Towing 10.1K with either Toyota Tundra SR5 OR F150 which is better?

[Birdhunter1]

I have a 2014 F 150 with a 3.5 Ecoboost, it will two your 10,000 lbs trailer just fine and even better if you put LT E rated tires and add airbags to the rear axle. Those two alone will bring the truck to its full potential and beyond. I drug a 3 horse slant load heavy steel bumper pull trailer all over Southern Illinois and have since gone to a Corn Pro 3 horse gooseneck (16' floor) horse trailer. The truck handles this one, even being heavier, better than the bumper pull I used to have.

I've often drug equipment or dump trailers around in the 8-12,000 lbs range. I will continue to use my F 150 because I have it, it is well beyond paid for, it is in good shape with low miles and does the job fine, but my next truck will be a 3/4 or 1 ton. I wouldn't be shy of a 6.2 or 7.3 gas V8 for what you are going to do, they are both good engines and take alot of abuse.

 

[ericm979]

There weren't many of the previous gen V8 Tundras that have a full 10,100 lb towing capacity. Maybe a single cab work truck if you can find one. Most are in the mid 9000lbs range. Extended cab, 4x4 and options eat into the capacity. My 2wd 2017 SR5+ is 9600.

The new turbo V6 models probably have a higher rating.

 

[WinterDeere]

10k lb. on a 1/2 ton truck, you're looking at using a WDH on either, for the required tongue weight alone. You go heavy on the truck (F250/350) for the convenience of avoiding the damned WDH, but if you're already resigned to staying in the 1/2 ton class, you just have to accept you'll be using one.

At that point, it comes down to factors other than towing capacity. I'm sure either can be bought in a configuration with towing capacity > 10k lb, once you remove hitch weight from the equation (again, thanks to WDH).

An old friend has been towing a 13k lb. camper trailer all over the country the last five years with his F150 6-cyl Ecoboost, and absolutely loves the thing. They do nothing for me, but again, he's thrilled with it. Says it pulls better than his old 5.8L F250, if you can believe that.

 

[Torvy]

The new turbo V6 models probably have a higher rating.

Good call, looks like the closest match to mine (with the new V6) has 11,200 towing capacity.

 

[Chewwy]

Tow capability for a vehicle depend on much more than the tow vehicles make, model and engine. In most cases it is limited by the weight on the tongue and rear axle.

With a 10.1 k trailer on a frame hitch you would be seeing at least 1,010 lbs and up to 1,515 lbs on that hitch. With a 5th wheel of gooseneck it would be between 2,020 lbs and up to 2,525 lbs.

 

[Birdhunter1]

An old friend has been towing a 13k lb. camper trailer all over the country the last five years with his F150 6-cyl Ecoboost, and absolutely loves the thing. They do nothing for me, but again, he's thrilled with it. Says it pulls better than his old 5.8L F250, if you can believe that.

Having had a 1997 heavy duty regular cab F 250 4wd with a 5.8 auto yes I can believe the 3.5 Ecoboost F 150 I have now will tow better than the older F 250 did, in every sense of me saying that by far. But in 1997 you would have needed an F 250 to do what the F150's today can do.

 

[Fixastuff]

Check the turning radius on an f150, my f450 turned much tighter that my f150.

 

[Farmer495]

10k lb. on a 1/2 ton truck, you're looking at using a WDH on either, for the required tongue weight alone. You go heavy on the truck (F250/350) for the convenience of avoiding the damned WDH, but if you're already resigned to staying in the 1/2 ton class, you just have to accept you'll be using one.

At that point, it comes down to factors other than towing capacity. I'm sure either can be bought in a configuration with towing capacity > 10k lb, once you remove hitch weight from the equation (again, thanks to WDH).

An old friend has been towing a 13k lb. camper trailer all over the country the last five years with his F150 6-cyl Ecoboost, and absolutely loves the thing. They do nothing for me, but again, he's thrilled with it. Says it pulls better than his old 5.8L F250, if you can believe that.

My F250 Super Duty Diesel required a WD hitch over 5000 on the bumper, same as the F150.

Yes the ecoboost would out pull a 351/5.8, My Ecoboost will pull grades faster than my 7.3 diesel 6-speed would.

 

[WinterDeere]

Having had a 1997 heavy duty regular cab F 250 4wd with a 5.8 auto yes I can believe the 3.5 Ecoboost F 150 I have now will tow better than the older F 250 did, in every sense of me saying that by far. But in 1997 you would have needed an F 250 to do what the F150's today can do.

Yeah, minus the tongue weight issue, I believe you. I forgot to mention, but the friend I was speaking of in that post has a pretty serious WDH setup for that rig. Makes popping the trailer off of the truck for a quick run into town a "bit of a thing", in his words.

I have a half dozen trailers, but all with tongue weights below that of my truck, so I've not had the pleasure of messing with WDH's myself.

 

[WinterDeere]

My F250 Super Duty Diesel required a WD hitch over 5000 on the bumper, same as the F150.

Yes the ecoboost would out pull a 351/5.8, My Ecoboost will pull grades faster than my 7.3 diesel 6-speed would.

