For the past 49 years, the Ford F-Series has been America’s best-selling pickup truck. Nearly a million new F-Series trucks find their way to driveways, job sites, and campgrounds every single year, and Ford wants to retain its crown. For 2027, the Ford F-150 is getting some mild visual upgrades, a huge technology upgrade, and two beloved off-road trim models are getting more accessible. For one, the Ford F-150’s BlueCruise system can now officially tow a 10,000-pound trailer with your hands off the wheel.
Now, Ford’s claim to having the best-selling truck for 49 years is a technicality. If you were to combine the sales of the Chevrolet Silverado and the GMC Sierra into the same pile, General Motors sells more trucks. However, the Silverado and Sierra are marketed as two different trucks under two different brands. Either way, the fact that there are nearly two million full-size truck sales between Ford and General Motors alone is frankly nutty. Add in Ram, and you’re well over two million.
As such, it’s not at all surprising that all of the Big Three are in a sort of pickup truck arms race. Everyone is angling to have the best tow rating, the best luxury, the best technology, the best off-road capability, and the best comfort. Ford’s biggest upgrade to the 2027 Ford F-150 finally brings its Level 2 driver assistance system to the level that GM has had for a few years now.
So Subtle You Might Miss It
The list of upgrades to the 2027 Ford F-150 starts off subtly. Visually, the updated XLT, Lariat, King Ranch, and Platinum trim levels have a new grille and new wheels. The new grilles don’t make a huge difference, but Ford says they came after customers asked for a “modern spin on a familiar face.” For reference, here’s what the 2026 Ford F-150 Lariat looks like:
Here’s what the 2027 Ford F-150 Lariat looks like:
Curiously, the new Lariat grille looks vaguely similar to the 2026 F-150 Platinum grille, which looks like this:
I don’t really have a stance on the new grille one way or another, and that’s probably a good thing. The current generation F-150 is a handsome truck, and Ford clearly didn’t want to rock the boat that much for a mid-cycle update.
The next biggest upgrade to the 2027 Ford F-150 is the setlist of engines. The 2.7-liter EcoBoost twin-turbo V6 that stood as the F-150’s base engine will no longer be offered with the F-150. In its place will be the 3.0-liter EcoBoost twin-turbo V6. According to Ford, the 3.0-liter engine makes 325 horsepower at 5,500 RPM, and 400 lb-ft of torque at 2,200 RPM. Apparently, this engine has the same “peak capability” as the outgoing 2.7-liter mill, but is said to provide 10 percent to 11 percent more torque “where daily driving occurs.” For reference, the output of the outgoing 2.7-liter V6 is 325 horsepower. The 3.0-liter’s block is also made out of compacted graphite iron like the outgoing 2.7-liter engine.
With the 2.7 gone, Ford says that the 2027 F-150’s engine lineup will look like this, at least in standard trim levels, which has more good news:
• 3.0-liter EcoBoost (new base engine).
• 5.0-liter V8 (400 hp / 410 lb-ft torque) — King Ranch, Platinum.
• 3.5-liter EcoBoost (500 lb-ft torque, towing at 13,500 lbs).
• 3.5-liter PowerBoost Hybrid (570 lb-ft torque, available 2.4kW, available 7.2 kW Pro Power Onboard).
That’s right, V8s are back on the menu in high trim levels again! The King Ranch and Platinum haven’t seen the V8 since 2023.
There’s more good news, too. Ford says that it’s found a way to make the Tremor and the Raptor cheaper. How? Ford’s just going to rip content out.
New for next year is an entry-level Ford F-150 Tremor, which starts on the STX trim. From there, Ford starts removing features that would normally be standard on the Tremor. Ford says the Tremor Low has “an STX steering wheel, manual A/C instead of Dual Zone climate control, the removal of heated front seats, a 6-speaker audio system rather than the 8-speaker B&O setup, the deletion of off-road running boards, and fixed rear glass in place of the power sliding rear window.” The most important Tremor features, like the 33-inch tires, the off-road suspension, and off-road modes, stick around.
