QC
Supreme Mariner
- Joined
- Mar 22, 2005
- Messages
- 22,783
This is going to look a little like a troll, and I expect it will cause some disagreement, but this is not a rhetorical question. I have been in the heavy truck business since I was 18, I am 49 . . . with that said I don't know what actually adds up to 10,000 lbs, vs. 7600 in a half ton for example.
Horsepower? Well no, it can't be that. I can buy an 80,000 GCVW truck with less than 300 bhp, and I can buy a 315 bhp Chevy with only 8,000 lbs., so that can't be the whole story.
Frame strength? Well I am thinking of a post recently about watching a Toyota Tundra's frame flex visibly yet it has the highest half-ton rating.
Transmission? Well hmmmm . . . SAAB's and Volvo's have higher tow ratings than any of their US, Japanese and European competitors. But these are typically ZFs which are used in many other cars with lower ratings.
Marketing? Sometimes I think this is the major factor. The examples of the Toyota's with the highest half-ton ratings come to mind. Well . . . Ford, Dodge and GM/Chevy all have 3/4 and 1 tons to move you up to, but Toyota only has a "half-ton". You could argue that Domestic OEMs dumb theirs down to up sell, and Toyota is overaggressive to compensate . . .
So . . . What is it? What factors add up to a high tow rating?
Horsepower? Well no, it can't be that. I can buy an 80,000 GCVW truck with less than 300 bhp, and I can buy a 315 bhp Chevy with only 8,000 lbs., so that can't be the whole story.
Frame strength? Well I am thinking of a post recently about watching a Toyota Tundra's frame flex visibly yet it has the highest half-ton rating.
Transmission? Well hmmmm . . . SAAB's and Volvo's have higher tow ratings than any of their US, Japanese and European competitors. But these are typically ZFs which are used in many other cars with lower ratings.
Marketing? Sometimes I think this is the major factor. The examples of the Toyota's with the highest half-ton ratings come to mind. Well . . . Ford, Dodge and GM/Chevy all have 3/4 and 1 tons to move you up to, but Toyota only has a "half-ton". You could argue that Domestic OEMs dumb theirs down to up sell, and Toyota is overaggressive to compensate . . .
So . . . What is it? What factors add up to a high tow rating?