Towing Compared to Ram 1500 EcoDiesel, Part 1 - 2015 Ford F-150 Long-Term Road Test

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Towing Compared to Ram 1500 EcoDiesel, Part 1 - 2015 Ford F-150 Long-Term Road Test

We break down, in installments, some of the differences between towing with the 2015 Ford F-150 and its Ram competitor. In this installment, we look at which truck is more stable when towing a heavy load.

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prndlol

Curious showing, and I have to wonder if the development time and money spent to engineer the aluminum body siphoned money away from other areas of the Ford, including not just the interior but driving dynamics as well.

bm10

Saw this, thought I should comment and registered here.... Enjoyed the hammer hitting on the f150 and has made me check in from time to time and enjoy this sites write ups.

With that I would encourage you tester to read over the tow guides and such of these vehicles that you are using, testing and reviewing. If you get into the tow guides you will see that the manufactures recommend/required/guidlines load distribution hitches for trailer weights over 5k and with tongue weights over 500 lbs on these modern halftons. Also it is probably on a weight capacity tag on the hitch itself. Also in those fine prints of the guides and owners manuals it pretty much will lay the responsibility in mishaps on the operator at the time of the mishap if something should fail. IE hitch breaks, axle failures, tire failures.

By the looks of it the ford appears extremely overloaded on the rear axle and going back reading the article on the Ram with this load the trailer was said to be 6000+ lbs in that review of towing with the ram. Which by the pictures in this review it doesn't appear to have a load distribution setup on either truck. Both trucks will pull better, safer and you won't have the complaint about headlights or sag in a truck or everything mention for the most part as a negative. Also all the factory sway controls and features and overall experience pulling a trailer will be much approved. By the looks just from the pictures there is no doubt you had a negative experience towing as it sits.

It does take a commitment, additional expense, and time to follow manufacture guidelines but it is in the best interest of safety.
If that trailer and car and knaack box on it is under 5000lbs then continue on and disregard what I have said as it wouldn't apply unless you are over 500 lbs of tongue weight... Happy safe towing and do enjoy your reviews.

agentorange

There is way too much weight on the rear of the F-150 in those pictures. Maybe it felt more stable because it was sitting on the bump stops. As for adjustable or self leveling headlights, they would be great, but the DoT does not allow them in the US in case 1) they fail and direct light upwards or 2) drivers would adjust the lights themselves (gasp!). The USDoT is so clueless about vehicle lighting it's frightening.

s197gt

i have adjustable headlights on my cx-9 specifically for towing. there is a little switch that allows 3 (i think) manual settings.

also, there are many adaptive headlights (e.g. on our bmw e90) that adjust automatically headlights up and down and turn the lights when going around corners.

escape23

Does this F-150 have the required trailer package for towing over 5,000 pounds? That would decrease the stability if you don't have this package as it adds a stabilizer to the truck.