Ford And Ram In War Of Words Over Towing Rating Of Their Heavy Duty Trucks: This One’s Gonna Get Ugly, Folks


Ford And Ram In War Of Words Over Towing Rating Of Their Heavy Duty Trucks: This One’s Gonna Get Ugly, Folks

Ford, GM and Ram all want you to believe that their heavy-duty model truck is the baddest mother on the planet. It can go anywhere, do anything, has enough power and structure to tow Rosie O’Donnell away from an all-you-can-eat with six of your bearded friends in the truck. However, no matter how good all three trucks are, there can be only one victor, and that determination might go to court soon if Ford and Ram don’t come to some sort of agreement.

The point of contention is between the Ram 3500 and the Ford F-450. Ram has been using the SAE J2807 method, while Ford uses an in-house testing method that receives an SAE certification. So, right off the bat the two trucks are using different systems. Ram tests their trucks with all standard gear aboard, so the spare tire, jack and center console are on the vehicle. Ford has been known to remove the jack and spare tire, and even the radio in order to make the weight to be a Class 3 truck. Ram alleges that if Ford was tested to the same standards as the Ram 3500 that the F450 would, by weight, move up to a Class 4 designation and therefore be classified as a medium-duty vehicle.

Ford is threatening to take it to court to make Ram drop the claim of “best-in-class towing”. Ram claims that Ford sending a stripped truck with items missing is BS in the first place, and that the results are skewed. For now, we’ll be sitting on the sidelines with the popcorn, watching this one go down.

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14 thoughts on “Ford And Ram In War Of Words Over Towing Rating Of Their Heavy Duty Trucks: This One’s Gonna Get Ugly, Folks

  1. 38P

    Poor Dodge . . . er . . . “Ram” . . . It’s the Rodney Dangerfield of trucks . . . It can’t get “no respect.”

    First, it doubles-up on Motor Trend’s “Truck of the Year” award, but then Mary Barra’s motley outfit wins some wimpy Detroit Auto Show award then buys millions in ads trumpeting its weak redesign of the “Sliverado” as “North American Truck of the Year.”

    Now poor, pitiful Ram gets cold-cocked by a Ford that it claims is ~75 pounds too light.

    Of course, Ram plays the bait-n-switch weight-stripping game too, with the so-called “class-leading” honor apparently being held by a stripper “Tradesman” trim package model that few non-fleet truck buyers are going to spring for. The average Ram, loaded with options and without the optional HD-version of the AISIN automatic transmission doesn’t seem as “class leading” . . . .

    In short, both sides are going to have their talking points once the lawyers get involved in the “measuring contest.”

  2. Mooseface

    They’re both pretty great trucks. The problem is that Dodge has the Cummins engine and Ford has the workmanship, kind of a trade-off.

  3. Chris

    If you’re ditching the spare tyre, jack, even the radio, its cheating.
    Full stop. Still what else you expect from a company thats struggling to stay in the top five?

    More fudging & trickery from Dearborn.

    1. 38P

      Don’t forget that anybody with pen and paper (or a microphone/camera or internet access) can “allege” nearly anything. Allegations are not proven facts. They may or may not prove true.

      However, if Ram’s beef boils down to some arbitrary classification of “medium duty” versus “light duty” trucks and the weight of a tire, jack and/or radio is really the deciding factor(s), then this is an idiotic controversy.

      Most truck buyers could care less whether or not a truck is “light,”or “medium” so long as its cost-effective, stylish, sturdy and gets the job done.

  4. Cletus T Rickenbacher 3rd

    Apples and oranges. Each should be tested by an independent authority and let the winner be declared.

    Personal preference; at the moment advantage Ram. Once Ford went away from the 7.3 Powerstroke, the engines have been more trouble than needed. If you gotta spend $2-3K on an engine to get it to last, for towing not just commuting, that is NOT cost effective. The 6.0 and 6.4 were a pile of crap. Jury hasn’t come back yet on the 6.7. Dodge/Ram’s biggest issue was transmission life, which sucked. See where the current one ends up.

    Best bet is adapt the Allison trans to the Ram’s Cummins engine. There are a few shops that will do that for about $3K, with a rebuilt Allison.

    1. TheSilverBuick

      “Best bet is adapt the Allison trans to the Ram’s Cummins engine. There are a few shops that will do that for about $3K, with a rebuilt Allison. ”

      In a Ford Chassis!

    2. Patrick U

      I know for sure the 6.7L Cummins is lifting cylinder heads just as often as the 6.0 Ford was. Personally, the only diesel engine I will ever own would be a 6.0L Ford. I’ve had several for personal and company trucks and have loved them.

      1. Cletus T Rickenbacher 3rd

        I’ll agree that in light duty situations the 6.0 was an adequate engine. When you got into heavy towing, 10K plus, then their weakness came out. We had two give out, one at 80k miles, second at 115K. Repair cost were around $4500 on each. We still have a pair of 7.3’s on the road. One has 390K, other just rolled to 280K. While not as powerful as the 6.0, they have proven themselves to be as dependable as the sun coming up in the east.

        While my personal tow vehicle is a 2005 Dodge with the Cummins 610, I have no experience with the 6.7. Figure with just 120K on my “white knight”, it’s not something I’ll be dealing with for several more years. And best of all, no cow piss (DEF) tank on it.

  5. Woodward_Dreams

    Both are fantastic trucks. The Ford 6.7 has really become a great option for those in the diesel market. Either way, I really think you can’t go wrong here.

  6. Crusty Nut

    Ford chassis, cummins engine, allison trans. Best truck with commonly used parts. To bad it’s not like cooking where you can just swap ingredients around.

  7. crazy canuck

    Who cares I’m not putting out that kind of money to buy one of those . My old 93 w350 12 v 6bt will still be going when those are dead , and it pulls my ranchero just fine .

  8. Scooterz82

    Been in the medium/heavy duty truck industry for 25 years and turning wrenches for 20 years before that. Don’t own a diesel and never will. If your not pulling 10k or more for 100,000 miles a year there is no point to owning a diesel. The added costs will never pan out.

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