Ford advertising falsely or Not

[CUMMINZ]

I'm not picking on Ford but the tone of the ad can be applied to info on all trucks



Let's don't argue the exact numbers, just the tone of the advertisement. Ford is running a towing advertisement for their new F-350 Superduty. Praising their new towing in dash gismo that helps them control trailer brakes. It shows an F-350 with a trailer of 19,500# in a mountain pass coming to a safe stop in front of a road work crew. I am sure the big new 350 is all it should be. That is not the question.



It has always been my understanding that the advertised capacity of any towing truck (Dodge, Ford, GM, etc. ) (GCVW) was weight of truck, trailer and all cargo. Most 2500/3500/250/350 trucks now have about 10ton GCVWs.



Ford in their ad states in a human voice the trailer the 350 is towing is 19,500#s. What gives?

 

[rbattelle]

You must be watching the same channel I am because that commercial just played.



First off, I think it's actually 19,200 lb. They are not false-advertising. If you read the fine print, the only vehicle that can tow a 19200 lb trailer is a stripped-down regular cab F-350 DRW with 4. 3 rear gears and the 6. 0 diesel. It would appear that the 4. 3 gearing is what gets the vehicle to a 26k GCWR. Here's

a link to the Ford specs page.



It must be equipped with the "Tow Boss" package, whatever that means. So the truck they show in that commercial, which is a 4-door F-350 dually, is NOT towing 19,200 lb. I agree that it's rather misleading because your average Joe looks at that and says "wow, I can tow all that weight and bring along the whole family!".



A truck so equipped wouldn't be pleasant to drive regularly. Imagine that engine SCREAMING along at 70 mph on the highway with 4. 3 rear gears.



-Ryan

 

[robertyoke]

they should show a tow truck towing the truck up the grade when the 6. 0 lets a rod go through the block. :-laf they do have a tow package with 4. 30 gears for that tow rating. the ratings keep going up and up. Dodge 3500 recommended gcvwr is 23000 w/4. 10 gear.

 

[CUMMINZ]

towing

OK is that 23k total combined weight or just weight of trailer?

 

[RottnDogue]

I thought I saw on the small print disclamer at the bottom of the ad was Tow rating 14 and change, but have been waiting to see it again. .



Darren

 

[rbattelle]

OK is that 23k total combined weight or just weight of trailer?

GCWR = Gross Combined Weight Rating. It's for the truck and trailer. I believe the vehicle's brakes determine this rating more than the engine... someone correct me if I'm wrong.



-Ryan