Extreme tow capacities on the new trucks?

[4wd]

One of the biggest problems with 1/2 tons is feature bloat and that effect on payload.

Sure, the 3.5 F150 can tow 13.5k, but you'll never get that number out of a Lariat or above optioned truck. They're so weighed down with crap that their payload numbers are abysmal. It isn't hard to find a truck with a payload number way WORSE than one of the Rangers. Those are the trucks people are buying. I see them all the time in campgrounds. Lariats, Limiteds, Platinums towing 30 foot campers that would be well over my payload, let alone one of the trucks with more features.

Even my F150 is slightly worse than the Ranger I had before, granted, it is only on the lines of 20#, but still.

Like has been mentioned further up in the thread. Those max numbers are from very specifically (not) optioned trucks.

The 40,000 pound Ford truck is one no one has ever seen outside of Ford and their promotional videos. It is a single cab, short bed dually F450.

This thing.

View attachment 318230

I almost wonder if they've ever sold one.

As memory serves, Ford actually got in trouble some years back for creating a truck for their max payload rating that you couldn't even buy if you wanted it. Something along the lines of it was missing several interior parts:

"The attorneys general, in this case, claimed that Ford calculated the maximum payload capacity based on a hypothetical truck configuration that omitted standard items such as the spare wheel, tire and jack, center floor console (replacing it with a mini console), and radio. But they said the hypothetical payload capacity increased “just enough” for Ford to support the advertising claim. "

Ranchers get those outfitted with flatbeds here …
Now here’s a serious Ford:

 

[hemioiler]

"The attorneys general, in this case, claimed that Ford calculated the maximum payload capacity based on a hypothetical truck configuration that omitted standard items such as the spare wheel, tire and jack, center floor console (replacing it with a mini console), and radio. But they said the hypothetical payload capacity increased “just enough” for Ford to support the advertising claim. "

That's Ford for ya, gotta chase those specs! It's kinda funny since even their hyped HO diesel in a recent TFL test doesn't accelerate any faster towing the same trailer than GMs duramax which is down like 215 lb/ft tq vs the HO. I love that GM isn't playing the spec game, they just tune it to work properly, giving lots of power "under the curve", max specs aren't as important.

 

[2013ecof150]

I'd be super curious how many of those they actually build. It has to be a super tiny %.

I agree. I cant imagine there are many of them sitting on dealer lots, probably a special order truck. Truly impressive specs for a pickup truck.

 

[ctechbob]

That's Ford for ya, gotta chase those specs! It's kinda funny since even their hyped HO diesel in a recent TFL test doesn't accelerate any faster towing the same trailer than GMs duramax which is down like 215 lb/ft tq vs the HO. I love that GM isn't playing the spec game, they just tune it to work properly, giving lots of power "under the curve", max specs aren't as important.

Yea, I'm pretty sure they're pulling gobs of torque out of the motor in the lower gears just to make things live.

I think if you look at their commercial offerings that are powered by the 6.7 and what they rate those engines at, you're much more closer to what they'll do in the real world on a continuous basis.

 

[RhondaHonda]

One of the biggest problems with 1/2 tons is feature bloat and that effect on payload.

Sure, the 3.5 F150 can tow 13.5k, but you'll never get that number out of a Lariat or above optioned truck. They're so weighed down with crap that their payload numbers are abysmal. It isn't hard to find a truck with a payload number way WORSE than one of the Rangers. Those are the trucks people are buying. I see them all the time in campgrounds. Lariats, Limiteds, Platinums towing 30 foot campers that would be well over my payload, let alone one of the trucks with more features.

Even my F150 is slightly worse than the Ranger I had before, granted, it is only on the lines of 20#, but still.

Like has been mentioned further up in the thread. Those max numbers are from very specifically (not) optioned trucks.

The 40,000 pound Ford truck is one no one has ever seen outside of Ford and their promotional videos. It is a single cab, short bed dually F450.

This thing.

View attachment 318230

I almost wonder if they've ever sold one.

As memory serves, Ford actually got in trouble some years back for creating a truck for their max payload rating that you couldn't even buy if you wanted it. Something along the lines of it was missing several interior parts:

"The attorneys general, in this case, claimed that Ford calculated the maximum payload capacity based on a hypothetical truck configuration that omitted standard items such as the spare wheel, tire and jack, center floor console (replacing it with a mini console), and radio. But they said the hypothetical payload capacity increased “just enough” for Ford to support the advertising claim. "

That’s a regular 8’ bed. Ford made a short bed DRW F-350 from somewhere around 2000 to 2008 though.

 

[The motor guy]

One of the biggest problems with 1/2 tons is feature bloat and that effect on payload.

