I'M DISGUSTED! New ford boasts 24,500 lb Tow Capacity!

[EArp]

I noticed the other day that the new F450 boasts a 24,500 tow capacity! When I looked at the comparable Dodge 4500 I thought for certain that it would be competitive, however, I nearly BARFED when I noticed that the Ford has it beat by 6,050 lbs! Any comments???

 

[HBarlow]

I noticed the other day that the new F450 boasts a 24,500 tow capacity! When I looked at the comparable Dodge 4500 I thought for certain that it would be competitive, however, I nearly BARFED when I noticed that the Ford has it beat by 6,050 lbs! Any comments???

Yes, I have a coment. Ignore Ford's claim. It means nothing in practical towing terms. It is nothing more than numbers hyped in a product brochure. It does fool some buyers who have no understanding of the products or the challenges involved in towing heavy.



I've said this several times before. Travel the interstate highways of the US and a very large and noticeable majority of those who are performing commercial towing with a dually pickup are using Dodge Rams. You often see them pulling huge tandem axle dual wheel flat bed trailers with gross combined weights of 30,000 pounds and more. It has been that way for years. There are several TDR members doing it. It is rare to see a Ford doing heavy commercial hauling.



Read the MDT and HDT forums of the escapees website. It is a free forum primarily populated by full time RVers. Many pull very large fifth wheels with MD trucks or HD trucks but have commented on their dissatisfaction with a previously owned Ford F-450.



If I owned and pulled an 18,000 to 20,000 lb. fifth wheel I would buy and be very confident in towing with a new Dodge Ram 4500.



No Fords for me.



Harvey

 

[EArp]

Thanks Harvey. My uncle drives a ford. He was the one who pointed out the 24k tow capacity, and as a result has not let me live it down as of yet. I always remind him though, that my 07 2500 is rated to pull at least a couple thousand more pounds than his 06 F250... haha!

 

[HBarlow]

Yep, and it will keep on doing it for years after your uncle's 6. 0 Ford is sitting on the back row of a used car lot or in a salvage yard.



Harvey

 

[MA2LA]

Also I believe that dodges ratings are lower simply for leagle reasons

 

[EKlem]

The dodge's ratings are based on a 26k GCWR. The reason that they kept this down is most likely wanting to stay away from CDL's. The fords have a GCWR well over 26k but it means a lot of extra licensing and insuring hassles if you want to be legal. Look at their GVWR's and you will notice that they are very similar.

 

[SNiebaum]

The dodge's ratings are based on a 26k GCWR. The reason that they kept this down is most likely wanting to stay away from CDL's.

Like Kansas...

 

[Simplysmn]

ford may say they can pull that much but how long will the POS under the hood last doing that compared to a dodge

 

['strokeThis_'07]

Its all in how you interpret the data. You can skew a test of anything to make it come out how you want to make yourself look better. See, Ford has to make these claims to sell trucks. Dodges trucks sell themselves. You see Fords commercials, with an F150 rolling out the back of a cargo plane and stopping it. Or being spun by the front tow hooks. Or hanging upside down. Yadda yadda ya. Dodges commercials, and there arent nearly as many as Fords, just show the truck doing what it does best-pulling a trailer or hauling stuff at a construction site. Nothings hyped-up. They dont need to have fancy crap in commercials or the first two pages in a mag to convince people to buy the Dodge trucks.



Sorry, kinda off topic, but kinda on too... :-laf

 

[RDyson]

Ford= Yuppie truck

Dodge= Working mans truck



Randy

 

[HBarlow]

Its all in how you interpret the data. You can skew a test of anything to make it come out how you want to make yourself look better. See, Ford has to make these claims to sell trucks. Dodges trucks sell themselves. You see Fords commercials, with an F150 rolling out the back of a cargo plane and stopping it. Or being spun by the front tow hooks. Or hanging upside down. Yadda yadda ya. Dodges commercials, and there arent nearly as many as Fords, just show the truck doing what it does best-pulling a trailer or hauling stuff at a construction site. Nothings hyped-up. They dont need to have fancy crap in commercials or the first two pages in a mag to convince people to buy the Dodge trucks.



Sorry, kinda off topic, but kinda on too... :-laf

Seems right on topic to me and all very true.



Harvey

 

['strokeThis_'07]

Haha, I thought I might have kinda rambled off a bit; got in the zone.



Really, none of these "best of" "best in class" "awarded such-and-such-award by so-and-so" impresses me. Yes, Dodge does do that to a point, but think about the manufacturer that does that the most... Ford. And the two that have the commercials where they "prove" that theyre the best, like the ones I previously mentioned, are Ford and Toyota. Toyota has the ones with the cargo container that gets dropped off the side of a cliff, and the Tundra stops it and pulls it back up. Or the one with the swinging things in the air.



The hyped-up claims and the showy commercials just tell me that you have to really work to convince people to buy your product. Not that I really like commercials, but the ones I prefer are the understated ones; hauling feed out to pasture. Pulling a horse trailer to the rodeo. Haulin equipment to the jobsite. Stuff like that shows how the truck is used in the real world.



