Towing capacity BS

my buddy just sold his new 2017 f150 3.5 ecoboost truck. The truck can tow a whopping 12000lbs but because it only weighs 4200lbs, the heavy trailer loads push the truck around making it feel unsafe. He bought a Nissan Titan with the cummins engine. That truck weighs 6800 lbs and feels much better when towing.
I have always felt trailer weight max should be dependent on truck weight in part.

 

Ha, I didn't believe that it could be so low in weight. I looked it up on the ford site and the lightest on was 4051.00 lbs. Wow, that is less than my taco. I am like you, to be able to haul 12k, you would think that there would HAVE to be a weight ratio between the truck and the thing that you are hauling.

 

Marketing has no common sense. They just want to sell trucks!

 

There is most likely someone out there that will tow the 12K and kill someone doing it.

 

If the trailer was that heavy, he had trailer brakes and should have been able to just adjusted the gain. If your load is stopping most of its weight on its own, the truck won't get pushed around.

 

Need to make em light to get that mpgs.

 

There is more to towing than just going (power) and stopping (brakes). Towing experience will show you that.

 

I have towed for 15 years, from gm 3500hd duallies to small suvs on the pull, in tow anything from 45' wellcrafts, to cars, to fluid loads like water. Certainly didn't mean to offend - hope that's not the case.

In fact, I am in agreement with your point on tow rig weight and I also agree that more factors than the inflated manufacturers marketing numbers should be taken into account.

Glad your friend got a truck that works for him. What size trailer and weights was he pulling that felt out of bounds on the Ford? That should have been my first question.

 

I am a bit torn on this. On one side I can see the argument that there should be a reference to vehicle weight when referencing towing capabilities. However the other side of me thinks that people should know or educate themselves on what they can tow, not only weight but type, size and conditions. Obviously a large skid steer on a short flatbed is going to pull much differently than a large enclosed flat front trailer, which will be different than a 5th wheel/WD/Anti Sway etc (especially when on the highway). Manufacturers can only do so much when providing information on towing capacity. They cant envision all the different scenarios, payloads, trailer types and truck weights. They just put out a number that they deem is safe under the conditions they are required to test for.

In this age of near unlimited information on the internet, there is almost no excuse to not know what your truck is capable of or safe to do.

 

Not everyone uses common sense. Some people will, just because it says they can, hook up to a maximum load and head down the road first time towing anything.

 

I didn't get a lot of details... he just didn't like the feel.

 

Inflated tow figures....yeah right. A major corporation is not going to expose themselves to legal risk by inflating a tow rating. SAE J2807 anybody?

 

I know people with a lot of towing experience doing this and even some doing it without trailer brakes. Granted they are short, local runs but it only takes that one time.

 

I actually like the J2807 document. Its easy to follow and understand.

 

Trailer balance is huge, I used to pull a tractor a lot with my F-150 and putting it too far forward or back on the trailer makes things really goofy.

As far as truck vs trailer weight... there are worse ratios out there that get along fine.

 

Yep, weight is only 1 of several variables in towing. All the wight rating tells you is the max amount it can safely tow, the configuration is up to you to figure out.