Rental Yards here now require 3/4 ton truck or better when towing.

[BigMike50]

I think its ridiculous not to check the upper limit of the tow vehicle. My new F150 is certified to tow a very heavy trailer. About 13000 lbs as I recall. But, the reason they want it to be a truck and not an SUV is due to the short wheelbase. SUV's tend to fishtail and jackknife when towing a heavy load, whereas, the long wheel based vehicles are much harder to get to fishtail. That is a fact you cant get around. Vehicle weight is another factor. Full sized pickup is at least 5000 lbs or so. They have a weight percentile that limits the weight a vehicle can pull. Its in the motor vehicle laws about trailer towing. The big chain companies, tend to have one simple rule to fit all. They dont allow for individual cases. ITs like GEICO not insuring Mustangs years ago. Mustangs were black listed and they didnt care if you were a 70 year old lady and the mustang had a 4 cylinder engine. If it was a mustang, they would not insure it. Why? They told me it was because the type who bought them (teenagers) had too many wrecks and it was easier just to blacklist all Mustangs than argue who drives how. I guess if they didnt ban all mustangs it would come under some type of prejudicial treatment. In other words, cant ban teenagers, but banning one brand of car was ok. Got to love lawyers! by the way< anything with a turbo was also blacklisted back then. They didnt sell 4 cylinder roller skates with turbos like they do now:laughing:

Im pretty sure that is max gross weight with vehicle weight. I hardly doubt that they list an f150 for pulling 13000 pounds. That is diesel dually territory buddy. You put 13,000 pounds on a f150, its gonna be sitting at the bottom of a hill with no power to go more than 5 mph and its gonna have you facing hefty fines

 

[dstig1]

A local rental yard required a half ton or larger PU/SUV to pull the pre-mixed concrete tub. My friend and I showed up with his Toyota PU and they wouldn't even listen to him. His Pu was a larger compact and we were only going a couple miles on city streets, so it would have been fine. Not sure of the ratings that he had or were required, but it couldn't have been even a 5000 lb load as it was only 3/4 yard of concrete... So I've seen it happen, but not as often as it should... I've seen a guy leaving another rental yard in a Jeep CJ towing a mid-size skid steer. I'm quite sure he was overloaded.. I haven't run into major blanket policies so far.

 

[mjcountrybumpkin]

Our local rental yard(not a big chain) has a 3/4 ton policy,but they will make exceptions to people they trust.they also furnish trailers free with rental of all ride on equipment.
and yes compared to rates of all there competitors it truly is free

 

[Bubbanewf]

Maximum Towing Capabilities - Conventional Towing
Maximum Loaded Trailer Weight (lbs.) - Automatic Transmission
Regular Cab Regular Cab
4x2 4x4
Engine Axle Ratio GCWR (lbs.) 126-inch wheel base 145-inch wheel base 126-inch wheel base 145-inch wheelbase
3.5L EcoBoost V6 3.15 14000 - 8800 - -
3.5L EcoBoost V6 3.31 14900 - 9700 - -
3.5L EcoBoost V6 3.31 15100 - - - 9600
3.5L EcoBoost V6 3.55 15000 - 9800 - -
3.5L EcoBoost V6 3.73 16600 - 11300 - -
[COLOR="#FF0000"]3.5L EcoBoost V6 3.73 16900 - - - 11300 [/COLOR]

I wasnt that far off. Depends upon the cab,rear axle ratio, wheel base etc. 16,600 gross combined. Loaded trailer, approx. 11,300. V6 turbocharged.
The new F150's with turbocharged v6 can do what the old F250 could do. The above rates are for pull behind trailers. They can haul heavier fifth wheels up to the CGVWR.
I would not haul anything near this heavy or a max load without LT tires. I like most have P rated tires on my truck. Since I rarely carry heavy loads, and my trailer is a 7000 lb gross dual axle flatbed.

 

[TomSeller]

In my area you have had to have a 3/4 ton as long as I can remember. Having had to panic stop with an excavator in tow, I understand the requirement. Anyone towing with their "old station wagon" would have not been able to keep that excavator in a straight line stopping as suddenly as I did.

 

[TomSeller]

In my book it is not about pulling, it is about stopping. Brakes, weight, stopping distance under load and stability are what I consider.

 

[BigMike50]

Maximum Towing Capabilities - Conventional Towing
Maximum Loaded Trailer Weight (lbs.) - Automatic Transmission
Regular Cab Regular Cab
4x2 4x4
Engine Axle Ratio GCWR (lbs.) 126-inch wheel base 145-inch wheel base 126-inch wheel base 145-inch wheelbase
3.5L EcoBoost V6 3.15 14000 - 8800 - -
3.5L EcoBoost V6 3.31 14900 - 9700 - -
3.5L EcoBoost V6 3.31 15100 - - - 9600
3.5L EcoBoost V6 3.55 15000 - 9800 - -
3.5L EcoBoost V6 3.73 16600 - 11300 ‡ - -
[COLOR="#FF0000"]3.5L EcoBoost V6 3.73 16900 - - - 11300‡ [/COLOR]

I wasnt that far off. Depends upon the cab,rear axle ratio, wheel base etc. 16,600 gross combined. Loaded trailer, approx. 11,300. V6 turbocharged.

Ok thanks for posting GCVW. so take the vehicles weight off your 11 thousand pounds then. that would be you towing capacity. I haul heavy equipment and sometimes with my diesel. I know what loads feel like under load. Couldn't imagine what a 13,000 pound load would feel like pulling an incline with a turbo v6. It would fall on its face

 

[BigMike50]

double post

 

[TomSeller]

Ok. so take the vehicles weight off your 11 thousand pounds then. that would be you towing capacity. I haul heavy equipment and sometimes with my diesel. I know what loads feel like under load. Couldn't imagine what a 13,000 pound load would feel like pulling an incline with a turbo v6. It would fall on its face

Well said.

 

[crazyal]

In my book it is not about pulling, it is about stopping. Brakes, weight, stopping distance under load and stability are what I consider.

If it's all about stopping then they would be inspecting the trailer doing the hauling since it's brakes are much more important than 1/2 ton vs 3/4 ton. It's all about liability. I'm sure just like any industry word gets out quickly and as word spread of rental companies getting sued for letting a customer leave the lot with inappropriate tow vehicle when an accident resulted. With 1/2 ton truck ratings being all over the place they probably just default to 3/4 ton. I suspect that it will become a standard across the country.

It's also a good way to drum up extra business. Most rental companies have a fleet of vehicles and will either rent or deliver equipment. If every rental company has the same standard then they know they aren't going to loose a rental to someone with a 1/2 ton going to the competition.