Then there’s the new entry-level Raptor, and once again, Ford’s making this one cheaper by taking standard content out. To reach the new lower Raptor, Ford removes the head-up display, the fog lights, the Pro Power Onboard system, the Mobile Office, the power passenger seat, the under-and the seat storage. Further adjustments include a swap from a power-adjustable steering wheel to a manual one, and the B&O audio system gets its 14 speakers reduced to eight speakers. The rest of the truck is standard Raptor.
Weirdly, Ford doesn’t say how much these cheaper trim levels will be. Update: Ford released the pricing for the 2027 Tremor and Raptor. It’s as follows (includes destination):
- 2027 Ford F-150 Tremor — $62,410.
- 2027 Ford F-150 Raptor — $77,800.
The Tremor now starts $5,300 cheaper, while the Raptor is now $4,000 cheaper.
BlueCruise Can Tow Trailers Hands-Free Now
Perhaps the biggest news for 2027 is a long-awaited technology upgrade. For the first time in the F-150 line, BlueCruise will be able to tow a trailer without your hands on the steering wheel. BlueCruise is Ford’s Level 2 driver assistance system that offers a hands-free driving experience, so long as you’re paying attention to the road.
Ford says that customers have been begging for this ever since the system launched in 2021. According to Ford’s research, 76 percent of F-150 owners tow trailers, and F-150 owners also logged 118 million miles on BlueCruise in 2025 alone, so Ford felt that there was a disconnect between how drivers use their trucks and the level of functionality from BlueCruise. Of course, some people have allegedly gotten their BlueCruise to work while towing, but it wasn’t officially supported.
Then there was the thorn in Ford’s backside, General Motors. The GM Super Cruise system has been able to tow trailers down the highway hands-free since 2022. Technically, that means Ford is late to the game here. But as the kids say, late is better than never. Ford says that developing BlueCruise with Towing was “one of our most complex software developments to date,” and involved thousands of miles of testing dozens of truck and trailer combinations against pretty much every environment someone can reasonably expect, from the windy Great Plains to mountain climbs.
The result is that BlueCruise should tow a trailer down a highway almost like a human can. The system can monitor trailer sway and make corrections where necessary while also monitoring tire pressures and weight for any issues. BlueCruise with Towing is unable to make hands-free lane changes, will not go faster than 75 mph, will not perform in-lane repositioning, and will require the driver to hold the wheel in a construction zone.
This is similar to how GM’s Super Cruise works when towing, as that system also disables hands-free features that generally require the rear-facing sensors. Like Super Cruise, BlueCruise also only works on pre-mapped divided highways. In this case, Ford has mapped over 130,000 miles of highways. If BlueCruise with Towing is as competent as Super Cruise, this could be a game-changing feature for Ford enthusiasts. Every 2027 F-150 from XLT and up with BlueCruise will have access to the towing feature.
Another interesting claim from Ford is that BlueCruise with Towing can haul up to 10,000 pounds, or more weight than any gas-powered full-size pickup truck with a gross vehicle weight rating under 8,500 pounds. Ram has a hands-free Level 2 driver assistance system, but it doesn’t work while towing, so it’s out of the running.
GM doesn’t advertise a max tow rating with Super Cruise, but GM’s configurators don’t allow you to build a gasoline-powered truck that has both a tow rating above 10,000 pounds and Super Cruise at the same time. It will, however, let you configure a truck with a 3.0-liter Duramax, a tow rating above 10,000 pounds, and Super Cruise. So Ford’s claim is a technicality that hinges on “gas-powered.”
Of course, I feel like I need to note that these systems do not replace towing skills. Don’t just hitch up a giant trailer and hope that the robot will save you, because it will give up at the moment when you need to use your skills to keep things under control. At least, that’s my experience using these assist systems. All driver assist systems should be considered an augment to what you can already do. So, learn how to tow a trailer first before you try to rely on the BlueCruise or Super Cruise towing modes.