Sure, the 3.5 F150 can tow 13.5k, but you'll never get that number out of a Lariat or above optioned truck. They're so weighed down with crap that their payload numbers are abysmal. It isn't hard to find a truck with a payload number way WORSE than one of the Rangers. Those are the trucks people are buying. I see them all the time in campgrounds. Lariats, Limiteds, Platinums towing 30 foot campers that would be well over my payload, let alone one of the trucks with more features.

Even my F150 is slightly worse than the Ranger I had before, granted, it is only on the lines of 20#, but still.

Like has been mentioned further up in the thread. Those max numbers are from very specifically (not) optioned trucks.

The 40,000 pound Ford truck is one no one has ever seen outside of Ford and their promotional videos. It is a single cab, short bed dually F450.

This thing.

View attachment 318230

I almost wonder if they've ever sold one.

As memory serves, Ford actually got in trouble some years back for creating a truck for their max payload rating that you couldn't even buy if you wanted it. Something along the lines of it was missing several interior parts:

"The attorneys general, in this case, claimed that Ford calculated the maximum payload capacity based on a hypothetical truck configuration that omitted standard items such as the spare wheel, tire and jack, center floor console (replacing it with a mini console), and radio. But they said the hypothetical payload capacity increased “just enough” for Ford to support the advertising claim. "

Ive seen a few f-450s. My friend drives an f550, but its a flatbed. Most 450 and 550s are flatbeds. They get poor fuel mileage because they have 4.88 gears in the rear end so they run like 2400rpm at 75mph

 

[mnmarlin]

I remember back in the early 70's I worked on my uncles dairy farm and he bought a brand new Ford pickup, might have actually been just the F-100 as he wasn't one to get anything fancy, this one had a straight 6 (not sure if it was the 300 though), three on the tree and two wheel drive as well as rubber floor, I don't think it even had a radio. We used it to pull about anything you could hook to it with never a thought as to GCWR or anything other rating. Just didn't get anywhere too fast. I remember pulling loaded hay racks out of fields with it and struggling with the 'one wheel peel', had to get just the right amount of momentum to make it (didn't want to get going too fast as the hay rack would shove the pick up around), sometimes we'd stack a bunch of bales (the old small square bales about 50-60lbs each) in the box for extra traction. That truck is still parked in one of his fields. Should try a Vice Grip Garage style revival on it.

 

[svtrit]

I remember back in the early 70's I worked on my uncles dairy farm and he bought a brand new Ford pickup, might have actually been just the F-100 as he wasn't one to get anything fancy, this one had a straight 6 (not sure if it was the 300 though), three on the tree and two wheel drive as well as rubber floor, I don't think it even had a radio. We used it to pull about anything you could hook to it with never a thought as to GCWR or anything other rating. Just didn't get anywhere too fast. I remember pulling loaded hay racks out of fields with it and struggling with the 'one wheel peel', had to get just the right amount of momentum to make it (didn't want to get going too fast as the hay rack would shove the pick up around), sometimes we'd stack a bunch of bales (the old small square bales about 50-60lbs each) in the box for extra traction. That truck is still parked in one of his fields. Should try a Vice Grip Garage style revival on it.

It’s amazing what we farmed with as a kid. Granted we farmed much less acres, but now a kids pickup truck on the farm has more HP, torque, and gearing than the grain truck did when I was a kid, or even the Farmall 806, which was our big tractor.

My Great Grandpa’s 55 Chevy pickup was like your uncles truck.

 

[MrkofXcellence]

Yeah. Maybe they added more pistons. I have 4 wheel disc brakes with dual piston calipers and it really does not matter if the trailer brakes work or not on my 5,000 pound trailer i tow. My older 2nd gen depends on them to work to save its life

Yeah, my Silverado has four piston calipers in the front (2 on both inboard and outboard pads). Craziness.

 

[Zap1967]

Maybe for an NA V8, but for turbo motors you're going to go flaming down the mountain.

My Hybrid will grunt its way up a fairly steep hill in 6th/7th, but you want it in 3rd/4th on the way down.

That is one downside to small turbo motors, their engine braking is lacking. If there's one thing my Ranger was bad at is that the little 2.3L had just about zero engine braking, so you had to tow accordingly. Just like the bigger truck, it would pull up the hill in a higher gear, but you really need to slow down on the downside and pull it down to 2/3.

With all the turbo gas engines these days and massive towing ratings I’m super surprised we haven’t seen an exhaust brake option on a 1/2 ton truck. That would be something.

I’ve heard about the lack of engine braking in smaller turbo stuff but haven’t experienced it since I’m still in NA v8 territory. Mine around 4k rpms slows the truck down pretty quickly on all but the steepest declines.