J2807 SAE towing standards

spud1957 wrote:
Apparently when Ram upgrades their trucks and increase the payload/towing capacity, it's obvious why. When another manufacturer does it and uses the same test standards as Ram, it's fairy dust, and they make up their ratings.:S

Actually, for the 1500 it is more like Ram upgraded the truck to meet the tow ratings it had. For example, in 2011 a Ram 1500 crew cab 4x2 5.7L 3.92 with a 5-speed 545RFE was rated to tow 10,200 lbs. Then in 2012 they upgraded the transmission to a 6 speed, but the tow rating for the very same truck decreased to 10,150 lbs. Then in 2013 with the addition of a slightly more powerful Hemi 5.7L, stronger frame, and a new 8 speed transmission the rating increased to 10,300 lbs. The ratings stayed the same for 2014. Now, in 2015 with the J2807 standards the tow rating only increased 20 lbs to 10,320 lbs. So basically they upgraded the truck from a 5 speed to an 8 speed, gave it more power, and upgraded the frame in a span of 4 years just to get an increase of 120 lbs.

They just upgraded the truck to meet the tow ratings it had so it would not take a hit when they finally went to J2807.

It is a bit of a different story with the 2500 Crew Cab 5.7L with a 4.10 rear end. In 2011, it had a tow rating of 12,100 lbs. In 2012, they upgraded the transmission from a 5-speed to a 6-speed and the tow rating increased to 13,960 lbs. The same tow rating carried over in 2013. Then in 2014, (one year before they adopted the J2807) the tow rating decreased to 13,510 lbs. Then when they adopted the J2807 in 2015, they got to say that the tow rating didn't change from the 2014 non-J2807 tow rating to the 2015 J2807 tow rating of 13,510 lbs. From the way it looks they either made the tow rating changes before 2014 or upgraded the trucks to meet the J2807 tow ratings when they adopted it in 2015.