Tow vehicles - maximum tow rating

[BDriver886]

@ 2Kwik4u
I drive commercially so I think commercially. Didn’t get ticket towing recreational boat, got it at work. Your right never have seen a highway patrol bother a recreational tow for weights. I suppose they could but not worth the effort or time.

 

[RobbieO]

We tow our 212x with an Explorer Sport with the 3.5 Ecoboost. I tow the camper with my F150 that also has the 3.5 Ecoboost. Zero complaints on how both perform. I am a huge fan of the Ecoboost platform and the Explorer tows the boat way way better than expected!

Nice setup, and a gorgeous lake to boot

 

[suke]

What axle do you have 3.55 or 3.31? I've had both axles and went with 3.55 from. There on out, max mpg was 20.

To the op @TY Farm

Think hard about getting out of your truck. I sold my boat and got out of the truck. I figured , hey I own a roll off company and I have a couple small trucks 5500 and 6500. I will just throw a 5 yard contrainer on and haul furniture. We'll I ended up buying another truck just to haul stuff. I paid a premium for the truck. You may get a premium. For your trade , but I would suggest you think hard and long before you give it up. We really missed the truck this ski season. We hauled more people and less stuff, since we did not have a bed to haul everyone's stuff.

Max tow comes with 3.55 electronic locking rear axle. Man I get nearly 20mpg in the city. LOL!

 

[Bluewater272]

that's the polar opposite experience I've had with my F150 ecoboost. Did yours have the max tow? I've towed near the 13k limit hauling a small-ish excavator a couple of times and that thing yanked it around like it was nothing. I can haul at 70mph and my trans doesn't shift out of gear 10 for nearly any hill. The gas mileage while towing has been respectable at 12-14mpg.

Depends on the gearing. I have the 3.31s in mine with the trailer tow package - it tows extremely well, but never sees 10th gear and hunts around quite a bit. Mileage is terrible because its almost always delivering a bit of boost. Love the truck, but I'd never get the 3.31s again.

 

[2kwik4u]

@2Kwik4u
I drive commercially so I think commercially. Didn’t get ticket towing recreational boat, got it at work. Your right never have seen a highway patrol bother a recreational tow for weights. I suppose they could but not worth the effort or time.

Thanks for the reply and clarification.

CDL licensed drivers are in a completely different conversation than recreational/civilian drivers. I would suspect if there ever is a case of "you should've known better" it would apply to a CDL licensed individual.

 

[Bluewater272]

I'm going to respectfully disagree here. Following words sound harsh and are aimed at the mentality of "you'll get sued" not you as a person.

I've yet to see/hear/read/been told/or otherwise shown where ANYONE has been cited, sued, or otherwise charged in an accident for being overweight. People cite this as an issue ALL THE TIME. I can't remember a tow rating question thread WITHOUT this being brought up, and I've attempted to find evidence on my own with no luck. Even found an article some years back with a lawyer being quoted to the effect of "It would be significantly hard to prove", and continuing that he would not pursue that avenue as simple driver negligence of poor driving habits would most likely get him where he needed to go.

Exactly. If they will pay a claim when you're drunk or speeding, they will pay a claim if you're overweight. Doesn't mean you should take that as a license to tow recklessly, but if you did, and crashed, they'd pay.

 

[2kwik4u]

Depends on the gearing. I have the 3.31s in mine with the trailer tow package - it tows extremely well, but never sees 10th gear and hunts around quite a bit. Mileage is terrible because its almost always delivering a bit of boost. Love the truck, but I'd never get the 3.31s again.

That rear ratio is such an important piece of the puzzle.

GM 1500 class pickups with the 5.3L engine, 6spd transmission and 3.08 rear gears are only rated to tow like 5,200lbs or so. It's absurdly low for a 1500 class pickup. Most people never know, or think, to check. I had to search far and wide to find the truck I wanted with the 3.42 gears (bumps tow rating to 9,200lbs).

 

[djetok]

Max tow comes with 3.55 electronic locking rear axle. Man I get nearly 20mpg in the city. LOL!

That's awesome suke

Exactly. If they will pay a claim when you're drunk or speeding, they will pay a claim if you're overweight. Doesn't mean you should take that as a license to tow recklessly, but if you did, and crashed, they'd pay.

I agree , I built my 2015 king ranch with 3.31 thinking hey , 21 foot boat it will be good. Horrible mileage. My '16 was spec'd with 3.55 and I stayed with that combo every year after.

 

[TY Farm]

that's the polar opposite experience I've had with my F150 ecoboost. Did yours have the max tow? I've towed near the 13k limit hauling a small-ish excavator a couple of times and that thing yanked it around like it was nothing. I can haul at 70mph and my trans doesn't shift out of gear 10 for nearly any hill. The gas mileage while towing has been respectable at 12-14mpg.

