Ask 13 Things Before Loading or Trailer Towing

Buying a truck involves finding out what you want, your preferences and ensuring the truck specifically meets your needs for loading and trailer towing. Ford trucks will satisfy a wide range of needs as there are a wide range of choices. However, this flexibility can make it challenging to choose the right truck from a vast array of models, packages, powertrain combinations and individual options.

Ask 13 Things Before Loading or Towing

There are factory government ratings for trucks that dictate maximum amounts of weight the truck can carry and tow. You’ll want to chose the truck that makes it possible to carry and or tow what you want, without exceeding those ratings. Trucks are best described in terms of three things most customers need a truck to do for them:

1. HOLD passengers and cargo.

2. SUPPORT what you want to carry (including cargo, options and passengers).

3. MOVE the load with the appropriate engine, transmission and rear axle combination.
One thing to consider in order to determine the type of truck you need is what the vehicle will hold.

HOLD is the space required for what your truck needs to carry. You need to know how many people will be transported and what your cargo needs are in terms of dimension size. In other words, does the truck have enough space to hold what you want to carry?

Other concerns to consider include the security of the cargo, whether it has to be tied down to keep it from moving and/or whether it must be covered to protect it from the weather.

Ask yourself these questions:

1. Type of cargo?
2. Cargo size and volume?
3. Maximum number of people?
4. Protection of cargo from the weather?
5. Security of cargo from theft or damage?

The next important thing to consider is the weight of what the truck will carry and its capacity to support that weight. You’ll need to know how much weight the truck needs to carry and choose a truck to handle that weight. There are 5 basic terms to know so you’ll be comfortable making a truck selection.

1. Base Curb Weight: The weight of the empty vehicle with fluids (oil, lubricants and a full tank of fuel) and standard equipment. It does not include the weight of the driver, passengers, cargo or any optional or aftermarket equipment.

2. Payload: The combined weight of the cargo, options and people the truck will carry. Note, people weight is defined as the number of safety-belted seating positions (including the driver) that the vehicle can carry multiplied by 150lbs. per person.

3. GVW (Gross Vehicle Weight): The actual weight of the vehicle when loaded. It is the sum of Payload and Gross Curb Weight of the truck.

4. GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating): The maximum allowable loaded weight of the fully loaded vehicle (including passengers and cargo) as specified by the manufacturer.

When determining your SUPPORT needs, you must ensure that the actual payload weight does not exceed the Maximum Payload Rating of the vehicle and that the Gross Vehicle Weight does not exceed the truck’s Gross Vehicle Weight Rating.

If the actual weight you want to carry is less than the truck’s weight rating, it will satisfy your SUPPORT needs. If the actual weight exceeds the weight rating, it is not the right truck for you. An overloaded truck could result in difficult steering, poor braking, poor acceleration, poor fuel efficiency, excessive wear and tear, compromised safety and loss of warranty coverage. It’s important to remember to have even weight distribution of cargo to prevent overloading the front or rear axles.

Lastly, when considering a truck’s ability to MOVE a load, you will look at the powertrain. Ask yourself what your preferences are for performance and fuel efficiency that meet your needs and wants. The more performance you need, the lower the fuel efficiency you can expect. The more fuel efficiency you want, the lower your performance is likely to be. Besides engine selection, factors such as rear axle ratio and wheel and tire sizes can also affect the balance of performance vs. fuel efficiency. Your salesperson will help you to select a powertrain that balances both to meet your needs.

Ask yourself these questions:

1. What type of load are you moving?
2. Is it loaded constantly or is it a diminishing load?
3. What are the traffic conditions you’ll be driving in?
4. What type of terrain will you drive in?
5. What are the driving conditions?

Most Ford trucks offer different engines, transmissions and rear axles, and you can mix and match them based on their availability to get the best combination for different applications.

When making an engine selection, you’ll have your preference for or against diesel versus gas engines. Consider too that your needs may change over time before making a final choice. Horsepower and Torque are two different measures of performance and must also be balanced in relation to your load-moving needs. Fuel efficiency is also a factor to be balanced against the overall need for performance.
Let’s take a closer look at Horsepower and Torque. Think of horsepower as passing power, or the ability to move a load faster if it’s already moving. Think of torque as pulling power, or the ability to get a load moving if it has been standing still. In the real world, there may be more than one engine choice that meets your needs. Price and preference may be determining factors.

Next, rear axle ratio is a measure of drive-shaft rotation versus rear axle rotation. For example, on a 3.73 rear axle, the drive-shaft rotates 3.73 times to every single rotation of the rear wheels. This multiples the torque to the rear wheels. The key to remember is that the higher the axle ratio, the greater the torque and the lower the fuel efficiency. The lower the axle ratio, the lower the torque and the better the fuel efficiency.

So now with all this in mind, we’re ready to learn about trailer towing. There are many reasons Ford is a leader in trailer towing. We have outstanding selection, trucks that can pull the heaviest trailers in their class, innovative towing technologies such as Trailer Sway Control and our integrated Trailer Brake Controller, all backed by 50 years of the undisputed champion with towing experience!

Ask yourself these questions about trailer towing:

1. Type and weight of trailer?
2. Type and weight of cargo on trailer?
3. Type and weight of trailer hitch?

When a truck is towing a trailer, the trailer can be considered a special type of payload that the truck has to SUPPORT and MOVE. Besides confirming that the payload is below the Maximum Payload Rating and the Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW) is below the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating(GVWR), you must complete an extra step: To safely tow a trailer, you need to determine if the Gross Combination Weight (GCW) of your loaded truck and loaded trailer is less than the Ford maximum Gross Combined Weight Rating (GCWR) for that truck and trailer.

The Tongue Weight is the weight of the loaded trailer that is pressing down on the loaded truck. It is a type of payload that the truck must support and therefore adds to the Gross Vehicle Weight of the truck. Tongue Weight is best calculated as 15% of the total weight of the trailer and all of its contents for conventional towing applications. For fifth-wheel applications, tongue weight is calculated at 25% of the total weight of the trailer and its contents

Gross Combined Weight Ratings are found readily available on the internet or by consulting with a Sherwood Ford representative. We strongly recommend you find the GCWR for your engine/transmission/rear axle combination and compare it to the calculated Gross Combined Weight to make sure the truck can safely handle both your cargo-carrying and trailer towing needs.

In summary, first calculate the weight of the loaded trailer and the tongue weight. Second, calculate the payload weight, including hitch weight and tongue weight, and compare it to the Maximum Payload Rating of your selected truck. Third, calculate the trucks’s Gross Vehicle Weight and compare it to the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating to make sure the truck is under the maximum weight rating. Lastly, calculate the Gross Combined Weight of your truck and trailer and make sure the truck/trailer combination is under the vehicles Gross Combined Weight Rating.