^ I've often used that same verbiage when someone tells me, "Well...the guy at the camper shop said it was half-ton towable"...meaning it REALLY should be towed with a 3/4 ton. My wife and I had this same argument/discussion a couple of years ago when she was hell-bent to get a camper.

 

More likely max axle weights will get exceeded long before total payload numbers. My payload is 1732, but the room available on the rear axle is only 1300. Tongue weight of 900 gave me a 1280 rear axle weight increase with no bars installed because of the leverage advantage that the hitch gives.

 

That max axle rating can be deceiving as well. The sum of the truck's GAWR is higher than the GVWR. People think that the 2 GAWR's is the trucks real max weight rating, thus increasing payload.

 

Tow rating is simply to application specific to be a useful number. I don't really see a way to have one that covers both the people that put 600 lb worth of options, 1,000 lb worth of people and 15% tongue weight on a truck and the 150 lb guy with an XL 100A hauling a load of brick with 10% tongue weight. The first tends to overload his truck and the second gets shortchanged because Ford has to include every option that has a minimum 33% market penetration.

Just abolish tow ratings. Put a GVWR and GCWR on the window sticker and door placard. That way nobody is mislead and they know exactly how much the truck and combination can weigh.







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If you will look at the Ford towing selector brochure.
In red over the the chart
“Towing capability will be reduced based on trim series, option content and payload
See dealer and reference “eSourceBook” Job Aid “Spec’ing F-Series Trucks for Towing”
But wait there is more.
Notes: • Calculated with SAE J2807 method.
• Do not exceed trailer weight of 5,000 lbs. when towing with bumper only.
• Trailer tongue load weight should be 10% of total loaded trailer weight. Make sure vehicle payload (reduce by option
weight) will accommodate trailer tongue load weight and weight of passengers and cargo added to towing vehicle. Addition of trailer tongue load weight and weight of passengers and cargo cannot cause vehicle weights to exceed rear GAWR or GVWR. These ratings can be found on the vehicle Safety Compliance Certification Label.

https://www.ford.com/cmslibs/content...F150_Oct25.pdf

Ford is not misleading, its just some folks are lazy and don’t read. Almost as bad and the over generalization that happens here......a lot ...really.

For how I tow, I run out of towing capacity first. My family and dogs don’t ride with me when the goose is hooked up or pulling the pintle trailers.

 

Payload is such a number of focus because on most F150's its the easiest and first number to bust.

We cant base the general recomendations on the rare XL 100A HDPP 2wd regular cab with 2900 lbs payload.
Most of us are in the ballpark of 1500-1900 lbs, and it seems ~1750 is common on an XLT 302A Screw 4x4. Mine is 1535 being a 2.7 EB.
A family of 4, with all the crap they want to bring on the camping trip(coolers, food, wood, chairs etc) CAN eat up half of someones 1750 lbs payload. Its going to eat up over 800 lbs anways..
Hook up a 8,000 lbs travel trailer with what is bound to be around 1,000 lbs tongue weight and you stand a good chance of being overloaded.

Payload is less of a discussion when trying to do the same thing with most Superduties.

 

Edit: (If you’re going to pull a trailer) Who is going to load up the bed when they can load the trailer? The only thing in the truck should be the passengers and snacks for the road.

 

Thanks for this, you put some good effort into the story.

 

On the 2018 Tow Selector it also doesn't show any restriction for 53B in foot notes. It list it as a towing package ane It only says 53A or 53C required for 5th Wheels. It does have a 5,000 lb restriction for trucks without any towing package on one page. Whether that's related to the lack of receiver or not is anyone's guess.

Anyone that looked at the 2018 Tow Selector could have easily bought a truck with the 53B package without being aware of the 6,000 or 7,000 lb towing restrictions in the Owner's Manual.

 

Again, you have to read. The information is there.

https://www.fleet.ford.com/cmslibs/c...VTTowGuide.pdf