Without it loaded I get 23mpg on the highway with the cruise set at 73mph all day long.

It did have the max tow and I was getting 8-10 at best with a trailer. The transmission shift was what really bugged me. Also I was coming out of a f250 so I could have been hyper sensative. Overall I liked the truck in every regard except when I hooked anything up.

 

[TY Farm]

What axle do you have 3.55 or 3.31? I've had both axles and went with 3.55 from. There on out, max mpg was 20.

To the op @TY Farm

Think hard about getting out of your truck. I sold my boat and got out of the truck. I figured , hey I own a roll off company and I have a couple small trucks 5500 and 6500. I will just throw a 5 yard contrainer on and haul furniture. We'll I ended up buying another truck just to haul stuff. I paid a premium for the truck. You may get a premium. For your trade , but I would suggest you think hard and long before you give it up. We really missed the truck this ski season. We hauled more people and less stuff, since we did not have a bed to haul everyone's stuff.

I honestly don’t know which axel it was. I go out of the truck in 2018 after owning it only about 18 months.

 

[Bluewater272]

That rear ratio is such an important piece of the puzzle.

GM 1500 class pickups with the 5.3L engine, 6spd transmission and 3.08 rear gears are only rated to tow like 5,200lbs or so. It's absurdly low for a 1500 class pickup. Most people never know, or think, to check. I had to search far and wide to find the truck I wanted with the 3.42 gears (bumps tow rating to 9,200lbs).

Yep, still plenty of tow capacity on mine including 1700lbs of payload which is decent for a pretty well equipped supercrew - just likes to stay in 8/9 and burn about 9mpg while it does it.

 

[Elliott]

Rear ratios in the 3s - Ha! Toyota Tundra has a 4.30 rear; you have to go to a F450 to get a 4.30 (I think).

My Tundra tows my boat (when I trailer is a couple of times a year) and my 28 foot Travel Trailer (6,200 lbs. loaded, it is a Lance) like a dream - a good dream. When towing the RV, I get a very steady 9.5 MPG over a mix of expressway, main state routes and some country roads, and with its 38 gallon tank I have 300 miles of range with a 60 mile reserve.

I will end the discussion at this point. There is no reason to discuss non-towing mileage.

 

[Bluewater272]

Rented a Tundra when I bought my boat - that thing was a beast for towing. Too bad about the rest of the truck though

 

[2kwik4u]

Yep, still plenty of tow capacity on mine including 1700lbs of payload which is decent for a pretty well equipped supercrew - just likes to stay in 8/9 and burn about 9mpg while it does it.

1,700 is really good for a well optioned 4-door. My Sierra was in the low 1,500 range I think.

 

[suke]

Depends on the gearing. I have the 3.31s in mine with the trailer tow package - it tows extremely well, but never sees 10th gear and hunts around quite a bit. Mileage is terrible because its almost always delivering a bit of boost. Love the truck, but I'd never get the 3.31s again.

Oh yeah, you gotta get max tow. That way you get all the towing features. My favorite, though, is the 36 gallon tank.

 

[Elliott]

Rented a Tundra when I bought my boat - that thing was a beast for towing. Too bad about the rest of the truck though

Well, I like the Tundra best. Of course for me, the most important three words for any piece of equipment are: Ready For Service.

FWIW, I almost bought an F-150.

 

[rbarthur21]

I have a 2019 Expedition Max 4x2. Doesn’t have the Max Tow so it pulls 6,300 (Max tow is 9,000). Payload is just over 1,760. I only have a SX190 but it pulls like nothing and we love it.

 

[Matt Phillips]

Like others have said, look at where and how far you're going. There's lots of comments in here about boat weight, but remember that's only 1 part of the equation. For me, I look at it this way:
Boat = 4200lb
Trailer = 900lb (this is on the sticker on the tongue)
Fuel = ~300lb when full (I usually try to pull with less than a full load except for the last few miles)
Treasures in the boat= 1000lb (approx guess)
That's about 6400lbs.

My SQ7 is rated at 7700lbs, so I figure I'm at about 83% of towing capacity

 

[Ibeflyinhigh]

What are you using to tow your boat and is it close to the maximum rating?

I’m considering downsizing from my F-150 to a smaller truck or possibly SUV with a 5,000 lb tow rating. That is still more than the weight of my 21’ boat plus trailer, fuel, etc... but it is close.

Is anyone else in a similar situation and have you had any problems towing close to max rating?

I wouldnt drop below a half ton. You'll be unhappy. Fuel mileage on half tons has improved over the years no real reason to down size.

 

[BDriver886]

Agreed. I don’t really see an advantage to the midsize truck. They really don’t get any better fuel economy and aren’t all that much cheaper. Advertised fuel mileage and actual mileage are two different things.