Ever wonder why Ford does not take the time to explain towing capacity to buyers before they buy?

What I'm saying is that most of us (me included) found out after the purchase what our trucks could do. There are so many factors involved (engine, trans type, rear-end etc) that it is not uncommon for someone to come away with way less truck than they need. I feel that there is something seriously wrong with putting a 5000# bumper or Class III hitch on a vehicle that can tow less than half that, and burying that fact in the manual.

What would happen if you manufactured a 110v toaster with a 220v plug and put a disclaimer in the manual that said, "use of this product will indeed make toast-once; and probably burn your house down."

Just my .02

 

I don't think this would happen to anyone that bought a truck for towing. It seems to happen when a truck is purchased and the towing comes after the fact. It may be because the owner bought 'full size' without considering the F150 also has the desgination, 'Light Duty'. Ford builds tow vehicles. It also builds F150s. With so many configurations of engines, transmissions and gears that can be purchased and only four 'classes' of hitches, it's not surprising that an overbuilt hitch ends up on a truck. It wouldn't make sense to send the F150 out with class II hitches just because that is all some F150s are capable of.

I appreciate the max tow ratings assigned by Ford because I don't ever want to get close to it.
I knew going in I would tow less than 4k and the F150 would work for me.
When I retire I will be towing 7K+ and I can promise you I will not even look at an F150.

 

You're exactly right in saying it doesn't happen to people serious about towing, but I bet those people educate the salesperson in the truck's capabilities. I realize that there is an economy of scale issue in producing multiple bumpers for multiple capacities; however I feel bad for people that "saved" money getting a manual trans and paid later with reduced towing capacity.

 

True enough. I seriously wanted a stick in my truck because that's what I always had. Since I already had my boat I was researching something to pull it with, lucky for me I found this site in Dec of '98 and didn't order until Mar of '99. I spent that time reading the invaluable info on this site, educating myself on all the options, got the best price and discovered that the stick was not for me.

I tried to justify it but, all the configurations kept coming up between 3100 and 3500 max towing capacity and it was just too close to what I had to do. I had already been there, done that with my wife's Windstar that supposedly had a 3500 max rating and I knew that if that was what 'max rate towing' felt like then I was going to need some comfort zone or I was just wasting my time.

As far as the "saved" money goes, I guess it's that old "you get what you paid for" saying however, I can see the frustration of having a big tough Ford truck that can't tow any more than a Windstar.

 

We have alway's pulled trailers. With this in mind, we ordered every truck to match the trailer. We started off with a small 5th wheel that the 150 would pull. We steped up to a larger 5th wheel, and while doing that, steped up to a 350. We then got a larger 44' trailer and got a 550. When we started on the 48', we bought the FL-60 before, as usuall, so we wouldn't get "cought off guard" when it came time to pull.

Its just like anything else, you have to plan. For the people that down plan, their life is reflected upon it. If you went into buying a truck, and asked about towing, the sales rep would answer, or find the answer to every question you asked. But if you just assume it can tow, you make an *** out of U and ME (aka the salesman)

 

Order the truck to match the trailer??!!

If everyone did that I would lose out on one of the most entertaining parts of my weekend: Doing a "Hank Hill" at the boat ramp watching guys back trailers (very funny), launch boats (very very funny), and retrieve boats (wet your pants funny).

 

An F150 with a V8, AUTO tranny and 3.55 gears is very capable of #5000. I would not want to go much over that, unless maybe with the 3.73's, but you'd be really close to the GCWR of an F150, so that's not good either.

My combo can handle my #5000 GVWR trailer very well. I did upgrade the tires to Load Range C's. Went to a 31" tire as well, but it's still the same 'size' as the ORP 17" wheels......

What I find 'amusing' are the ones who try to tow a TT that has a DRY weight of #5000 (or more!). They read, IN THE MANUAL, that the Max Trailer Weight can be #7700 and figure that's all they need to know. Well, they must just ignore the GCWR and don't know how to subtract, because if they did some simple math, they would realize that pulling a #7700 TT would mean their truck can only weigh #5000. An F150 would weigh that much on it's own. You toss in #770 tongue weight, people, beer, firewood and bingo.... Overweight bigtime!......

I had my F150 first, then shopped for a TT that IT could handle. I just knew I didn't want to be at the max rating, so I did the math and even took out an additional 10% and came up with my own Max Trailer Weight rating of #5500. Found one that weighed #5000, had all the features I wanted/needed, so why go bigger or heavier?

 

LFAO@flafonman

The lake is fun to watch people and thier vehicles. Our local lake has very steep boat ramps, and when the people try pulling out thier heavy ski boat, they spinn the tires for day's trying to get it out, funny as can be.

 

Most people undertand this common sense logic, but the ones that don't ceases to amaze me when they take their max tow to the max. People see Ford boasting a 7700# towing capacity and just assume thats what they can tow. Like MitchF150 said, consider the GCWR and your likely overweight or towing the max all the time. Maybe I just overbuy things, but I expect things to last longer when I am not running them to thier max all the time. Its is like saying "I want to have 180 HP consistently, so I will buy a v-6 and run it at the redline all the time." I think some of these guys trucks will be in the shop just as quick with the logic that "its rated for that." Like I said, most people realize this, its the ones that don't are those struggling with their big TT.

I'm not so sure that the general public understand how the ratings are derived. A f-150 with a GCWR of 13,500# (like Mitch's) weighs approx 4750#. This is the weight Ford gives of the vehicle alone + fluids to max. Add a driver and your nearing 5,000#. The max towing capacity is 7700lbs, which is basically the difference betweent the GCWR and the curb weight + driver. I've never seen where Ford says "Unless you want to carry your nerf bars, fiberglass bed cover, bedliner, tool box, luggage, wife + purse, cooler, kids, happy meals and game boys beside your truck, you better deduct that from the towing capacity." I know its stated something like "don't exceed the max GCWR," but a lot of people just look at towing ratings or GVWR and go with it.

My partners 98' extended cab 4x4 5.4L tipped the scales at 5500# loaded exactly how he drove it every day (with him driving it and no passengers). Fiberglass cover + tool box + 6 changer + amp + whatever else really adds up and people dont realize it. Im sure a lot of you guys already know how this works, but i didnt until Mitch pointed it out last week. I just found it interesting that automakers never explaine theier tow ratings clearly . There are a lot of people out there that just look at the numbers and assume that this was what it was designed for, but never understand them.

 

I once listened to a very serious conversation that revolved around getting the truck/trailer/boat up a slime covered ramp. After numerous wheel-spinning attempts it was determined that someone would drive the rig back home (roughly 40-50 min), disengage the trailer (10 min), hook it to the "big" truck (10 min), and return to retrieve boat (40-50 min). This conversation went on long enough for me to add my .02- "By the time you do all that (approx 2 hours) the TIDE will have come in far enough so that your wheels won't be on the slick part of the ramp."

Are lobotomies standard or optional on the purchase of a boat?