Ford F150 Towing Capacity
- When configured accordingly, the 2020 Ford F150 towing capacity is up to 13,202 lbs.
- This is similar to the Ford F150 towing capacity for 2019 and 2018 (13,189 lbs.)
- And higher than the 10,500 lbs for the model 2017 of the same Ford F150.
Thus, the towing capacity of the Ford F-150 is 13,200 lbs. when properly equipped.
That maximum towing capacity is obtained through an F-150 XL SuperCrew® 4X2 matched with the 6.5-foot bed, the 3.5L EcoBoost® engine and the available Max Trailer Tow Package.
- In this article, I explain to you how to reach the best configuration to allow this maximum Ford F150 towing capacity
- The configuration for reaching these measurements is the 3.5 L Eco Boost V6 engine. It has a rating of three hundred and seventy-five horsepower and a torque of 470 lb.
Determine the Ford F150 Towing Capacity In Your Case
First of all, do not attend what the dealer will tell you. Instead, always follow the User Manual documentation.
In your particular case, your towing vehicle can be different from the standard specifications of the manufacturer and you have to determine in your case the Ford F150 towing capacity that corresponds.
In the driver seat, in the jam of the front door, there is the driver side, you will find the tag provided by the manufacturer. There is in this label or tag, an acronym present that represents the Gross Combined Weight Rating or GCWR. GCWR is the aggregated weight of the towing vehicle + the towed recreational vehicle.
You have to proceed to the loading of the towing vehicle with all the passengers and the cargo. Drive to a truck scale, such as the certified automatic truck scale at CATS and with the weight, you will certify the GVW (sum of the curb weight + fluids + gear + cargo + passengers).
After this, proceed to a subtraction of the Gross Vehicle Weight (obtained at the scale) minus the GCWR manufacturer declared: the result of this subtraction, represents the amount that the RV can weigh.
Ford F150 Towing Capacity: Pros And Cons
As I have an F-150, I decided to inform you which are the features that I consider most important in this vehicle. This is not a review of all the attributes but oriented to the analysis of the Ford F150 towing capacity, transmission, hitches and engine.
If you are in this article, it is because you want to know about this 2020 Ford F-150 with the newest generation engine and the new 10-speed transmission.
I do a lot of towing with my vehicle in fact 40% of my miles are towing a trailer. In that time, I have developed some pretty strong opinions both good and bad about this truck and I am going to share them with you right below:
- Dashboard information: I really like the information that is available about your trailer not only can you track which trailer you’re hauling and how many miles that you have on it. You can also perform system checks that will tell you if you have a light out. It will tell you exactly which light set has the malfunction. You can run through a checklist as well.
- Transmission and engine: One of the most important things to check is how well the transmission works with the engine. You have to notice in the driving responsiveness that you feel in your hands, in the dashboard (see the RPM) and in the sounds of the engine, that the truck is not struggling to perform the towing.
- The Ford F150 towing capacity makes me feel that I always have power available when I need it, despite towing a heavy travel trailer. The transmission and engine work in harmony. I cannot complain about this engine and transmission combination I think they’re phenomenal. No matter in which gear I was, the throttle was always responsive and made me feel in power.
- Tow haul mode: The button that triggers this mode is not well located in my opinion, because it is down low on the left side of the shifter. Despite this, the tow-haul mode is exponentially better than any transmission I have ever driven before and I know about five or six of similar trucks. It changes the shift points, it changes slightly the power delivery lightly as well. Notably, the tow-haul mode accommodates engine braking. This truck knows if it is pointed downhill, uphill or on a level and will thus change the engine braking depending on that. If it senses that I want a little bit of braking and I happen to be going downhill, it starts dropping those gears really aggressively to use the engine to help slow the truck down and avoid that the brakes get hot. If instead, it is going uphill, very little if any engine braking is applied. So this tow-haul mode is a really smart system that works just so much better than anything I have ever utilized.
- Solid axle leaf spring suspension: Underneath the truck, I do not like the solid axle leaf spring suspension. Even Dodge has a cool springer rear end which quite frankly is still outdated but why don’t we go full independent something like the Chevy Avalanche or the Honda Ridgeline? both deliver a ride that is are superior to this and they support cargo and trailering loads better.
- Location of the safety chains: Ford decided to put the location for the safety chains way up underneath the truck. If I go to the back, I have to reach way up underneath the truck to even begin to get to where you attach these chains. If you are an older person with maybe some knee problems or back problems, it is difficult to go down on your knees to be able to reach the place to insert the safety chains, instead of leaving them close to the pin. You will not see this unless you are literally on your hands and knees with your head upside down looking way up under the truck.
- The Pro Trailer Backup Assistance feature. This trailer backup assists feature, it is like this. It really only does one thing, and it does it well and that straightens a trailer and holds it straight. Everything else you still have to use your brain for just like you would do without this functionality. It does neither work the brake, nor the gas. It does not keep you from hitting anything, it does not provide you additional sensors to make the driving awareness easier.
- You still have to be looking in both mirrors and do everything as you normally have to do plus you have to learn how to speak the language of this knob that is the trailer backup assistance feature. If you already know how to back up a trailer this is more confusing than just backing up a trailer. that being said, it does do one thing, and it does it very well: keep the trailer straight. In particular, if you have a trailer that is small, maybe it is, really low to the ground, or really narrow so you cannot see it with the mirrors, then you will see it with this assistant. This applies if you are towing a jet ski in a narrow trailer. As we are towing huge fifth wheels and travel trailers, this feature is not quite useful for us.
- Mirrors: now this truck just has standard mirrors on it. The visibility sticks out a lot farther than the truck. I think they did a good job of picking the size of these mirrors. They are very functional, without being very long.
Conclusions And Best Configuration
So if you are looking at ordering a new truck right now it is kind of confusing. Currently, a 3.5 liter EcoBoost is one of the best options as the Ford F150 towing capacity is the best for trucks of this type. This recommended option has a crew cab with six and a half footbed.
The length of the bed is very important as basically what that six and a half footbed provides you with a longer wheelbase and that increases the tow rating for the vehicle.
So this configuration from Ford we have just described is how they achieved their class-leading tow rating with a gross combined vehicle weight rating of eighteen thousand four hundred pounds (18,400). This means that the truck and the trailer together can weigh a total of eighteen thousand four hundred pounds.