Right about the time Ford was showing journalists its 2015 model-year Ford Super Dutys, the Ford legal team was sending a Ram cease-and-desist letter regarding Ram's advertising claiming that the 2014 Ram 3500 HD Cummins-equipped full-size pickup truck offered the segment's highest maximum towing capacity of 30,000 pounds (gooseneck or fifth wheel).
Ford believes it has the best-in-class pickup with its newly released 2015 F-450 Super Duty, now rated to pull 31,200 pounds. Beyond the obvious, meaning that it looks like the Ram HD is a Class 3 pickup and the Ford looks to be a Class 4 pickup, the distinctions are further complicated by how each truckmaker calculates that number. Ram says its vehicle follows the Society of Automotive Engineers' J2807 guidelines (an agreed upon list of standards for verifying towing capacity created by representatives from each truckmaker and towing industry professionals), while Ford says it will officially adopt the SAE guidelines when the Super Duty's new platform arrives, likely in 2016. Ram was quick to point out that means Ford is using its own methods to determine towing capacity, and those methods may or may not follow the SAE standards.
According to Automotive News, both Ford and Ram representatives are sticking to their stories and accusing the other of not understanding the issues properly.
Much of the argument in this towing war of words hinges on the the fact that both the Ram 3500 and Ford F-450 have an official gross vehicle weight rating — a factor used by most pickup truck users to determine work capability — of 14,000 pounds. However, according to Automotive News, when adding the F-450's curb weight and max payload capacity, its GVWR total is 14,061 pounds, which would officially put the F-450 into a different weight class and make its "best-in-class" claim something of a misnomer.
So the methods Ford uses to determine its maximum payload number could be seen by some as less than fair. It's worth noting that the debate about max payload numbers has a long history, with Ford still using very questionable practices. For example, Ford typically uses stripped models to get the highest max payload number possible. That means for a given vehicle's stated curb weight number, it is quite likely it was achieved by removing the spare tire, the radio or navigation system, and very likely the jack and center console as well. One ounce of truck removed, of course, means one more ounce of carrying capacity can be added to that model. Ethical? Probably not. But against the rules? No.
GM and Ram (and Toyota and Nissan for that matter) do not go to the lengths detailed by Automotive News that Ford does, but that could change if there isn't some kind of agreed-upon standard for calculating those numbers. In the meantime, we don't expect this to be settled soon. It wouldn't surprise us if both the Ram 3500 and Ford F-450 ran commercials stating they both lead the segment in max towing. To be honest, we're not sure anyone who knows pickups really pays attention to those types of hyperbolic claims. All we care about is how each of the comparably equipped and optioned trucks compare when towing the same type of loads up the same hills on the same day in a straight-up head-to-head apples-to-apples comparison. And that's why we'll have our 2014 Ultimate Heavy-Duty Challenge ready for you in two weeks.
Cars.com image by Bruce Smith
(Editor's Note: this story has been modified on 7/28 to reflect a more accurate list of the optinal equipment that could potentially be removed when determining a pickup's maximum payload. Ford does not remove seats for calculations.)