Eric M

Good luck. IMO, it's on you to buy a truck that can legally tow whatever it is you want to tow.

pjazz

I'm one of the lucky ones who bought a truck on a whim and got lucky on having something that will tow the trailer I want just under my maximum rating. It probably wouldn't of helped me because I wasn't browsing this forum before i bought it but maybe a sticky would help with the title of Read this before you buy a truck!

i2oadi2unnei2

Gonna follow this thread, should be informative regardless the outcome and I can only hope it favors on yours, go get'em!

acdii

You mean like this one? https://www.f150forum.com/f82/number...9/#post5446734

Pretty much covers it all.

scoobybri

I just ran into this issue a few weeks ago. I was cross shopping a Silverafo and an F150. The local Ford dealer had a few 2018s left over so I was negotiating for a good deal. When I mentioned the 9600lb tow rating of the Silverado and that this truck was being purchased as a tow vehicle, the salesperson scoffed and said the truck I was interested in with the hitch and 3.5L would outpull the Silverado. He said the towing rating for my 2018 XLT 3.5L Screw was 10700lbs. I bought the truck. After about a week, I was looking to verify the actual tow capacity of my truck as we were thinking about a bigger camper in the future. I kept seeing language like this in the owners manual and towing guide: "If you do not have a towing package, you can not tow more than 5000lbs." I had a class 4 hitch from the factory but it turns out, this is not considered a towing package.

I called Ford for clarification. Here's where the confusion lies. The towing options have different names in the owner's manual than in the towing guide and sticker/build sheets. Here is the info from Ford:

Option 53b is called the "Medium Duty Towing Package" in the owners manual. It is called the "Class IV Hitch" on the window sticker and Towing Guide.

Option 53a is called the "Heavy Duty Towing Package" in the owners manual. It is called the "Trailer Tow Package" on the window sticker and Towing Guide.

Option 53c is called the "Max Trailer Towing Package" in all sources: Owners manual, sticker, and towing guide.

In the owner's manual, it states that you are limited to 5000lb for towing unless you have the "Heavy Duty or Max trailer tow packages." That means that if you have the "Medium Duty Towing Package" which is option 53b, you can not tow more than 5000lbs, regardless of payload, motor, etc.

On the towing guide, it says that the required equipment you need to tow more than 5000lbs is the Trailer Tow package (53a) or the Max trailer tow package(53c). If you tow more than 5000lbs without either of those packages, you risk voiding your warranty. 53b, the "Class IV Hitch" option is not considered a "tow package."

So after clarifying this with Ford corporate, I walked back into the dealer a week and 700 miles later, ready for a fight. I got the salesperson and sales manager and told them that they sold me a truck that could only pull 5000lbs even though I had made it clear that I needed much more than that. The salesperson insisted he was right so I gave him and the manager all of the documentation. They told me to hold tight while they verified this. 15 minutes later, after I assumed they called Ford corporate for verification, the manager came over and apologized profusely, told me that they were wrong to sell me that particular truck, and were willing to take it back.He then set me up with a deal on a 2019 XLT with the 53c Max towing package. (They had no 2018s with a towing package) I was both surprised and happy that a dealer recognized their error and made it right. Very rare in the dealership world.

I am sorry to hear about your problem. Maybe they took my truck back because I caught the problem only a week after the sale. I only hope that either Ford or the dealer suck it up and give you what you thought you paid for. I'm rooting for you!

BTW, I hear you about payloads being the restrictive factor for towing. Yeah, the towing guide says that I can tow 12,700 lbs. But with my 1807 lb payload limit, once I load me, the wife, 3 dogs, gear, and consider the weight of my bed mat, tonneau cover, and trailer tongue weight, I'm looking more like 8000lbs trailer weight max. I come nowhere close to 12,700 pounds of trailer and 18,200 GVCW as stated in the towing guide.

762x51

@scoobybri

I really wish I had bought my truck from a dealer that would have corrected the issues I had like yours did for you.
Apparently the dealer I bought from cares very little about their customers - It's obvious that your dealer does care about their customers.

yokev

Unfortunately, Ford(and every other manufacturer) gives the specific info on all models, and every configuration of those models on the vehicles, on their website, and on the spec sheets they provide. Dealers also a lot of times make you sign a document stating that you understand that (in a nutshell) they are not responsible for anything told to you that wasn't also put in writing.
The first person who was mislead by a salesman was probably the first person to buy a motor vehicle from a dealer over 100 years ago, and if they caved every time a customer wanted their money back 'because the salesman lied to me', there wouldn't be any dealers selling motor vehicles on the planet. They know how to cover their asses here.
They'll likely make the point that if this info was so important for you, why didn't you access the correct information they provide for their customers in multiple places..
IMO the (probably unfortunately) slim hope you have, is judges(if you take it that far) look at things from the standpoint of a 'reasonable person', ie what would a 'reasonable person' do in your situation, and would said 'reasonable person' likely be mislead in the same situation.
If you can show that you acted along the same lines, you might have some hope.
The only other way I see you making out in this situation is if you can become such a RAGING PAIN-IN-THE-*** to the dealer, that it simply becomes worth it for them to rescind the deal to make you go away.
How much time has passed since you bought the vehicle?
Edit: I just re-read your post and saw that you bought the thing like 8 months ago.
They're not taking it back.

762x51

@yokev I had a health issue that started at the end of September and finally recently got to the point that I could re-concentrated on the problem.
My lawyer said the time span will make no difference as I have documents made by the manager, in his handwriting, that has incorrect info on it.
I have filed a complaint with the BBB and will wait to see if they finally do the right thing or not. If they do, then fine. If they don't then I'll see them in court.
There are several laws regarding misinformation that can be used in court against them.

pjazz

Makes you wonder if just selling or trading in the truck would be more cost effective than paying a lawyer.

Flamingtaco

Don't waste your time with the BBB. Many companies ignore them since they've turned into a protection racket.

I agree, if they filled out a sheet to determine your towing needs, and the numbers they used are wrong, it's on them.