Still, even with the technicalities, all of these features are great. The 2027 Ford F-150 isn’t introducing anything Earth-shattering. Instead, it’s getting nice evolutionary updates. I’m for anything that makes towing trailers easier. Add in the entry-level off-roaders and mild styling update, and the Ford people seem to have done some good work here. Maybe, with some luck, I’ll get to try out BlueCruise and see how it hauls compared to Super Cruise!
Dear Lord! One more reason I’m happy not to be living in Texas anymore. Ford F-150/250 trucks were the unofficial state vehicle of Texas while I lived there. The thought of these pulling a boat trailer on the 75-mph speed limit roads I used to drive on gives me a serious case of the creeps.
I don’t understand how hands-free L2 is even a thing. If it’s L2 then you need to be ready to take over at any time, and if your hands are off the wheel you are clearly not ready. This goes double for towing where small problems can quickly snowball into big problems.
If I see one more grey/silver/glossy primer color F-150 with black wheels I’m going to PUKE…
They are fucking everywhere… 🙁
Is a black F-150 with Grey wheels ok?
Yes, for now. 🙂
Demonstrate your rugged American individualism through groupthink conformity!
Don’t think, just DO IT before the communists win!
You’re picking up exactly what I was getting at!
It’s not so much about the vehicle itself (although most of us here seem to be sick with the lack of color combos in our vehicle options today) as it is about the uniformity and herd mentality that it represents in both vehicle choice and mentality.
Are we collectively really that content to be fed an ever decreasing level of diversity and choices in our lives, and being fed what to think, believe, buy, accept?
I’m unique! I’m not a follower, I’m a BAAA BAAA BAAA (sheep sounds).
Regarding the headline, without even reading the article, I do not view this as a positive development
I guess press photos are supposed to be aspirational in a sense, because that’s a Nautique G23 or G25 boat, and those start at $164,000 or $178,000.
My uncle has a high-dollar Supreme wake-surf boat that he tows twice a year on low-speed streets since he keeps it in the water at a marina during the season. That’s really his only towing use case, so for a while he was doing it with his son’s ’95 Sierra with peeling paint.
One powertrain option I’d like to see is the more basic 3.3L V6/hybrid powertrain used in the Explorer sold to police departments and have THAT as the base engine… and an optional version of that with plug-in capability.
“Ford says the Tremor Low has “an STX steering wheel, manual A/C instead of Dual Zone climate control, the removal of heated front seats, a 6-speaker audio system rather than the 8-speaker B&O setup, the deletion of off-road running boards, and fixed rear glass in place of the power sliding rear window.””
” To reach the new lower Raptor, Ford removes the head-up display, the fog lights, the Pro Power Onboard system, the Mobile Office, the power passenger seat, the under-and the seat storage. Further adjustments include a swap from a power-adjustable steering wheel to a manual one, and the B&O audio system gets its 14 speakers reduced to eight speakers. “
I think this is a good thing as long as the price is meaningfully lower. This is all unnecessary fluff. Who the hell needs a power-adjustable steering wheel? I can count on one hand the number of times I’d use that feature over a 10 year period.
Automotive News said its about a $5k reduction on the Tremor and $4k on the Raptor. I think this is great for the Tremor, but probably a rounding error for Raptor buyers.
Fwiw before the 2024 facelift there was an STX based Tremor trim as well
It’s so weird how these pricing details weren’t available at embargo time. I added the prices!
I’m all in for the NA 3.3 hybrid system in the F-150 or even better a PHEV version.
Ford had said they were going to offer a PHEV F-150 way back when, but like others got caught up in the EV all the things madness and never said anything more about a PHEV F-150 once they announced the Lightning.
I do think a lot of fleets, particularly gov’t ones and some of us retail consumers would love a cheaper, more efficient Hybrid option for their F-150’s.
