Readers old enough to remember the muscle car craze in the 1960s may also recall that automakers didn’t always play it straight when it came to the performance capabilities of their vehicles. Horsepower ratings were often tweaked by the boys in marketing before being released to the masses. It wasn’t unheard of to have cars delivered to auto writers for evaluation with upgrades unavailable to the public, with no mention of the modifications, of course.
Those days are gone. Most automakers conform to SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) standards for evaluating horsepower. Meanwhile, placing a modified car on the street without first having it undergo expensive and time-consuming certifications for fuel economy and emissions would expose the automaker to major fines. So, we auto writers pretty much end up with the same cars you buy.
However, in the full-size pickup truck market there is still some wiggle room to play with in regards to the maximum trailer towing rating. This is a specification that many truck buyers check before making a purchase.
What could bring some order to towing specifications is SAE standard J2807, which the major automakers said four years ago they would adopt for 2013. The only problem: they haven’t done it. Toyota, with its Tundra pickup, is the only company to sign on so far.
The SAE tests cover three trailer towing challenges: hill climbing, acceleration and getting started on an incline in both directions. If a manufacturer wants to claim an 11,000 pound trailer towing capacity, their truck has to perform with that load on all three tests.
The launch test is performed on a 12 percent grade and getting started just once will not suffice. To pass the test, the truck must start and stop five times, traveling at least 16 feet each time. The test must be completed in five minutes.
For the acceleration test, the fully-loaded truck must be able to reach 30 miles per hour in 12 seconds and 60 miles per hour in 30 seconds on level ground. It must also be able to accelerate from 40 to 60 miles per hour in less than 18 seconds on level ground.
Finally, the hill climbing test, based on a road in the Davis Dam area in Arizona and near Las Vegas, requires that the vehicle climb 3,000 feet in 11.4 miles. It must do so with the air conditioning on and its speed must never drop below 40 miles per hour.
Industry observers believe that many half- and three-quarter-ton trucks will see a drop in their current towing ratings when the SAE standards are adopted. How much of drop could vary. When Toyota applied the standard to the Tundra, the maximum rating fell by 400 pounds. The other companies couldn’t help but notice that Tundra sales also dropped after the downgrade, though many factors were involved besides its maximum towing specification.
Generally, truck makers have shied away from making a change in the middle of a product cycle. They would prefer not to have to explain to customers, many of them fanatically loyal to one brand, why this year’s truck can tow less weight than last year’s when there have been no significant changes. So, automakers have pledged to follow the updated rating standard when they introduce an all-new pickup truck.
That shouldn’t take much longer. The full-size pickup truck market is undergoing a nearly-complete revamping. As a result, truth in towing may not be that far away.
Just how much "wiggle room" do manufacturers have when it comes to towing ratings? The Tundra, when properly equipped, is rated to haul a trailer weighing up to 10,400 pounds. Yet, a CrewMax version, with a 10,000 pound tow rating, was used to haul the space shuttle Endeavour the last few yards to the California Science Center, where it is now displayed. The shuttle weighs 292,000 pounds. So what’s keeping Toyota from claiming a 292,000-pound tow rating? SAE standard J2807, that’s what.
