Are You Buying All These Half-ton Claims?

Which half ton are you all talking about?

Marketing badging is just that...Marketing...NOT specifications

These are all 'half ton' GVWR's and the best way to refer to any TV is
with their specifications (GVWR, GAWR, GCWR)...which many already do
when they need/want to be more specific or clearer on the topic

My Silverado is a C10 with the "HD" package (Big Ten marketing
nomenclature back then) and has a GVWR of 6,200

"half ton" GVWRs:

• 6,200
• 7,200
• 7,400
• 7,600
• 8,200
• Did I miss any?

They also come with these marketing nomenclatures:

• Heavy Duty
• HD
• Max Tow
• Big Ten
• Did I miss any here?

If these would help sell to the 'half ton' crowd: Super Duper, Extreme
Tow Package, Best in class (yes, it is the only one in that class),
King of the Hill, Mike Row package, NY Mets Special, etc, etc...

Oh, don't forget the number of lug nuts...but then this Ram 2500,
3/4 ton with a FIVE lug wheel setup is less than the current
'half ton' with SIX lug nuts...oh...there is a HD half ton with
SEVEN lug nuts...which half ton are you guys talking about again?

Betcha it's GVWR hasn't changed, and that the 'new' or 'current'
RAM 2500's GVWR is in the +8K GVWR

cekkk wrote:
"All-New F-150 Can Tow a Ram, a Silverado & Haul Two Hondas" Tows 12,200, claimed. (Ford Truck Enthusiasts)

I guess we can soon do away with our 3/4 & 1-tonners. In a couple years the capacity race will have them up to 20,000 lbs. :h

The modern 1/2 ton is as capable, or more so than the the 3/4 tons of old, like the the 1980's era trucks before they started the HD truck wars. No reason a 1/2 ton can't tow up to specs as long as the mfg builds it to that spec. The same is true with the 2500 HD trucks that are light years ahead of the old 3/4 ton trucks in terms of capability.

BTW, I had a 85 Chevy C-20 that was a total dog. About 1/2 as powerful and capable as my 1/2 ton Tundra.

JIMNLIN wrote:
Ford has advertised a 3100 lb payload for the older F150Hd 8200 GVWR models and now 3300 lb payload for the aluminum body truck.

Most F150HD folks may think they can carry 3100-3300 lbs in the bed ..WRONG !!!
Hell just simple math shows a F150HD with a 4800 RAWR may weigh say 2500 lbs on the rear which leaves 2300 lb payload before exceeding 4800 RAWR. The trucks rear axle/suspension now has a 800-1000 lb overload.

The payload sticker is a GVWR sticker which is derived from the front and rear axles.

A 3000 lb+ payload is in 3/4 ton truck arena with the 6000-6200 RAWR.

That 3300# Max Payload claim is for a 2015 4x2 RegCab with HD Payload option and 18" HD wheels. According to a leaked weight sheet, that truck has a rear GAWR of 4800 (just like the current HD Payloads) and a Min rear axle curb weight of 1840#. So your Max possible "rear axle payload" is 2957#. The other 343# to reach Max Payload should go on the front axle.

And of course these numbers are for a stripper model. Any options will reduce the Max payload and increase the Min curb weight.


With my 2011 F150 (non-HD Payload), I pull very close to the GVWR (7500#) and rear GAWR (4080#). (IMHO the truck's suspension and tires needed help doing this. The HD payload trucks already come with the heavier suspension and LT tires). My rig works well, and I wouldn't mind maxing out a 2015 F150's GVWR and GAWRs as well.

But I'm not sure that I would want to max out the Tow Rating.

As for bumper pull tow capacity, I suspect 12,000# with flatbed trailer loaded with bricks would be doable. But even there, with only 10% hitch weight, you would be overloading the hitch receiver, unless Ford has upgraded it from the current max 1150# rating for a WDH. Wouldn't want to try it with a bumper pull TT w/o upgrading the hitch receiver.

With a fifth wheel you could get around the bumper pull hitch rating and maybe put 2400# on the rear axle: doable with that 4x2 Reg Cab HD Payload truck. That would be 20% pin weight for a 12,000# trailer.

But at 12,000# you will be maxing out the F150's engine (along with everything else). Sort of like a Hemi 5.7 in a RAM 2500 pulling it's max of around the same 12,000#. For me at least, it would probably not be an enjoyable ride. My previous truck was under-powered and the constant gear-shifting to maintain speed drove me nuts.

For towing much over 9000#, I would opt for a stronger motor than what's available in the F150.

Groover wrote:

rhagfo wrote:
So now we have a much lighter TV "Capable" of towing 12,200#. I noticed the other day, that my combination 2500 Ram and 32' 11,000# wet 5er, I have more weight on the TV tires than the 5er!!
Far less chance for the tail to wag the dog, when the dog has some stature!

There are a lot of 5er's out there that weigh more than even a crew cab dually diesel. Are you saying that they are unsafe to pull with any pickup?

I'm pretty sure what he is saying is that if you have more than half the weight of the fiver on the trucks rear axle. i.e.- fiver weighs 11k, and there is 6k on the rear axle, and 5k on the fiver axles, the sway will be less. The truck rear axle's weight of course includes some of the truck and cargo as well. OTR trucks often load this way as well for better handling.

rhagfo wrote:
So now we have a much lighter TV "Capable" of towing 12,200#. I noticed the other day, that my combination 2500 Ram and 32' 11,000# wet 5er, I have more weight on the TV tires than the 5er!!
Far less chance for the tail to wag the dog, when the dog has some stature!

There are a lot of 5er's out there that weigh more than even a crew cab dually diesel. Are you saying that they are unsafe to pull with any pickup?

So now we have a much lighter TV "Capable" of towing 12,200#. I noticed the other day, that my combination 2500 Ram and 32' 11,000# wet 5er, I have more weight on the TV tires than the 5er!!
Far less chance for the tail to wag the dog, when the dog has some stature!

I certainly buy all the half ton specs. That's why I originally bought a 2010 F-150. However, back then, I didn't take into consideration trailer pin weight and payload capacity. I figured big tow numbers and such. So I upgraded trucks to what I have now because of the whole payload/hauling issue.

However, the newest Ford F-150 has been lightened and I believe still have the same 9.75" axle in the rear. That rear axle is rated somewhere around 4,500 to 5,000 lbs. It also still weighs as much as a 1980's single cab long bed 3/4 ton or 1 ton truck I believe. So as long as you're hauling and towing within the defined payload and trailer rating of your specific truck, I'm fine with it.

People get way too hung up on 1/2, 3/4 and 1T designations.
The lines between those are so blurred that they mean very little these days.
Modern 1/2 tons will blow the doors off old heavier rated trucks of yesterday. In part because they themselves are bigger and stronger in every way that matter, than those old trucks.

I had a new Ram 2500 Cummins back in 1993. People thought they could tow absolutely anything. Truth is it was only rated for 7500#. A number any modern properly equipped "1/2T" could handle these days.

I am going to get rid of my F350 and get me a new F150 EcoBoost MaxTow. It should be able to pull my 40' 5th wheel. I can add some air bags and should do OK with my 3700# pin weight.

Ken

Also, the only 1/2 I'd even consider towing 12k with is an F150HD, but even that's a stretch. Our 9k 5th was a good fit for it. Despite being right at the max for GVW and RAWR, it handled it very well. It seemed to do just as well as the F250 we have now and rode/handled a lot better while unloaded and loaded.