Towing a TT

With my TT and F250 I've been right at Max payload before, but well under my axle ratings and tow ratings. Maybe because it's a Diesel but the truck handles and pulls/Stops excellent. I set the cruise at 65 and cruise for hours, we even pulled off a 13 hour day last year. If the truck was constantly shifting or I actually have to drive it over every hill then it would be a different story. I guess what I'm getting at is, depending on the truck towing at max ratings could be fine or exhausting.

It may not fly apart, but it will wear out faster, no question if your consistently working it hard.

I have found that if i don't exceed 80% of the tow rating with the trailers gvwr, ot makes for a good towing experience with pleanty of margin left. Others don't mind being that close to the max. That's their choice.

Moved from Forum Technical Support

Lwiddis wrote:
"The engineers really did do their job. And you have to know. The tow capacities are pretty conservative"

Show me something from GM, Ford etc. that says their tow capacities are "conservative" and by inference that you can safely exceed their tow capacities.

Simple really. That is what they warranty it to do. If the ratings were close. they wouldn't warranty it. Not going to set themselves up to fix a lot of trucks towing too much. Working in the automotive field. I see it every day. They back off max tolerance.

And yes you CAN safely exceed their capacities. Because they are ONLY for warranty. I don't say do it. but you can, and your truck will not fly apart..

"The engineers really did do their job. And you have to know. The tow capacities are pretty conservative"

Show me something from GM, Ford etc. that says their tow capacities are "conservative" and by inference that you can safely exceed their tow capacities.

Sandia Man wrote:
It goes without saying that the closer a towing combo is to being maxed out the less desirable the towing experience. Towing comfort while underway is different from one driver to another. Some have no qualms pushing the limit and are plenty happy with their results, after all they got to where they were going. Others go to the opposite extreme to have that feeling as if they weren't towing at all, their choice, their money.

Actually this did need to be said. Yes, you can tow right up to 100% of your rated towing capacity. But I can tell you from experience of doing this with 2 different trailers and TVs that it's perfectly safe and won't hurt the TV, but it's certainly not the best towing experience. I like the 80% rule myself. More often than not the 80% rule also keeps your payload in check as well.

It's really true. The engineers really did do their job. And you have to know. The tow capacities are pretty conservative. The ratings are more for warranty than anything else, as in. The weights are what the company warranties the truck to tow with out hurting it. IF it would hurt it. they would lower the weights,. Because they don't want to fix it free.

"Those 80 percent rules of thumb are for people who can't or won't do the math on payload and axle ratings."

Unfair assumption, KD. I've done the math and choose to stay at 85% or below...TT weight, tongue weight and TV payload.

Weight is not the sole factor. I would run up to 100% of rating if the trailer has fairly low frontal area and total length. Wind resistance at hwy speeds is huge, and a light but long TT will handle worse than a short heavy one.

You can tow right up to the ratings. Those 80 percent rules of thumb are for people who can't or won't do the math on payload and axle ratings.
With my diesel dually I often tow my equipment trailer above the tow rating with no oroblems.