How Mfrs rate their TVs

[Roger C H]

Found this interesting article:

The Numbers Game: How Truck Makers Determine Towing Capacity - Consumer Feature - Truck Trend

Should help people decide on their options.

[Robin G]

Great link! Thanks for sharing. It is very interesting. Ought to be interesting to see what our tow caps drop to.... But as I have always said, towing is about so many factors and it looks like they are gonna apply those.



Some are not gonna like it, but it's good info and explains how, why SAE recommendations.

[Ed Harris]

Thanks Roger but....

That link is 3 years old which is not nearly as old as the arguments here about this topic?

What makes you think anyone will modify the way they decide to use any information to rationalize their argument either way?

I am not hopeful,this has been offered before and the threads end up being locked after everyone tries being nice defending their own position.

[Thomas G.]

Thanks for posting this. I'll be curious how it plays out in the actual marketplace.

[steve dunham]

I was going to go to school to become an automotive engineer but to become an engineer the old fashioned way requires time, hard work, reasonable intelligence and money . So I joined this forum it came free with the membership

[mcbrew]

Originally Posted by steve dunham

I was going to go to school to become an automotive engineer but to become an engineer the old fashioned way requires time, hard work, reasonable intelligence and money . So I joined this forum it came free with the membership

Lol!

[floyd]

Originally Posted by steve dunham

I was going to go to school to become an automotive engineer but to become an engineer the old fashioned way requires time, hard work, reasonable intelligence and money . So I joined this forum it came free with the membership

Some folks are just helpless without a diploma. Remember it's the engineers who determine the "capacity" of the components, but it's the marketing and legal folks who determine the "ratings" of the finished product.
Now we are being told that their "ratings" advice has heretofore been unreliable or even incompetent...Go figger!

There is still no substitute for informed common sense.
(Especially when combined with a diploma.)

[Thomas G.]

Originally Posted by steve dunham

I was going to go to school to become an automotive engineer but to become an engineer the old fashioned way requires time, hard work, reasonable intelligence and money . So I joined this forum it came free with the membership

I actually did go to school to become an automotive engineer, but I come to this forum to be straightened out by the experts.

[rgrugg]

I have three diplomas but I've been retired for 22 years so the diplomas now are just pieces of paper. I've also discovered that diplomas are not necessarily gonna show what you know. I know a lot of people with any more than I high school diploma who know a lot more about lots of things that I don't know. Example: my wife's brother was a high school dropout but he taught me how to back up a trailer.

[RogerDat]

Very interesting article. Worth noting that the auto makers are approaching this with caution. Ford only on totally new releases, not back models, GM provides it but does not use it as the final word, until Ford does it. I think Toyota is doing it on back models to 2011.

So what is required for the test....
That Dam Towing Test: New SAE Trailering Standards Explained - Tech Dept. - Car and Driver
or this with more detail
http://www.automobilemag.com/features/news/0912_sae_tow_ratings_finally_pass_sniff_test/viewall.html

This one from diesel power mag is sort of right on in a real world way.
The Truth About Towing - Diesel Power Magazine

"although we can't recommend you exceed your truck's GVWR or GCWR, a driver's confidence, comfort, and capability of controlling the towed load is typically the limiting factor of how much a truck can pull. Experience is key here; the more you have, the more confident you will be behind the wheel."

I read that to say rating or standards can't replace skill or experience, or make up for lack there of.

[Robin G]

Experience is key here; the more you have, the more confident you will be behind the wheel."

I read that to say rating or standards can't replace skill or experience, or make up for lack there of.

Exactly why we should never recommend to a newbie (new to towing) to exceed their vehicles tow capacity!