2015 Pickup Tow Ratings: Solving The Mystery, Part 2

Updated Jun 26, 2014

2015FordKingRanch_04 towingFinding Pickup Tow Ratings: Tracking Down The Great Secrets – Part 2

(Editor’s Note: This is the second of a two-part series on finding trailer towing specifications for pickups (and SUVs) on the vehicle manufacturer’s websites. For Part I, click here.

Every year business owners want to know what the towing capacities are for the new pickups.

It’s not for bragging rights.  

The information is important because of the liability issues that come with towing more than the vehicle is designed to handle, and/or towing without the vehicle being properly equipped for the trailered weight its pulling.

The majority of sales people have no clue what the actual towing capacity is for the pickups they sell.

Yes, they know the maximum towing capacity touted by the manufacturer. But that number doesn’t apply across the board.

That’s why buyer’s need to do the research themselves. That means going to the vehicle manufacturer’s website to scour through the towing/trailering information for their specific pickup(s).

Axle ratios, bed length, drivetrain configuration, and cab style all play a factor in determining maximum towing capacity. 

Finding tow ratings varies from manufacturer to manufacturer. Tracking down the data on some brands is more difficult than others.

FORD’S HIDDEN TOWING SPECS

2014 Super Duty RV & Trailering Guide has footnotes but no page “23” in the document to explain.2014 Super Duty RV & Trailering Guide has footnotes but no page “23” in the document to explain.

Ford towing specs are pretty easy to find. 

For example, the 2015 Super Duty requires just one click of the mouse to bring up a pdf that shows most of what you need to know.  

What isn;t shown is the meat of the trailering information story, which is when should the standard ball-and-shank hitch be replaced with a weight-distributing hitch.

The specifications shown have a number of footnotes that require reading their “14RV & Trailer Towing Guide” to find out what they mean.

One would think that very important pdf, which defines hitch limitations and tongue weights for all their models, would be listed under the “Brochures & Guides” section. It’s not. 

I scoured the Ford.com website and never did find a link to the RV/Trailer Towing guide. It was only through a Google search that it popped up. 

When it did, the most important  page (23) in the towing guide pdf that defines when a weight-distrubuting (W-D) hitch must be used when towing in “conventional mode” was missing entirely.

(In previous years Ford has required a W-D hitch on Super Duties when towing more than 8,500 pounds.)

 RAM TRUCK TOWING GUIDE

Ram Truck’s towing guide is filled with good information and it’s easy to find on their website.Ram Truck’s towing guide is filled with good information and it’s easy to find on their website.

 The manufacturer with the cleanest and easiest access to towing information is Ram Truck

You can access a variety of trailering/towing information pages directly  from the home page, from selecting axle ratios and cab configurations to trailer load balancing and  driving basics. Each well illustrated with good animations and videos. 

Likewise, Ram Truck’s Towing Guide is laid out for fast access to whatever model you are researching. 

At the bottom right of the main page is a box where you can select either 2014 Ram 2500 or 2014 Ram 3500 to bring ups  detailed pdf showing payload and trailer capacities for each configuration. 

The 2015 Ram towing guide will most likely follow the same information path. 

 So if you are researching the next addition to your pickup fleet, do a little web surfing on the trailer towing aspects before making the final decisions on how the truck – or trucks – will be spec’d out.