Yup a 5.4L F250 w/4.10s the mpg will drop hard.

 

Nope not missing the point. I have never even seen an accident by a scale, and with these trucks or any trucks you could be 1000lb over weight and no one would be any wiser. You would have to have the bed pilled higher than the cab for anyone to even question if the truck was over weight. At least that is how it is around here might be different where you are. I am not going to worry about it but then again I do have a couple of friends who are attorneys.

 

I'm not hell bent on defending the F250, just stating facts.

A F150 w/4.10's will only get 14-15 MPG also.

Sure, they're rated at 18-19. But in real world driving, there are only a few peeps that are getting 17.

I haven't read of anyone doing any hand calulations in the MPG thread, either. Peeps are saying the computer is accurate. I'm sure it is fairly accurate. But real hand calculations will prolly show a slight drop.

 

I have done a few hand calculations and have come out above and below what the computer says, leading me to think it is pretty close. I guess I am one of the few that consistently get 17.5(worst) - 18.8 (best) on the interstate (doing 75-77mph). Also, if an F-150 could be had with 4.10's, it would probably have a tow rating just as high, or higher than the 5.4 SD. I'm getting way off topic here.

 

I thought 4.10's were mandatory with the 3030 payload package?

 

Has this question been answered? Why does the payload decrease 500lbs when you go from the 5.5ft bed to the 6.5 ft bed? The extra ft can't weigh 500lbs.


And FYI, my computer reads about 1mpg higher then my hand calculations.

 

Several days back, I fired off a couple emails to see if I could get an answer from the F150 engineering team. Got a response last night. It confirms that the figures posted on the Ford web site are maximum potential payloads. You must subtract the weight of options to get to the actual payload rating for a specific vehicle. The actual payload rating for a vehicle is documented on the Tread Act label on the door pillar.

Unfortunately, if you have a 157 wb 4x4 KR (or probably similar configuration), your payload is about 900 lbs, not 1500 as the dealer might have told you.

I think it would be nice if they could combine the high end features (of a Lariat, KR, or Platinum) with a more capable payload, but they dont offer that.

Here is the actual response:

************

Thank you for the inquiry and sorry for the slow response. As you might imagine, we offer a variety of payloads in the F150 line-up. The payloads are usually aligned to provide the most capability for the segment or series for the customer group that needs the most capability. For example, lower trim series are usually purchased for work trucks where maximum capability is required. For higher trim series vehicles, we will trade reduced payload for more features and options. Thus, payloads on F150 trucks can range from 875 lbs. to 3030 lbs. This is consistent with our competition where GM ranges from 874 lbs.* to 1909 lbs., Toyota from 875 lbs.* to 1990 lbs., and Dodge from 790 lbs.* to 1910 lbs.

Thus, in a 157" wheelbase 5.4L 4x4 truck, payload can range from 875 lbs. to 1430 lbs. In your particular case, you have a 157" 4x4 King Ranch which adds 540 lbs. of features and options resulting in a payload in the 900 lb. range.

The competition does not offer 157" wheelbase vehicles. However, in the 145" crew cab variant of a 5.4 4x4, payloads with standard equipment are comparable to Toyota and better than Chevy and Dodge:
Ford - 1560 lbs.
Toyota - 1495 lbs. to 1585 lbs. (depending on model selected)
Chevy - 1336 lbs.
Dodge - 1330 lbs. to 1430 lbs. (depending on model selected)
Given similar option weights, which would be expected, the competition would have similar payloads. A Silverado Crew Cab 4x4 with maximum options shows a 640 lb payload based on the weight calculator on their website. However, we have no way to verify that this is what would be shown on their Tread Act Label.

*minimum payloads based on F150 option weight content for competitor models due to unavailability of competitor OEM data.

Again, thanks for the inquiry and we hope this addresses your question.
Jeff Lewis (JLEWIS8)
P415/U22X Vehicle Engineering Manager

 

That makes sense, I didn't even think about the weight of the options added to the vehicle.

 

Yeah this is what people have been saying but the figures still dont work out. The platinum is advertised as a payload of 1500 in my 3.55ls,6.5,4x4. The problem is you couldnt add 600lbs of extra weight on the base platinum if you tried. Lets say base platinum is the 1500lb payload model, Well i have added nav,side steps and tailgate step and a couple other options that weight about 10lb max. So lets say that works out to 200lb max. No way on earth they could weight more than that. Well that makes a 1300lb payload rateing not 900lb. There's still at least 400lb of lost payload.

Same goes from going from a lariat exact same specs to a paltinum. The platinum has far less payload than a lariat with 18's/20's. I would like to know where the platinum has gained all this extra weight over the other models.

 

A cubic foot of platinum weighs 1,330 lbs and is 11% heavier than gold. Therefore, it must be the platinum content that increases the weight so much

So what they need to do is to introduce a Magnesium Edition, or at least an Aluminum Edition of the F150.

Thanks for pursuing the real answer, dbossman.

I don't think Ford weighs each truck but rather arbitrarily assigns "max weight" to each trim package when figuring payload.

George

 

It would be nice if it was that simple. Im still being told my truck has a 1500lb payload rateing as built lol. Called the rep again for a answer to why nothing works out.

 

A base 157" wheel base truck has a payload of 1500lbs not a base plat. You have added power seats, sunroof, power rear window, power running boards, power tilt steering wheel, and much more to a "base" 157" truck. All of those power "options" could be pretty heavy. Id bet the tailgate step and side steps are pretty heavy too. when you really think about it there are a lot of "options" on the plat that would cut into the payload. Power seats alone are much heavier than manual seats.

 

Bsimmer,

My suggestion would be to go to a scale and weigh your truck. Then calculate the actual payload that it can carry. I have a feeling that the 900lbs may be on the conservative side, but it would be interesting to know how accurate Ford's guesstimate is.

 

This is whats confusing about the numbers. Build a Platinum on line and it adjusts the payload depending on what spec you build. Dealer also confirmed this and so did Ford and Ford rep.

Platinum
4x4
6.5
3.55ls
5.4l

Ok so thats the base platinum. that model has a 1500lb payload rating. To be exact Ford checked their systems and it comes up with 1480lb as that exact spec. As people know the platinum base model comes with almost everything as standard. The only things that would really increase the weight on the base model would be the nav, side steps and tailgate step and couple of electrical things here and there. Do them things really weight 580lbs?

I would say they weight no more than 100lb for them bits. So the website and ford and paper work shouldn't be saying a 1500lb payload. They should be saying 1000lb. But like we have already worked out some lariats have almost the 1500lb payload rating when built to same spec as the platinum i have. I really cant see that a platinum has 600lb more weight than a lariat model built to the same specs. This is what don't make sense.


So to keep it simple. How do you build the platinum to make it the full 1500lb payload rateing it has?

 

You can't. Ford rates all 5.4, screw, 6.5 bed, 3.55 trucks the same payload rating. The fact that it is a plat trim brings the rating down. Whoever you talked to at Ford has no idea what they are talking about. The 1480lb figure is the payload for a 157" flareside truck. They are just going on their website and looking at the numbers there, which are for the "base" truck. b/c your truck is a plat it is heavier than the base truck meaning less payload ability.