Or power seats. All my vehicles other than my very first have had power seats, my 26 Ram does not. I do not miss it one bit. On my other vehicles I set the seats once, then never touched them again.
If anything, I like the manual seats more, when vacuuming out the cab I don’t need to turn the ignition on to move the seats back and forth to clean under them.
I do have a power sliding window in mine, but I wouldn’t miss it if it was gone. Honestly, I think the single piece window looks cleaner.
I agree , however supply chain of the crazy demand for the police car has caused ford to not even offer that engine on the civilian explorer. Also the hybrid gets REALLY upset if you abuse it ive seen so many people on youtube overloading it for the memes and making thumbnails out of all the dash lights.
Meh… that’s a lot of vehicles. Anyone who simply uses it normally and isn’t a moron trying to get clicks likely won’t have an issue.
And it’s disappointing that will all that demand, Ford STILL hasn’t upped the production of the hybrid components so they could offer it in the civilian Explorer, F150 and other vehicles.
I think that powertrain would probably also be great in the Transit and base Mustang.
Are these systems really making it easier to tow, or are they masking how difficult it is and maybe intensifying mistakes?
Well they must help in some areas, but it might mean that yes, people who don’t know what they are doing, will continue to be like that. Hence all the boat launch videos (which I perversely enjoy)
Maybe YouTube is actually behind all of this Automated Driving tech. More video content.
If there is one conspiracy that I will buy into, I’m picking this one.
You might be onto something.
Those videos are SMH funny! I don’t find you enjoying them perverse in the slightest.
Compared to driving unladen, towing is very, very easy, except when it comes to backing up the trailer.
That’s the only real extra skill involved.
The rest is basically just take wide turns and watch where you’re going. Skills that every driver should already have.
If the autonomous system can’t steer the trailer in reverse (which I’m assuming it can’t), it doesn’t really take the skill out of towing at all.
I saw an ad that at least strongly implied that it can “automatically” steer the truck while backing a trailer. TV was muted, so details were lost.
According to AI, it can actually do that!
I wish that was covered here. I’d definitely like to see a demonstration once the truck is available for road test.
I guess I would have to agree with your previous statement lol.
It looks like this does take the skill out of towing.
I would think that’s related to trailer pro assist or whatever they call it. Basically there’s an option where they give you a little knob to turn which direction you want the trailer to go and it takes care of the actual steering inputs to achieve that result for you (basically you don’t have to know to steer opposite the trailer then follow it, etc), but you still have to tell it where to go.
Hard disagree. Vehicle dynamics change dramatically while towing. Every time a semi passes you it sucks you in. You need to brake earlier before stops. You need to have a longer following distance. When pulling out of a gas station you need to go straight ahead for longer than normal to avoid swinging the rear of the trailer into a gas pump. Cross-winds can be a white-knuckle experience, depending on the trailer.
There’s a lot you need to know if you’re going to tow. It’s all stuff a decent driver can learn, but the idea that it’s easy compared to driving unladen is kind of wild to me.
I know its wild to you, but yeah it’s easy for me. I respect that we all have different skill levels.
Been towing for nearly 30 years.
I had a 5 minute phone conversation with my dad, thats how I learned.
You have to manage your distance, watch where you’re going, and pay attention to the vehicle dynamics and capabilities in any vehicle.
If you can’t manage these things, along with taking wider turns and understanding where your vehicle is, you don’t have the necessary skills to drive, period.
Bluecruise only works on highways, and in tow mode it won’t change lanes for you, so this is only helping in the easiest towing case, which is long, divided highways. No turning, no reversing, no narrow lanes with oncoming traffic, and not even helping you change lanes with the extra length.
That said, like any L2 system, it does help a bit with fatigue over very long drives, so I can see the appeal for those doing long trips with trailers.
Honestly, that was the biggest shock from the article for me. I know a lot of people that haul stuff with their F-150’s, but would not have guessed that 3/4 of F-150 owners haul a trailer with any frequency.
