2021 Ford F-150 Towing Numbers Released, Truck Wars Continue

by Tim Healey

Published: September 29th, 2020

2021 ford f 150 towing numbers released truck wars continue

The urination for distance competition (that’s a metaphor, and not literal, thank heaven) continues among the automakers who produce full-size pickups.

This time it’s the Blue Oval, firing a shot across the bow (or over the balcony, as it were), with the towing numbers for the 2021 Ford F-150 released today.

The Dearborn crew will announce today that the F-150 has a maximum available tow rating of 14,000 pounds and a maximum available payload of 3,325 pounds. Ford claims that the towing number is best in class, and a quick spec-sheet search seems to back that.

Additionally, the 3.5-liter “PowerBoost” hybrid setup will offer 430 horsepower and 570 lb-ft of torque. That latter number is the most ever in an F-150, says Ford. The 5.0-liter V8 and 3.5-liter EcoBoost turbo V6 get unspecified power bumps, as well, to 400/410 for the V8 and 400/500 for the EcoBoost, respectively.

“F-150 is the flagship of Ford’s dedication to building the best trucks and represents our commitment to not just meeting customer needs but exceeding them,” said Todd Eckert, Ford truck group marketing manager, in a statement. “With capability and functionality foundational to F-Series, the all-new F-150 not only tows more and hauls more than any other light-duty full-size pickup, it is built to surpass customer expectations with smart innovations that will make them even more productive every day.”

Expect Ford to market that towing figure heavily, complete with Dennis Leary voiceovers. Let the pissing contest continue.

[Image: Ford]

#2021FordF-150 #F-150 #Ford #FordF-150 #Towing #Trailering #Trucks

Tim Healey

Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.

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11 of 25 comments

OzCop on Sep 29, 2020

So where do these half ton PU tow ratings stop? Half the weight of the truck? I thought 12 K lbs. was a decent limit, but it seems they, all manufacturers, are indeed involved in a pissing contest, or perhaps a "mine is bigger than yours" mindset. Tow ratings aside, why does it appear that Ford for 2021 has all but copied the the 2019 Ram grille and headlight design...with the exception of the bar across the grill, take the name off and insert Ram...same look...

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Art Vandelay on Sep 29, 2020

Basically midsized specs

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- ToolGuy on Sep 29, 2020
  
  The current F-150 basically has a much higher tow rating and higher payload than the current Ranger. The current Ranger basically has the same payload as a 2015 F-150 XLT [the available payload ranges basically align neatly]. The peak sales year for Ranger in the U.S. was basically 1999 (over 348,000 units sold). That's basically a large number. Full-year sales for the Ranger in the U.S. were basically less than 90,000 in 2019. That's basically a big drop (in a 'normal' sales year). The Ranger basically grew a lot from 2011 to 2019. Basically refer to the "RANGER SIZES THROUGH GENERATIONS" table basically at the bottom of this page: https://www.cjponyparts.com/resources/ford-ranger-history#new Some people basically prefer the size of the older Rangers, based on: • Basically listening to their opinions, and • Basically comparing the sales figures
  
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- Art Vandelay on Sep 30, 2020
  
  @ToolGuy Preferring one form factor does not make it "basically as capable" as was argued in a prior thread. Not sure what the capabilities of five year old trucks bears on this decision other than that being basically new in your world.
  
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JustVUEit on Sep 29, 2020

So at what point do you buy an F-250? It's just getting ridiculous with what passes for a "half-ton" truck. If you need that tow rating just get an F-250. At what point does Ford reintroduce a "more affordable" F-100?

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- Mopar4wd on Sep 29, 2020
  
  They kind of do you have to order very specific packages to get these numbers and they are not always common on lots. I know one RV publication once did a search to actually find a f-150 with Max payload ratings and found only 1 or 2 trucks within 150 miles of their East Coast office. I have argued before GM and RAM should copy this practice, with different tire and spring rates to meet the higher payloads.
  
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- DenverMike on Sep 29, 2020
  
  They're just figures for comparison. You may tow 6 to 7,000 lbs frequently and the truck with the biggest tow numbers is theoretically better built or equipped to deal with or handle it. Or for the very rare occurrence you need the max rating in a pinch, short distance. It's the same with 0-60 times listed or bragged. No it doesn't imply anyone is going street racing their big pickups. Except it characterizes getting a heavy load up to traffic speed from a dead stop. Or pulling a hill.
  
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Mike-NB2 on Sep 29, 2020

My worry about this peeing match is that someone with no trailering experience could see that this has a capacity of 14,000 lbs and buy a MASSIVE travel trailer that is seemingly safe to haul because it 'only' weighs 12,000 lbs. The problem is the front and especially the side area of a trailer that would weigh that much. Even in light crosswinds and even with your anti-sway control locked in tight this thing would be a handful - and dangerous. Maybe the new F-150 could tow 14,000 lbs of gravel on a low trailer with little side area but I suspect that most people see the towing capacity and fantasize about heading down the road with their 37' travel trailer behind them.

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- Scoutdude on Sep 29, 2020
  
  Or they don't comprehend that it has tow ratings "up to 14K, when properly equipped" and see that as all F-150's are capable of that, including their base engine, MPG geared truck. Especially because the after market hitch the previous owner installed says it is good to 15K. I dealt with this with my idiot brother in law, who swore his truck had the "tow package" because someone had installed a cheap aftermarket hitch that said it is up to 10k. Of course who ever installed the 4 wire flat plug cheesed it with crappy connectors and a wad of tape.
  
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- DenverMike on Sep 30, 2020
  
  @Scoutdude The required F-150 for maximum towing (with Max Tow) is the 3.5 EB V6 XLT 2wd crew cab with the (longest) 6.5 ft bed and 3.55 gears. The most common F-150 on the lot is the 2.7 EB V6 XLT 4X4 crew cab 5.5 ft bed with 3.31 gears for a 7,600 lbs max tow rating (2019). The Silverado/Sierra requires LTZ trim (extended cab, 6.5 ft bed) and 4X4 to get the 6.2 V8 required for their max tow plus various other options and selections. It makes for fairly uncommon trucks otherwise, depending on brand trim/option manipulation.
  
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- DenverMike on Sep 30, 2020
  
  @DenverMike consumerreports.org/pickup-trucks/how-much-can-pickup-trucks-tow/
  
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