platform, would probably limit to 75% as a starting point.

 

I've pulled near or over the limit with my half ton truck, but only in town, not on the highway. Definitely a white knuckle ride. I think the 80% rule is useful. It makes for a safe, comfortable drive that isn't going to be detrimental to the tow vehicle. Is that applicable in all cases? No, but that's why it's called a "rule of thumb".

My current trailer is at 61% of trailer weight capacity and 29% of cargo capacity (tongue weight).

 

This time last year my truck weighed close to 10000lbs. It's GVWR is 8800lbs. So, 114%. Drove it like that for over two years. Being a slow lumbering beast made it easier to handle than it does now that it is empty.

 

For me, the size is more of a limiter. My truck is rated to tow more weight but I don't want to tow longer (or taller) than the 32 foot camper that we have. Gas stations, camp grounds, etc can sometimes feel a little cramped.

 

It depends on my application. My first tow vehicle was a half ton chevy van. Since then I have had an E150 5.0 Clubwagon, an E350 7.3 Clubwaon, an F350 CCLB 6.0 and now an F250 CCSB FX4.

All of these were used to two long distances on the interstate. The E150 (and chevy van) to tow an open car trailer. They were fine for the task. I upgraded to the E350 7.3 when I bought a 24' enclosed trailer. Then the F350 for a heavier (better equipped) 24' enclosed and then the current '17 F250 6.7 a month after upgrading the trailer.


I once towed a big, rental, dump trailer full of mulch for my wife's garden, with the E150 Clubwagon. Its tow rating was somewhere in the 7k lbs range. I am sure the loaded trailer was closer to 10K. I only had to go a few miles, would never be in heavy traffic, took my time and I have a lot of towing experience. But I wouldn't dream of doing that regularly, or any distance, or in anything but light traffic.

For the current trailer, I probably could have easily gotten by with a properly equipped F150 EcoBoost but that would have the truck up near its practical limit. It would be more work for me and harder on the truck. The F250 6.7 is at about 65-70% of capacity. It tows the trailer effortlessly and that's well worth the additional cost.

My trailer is about 9K lbs fully loaded. A friend has a 15 EB F150 that tows a similar trailer. I have driven his rig. Its fine. But mine is so much easier to drive and where the EB F150 goes up the mountains OK, with my F250 6.7, there are NO mountains. The earth is flat.

 

I like to stay below 125% of the tow rating on my half ton and below 200% of the max rating on the 3/4 ton.


Strictly speaking, the tow rating on my expedition is 6,000. I'm routinely pulling around 7,000. With my upraded transmission cooler, I'm equipped the same as the trucks rated at 8,400 so I'm good with that.

I've had between 17,000 and 19,000 behind the f250. The max rating on it is around 10,000. Other than being slow to gain speed, it felt fine and didn't really work as hard as I thought it would.

I'm more of the "hook up and Go" type....

 

I like how you think Mike. Of course there's a difference between loads you would pull for short distances occasionally and loads you'd feel comfortable pulling long distances through the mountains with your family on board for an extended vacation. Or there is for me anyway.

I've got no issue being past 100% when needed, but I wouldn't go on a long vacation in that situation.

 

Depends on the truck IME.

F150? 50%.
F250, I'm comfortable pushing it a lot more. But with an outrageous 12,500# rating, 60-70% is plenty.

I want to avoid anything over 10,000# with any truck. That's not "fun" to me.

 

There is no rule of thumb for towing, the only guide lines are the towing guide published by the manufacture. If you are having problems towing at max rating take a look at your tires, air pressure, shocks just to name a few things.

With all my years of towing and using trucks at max limits the weakest link is the tires and tire weight ratings, sometime people change tires and pay no attention to the weight rating of the new tires just price, looks and ride.

Basically I think some need to get their noises out of books, guides and the internet and take a long hard look at their equipment and what condition it's in and if all the variables are up to the job. Remember things do wear out and need to be replaced.

Denny

 

what's a tow rating?

 

It's the rating the manufacture uses for conventional and 5th wheel towing, it uses different motor, rear gear and truck configurations to come up with towing ratings.

Denny