Has The Towing Capacity War Gone Too Far?

With the war on horsepower, there seems to be a back-and-forth between all sorts of sports cars, all looking to take the crown as the fastest. However, there’s a similar battle going on in the truck sector. As it turns out, it looks like every company wants to be able to produce the heavy-duty truck that can tow the most. Most recently, we’ve seen the 2019 Ram 3500 HD that boasts a 35,100-pound capability. After Ram released their numbers, Chevrolet came out and tried to top it with a 35,500-pound rating. Of course, Ford had to get in on the fun as well as they’ve promised that next year, the 2020 version of their Super Duty truck is going to rank the highest in class over both of these vehicles. It’s nothing short of a good old-fashioned showdown.

At the end of the day, this can really lead one to wonder if it’s really worth it all. Is it worth spending the extra money, for these companies, or going out of their way of developing a truck that’s going to tow that much weight? Realistically, there aren’t very many people who are ever going to come close to pulling 35,000 pounds. Heck, you can’t even do that without a CDL.

Why, then, are these companies going out there and trying to stake their claim is the most capable truck on the market? It turns out that the guys from TSL Truck have a couple of opinions on just those matters.

Down in the video below, we learn a little bit about how these trucks are competing with one another. Perhaps it’s the marketing that’s important here. Having the most powerful truck in the segment has a sort of trickle-down effect that makes folks think that getting a lower model will somehow be better. After all, if the company that built your truck also built the most powerful truck that there is, that probably says something about the machine that you’re driving, right? Maybe not in practical terms, but this is how the mind of a consumer works sometimes.

Another possible angle is that some workers earn more money for being able to haul a bigger load. The example brought up here is that if someone is delivering hay and they get paid by the pound, an extra 400 pounds could really be worth it. Even if, to other people, 400 pounds doesn’t really seem like that much more for a truck that’s already at 35k+, it could be a big jump in productivity.

Be sure to follow along with the video below that follows the topic that’s debated quite thoroughly. After, be sure to give us your opinion on if you think a truck designed to pull this much weight is really even necessary.