To be fair they didn’t say how often. I haul stuff in the bed nearly every single weekend, but I only haul a trailer a handful of times a year.
The survey question was probably something along the lines of “have you ever towed a trailer with your truck?” or similar. Boom, if you’ve ever towed anything you immediately increase the percentage so they can brag.
I’m gonna guess this is a self-reported survey, and that a not-insignificant portion of that 76% were too ashamed to admit that they’ve never towed anything in their life.
Agreed, there’s no way this is telemetry data. So you’re also self-selecting for people who respond to surveys in general.
I was a bit surprised at that, too. Ram once told me that only 10 percent of its light-duty owners tow trailers. I wonder what their methodologies were.
That math checks out, It would be pretty hard to tow with a Ram when it’s broken.
“BlueCruise with Towing is unable to make hands-free lane changes, will not go faster than 75 mph, will not perform in-lane repositioning, and will require the driver to hold the wheel in a construction zone.”
I’d love for this to be GPS enabled to cap BlueCruise with Towing to the maximum speed limit permitted on that road. Here in California that’s 55 mph.
Isn’t it only California and Illinois that have a general lower towing speed limit?
Seems like alot of work for just two states.
We are a big state, both in population and physical size. California and Illinois represent about 1/7th the population of the US and are both heavily visited by out of state visitors and commercial transport. It also would ensure any question of liability for speeding rested solely on the human operator. So I think the answer is yes.
I’m not and likely never will be in the market for a vehicle that tows this kind of weight. So please tell me, do they upgrade the brakes on a 10k lb capable vehicle over a stock 150/1500 truck? Silly me I know but that seems like the first thing I would ask when shopping for something like this.
Any trailer that you would tow with even half that weight will have trailer brakes. Any trailer at 10k will have electric brakes which are quite active and will not add much additional braking load to the tow vehicle.
I think very few people realize this. A properly setup trailer has excellent braking on its own. Most of these trucks come from the factory with a trailer brake controller now adays as well.
Any of the tow package F150s have Trailer brake controllers, iirc it is only not standard on the base, base, fleet spec trims but optional add on.
Any trailer over 3k lbs GVWR is required to have brakes in most (all?) states, and some are more strict. Ideally a trailer doesn’t add much if anything to your braking requirements on the tow vehicle, it’s supposed to be able to take care of itself.
Part of the SAE tow ratings is being able to safely brake with the full load. If they say it can tow 10000 lbs, then it means it can also stop 10000 lbs.
To add to the other replies.. they also tend to have a tow/haul mode that does a good job of maximizing engine braking for long descents even on the EcoBoost motors.
I don’t get how an F150 is rated at 10,000 pounds towing and my ’97 Chevy K3500 1-ton diesel is rated for 7,500 pounds. Everything on my truck is three times as beefy as an F150.
Do you have a standard cab short bed? A lot of tow capacity is about stability and a longer wheelbase is more stable than a shorter one. This is why the Jeep Wrangler 2 door can tow 2,000 lb while the 4-door, despite having the same suspension, axles, and power train, can tow 5,000 lb while itself weighing more.
Long bed, crew cab, and a gooseneck hitch.
Back in the day engines were pretty lethargic, transmissions were weak, and most rear-ends were not very capable. As a result, trucks had big derates if they had numerically lower gearing or anything other than the largest gasoline V8. My 94 E-350 had a 7.3L diesel and a 4:10 gears, so it was rated to tow 10,000, which it did routinely, but it ate up one Dana 60 rear end and two transmissions over barely 250,000 miles in the process.
Also, as someone who owns an 2019 F-150 and a 2007 3500HD, one item that is not 3x as beefy would be the brakes. The box-section frame also feels much more rigid than the older truck’s half box, half c-channel. Honestly, the F-150 feels surprisingly good towing 10,000lbs.
Shifted bottleneck. Your K3500 almost certainly has more payload, but it’s limited by brakes and engine/transmission.
