Your sentiments are tantamount to saying I don't know that a Mustang GT 500 with the Track Package is a better handler and performer than the garden variety 5.0 GT because I haven't driven the 5.0 GT.

I'm saying to you...it is better!!

I know the HDPP is better at handling and towing a heavier travel trailer than the Max Tow , and you should prepare to argue that it's not...tell me why its not.

There is nothing about the MT that would render it a more capable tow vehicle for towing a travel trailer than the HDPP, but everything engineered in the HDPP makes it better a towing than the MT.

There are few Max Tows you could even hitch up my trailer to, and jump in the driver driver's seat without coming close to maxing out...1,250lbs baby!!

For a 1/2 ton, this trailer is the heaviest you would want to go, and the longest you would want to get, and it handles and tows it very well.






Go to that Fast Lane Truck, and watch how the Max Tow bobbed and bounced in that IKE tow vs the Titan...soft suspension.

I bet the HDPP would have won that IKE tow-off with the Titan.

After how the HDPP handled my trailer during that long 9.5 hrs tow in that Nor'easter and high wind advisory a few weeks ago, I'm definitely confident in the truck.

 

This is why the HDPP tows better under heavy load
1) stiffer front spring
2) stiffer front sway bar
3) stiffer shocks F and R
4) additional rear overload leaf
5) thicker frame
6) stronger rear axle
7) 3.73 gears

If nothing else, a HDPP will tow a trailer better because when your 1900lb payload max tow is maxed out on GVWR, my HDPP still has 500lb of payload remaining. Period. You are maxed, porpoising down the highway and I am just engaging my overload spring with plenty of load to go.

Lou

 

Let’s run the numbers on a trailer. My HDPP has a payload of 2333 (Lariat 500a) and a GCWR of 17500.

Let’s tow a 11,000lb trailer. Tongue weight is 13% or 1430. Guess what? We’re both overloaded already! 1320 on the hitch.

So 10,000lb trailer at 13% is 1300lb. Now that “max tow” rating already means diddly squat, because our hitch can’t tow a travel trailer heavier than 10k.

My HDPP has 1000lb payload remaining. Your max tow XLT, with a payload of around 1800 (don’t forget those 20in wheels are heavier, reducing payload over the slightly less GCWR max tow), now has 500lb payload left.

Im 200. Wife 150. Kids x2 100lb. That’s 450lb. Your max tow XLT has 50lb left. My HDPP has 550lb. And this is with a 10,000 trailer! 13200lb trailer my ***!

Your max tow XLT is bouncing down the load maxed out on GCWR, and my HDPP has 500+lb to spare. I can bring my motorcycle! You can bring a bicycle.

That is the difference, and that is why the “max tow” is a scam advertising piece. In the real world, my HDPP can tow more, and do it better. It’s science, and numbers.

Lou

 

Maury the best direct comparison of the two trucks exists right in the Ford towing guide. When the GVW/RAW is increased on the HDPP trucks the TWR is significantly reduced. If it was not reduced then I would agree with you. The only advantage the HDPP has is the small increase in stiffness that would raise the lateral natural frequency. The only time the coupling between vertical and lateral stiffness interact is when the combination hits critical speed.

 

The TWR rating is inflated to begin with unless you are towing hay bail trailers. My HDPP TWR is 11500 and I could tow almost every pound of it with GVWR payload to spare! Max tow can’t even get close.

 

Hmm My truck may have been maxed since it is a 6750 GVWR, but once it was properly set up, it does not porpoise, and tows just as well as your truck does.

Look I have nothing against the HDPP, but it is NOT meant as a better tow truck for conventional towing, Period, and the tow guide states it! It has the same ball rate as any other Max Tow truck, but a lower GCWR and TWR, and ANY F150 Max Tow that has available payload can tow just as well. To tell someone that they MUST have an HDPP to tow a conventional trailer is false when there are plenty of trucks on the lot that have payload to tow most travel trailers just fine.

Then you have those who have the HDPP and think they have a Superduty and tow beyond the trucks physical limits and one day that limit will be reached and hopefully they can handle it without taking themselves or someone else out.

Just remember this, your HDPP weighs the same as an equivalent XLT until you load it past 7050 GVW, and then you only have another 800 pounds. It is still a Light Duty truck no matter how you look at it. If you need something that tows heavy and is not a fifth wheel, you are much better off getting a Medium Duty. The difference is night and day when towing conventional between the two, and I can guarantee the Superduty will tow much better than the daunted HDPP.