Not complaining, just kinda the way I see it. So the fact that Ford prints more payload or hauling-capabilities doesn't faze me, and really you shouldnt be disgusted. Its all sales propaganda. They HAVE to claim the highest/most/best... Ill settle for the under-stated truck with no glitz or "glamour" added that I KNOW can and will do whatever I want or need it to do...



Sorry for the long posts:-laf

 

[DCreed]

Remember the commercial when they dropped a Dodge from the ceiling? I loved that one!

 

[EGroeneveld]

Haha, I thought I might have kinda rambled off a bit; got in the zone.



Really, none of these "best of" "best in class" "awarded such-and-such-award by so-and-so" impresses me. Yes, Dodge does do that to a point, but think about the manufacturer that does that the most... Ford. And the two that have the commercials where they "prove" that theyre the best, like the ones I previously mentioned, are Ford and Toyota. Toyota has the ones with the cargo container that gets dropped off the side of a cliff, and the Tundra stops it and pulls it back up. Or the one with the swinging things in the air.



The hyped-up claims and the showy commercials just tell me that you have to really work to convince people to buy your product. Not that I really like commercials, but the ones I prefer are the understated ones; hauling feed out to pasture. Pulling a horse trailer to the rodeo. Haulin equipment to the jobsite. Stuff like that shows how the truck is used in the real world.



Not complaining, just kinda the way I see it. So the fact that Ford prints more payload or hauling-capabilities doesn't faze me, and really you shouldnt be disgusted. Its all sales propaganda. They HAVE to claim the highest/most/best... Ill settle for the under-stated truck with no glitz or "glamour" added that I KNOW can and will do whatever I want or need it to do...



Sorry for the long posts:-laf

I am playing devil's advacate here so hear me out.



Yes, but Dodge is missing the people who buy trucks based on the commercials and the weight ratings. For the less educated consumers who are thinking of a 18k pound toy hauler or large horse trailer with living quarters they are going to pay attention to the stated rate capacities. Think voided warranties for towing above capacities and being sued because you wipe out a young mother with three kids in a minivan, because your towing more then the manufacturer states you safely can. The rating are there for a reason. What would you say on the witness stand? If I was the insurance industry I would be looking into all my customers who towed beyond their rated capacity with their trucks. Are we sure its not already in the fine print?

 

[TFucili]

Why not just offer different GVW/GCWR packages? Then people who are worried about licensing issues could pick the package they want, and heavy haulers could pick the package they NEED. Even if it is just "badge engineering", everyone would be covered. It would be a little like heavy truck horsepower ratings, where they take the same basic engine and you "pay to play" for the rating you desire and the warranty to go along with it.

 

[HBarlow]

Why not just offer different GVW/GCWR packages? Then people who are worried about licensing issues could pick the package they want, and heavy haulers could pick the package they NEED. Even if it is just "badge engineering", everyone would be covered. It would be a little like heavy truck horsepower ratings, where they take the same basic engine and you "pay to play" for the rating you desire and the warranty to go along with it.

It would be nice. I wish Dodge paid a little more attention to us, their loyal truck buyers.



I studied a new Ford F-450 pickup on a local dealer lot recently. The frame and suspension appeared identical to a new F-350 sitting beside it. I think what Ford has done is simply add 19. 5" wheels/tires, larger brakes(?), a 4. 30 differential, possibly stiffer spring pack, and F-450 badges to a standard F-350 pickup and call it an F-450 pickup. It is clearly not on the same frame and suspension as an F-450 cab and chassis which many Ford buyers believe it is. It's actually a pretty good idea.



I wish Dodge would do something similar with their 3500 pickup. I would have bought one in a heartbeat if it had stronger suspension than my current '06 but not as stiff as the 4500 cab and chassis. The big brakes and 19. 5" wheels/tires would have been great.



Harvey

 

[EArp]

Is the engine/hp rating also the same in the F450 and the F350?

 

[Yo Hoot]

Travel the interstate highways of the US and a very large and noticeable majority of those who are performing commercial towing with a dually pickup are using Dodge Rams. You often see them pulling huge tandem axle dual wheel flat bed trailers with gross combined weights of 30,000 pounds and more. It has been that way for years. There are several TDR members doing it. It is rare to see a Ford doing heavy commercial hauling.

Harvey

I noticed the exact same thing on vacation trips. Chevy Duramaxes pulling 5th travel trailers, some Ford duallies pulling horse trailers but the majority of the big commercial loads had Dodge Cummins pulling them.

 

[HBarlow]

Is the engine/hp rating also the same in the F450 and the F350?

Good question. I hadn't paid any attention and had to go pull out the free Ford brochure. The answer is yes and no. Hp and torque are downrated for the manual transmission and also for the automatic with 4. 88 gears.



The claimed hp and torque for F-250/F-350 are 350hp/650tq. A tiny numeral 1 in the F-450 column leads back to a note which says the engine is governed at 325hp/600tq for F-450 with manual 6 speed or F-450 with "Fordomatic" and 4. 88 gears.



I guess the other way to answer your question is for the F-450 with automatic and 4. 30 gears it is the same as the F-350 pickup.



Harvey

 

[EArp]

This may be a little off subject, but I found this article that you guys may have read and found it to be very interesting. Here's the link InlineDiesel.com