The modern F150’s got better brakes and significantly more power, but is limited by payload. They’re also kind of stretching things on the 10,000lbs – in practice, actually hitting that number requires pretty precise trailer balance to get adequate tongue weight without exceeding payload or just the driver and no passengers or gear. And also a pretty specific subset of trim options – door-sticker payload can be something like 1100-1900lbs depending.
That a truck is America’s best selling vehicle for like my entire life is just a sad testament to how incredibly backwards we are. I especially love seeing brand new F-350s in apartment complexes. Yes, they surely needed all that.
I’m pretty sure that “complexes” is the key term here.
Ford also cheats their numbers by publishing “F-Series trucks” rather than individual models. The F-150, F-250, F-350 are all lumped together (there are also larger F-series commercial trucks)
Some people drive an F-150.
Some people eschew the truck, sit at home and eat Ubereats and have heart attacks in their 40’s.
Some people drive a Honda Fit but really drive up their carbon footprint and take an international vacation once a year.
Some people want to get into the trades and, yes, have an F-150 in an apartment complex.
It’s not a testament to anything other than “Some Americans like trucks” and conversely “Some Americans like to do other things we might disagree with.” Lots of people choose weird forms of ego expression (shoes, jewelry, travel, clothes, watches, etc.). You’ll note that the 2 million trucks sold represents about 1 truck sold for every 200 people here.
I like to live in a world where we are not all obligated to drive Trabants, which means, yes, some people will drive things I don’t like.
I’ve towed almost 3500 miles this summer with my hands off the wheel and it’s great, but I’m doing it with an aftermarket add-on Comma 4 on a 2021 RAM 1500. I paid $1000 for the device and that’s it… no monthly fees. I’ve driven both Supercruise and Blue Cruise vehicles and find the Comma 4 to be more usable. It’s not perfect, but I can go hours on the interstate without touching the wheel, other than nudges to have it change lanes. And it works on all roads.
I’ve never heard of Comma 4 before. Any good resources/reviews on it?
Plenty of Youtube videos or just go to their website. The discord is really active too, since, outside of the safety software, it’s open source and always improving and training. It only works on certain vehicles, but it really works well. It’s based and built in California. I’ve been using it about 8 months now.
I’d love to see the side-by-side between the 2.7T and ‘new’ 3.0T
Is the 3.0 just newly bored/stroked out version, or is it new-new?
How does it compare on paper?
I’d love to hear more of Ford’s justification for tossing the 2.7T (or inside on sales numbers on the engine choices of buyers) since many truck’s heaviest load is the weekly grocery run from Costco.
My guess is it’s the same 3.0 they’ve had in the Explorer, Bronco Raptor, and Ranger Raptor. Possibly with a different tune. I would also love to understand why, but won’t hold by breath.
I believe it’s in the article. More power under the curve for better driveability.
I’m gonna just guess that buyers don’t feel trucky enough buying something with a displacement that starts with a 2. It’s bad enough (they might think) that the entry level engine starts with a 3 (as in liters, not hundreds of cubic inches).
Just the thoughts of a curious observer of humans.
No the 2.7 is one of the best-selling F150 engines. It absolutely ruled as a powerplant. Great fuel economy when not towing, yet still plenty capable. If I didn’t have the “V8 do the roar” lizard brain it is what I would have ordered. The new 3.0EB will likely be just as good.
I have at least not heard bad things about the 2.7. I do hear things about “oil bath rubber timing belts” that I would want to investigate before commenting further.
They’ve been using the wet belt since (I think) 2017, and from what I’ve read there haven’t been widespread failures in the 2.7. Some of their wet belt car engines apparently have been a problem, but it seems like they got it right in the truck.
That’s true. I own a 2018 (1st model year of the 2nd gen 2.7 with the wet oil pump belt). No issues at 205K miles and there are users with over 300K under the original belt. This is still something you probably want to replace before or at age 10, though.
