What is the weak link for Chevy max tow ratings?

It could be argued that by increasing the tow rating to a number most customers will never use actually increases the reliability of the truck while towing at the lesser numbers that most people do need. If you think about how to make something more reliable, the first thing that comes to my mind is make it stronger.

I've been very pleased with the reliability of my '12 Power Stroke with 163k miles and almost 7 years old. To date I've had to replace the Nox sensor, all EGT sensors, and passenger side hub all after 100k miles. I had one emission recall flash performed and no safety recalls to date. My engine, transmission, and differentials are all bone dry. Front suspension still has the factory alignment with only replacing the shocks twice.

I consider my Super Duty to be a very economical truck to own.

Having said that I wouldn't mind stock 500HP and 1,010 ft/lbs of torque under the hood. :B

mich800 wrote:

Lantley wrote:

Viperpoker wrote:
GM, Ford, and Ram should listen to some of the people on this forum. It looks like they could sell a lot more trucks if they followed some of the advice found here. Apparently too many dummies buying trucks for the wrong reasons. I wonder why GM, Ford, and Ram can’t figure this out? If only one of them would go back to something like 2013 model capabilities, most everyone would buy it and the other two would probably go out of business. Such a simple plan.

Also, those 57 Chevy’s were probably the best car ever. Too bad I can’t buy a new one, it was absolutely the peak of automotive technology, downhill ever since.

If you think the big 3 have it all figured out in terms of what consumers want you are dreaming.
The big 3 get it wrong all the time. There are features,colors, and entire lines that don't sell. They are constantly gambling on what consumers really want. Chevy went from teasing Ford about their tailgate step. To trying to revolutionize the tailgate. Dodge/Ram could not be out done, so they came produced their own evolved tailgate. It's a monkey see monkey do world...LOL
As a consumer I'm not interested in any of the new $1,000.00 new fangled tailgates. I prefer the basic model I have. But once again, the big 3 apparently knows better.
How about option packages? None of the big 3 are actually interested in what I really want. Instead they tell me what packages I can have vs. letting me pick my options as I see fit..:h.
I guess I should consider myself lucky the Big 3 have it all figured out for me:S

I pretty much agree with most except this

"None of the big 3 are actually interested in what I really want. Instead they tell me what packages I can have vs. letting me pick my options as I see fit"

They indeed know what you want. And that is why it is buried in a package. If you want that feature you must pay for the entire thing not just that one option.

Good point. I'm sure it's more profitable to mix a little of what I don't want in with what I want.:(

Lantley wrote:

Viperpoker wrote:
GM, Ford, and Ram should listen to some of the people on this forum. It looks like they could sell a lot more trucks if they followed some of the advice found here. Apparently too many dummies buying trucks for the wrong reasons. I wonder why GM, Ford, and Ram can’t figure this out? If only one of them would go back to something like 2013 model capabilities, most everyone would buy it and the other two would probably go out of business. Such a simple plan.

Also, those 57 Chevy’s were probably the best car ever. Too bad I can’t buy a new one, it was absolutely the peak of automotive technology, downhill ever since.

If you think the big 3 have it all figured out in terms of what consumers want you are dreaming.
The big 3 get it wrong all the time. There are features,colors, and entire lines that don't sell. They are constantly gambling on what consumers really want. Chevy went from teasing Ford about their tailgate step. To trying to revolutionize the tailgate. Dodge/Ram could not be out done, so they came produced their own evolved tailgate. It's a monkey see monkey do world...LOL
As a consumer I'm not interested in any of the new $1,000.00 new fangled tailgates. I prefer the basic model I have. But once again, the big 3 apparently knows better.
How about option packages? None of the big 3 are actually interested in what I really want. Instead they tell me what packages I can have vs. letting me pick my options as I see fit..:h.
I guess I should consider myself lucky the Big 3 have it all figured out for me:S

I pretty much agree with most except this

"None of the big 3 are actually interested in what I really want. Instead they tell me what packages I can have vs. letting me pick my options as I see fit"

They indeed know what you want. And that is why it is buried in a package. If you want that feature you must pay for the entire thing not just that one option.

Viperpoker, I still think you either do not fully understand what I am saying or you are trying to argue with extremes.

I am not saying that Ram(or any other make) should never upgrade their trucks. In fact I am saying the opposite. I believe that the manufactures should strive to make continuous improvements to trucks for safer, more reliable, and efficient towing. And, if they see a considerable amount of customer demand warrants upgrading the truck to increase ratings then I am for that as well. That is money well spent and a good ROI for both the manufacturer and the consumer.

However, there is a huge difference between upgrading a truck(and it's cost to the consumer) to make it better for your customers to meet actual demand versus doing so just to win a "best in class" pissing match especially when you are having quality issues at the current tow ratings. That is a waste of their money and an unnecessary cost increase to the consumer when it could have been better spent elsewhere to increase the reliability or efficiency of their trucks. All the money they spent to go from a 30k tow rated truck to a 35k tow rated truck is a poor ROI for both Ram and and vast majority of their customers.

Viperpoker wrote:
GM, Ford, and Ram should listen to some of the people on this forum. It looks like they could sell a lot more trucks if they followed some of the advice found here. Apparently too many dummies buying trucks for the wrong reasons. I wonder why GM, Ford, and Ram can’t figure this out? If only one of them would go back to something like 2013 model capabilities, most everyone would buy it and the other two would probably go out of business. Such a simple plan.

Also, those 57 Chevy’s were probably the best car ever. Too bad I can’t buy a new one, it was absolutely the peak of automotive technology, downhill ever since.

