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Totally truck challenged here, so how.......


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9 hours ago, ford-boy said:

are the various numbers for trucks determined?  This one tows 6800 lbs, that one tows 7500 lbs.  This one hauls 1450 lbs, etc.  What is the formula or metric that yields these numbers?   Do the manufacturers just pull a number out of their hat?  

 

I believe its determed by powertrain vs weight of the vehicle. I remember from my introduction to tank recovery classes back when I was in the Army, that towing anything that weighed more then your vehicle normally was very bad thing going downhill because it would push you down the hill with it or jacknife. I believe having brakes on a trailer for example, helps with this to a point.

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10 hours ago, silvrsvt said:

I believe its determed by powertrain vs weight of the vehicle. 

That's part of it.

The wheelbase, engine, axle ratio, driveline configuration, and payload rating all factor into it. Trucks can actually safely tow loads with significantly higher mass than the truck itself--f'rinstance, you can get an F150 that's rated to tow around  twice its weight.

The usual limiting factor in half-tons (F150, etc) is the payload rating. If you have a 1,000 lb payload rating, once you get 600lbs of  dad, mom, and three teen/tween kids in the truck, plus 100lbs of their junk, that leaves you about 300lbs for the tongue weight of the trailer, which means you can only safely haul about 3,000 lbs of trailer, although your truck might be rated to tow quite a bit more.

It may not be rocket science, but it's not sticking a wet finger in the air, either.

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It’s interesting that pickup models are still referred to as 1/2 ton (F150), 3/4 ton (F250), 1 ton (F350) when in reality the new Ranger is actually somewhere between a 3/4 ton and 1 ton in payload capacity. The F-Series models are way above their classic designations and have been for a VERY long time.

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