The point I am making is, if the OP can't find an HDPP and doesn't want to wait for an order for one, there are still choices available on the lots in the XLT that can do the job he wants. If he can find an HDPP, great, but there are other choices available in case he can't find one.

When I shopped for the POS 2016 in Jan of 2017, there were 2 5.0 XLT Sport trucks on the lot, the one with the hockey stickers and console shifters. Both had payloads well over 2000 pounds. They were nicely equipped, and I had considered buying one of them, but wanted the leather seating and went with the Lariat instead. They were also the 6.5' beds, and would have made excellent tow vehicles. So, yeah, there are trucks out there with plenty of payload to get the job done if an HDPP can't be found.

 

im a truck driver, i have pulled it all! i have 2 million miles towing.
i have a 2002 scsb f250 v10 4x4.
i have a 2019 f150 xlt 4x4 crew 6.5 box 4x4 5.0L.
i just traded in a 2017 crew 5.5 box 4x4 ecoboost, it was not horrible towing either.
my trailer loaded for the season is getting near 10k.
the trailer bumper to tongue is near 38 ft.

my 250 is 142" wb, my 150 is 157" i believe.
i was amazed how well the f150 tows my camper!
its all about the wheel base!
wheelbase is your best friend when towing!
the longer the wheelbase of the tow vehicle, the better u can pull a long trailer.
because i only tow my camper 80 miles twice a year, i went to an f150 for better mpgs.
with either truck, u aint going very fast towing my camper!
tail wags the dog quickly above 55 mph. be smart, slow down, see the sights.
keep your weights smart. if you get in a hurry you will regret it!

when i tow with the f150 i have to use the reese equalizer hitch,
on the f250 i drop it on the ball and go.
the tongue weight is a non issue to the f250.
but the f150 wont sway as easily cause its longer.
i have a summer seasonal site, and a winter seasonal site.
if i towed long miles often, i would need a cc dually for my camper.
its just way too long, and a horrible towing camper!

when i tow out in the spring, i will run across the scale and get an accurate weight.

 

The bottom line is, the Max Tow can't handle this trailer like the HDPP can, and the truck has over 1,100lbs of payload left after dropping 1,250lbs on the hitch, aND hitched ip, it sits level.

And yes, the HDPP does have a thicker frame, and stiffer suspension



Thicker frame...case close.

Super cab w/8ft box Max Tow (HD) is the only Max Tow configuration that share the frame with the HDPP. 😊

 

Are you saying Ford did some sort of head to head test? The HDPP rating pre-existed the current Max tow rating and is similar to if not the same as the max tow rating without the 20" wheels. There is no reduction in TWR with HDPP with increased GVW/RAW. Rather Ford came out with a specific model (with the 20" wheels") and tested it to a higher tow rating after the HDPP and non-20" wheel Max tow ratings were established. Are you saying the Ford tested the other configurations to the higher limit and they failed? Or might it be clever marketing not put the highest tow rating on the HDPP if you are trying to limit sales due to CAFE?

Regarding max tow vs HDPP towing... it really should not make much difference if the trucks are the same WB, weight, and weight distribution. While the HDPP will support the weight better (less sagging less bobbing), the point at which sway would start given identical trailers and hitch set ups should be virtually identical. The vast majority of max tows are the 145" WB SCREW which will not tow as well as an HDPP due to 1. less lever to counteract hitch forces 2. less favorable weight distribution. With the 145" WB, the difference in weight distribution compared to the 156" wheel based gets even worse as you loaded it because the cab is closer to the back wheels and the center point of the bed is behind the rear axle.

It's funny how much we argue about what can tow what. We rarely talk about how many people we load in the cabs and loading people in the cab can have a big benefit to towing stability. If you're at your hitch limit with a Max Tow, you can't put much in the cab. With an HDPP the whole family, tools, luggage and basically anything else you can fit can go in the cab. All the weight in the cab with a cab that is already further from the rear axle than the vast majority of max tow only F150s will have a material impact on towing stability. But with just a driver, I don't see there being any real difference between a 156" WB Max tow only versus HDPP for towing stability.

 

Maury - what's the date on that last chart that you show. I ask because some have round that they have the HPP sticker on their frame with other configurations of non-HDPP trucks. Ford did beef up the Max tow rear spring packs and frame in 2018 and that could possibly mean that they simply gave it the same frame as the HDPP.

Can someone with a 2018+ Max Tow non-HDPP SCREW check their frame sticker? I'm wondering if the only differences are front and rear springs, axle tubes, shocks, wheels & tires.