If you think the big 3 have it all figured out in terms of what consumers want you are dreaming.
The big 3 get it wrong all the time. There are features,colors, and entire lines that don't sell. They are constantly gambling on what consumers really want. Chevy went from teasing Ford about their tailgate step. To trying to revolutionize the tailgate. Dodge/Ram could not be out done, so they came produced their own evolved tailgate. It's a monkey see monkey do world...LOL
As a consumer I'm not interested in any of the new $1,000.00 new fangled tailgates. I prefer the basic model I have. But once again, the big 3 apparently knows better.
How about option packages? None of the big 3 are actually interested in what I really want. Instead they tell me what packages I can have vs. letting me pick my options as I see fit..:h.
I guess I should consider myself lucky the Big 3 have it all figured out for me:S

GM, Ford, and Ram should listen to some of the people on this forum. It looks like they could sell a lot more trucks if they followed some of the advice found here. Apparently too many dummies buying trucks for the wrong reasons. I wonder why GM, Ford, and Ram can’t figure this out? If only one of them would go back to something like 2013 model capabilities, most everyone would buy it and the other two would probably go out of business. Such a simple plan.

Also, those 57 Chevy’s were probably the best car ever. Too bad I can’t buy a new one, it was absolutely the peak of automotive technology, downhill ever since.

IdaD wrote:

Cummins12V98 wrote:

ShinerBock wrote:
No, I just expect that if I pay for a truck that MSRP'ed over $64k that I would not have to keep taking it to the dealer all the time for recalls, doesn't have missing bolts/nuts in various places, and doesn't thinner metal parts than its competition. I honestly don't think that is too much to ask and would rather have a reliable truck that is rated to tow 17k than a unreliable "upgraded" one that tows 35k even though I will never tow that much. A 35k tow rating is worthless to me and most light duty truck buyers. Ram should have spent the time and money fixing these errors instead of chasing a "best in class" title.

Has your truck EVER left you along side of the road?

Yes. On a remote freeway towing the camper home from the coast. It was 100 degrees and my wife and daughters had to wait with me for about 3 hours beside the freeway for a tow truck. It was a good time. That water pump was replaced by another bad one, and the new good one just went in a few weeks ago. Shortly after that dealer visit I learned that I need to go back again for another recall.

These are great trucks but they have a serious problem with excessive recalls. If I were buying one of the newest diesels it would be a Duramax.

Interesting discussion. For the record the best discussions on this forum are often those that stray off topic. I think it's often enlightening when the discussion strays. Let the discussion run its course, wherever that takes us is fine, as long as the discussion stays civil.
I just purchased a 2019 Duramax yes I missed out on the recent upgrades the 2020 models will have, but honestly I'm not trying to keep up with the power wars. I have no plans to to a 20K GVW trailer.
The 2019 will meet my current and future needs.
I can agree with ShinerBock and IdaD that reliability is a bigger priority than ability.
I ended up going with the proven Duramax platform strictly based on drivetrain reliability. I deliberately went with the end of the era of the 6 speed transmission. Because I did not want to be a tester for
the newer platform. My prior 07 Duramax dually had 300K on it and was also the end of era. I know what the 6 speed tranny is about, I also know it can reliably fulfill my current needs and haul the weight I need. I do not need to be on the bleeding edge of ability, especially if the leading edge potentially compromises reliability or introduces the guinea pig factor.
More power is not what I am looking for in a truck. More reliability and more efficiency are more meaningful/desirable criteria for me.
I am by no means suggesting everyone go out and buy a 2019 Duramax,
there are lots of great truck out there and we all have different needs and requirements.
I am suggesting that despite what the marketing departments want us to believe, there is a lot more to consider than just having the truck with the highest ratings.
By the way....the average consumer and car salesman doesn't truly understand the ratings and what they really convey.

Cummins12V98 wrote:
Plain and simple if RAM sat back and did not increase power and capability they would soon be non existent plain and simple!

I have to disagree, and sadly it is only the people why care about such useless figures that get heard by the manufacturer.

Cummins has been behind GM and Ford for a long time in horsepower ratings yet people still buy them. Why? Because they have(had?) a reputation for reliability versus the others. How many people here have said that they will never buy a failure prone CP4 pumped Dmax or PSD regardless of power ratings over the years? How many people have said the only reason the buy a Ram is because the Cummins engine even though they know it made over 25-90 hp less than the competition for many years?

Toyota is another example. Toyota/Leuxus vehicles are behind many of their competitors in regards to tech, power, and capabilities because they use proven and reliable tech yet people still buy them. Why? Because they have a reputation of dependability.

Idad above is considering a Dmax on his next truck. Why? Because the dependability of his truck is not what he thought it would be and does not meet his expectations. He picked a Cummins because out of all the truck that are rated to tow what he needs to, the Cummins had the most reliable track record regardless of if another truck was rated to tow more or had higher stock power levels. Which goes to my point, if Ram focused on making their truck more reliable and efficient instead of trying to win a pissing match, then it probably would make more customers happy instead of just a few fanboys who care about such useless things.


Why do people stick with a brand? Is it because of their highest tow rating in a truck configuration they will never own or because of their reliability?

Why do people leave a brand? Is it because another brand has a higher tow rating in a truck configuration they will never own or is it due to unreliability?

This is why I say that if Ram(and other makes) would focus more of their time and money on making their trucks more reliable instead of winning pissing matches, they would probably please more of their customers instead of a select few fanboys. Besides, if a customer flip flops their truck buying decision on who has the highest tow ratings each year, is that really the kind of customer that you want?

Plain and simple if RAM sat back and did not increase power and capability they would soon be non existent plain and simple!

I have been more than happy with my 15 towing 33-35k and just driving it around.

Saying that i am seriously thinking about buying a 2020. I will have about 75k on mine with a warranty to 100k and will get a premium price for it.