There’s a new Heavyweight Towing Champion of the World.
Ford announced Monday a towing capacity of 32,500 lbs. for its revamped 2017 Super Duty, unseating former tow champion Ram 3500 by nearly 1,300 pounds. Maximum gross combined weight rating for truck and trailer now tops out at a class-leading 41,800 pounds. That is more than half the maximum weight of an 18-wheeler semi-tractor trailer combination on most federal highways.
“This is the best heavy-duty truck we’ve ever made,” says Doug Scott, Ford truck marketing manager.
Ford F-450 Super Duty SuperCrew 4×4 received a maximum gooseneck tow rating of 32,500 pounds while maximum fifth-wheel towing is increased to 27,500 – 2,500 pounds better than its closest competitor.
Maximum conventional towing is increased to 21,000 pounds, an uptick of 1,000 pounds than the nearest competitors’ truck and without the need for a weight-distributing hitch. Maximum conventional towing with F-250, with the all-new trailer towpackage, and F-350 single-rear wheel are increased to a class-leading 18,000 pounds.
Maximum payload of the 2017 Ford Super Duty F-350 is a class-topping 7,630 pounds. F-250 Super Duty gets a maximum payload of 4,200 pounds, it can haul more than 600 pounds over its nearest competitor.
Ford says its second-generation 6.7-liter Power Stroke V8 turbo diesel now delivers a best-in-class combination of 440 horsepower and 925 lb.-ft. of torque.
The standard 6.2-liter V8 now offers best-in-class torque among gasoline engines of 430 lb.-ft., with standard 385 horsepower.
Tech aids towing boost
For 2017, Super Duty becomes the first truck to offer adaptive cruise control and collision warning with brake support for heavy trailers, allowing truckers to traverse steep mountain grades while maintaining speed – even with a maxed out trailer load.
A center high-mounted stop lamp camera provides visibility into the cargo box, which is especially helpful when hooking up gooseneck and fifth-wheel trailers. An Ultimate Trailer Tow Camera System uses four digital, high-definition cameras to give the driver a 360-degree bird’s-eye view surrounding Super Duty. Trailer Reverse Guidance provides visual cues and tips to help ease backing up a trailer. A first-ever factory-available trailer camera can be custom-placed on a trailer to improve visibility backing up.
A segment-first in-cab trailer tire pressure monitoring system, accessible from the comfort of the cab while stopped or on the highway is also featured. Blind Spot Information System (BLIS) with trailer tow is optimized for Super Duty to include the length of the trailer up to 33 feet long; BLIS uses radar sensors in the taillamps to monitor areas that may not be visible to the driver.