If you really mean "on the bumper", then I guess I could believe that 500 lb. is just the tongue weight rating of the bumper itself, which seems reasonable. But if you mean on a proper hitch receiver, then I'd be surprised if any 3/4 ton configuration in a given brand doesn't have a much higher tongue weight rating than the 1/2 ton configuration of the same brand.

Manufacturers vary tow rating according to engine, drivetrain and brake configuration, but they all top out at a maximum of 10x tongue weight rating. You could say it's optimistic to assume anyone could manage to load a trailer for a perfect min. limit 10% tongue weight, but at least it's a consistent rating method for comparison.

 

[dodge man]

I think most of the newer 3/4 ton and 1 ton trucks have a Class V hitch on the back, which usually ups the tow capacity and hitch weight a little over 10,000 pounds and throws out the need for a WDH. I had a 2004 3/4 ton Dodge Ram and it had the 5000 pound trailer 500 pound hitch weight restriction needing a WDH above those weights. That was pretty common on those older trucks.

 

[WinterDeere]

Agreed, on the 3/4 and 1-ton trucks. But OP is only looking at 1/2 ton, so they'll likely be requiring a WDH.

 

[Farmer495]

If you really mean "on the bumper", then I guess I could believe that 500 lb. is just the tongue weight rating of the bumper itself, which seems reasonable. But if you mean on a proper hitch receiver, then I'd be surprised if any 3/4 ton configuration in a given brand doesn't have a much higher tongue weight rating than the 1/2 ton configuration of the same brand.

Manufacturers vary tow rating according to engine, drivetrain and brake configuration, but they all top out at a maximum of 10x tongue weight rating. You could say it's optimistic to assume anyone could manage to load a trailer for a perfect min. limit 10% tongue weight, but at least it's a consistent rating method for comparison.

I mean on the factory 2" Class IV receiver hitch. Trailer over 5000 lb required WD hitch. Ford limited F250 & F350 to 10,000 bumper pull with WD hitch for 2000 model year.

 

[tacticalturnip]

Looking at those numbers from 20 years back, much of it's within the range of a modern half-ton.

In turn, the numbers on a modern heavy-duty pickup are even higher.

Here are the ratings for the 2019 Super Duty.

 

[Farmer495]

Looking at those numbers from 20 years back, much of it's within the range of a modern half-ton.

In turn, the numbers on a modern heavy-duty pickup are even higher.

Here are the ratings for the 2019 Super Duty.

Exactly. Current 1/2 ton does what you used to traditionally need a HD pick up to do.

 

[Omega Woods]

Whatever you decide to buy, make sure you check the yellow and white load sticker for the actual payload of your actual truck before you buy it. The payload number may be lower than you're expecting if all you look at are the published towing capacity sheets.

 

[Too many Kubotas]

Exactly. Current 1/2 ton does what you used to traditionally need a HD pick up to do.

On paper, yes.

But I feel sorry for those who actually believe the largely bogus J2807 tow ratings, that emphasize speed up grades and acceleration over what counts in real life.

To me, the longer the wheelbase and the heavier the tow vehicle the better. And that's after having completely given up on bumper pull trailers.

 

[tacticalturnip]

These trucks are coming with more computer aided towing assists than I even understand, combine that with these 8 and 10 speed transmissions, and special brake and axle ratios in these towing packages- these trucks are a lot more capable than any half-ton available just a decade ago. I understand not believing the capabilities of these trucks, but we live in such a litigious society I imagine the manufacturers are publishing numbers that cover their arses.

I mean, I'm just a layman, but 8-10k seems quite reasonable for a modern half-ton. Hell, my wife's Kia Sorento can comfortably tow 5k lbs. Now I wouldn't dare go over that, but it's a lot of weight for a glorified station wagon.

 

[Too many Kubotas]

I understand not believing the capabilities of these trucks, but we live in such a litigious society I imagine the manufacturers are publishing numbers that cover their arses.

High tow ratings sells pickups, that's the bottom line for them.

And while I haven't been able to resist trying to tow an empty 16' bumper pull flatbed when getting new 1/2-tons, the results have been utterly predictable: There's no way not to notice that the trailer is back there, and the mileage goes to crap.

Did pull a 16' enclosed trailer about 24,000 miles per year for a while, 1,000 miles at a time, mostly with a Ram 2500. One time with an Ecoboost F150.

It pulled okay as far as power goes, but once at the destination I took a close look at the components underneath. Its rear axle, for example, was positively puny compared to the 2500's, yet the F150 had a higher tow rating. For how long would that diff last?

Also, the 5.7 in the 2500 got much better mileage - same route, same trailer, same weights in it. To me, 1/2-tons are cars with beds on them, and are not suitable for towing with.

 

[WinterDeere]

I pull a 7000 lb. 16 ft tandem axle closed side trailer with my 1/2 ton. Yeah, you know it's back there and the mileage takes a hit, but otherwise no issues. I'm only doing local hauling of machinery and firewood, so not a problem on either count.

Tow vehicle has 5.7L Hemi with ZF 8HP trans 3.92 rear and factory "heavy duty" rear springs, for what it's worth. Both the 3.92 rear and the springs were special order items from Ram, but I can't imagine why anyone would ever order a truck without these two options. It also has 10-ply rated tires, as the stock tires were fine when unloaded, but got a little squirrely approaching full load.