I have tried to resolve an issue with my 2012 Platinum that I bought about a month ago. When I purchased it, it had the usual manuals that comes with a vehicle. However, I did not have the Window Sticker nor the Build Sheet. I went to my local Ford dealer and got these from that source. I thought that I was a happy camper after securing this information, but, as I studied the details, I found that no towing package of any kind was mentioned on the window sticker. I still wanted the truck with the thought of adding a tow package later.

Now comes the interesting part. As I studied the build sheet it shows my truck as having a heavy duty tow package. There are other items on the Build Sheet that are supportive of a HD Tow Package, but I know that these items can come with other equipment packages. I do not know how this came to be. I am hoping that some of you with a better understanding of the Ford system could explain this anomaly and pull me out of the ditch (Pun intended). I do not want to spend money later for something that I already have. Thanks guys/gals.

 

Here is the 2012 brochure.
https://www.ford.com/services/assets...stalCode=17406

Platinum comes with lariat features plus. One of the lariat features is the basic tow package. You should also have a trailer brake controller as it is standard on the platinum.

Max tow comes with the big tow mirrors. That would be one of the easiest ways to tell, although those are easy to change too. Either way it would be listed as max tow package on the window sticker.

 

My truck which is 2011 has trailer brake control, extending tow mirrors, 6 speed auio and manual shifter,
back up camera that you can see hitch a heaver trailer hitch then my buddies f150
and it was built with tow package hope this might help you out

 

I think the easiset way to tell is if it has the 2nd trans. cooler, in front of the radiator.

 

I do not think the big tow mirrors are included in Max Tow Package. They were not in 2018.

 

 

 

As mentioned, for 2012, everything above an XLT came standard with the tow package. If you are looking at the build sheet on ETIS, the heavy duty tow package is the regular tow package. Then there is the Max tow package. I'm not sure where else this terminology is used, but it can be very confusing.

By that logic, a 78 F150 didn't come with a big V8 or solid axle because 2018 didn't.....For 2011-2014s (not sure about older than that), the max tow package included tow mirrors for US trucks (optional for Canadian trucks). Also, the 2018 Max Tow doesn't included an increased GVWR like the 11-14.

The HD tow package is the regular tow package, not the max tow. Most definitive way to tell if a truck has the max tow package is by the GVWR. Max tows will be around 7600-7700 GVWR

 

Regular (aka HD Tow) VS Max tow hitch differences shown below. The quickest way I've found is the safety chain hookups on a max tow truck will be pointed rearward towards the back of the truck, while the regular tow they are slanted (see pic)

 

OK, 06screwlariat, where did this information come from?. I would hope off of a 2012 Platinum like mine. My hitch has the safety chain connections pointing rearward like the ones that you say are for MAX trailer tow. Now we have one vote for MAX trailer tow and one vote for HD tow. The polls are still open folks.