All Entries Tagged With: "tow ratings"
2011 Tundra Tow Ratings Decrease
A few weeks ago, we mentioned that the 2011 Tundra was going to adopt the new SAE J2807 towing rating standards. This new standard – which likely won’t be adopted by most manufacturers until 2013 – will force all manufacturers to use the exact same tests and criteria to come up with an official tow rating.
Last Friday, PickupTrucks.com published the new Tundra tow ratings. As you can see in the table below, they’ve dropped as much as 11% on some configurations:
2011 Tundra To Adopt New Trailer Towing Standards
During the last 20 years, the manufacturer-stated maximum tow capacity of the typical half-ton pickup truck has skyrocketed. Take a look at the increase in maximum tow rating for America’s best-selling pickup, the Ford F-150:
As you can see, the F-150’s towing power has increased by 66% over the last 20 years…or at least that’s what Ford says. If you think about all the electronics and improved efficiency – not to mention dramatic improvements in transmissions – it certainly seems plausible that today’s F-150 is 66% better at pulling than it was 20 years ago.
However, there are a couple of reasons to doubt these numbers:
