Can my truck tow this?

valhalla360 wrote:

Terryallan wrote:

mkirsch wrote:

I'm skeptical what the "tow package" includes if your truck has 3.23 gears, by the way. A hitch receiver is not a "tow package."

Get your head out of the 1970's. The days of 3-speed transmissions and needing 4.10 gears to tow an empty wheelbarrow are long gone. This truck has an 8-speed transmission with a super deep first gear, and well spaced gears between there and the double overdrive.

Where you get the gear reduction is irrelevant, as long as you have it available. 3.23 is a perfectly fine towing gear.

Wonder why the engineers give the lower gears a higher tow package??? Just saying.

His last sentence covers the answer. If he's within the tow ratings of the truck it doesn't matter where the overall gear ratio comes from.

But if he is exceeding the truck ratings, that suggests the necessary gearing is not "available" and the only way to get that without upgrading the engine or chassis is a lower rear end gear.

Now of course, those ratings are assuming fairly tough conditions (climbing a steep grade in hot conditions), so if you are running on flat land, you may be able to cheat and get away with it but this is a different issue.

My contention is that a lower gear will give you a higher tow rating / capacity, and in fact the engineers back me up with their tow capacity numbers.
A 3.73 has a higher tow capacity / rating than does a 3.55. Why. Because the 3.73 can deliver more power to the ground at lower speeds.

According to the engineers. The idea that rear gearing no longer matters in towing is completely wrong. If that were to be true. It would not matter what rear gear was installed in the truck. They could be using 2.15 and tow the same thing. And we all know that isn't going to happen. I can tell you having just went from a 3.55 to a 3.73. there is a world of difference.

The honest truth is GM, and Ford put in high gears in most of their truck to meet the CAFE numbers mandated by the Gov. And in so doing make most of their trucks gutless. But for most customers that doesn't matter either. They are not going to use the truck to work, or tow. They just use them like a car. I have a friend that just bought a F150 with the EcoBoost, and a 3.15 rear. We were talking, and he told me. it has a low tow capacity. But he wasn't planning on towing anything any way. So it works for him.