solarity

When ford went from the 2014 Steel body to 2015+ AL body, they lowered the GVWR as well as the weight. Did they just replace the suspension to lower the GVWR of the new generation? If they would have used a similar rated suspension, would that given it such a high payload, that it would eat into the sales of the F-250? From my understanding the 2015+ also has a better boxed frame than the older generation. It just doesn't make sense, they advertise better MPG and better towing, though w/o the HDPP, you can't reach those payloads. The HDPP, options seem like moot options, as much of the non-HDPP options exceed the GVWR limitations of the 7850 HDPP.


The only reasoning I can see is sales vs functionality.

SixShooter14

IDK, I have a great payload without HDPP or Max tow.

a lot of it is not just whether it CAN tow/haul something, but whether it can do it safely. And these ratings are for the truck as a whole "system".

when designing the new trucks, they probably looked at keeping the suspension the same but perhaps it gave an undesired ride quality or something. I can't say for certain. But there is probably a reason behind everything being sized the way it is. Another real important consideration in design is Point of Failure. That is to design the vehicle in a way that the "weakest link" is less likely have "catastrophic failure" and reduce the likelihood of complete system failure. But show up as a noise or vibration (or warning light) rather than your axle snapping and sending you and trailer into the ditch or oncoming traffic at a high rate of speed.

And of course there's the bean counters saying "make it cheaper" and "let's make more profit"... So perhaps they cap the limit of the F150 to keep the F250 relevant. Though the price difference from a F250 to a F350 SRW kinda negates that.

solarity

I'm not saying that the F-150 has a weak payload, it is a "half ton" pickup that can tow well past "1 ton"/2000lbs. I am questioning if Ford is limiting the F-150's full potential as mentioned in the last part of your post, for the sake of keeping the F-250 relevant.

The whole half ton, 3/4 ton, and 1 ton are all misnomers from a bygone era. Hopefully one day we will stop using it. ><

I wonder if the 3.73 axles on the HDPP are rated higher than the 3.55.

SixShooter14

It's hard to say, I haven't personally compared the GAWR of them, nor have I compared the actual strength of each. Are all of the 3.73 axles 9.75s?

supposedly the 'new' 8.8s are "HD" versions. But I think still not quite as strong as the 9.75.

for a few thousand dollars I wouldn't think it would be too hard to test the torque limit and load bearing limit of each.

11screw50

I went from a 2011 4x4 SCrew 301A Chrome, Off Road, 5.0 w/36 gal tank to a 2015 4x4 SCrew 302A FX4 Sport, 5.0 w/36 gal tank.

I gained 413lb of payload. So with the 200lb reduction in GVWR, my new truck weighs 613lb less than my old one did.

From a towing standpoint, that additional 413lb of payload means potentially almost 3200lb more trailer (at 13% tongue weight).

The weight savings comes from a lot more parts than just the aluminum body.

The tow ratings are not that much different than they were with the previous generation and you can get a lot closer to them with the new trucks than you could with the previous gen before going over payload.

massspike

You are giving them too much credit...I think Ford just screwed up the F150s suspension for towing. They removed 700lbs of the truck's mass (probably without changing the center of mass), yet lowered the GVWR by 200lbs, upped the payload 300lbs, and upped the tow rating by 1500lbs...this doesn't add up (especially when they use the same shocks).

marshallr

I don't think so. F-150's are marketed toward a completely different market than the F250. MOST F-150 buyers are looking for a compromise in ride quality, cost, fuel mileage, carrying capacity, and towing ability. Most F-150 buyers are willing to sacrifice some strength for better ride quality and economy. F-250 buyers are willing to sacrifice ride quality and economy for strength.

If you go back and look at the specs there has always been a slight overlap between 1/2 ton and 3/4 ton specs. Not all 3/4 tons are equal just as all 1/2 tons aren't equal. But both will haul and pull more than ever. It depends on the individual truck and how it is set up. They can make an F-150 come very close to F-250 specs. But most buyers would just as soon go on up to the F-250. There is a lot more to the 3/4 ton trucks than the suspension. Almost everything is heavier duty.

11screw50

Lets see, my truck weighs ~600lb less than my old one, GVWR is down by 200lb and payload is up by ~400lb. Those numbers add up exactly to me.

Oh, and it towed my camper about the same as my old truck did to boot.

Velosprout

Ford limiting the F-150 for the sake of the F-250 payload wise? No. Ford has the best payload by far among any of the other competitors. Tundra, Ram, GM, and Titan have at best about 1900 lb max payload on their stripped-down work trucks, and the payload is then reduced from there with all the options. Are they limiting their 1/2 tons for the sake of their 3/4 ton trucks? Tundra and Titan don't even offer 3/4 ton trucks, Ram dealerships don't often stock 2500's in my area, and GM quit making the Heavy Duty Half in about 2008. In my opinion, it is the other way around. Since you can get an F150 new as a HDPP or a lower-optioned truck that has better gas mileage than a 3/4 ton, is cheaper, shorter, and has more payload capacity than many 3/4 ton diesels or the Titan HD diesel, the F150 is robbing sales from F250's and robbing sales from GM/Ram 3/4 ton and 1-ton trucks as well.

massspike

How heavy is your camper?

My 2010 could tow a nearly 500/5000lb TT without using a WDH (as it should have been able to). My 2016 can't even with its higher ratings.