No Go for Standardized Tow Ratings


Can you trust the tow ratings on today's pickup trucks? Automakers are pushing back against standards that would make towing capacity more reliable.
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Can you trust the tow ratings on today's pickup trucks? Automakers are pushing back against standards that would make towing capacity more reliable.
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That's why I read this site.
Good Morning Dave...
My V-8 Toyota 4-Runner has a decal on the hitch that reads. 7200 tow cap. / 750 hitch weight cap or 1100 hitch weight cap with a weight distribution hitch.
The new 2014 Tundra's I have looked at don't say anywhere on the vehicle what this vehicle will tow as it sits.....
Towing capacity is determined from GCWR by subtracting the weight of the truck, any added aftermarket equipment (camper shell, step bars, roof rack) and all of the people and things you put in the cab and bed of the truck. It's what's left over after any and all things that boost the truck's weight are subtracted out. If you knew your truck's GCWR you could weigh your loaded and peopled truck and figure out how much you had left over for the trailer on a given day.
So even though SAE J2807 finally makes tow ratings more comparable they are STILL best-case maximums. For sure, that best case is now more reasonable: SAE J2807 defines the maximum tow rating for advertising purposes using two people instead of one, using common options instead of a stripped truck. But the bed remains empty. If your truck is loaded with every available option, or if on a given day you carry more than two people and have stuff in the bed then your actual towing capacity will be lower than the advertised figure. That reality has not changed.
Also, numbers stamped on a hitch are not always indicative of the truck's tow rating. Such components may be rated higher than the vehicle itself -- and in fact they should be so they are not the weakest link in the chain. In any system, one much look at the vehicle's GCWR and tow rating (with loaded vehicle weight accounted for as described above), the hitch frame rating, the ball mount rating and the ball rating and use the LOWEST of these as the amount that can be towed with that set of equipment. If your truck is rated at 5,000 pounds and you have a 7,500-lb hitch, you can tow 5,000 pounds.
Twitter: @Edmunds_Test
Well this certainly causes a problem then, doesn't it. If the manufacturer wants to sell more high profit pickup trucks they can underrate their SUVs and sedans to force you to "upgrade" to a larger vehicle. What kind of a spec is that? The manufacturers need to follow the SAE spec and test their vehicles to the maximum limits - not just a minimum that allows them to up-sell you into a high-profit-margin truck.
And there's so many idiots towing with too much weight, no chains (or chains incorrectly attached), mismatched ball/hitch combos, non-functional lights, dry rotted tires, you name it -- the states should really require a license endorsement before letting people hook anything up to their car and truck.