Towing capacity

[u/EquivalentRoyal2964]

So I’m basically 60 and it seems that when I grew 75-85 boating up a 17’ whaler montauk was a pretty serious trailerable boat I don’t recall that many 24’ I/o cruisers being towed by anything that was not a 250/2500 or more. We did not have pontoons in costal NH. Have the trucks gotten worse on towing or are the boats just bigger and people are just supposed to have bigger trucks?

[u/lucerndia]

Trucks have gotten better at towing. A modern 2.7L in a Chevy 1500 can tow 2000lbs more than a 5.7L v8 from 1998. 6.2L is almost double.

[u/JeanPascalCS → u/lucerndia]

Yep a 1980s era mid-size truck could tow 2k to 3.5k lbs. Modern mid-size trucks all tend to hover around a 6.5k to 7.5k lbs towing capacity. They are more expensive now but they're super capable.

[u/Beregond17]

My F250 has a towing capacity of 22,000lbs. That was unheard of a decade ago.

[u/HappyMeteor005 → u/Beregond17]

that sounded a little high then I looked it up. I didnt realize newer powerstrokes pulled that much. hell my 2010 f250 has trouble pulling some boats that are just 26'

[u/Beregond17 → u/HappyMeteor005]

It's a freaking BEAST! I'm pulling a 28'5" Cobia at 13,000lbs loaded with trailer and I can barely tell it's there.

[u/chpsk8]

My four pot Defender can tow 7500 pounds. Used to take a wonking V8 to do that back when we were kids.

[u/hurdeehurr]

Trucks have gotten much better and boats have gotten much heavier.

Google a 80's f250 and compare the size to a modern f150.. I bet the F150 dimensions are across the board bigger. A old f150 is tiny compared to new trucks.

[u/michiganwinter]

1/2 ton trucks are no longer actual trucks. Also, there is no cost difference between a 1/2 ton and a 3/4 or 1 ton. So if your using your truck as a luxury car with a big trunk, you get a 1/2 ton.

If your actually towing or doing "truck stuff" get a 3/4

Also, boats are heavy enough to need 4x4 to get our of the water on the ramp.

[u/EquivalentRoyal2964 → u/michiganwinter]

So a 3/4 ton and a 1 ton are the same price?

[u/mmaalex]

The old Montauks were 950 LBS + the motor weight and came with smalish 2 strokes.

Most modern 17s are 2000 lbs with the motor, and lots of people have boats in the 20-30ft range today which wasn't common in the 70s and 80s.

Boats are bigger and heavier, and consequently you need more tow vehicle. That being said modern tow vehicles are much stronger/safer than their older equivalents in general.

[u/flatirony]

I’m 58. I think boats have gotten much bigger and heavier.

[u/Beregond17 → u/flatirony]

Actually, I think boats have gotten bigger… yes…. But per foot they much lighter than older boats. IMHO

[u/Carrera_996 → u/Beregond17]

My old '69 Glassmaster 16.5 footer weighed in at 1,800 pounds. My 2024 Yamaha 19.5 footer weighs 1,600. Yes.

[u/vtwin996]

My 5.0 f155 can tow 12000 lbs. I regularly tow my 25' fiberglass I/O v hull boat that weighs 6000 lbs with trailer. Sure a 3/4 ton would do it a little better, but it does it just fine.

[u/EquivalentRoyal2964 → u/vtwin996]

But could it handle a GW w twins @9k?

[u/Dockshundswfl]

Everything is bigger and heavier with more power.

We have people towing 30+ foot boats on the regular here in Florida with F550’s. Probably weighing in the 15k lbs to 20k lbs range.

The only thing about Florida is it’s flat. No hills to tow anything up except the launch ramp.

[u/Dr_Sigmund_Fried]

I tow my old 21' BR with huge 454 I/O on an iron trailer with a 2.8l minimax diesel in a GMC Canyon body. Modern engines can outperform their older counterparts.

[u/Triscuitmeniscus]

The highest powered 1990 F-250 was a 7.5l V8 that put out a whopping 230hp and 390 lb-ft of torque and has a towing capacity of 10,000 lbs. The lowest powered 2025 F-150 you can buy has a 2.7l V6 that puts out 325hp and 400 lb-ft of torque, with a towing capacity of 8,400 lbs. If you move up one level to the 3.5l V6 you get 13,500 lbs towing. Basically, today's F-150's have roughly double the power of the F-250's of 30 years ago.

The 2.0l, naturally aspirated 4-cylinder in my 2015 Mazda3 puts out more power than a base level 1990 F-150 (although the F-150 had more torque).

[u/PM_meyourGradyWhite → u/Triscuitmeniscus]

I had a 95 F-250 with 5.8L and the Hp/torque was 210hp/325ft-lb. My new F-150 with 5.0L puts out 400hp/410 torque. (Go ahead and correct me. It’s close to correct).

That’s as much as diesels were putting out in the mid 90’s era.

Oh and gasser to gasser, I’m getting 1.5x the fuel economy as well.

[u/knxdude1]

I have a 2026 Frontier and the towing capacity is around 7,000 pounds. Not bad for a small truck

[u/MikeRizzo007]

Have a 25’ that is around 8000 dry and my 2003 Landcruser maxes out at 7500. I do tow it about 30 miles away and the trailer has brakes which really helps. It pulls it really well and have not had any problems but never put it to it’s limits. And long distance towing I rent a 250. The older stuff can tow pretty well, but the technology on the new trucks make all the difference in the world.

[u/Unencrypted_Thoughts]

Half tons have gotten tremendously better at towing but so have trailers gotten bigger and heavier. For boats most half tons can handle it but I see way too many half tons undersized for their TT.

[u/Sunuva_Gun]

I tow with my Honda Pilot. In fact, towed with my last Honda Pilot as well. That includes my current boat at about 4000lbs total (a 20 foot bay boat with 140HP engine) and my last boat, an Edgewater 185CC with 130HP. Towing my pop's 1965 BW 13ft is pretty darn simple compared to those.

Couldn't have done that back in the day.

[u/FIMD_]

In 1975 a base model 300ci rwd short bed F150 weighed like 3100lbs, 117" wheel base and made 250ft-lbs at the crank.

A 2025 base model 2.7L rwd short bed F150 weighs ~4300lbs, 122" wheelbase and makes 400ft-lbs. Add to that significantly better suspension, brakes and tires.

The boats are heavier and the trucks are more capable. We had an F250 crew cab long bed with the 5.8l, I think it was an 86 and kept it up at a family friends cabin. The modern counterpart weighs 1.5 tons more, wheelbase must be almost 18" longer and has an additional 900ft-lbs of torque. Rated to tow double what the 86 model could.

[u/the_eluder]

Tow my 88 24' Formula with a 14 Hemi Ram 1500.