Pulling with 1/2 ton

gmckenzie wrote:


I love comparing my payload number to 3/4 ton diesels. I don't think I can out-tow them, but the payload on those can be real low.

In the 2019 models, you can buy an F150 with specs that state a 13k in conventional towing and 2,870 in payload. You can also by an F350 with 12,300 (7k less) in conventional towing and 2,910 (only 40lbs more) in payload.

Now, these are the extremes of both sides, and are likely rare configurations in each case, but the 'specs' of the 1/2 ton rival that of a full 1 ton in these instances.

Am I arguing a 1/2 ton is as capable as a 3/4 or 1 ton? Of course not! But badges don't mean what they used to!

Honestly, the more I think of this, it's starting to make me wonder if the 'stay within your numbers' advice (that I echoed earlier) is really sufficient anymore. But, that's a question for another thread.

Desert Captain wrote:
My SCab F-150 was rated for 8,600 max tow but my 5,600# 22' TT was alll that it could handle - it towed well but I was near or even at my max payload almost every trip.

:C

Odd... My SCrew F-150 EcoBoost has towed a 6500lb dry/7500 loaded Bullet Premiere 31BHPR, (31'), with a measured tongue weight of 940 putting me pretty much at the limit of the advertised payload just over 17000 miles in the last 4.5 years without incident. I've taken it through the Blue Ridge Mountains a few times and have no problem on the hills and sometimes, when windy - high wind warning to be accurate, the F-150 sway control kicks in which is a very benign incident where I usually just re-engage cruise and carry on.

Mickeyfan0805 wrote:
The more I've looked at all of this over the years (and in my own considerations moving forward), the more I've realized that the badges a truck wears are less and less meaningful to the average weekend camper. There are '1/2 tons' that are so decked out and blinged up they are barely capable of hauling groceries, and there are others beefed up to a point that their ratings rival many 3/4 tons. The same kind of ambiguity exists with 3/4 and 1 tons as well.

Look at your numbers. What is your payload, what is your GCVWR, what are your real weights (not dry or estimated), and how does it all line up? That's the best you can do, as you simply can't get good 'apples to apples' comparisons from one truck configuration to another.

I love comparing my payload number to 3/4 ton diesels. I don't think I can out-tow them, but the payload on those can be real low.

The more I've looked at all of this over the years (and in my own considerations moving forward), the more I've realized that the badges a truck wears are less and less meaningful to the average weekend camper. There are '1/2 tons' that are so decked out and blinged up they are barely capable of hauling groceries, and there are others beefed up to a point that their ratings rival many 3/4 tons. The same kind of ambiguity exists with 3/4 and 1 tons as well.

Look at your numbers. What is your payload, what is your GCVWR, what are your real weights (not dry or estimated), and how does it all line up? That's the best you can do, as you simply can't get good 'apples to apples' comparisons from one truck configuration to another.

"My 1/2 ton is rated to pull 9,400."

I suggest you think payload along with "pulling" everytime.

tls5150 wrote:
Thank you all for the responses!! My 1/2 ton is rated to pull 9,400. Was considering the new 1/2 Silverado with max tow package rated at 11,300. It is just DW and I nothing unusual as far as packing except two bicycles just struggling on what to do

I've got a 2015 max tow, payload is 2,015 as per the yellow sticker.

I ignore dry weight and use the gross trailer weight. My trailer gross is 8,200 lbs. Tongue is 1,040 (per a scale), or 12.6%. I wouldn't pull any heavier than this, as I do risk running out of payload. I don't have a topper as I don't want the weight. It's also just me, the wife and 2 small dogs and I rarely bother with a generator as I don't often dry camp.

Check the payload on what you are looking at. Based on the 12.6% I've got (and that is just specific to my setup), a 100lb reduction in payload would mean an almost 800 lb reduction in trailer weight I can pull. So if payload was 1800 lbs, I'd max out at about 6600lbs.

MitchF150 wrote:
Do all the math you want, but in the end, it's how you load it and what it weighs after all you load or do not load in it.

Yes. But when trying to determine how much "what it weighs" you can handle, or how much truck you need to buy, the math is your only gauge. Unless you trust the salesman when he says "sure, you can tow that with this truck."

Tweeeeet! OP! 2 minutes for signature vehicle doesn’t match the question vehicle! Let’s go...

I have yet to encounter any half ton truck that could actually tow at its rated maximum. The problem will be that you run out of payload long before you even get close to your max tow rating. Saw a Dodge Ram 1500 4 X 4 crew cab the other day that had 977# of payload... my Honda Ridgeline haas 1,577, go figure. :h

My SCab F-150 was rated for 8,600 max tow but my 5,600# 22' TT was alll that it could handle - it towed well but I was near or even at my max payload almost every trip.

:C

Should be fine. Those trucks tend to have 1700+ pounds of payload. 7500 pounds loaded, 950-1000 pounds TW. Get a good WDH with integrated sway control. Enjoy.