Ford F-150 hauling figures cut to prevent overloading

The Ford F-150 has lost some of its muscle – at least on paper – with the pickup’s overall load capacity while towing being trimmed.

According to dealer documents shared to the Ford F150 Owners Australia group on Facebook, both short- (SWB) and long-wheelbase (LWB) versions of the Ford F-150 have had their gross combination mass (GCM) figure reduced by 450kg.

For the Ford F-150 SWB, its GCM has gone from 7720kg to 7270kg, while the F-150 LWB’s GCM now stands at 7315kg from 7765kg.

“Ford Australia has updated the published maximum gross combination mass (GCM) of the F-150 line-up to include a reduction to account for maximum towball downforce weight (TDW) – 10 per cent of aggregate trailer mass (ATM),” a company spokesperson told CarExpert.

“The vehicle itself and all other weights, including gross vehicle mass (GVM), payload and maximum braked towing capacity, remain unchanged.”

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Ford F-150 hauling figures cut to prevent overloading

While gross vehicle mass (GVM) refers to the maximum legal weight of a vehicle when it’s fully loaded – kerb weight plus payload capacity – GCM is the sum of the maximum weight a vehicle can carry and tow at the same time.

Unlike GVM and braked towing capacities, GCM isn’t an enforceable figure and is a calculation to better inform customers about how much they can tow with their vehicles fully loaded.

In this case, Ford has nominated a TDW of 10 per cent, whereas previously it didn’t include this figure. Other manufacturers vary in how much the TDW accounts for, if at all.

Previously, the F-150’s GCM was its GVM plus its 4500kg braked towing capacity, the standard figure for the pickup when fitted with a 70mm tow ball. With a 50mm tow hitch however the braked towing capacity drops to 3500kg.

Most vehicles have a GCM which is lower than their combined GVM and braked towing capacity, so owners don’t push their vehicle’s weights to the upper limits.

For example, the Ram 1500 DT has a GVM of 3450kg and a braked towing capacity of 4500kg. Combined this totals 7950kg which is 237kg more than its 7713kg GCM.

Additionally, the Ford Ranger Wildtrak V6 has a GVM of 3350kg and a braked towing capacity of 3500kg, however the 6850kg total is 450kg higher than its 6400kg GCM.

Though the 450kg GCM reduction for the Ford F-150 may impact potential buyers, its ranking amongst its North American ‘light duty’ pickup rivals remains unchanged.