9 hours ago, moguy1973 said:

They put the actual tow ratings because that's what the vehicle is capable of.  Not really what is safe.  

 

It's like they publish the top speed of vehicles but it's only because that's what they are capable of. It's all marketing.

I think I'd have to challenge that.

 

No company with a legal staff that's even remotely competent is going to allow a company to publish tow ratings that are not safe.  It'd be opening the doors for lawsuit after lawsuit and we'd see them all over the place.

 

If anything, I would bet that tow ratings are understated.  Liability for doing otherwise would be staggering.

5 hours ago, Further North said:

I think I'd have to challenge that.

 

No company with a legal staff that's even remotely competent is going to allow a company to publish tow ratings that are not safe.  It'd be opening the doors for lawsuit after lawsuit and we'd see them all over the place.

 

If anything, I would bet that tow ratings are understated.  Liability for doing otherwise would be staggering.

There’s a lot that goes into determining how much a vehicle can tow. And manufacturers do exaggerate their towing capacities for marketing purposes.  The maximum towing amount takes into account the GCWR (gross combined weight rating) which is the weight of the vehicle and everything inside it and the weight of the trailer. Manufacturers can and often do rate the curb weight of the vehicle as the minimum optioned vehicle and a 150lb driver.  Add a fully decked out top end truck and a big driver and your safe tow capacity goes down because the GVWR (gross vehicle weight rating) goes up.  GVWR also takes into account the tongue weight that the trailer is putting on the tow vehicle. If the load is unbalanced and too far on the front of the trailer it will lower the safe towing capacity. 

16 minutes ago, moguy1973 said:

There’s a lot that goes into determining how much a vehicle can tow. And manufacturers do exaggerate their towing capacities for marketing purposes.  The maximum towing amount takes into account the GCWR (gross combined weight rating) which is the weight of the vehicle and everything inside it and the weight of the trailer. Manufacturers can and often do rate the curb weight of the vehicle as the minimum optioned vehicle and a 150lb driver.  Add a fully decked out top end truck and a big driver and your safe tow capacity goes down because the GVWR (gross vehicle weight rating) goes up.  GVWR also takes into account the tongue weight that the trailer is putting on the tow vehicle. If the load is unbalanced and too far on the front of the trailer it will lower the safe towing capacity. 

Right...that's pretty well known and understood.

 

There's still no way any company is going to overstate tow limits.  Liability would be enormous. Billions, not millions. Defendants and litigators looking for payouts would be lined up for miles if companies did this.

 

...and that leaves out simple lawsuits against spurious claims...

 

I'm sorry, but I can't buy it without specific, documented, legal evidence.