The only benefit I think of this 3.0 is that it reaches peak torque at lower RPMs. The 2.7 is a great engine but it hits boost way too often
2027 emissions standards are resulting in Ford having to add GPFs to a lot of their trucks. They did so a year early with the 3.5L and derated power at the time. This year, they added a GPF to their 7.3L gasoline V8 and had to cut 10hp and 40ft-lb of torque. The 2.7L never had a GPF, but I’d speculate that one would have been necessary for 2027 and it would cut power and/or torque.
I think Ford missed an opportunity with the 3.0 as they could’ve bumped power by at least 10% without hurting drivability or reliability. I mean, this engine can easily do 400hp / 415 ft-lbs on Premium. Us, F150 target consumers prefer regular so 350/400 still looks very achievable. There is already a sizable gap in power between the 2.73.0 and the next engine up, but I guess they just didn’t want to surpass the Coyote’s torque which is only 10 ft-lbs more.
Peak torque is achieved at 2,250 RPMs instead of the outgoing engine’s 3,500 RPMs. Which is good as it might use less boost to do so, but I still think why bother with such little gains from the extra displacement?
There’re quite a few people with V8 engines with fragile egos, can’t alienate a sizable demographic with showing them technological progress.
But they’ll argue that you can’t achieve the fuel savings on the turbo as it’ll be in boost all the time. Not that they would need to spin the turbo to make 300+ hp on their regular commute, it’s the perennial argument.
makes sense. The torque curve might actually make the 3.0 more efficient than the 2.7 already is/was.
5 tons is a lot of weight for a 4 wheel truck. To pull such a load safely, one needs to be constantly paying attention and listening to the messages the truck sends to your butt. One needs to scan far ahead – way past the abilities of any computer – and analyze the driving habits of others or it is only a matter of time before something goes down in front of you and the laws of physics makes it impossible to stop
If you cannot do this, hire a driver. If you know a retired trucker, they might do it for S&G, I have. Please do not rely on a computer. As I say above, it cannot see far enough ahead, just as a driver’s ability to do so will be diminished if the chores of driving are performed by a machine. Your passenger is there to put the music on, adjust the HVAC, navigate, & etc. Your only job is to protect the lives of the others on the road. Embrace it, do it carefully, thoroughly, and well. No shortcuts.
I am uncomfortable pulling a heavy load with an automatic deciding what gear I’m in, which is why I will never give up my manual diesel. I will rebuild if it is ever needed. I may be an old man yelling, but in the late 70’s I commuted 3 or 4 times a week to Syracuse, NY, in that paragon of snow-driving virtue, the 1964 El Camino. Most around me were in cars with equal ability to handle snow and ice. Yet we all got where we were going, albeit slowly, it was rare to see an accident, and huge pile ups happened very rarely. We all knew our safety depended on the nut behind the wheel.
Now every winter I see pictures of huge pile ups on the same road – Interstate 690 – which I used to use. Pile ups of modern cars with all the safety features. Good thing one of those features is a sturdy roll cage.
Right? This is not a good thing. “I don’t even need to touch the wheel” might now take the place of “it tows so easy I forget the trailer is back there for miles at a time” as the scariest thing I might here people say about towing.
Towing is dangerous and should get your full attention. I mean, so is regular driving, but the idea that this is a good thing fills me with dread.
Payload is always the limiting factor on half tons. I have a 6000 pound GVWR camper and it’s about the limit of what I would try to tow comfortably before stepping up to a 3/4 ton, and its because of payload. Towing capacity means nothing if it can’t handle the payload. It’s unfortunate that tow capacity rating is the number that gets the attention.
Nice to see what competition does. Ford is stepping up.
Good call about warning how the robot won’t save you. Malfunctions happen and skill is needed. My partner was towing a small trailer this summer and it wasn’t seated on the ball fully. They were in a rush and didn’t catch it. Experienced tower but new to them trailer. Cue it popping off at 65 mph. Safety chains FTW! They kept calm and pulled off to the side of the interstate. No damage to anything except a crease in the seat fabric, thankfully.