Breaking Down the 2023 Ford F-150's Towing Capacities

Forget the Mustang, the real icon for Ford Motor Co. continues to be the F-150 full-size pickup truck, the bestselling nameplate in the U.S. for decades. The Ford profit flagship is offered in a dizzying array of configurations and personalities ranging from humble work trucks to luxury rides to outrageous off-roaders.

Related: Ford F-150 Lightning Vs. F-150 Hybrid: What We Learned Towing and Hauling With an Electric Truck

The 2023 edition carries forward with mostly packaging changes that build on the 2021 model year’s redesign. The flashiest addition is the Raptor R that drops a 700-horsepower, supercharged 5.2-liter V-8 engine into the Raptor off-roader, creating a more extreme truck to rival Ram’s 1500 TRX. Also, the Tremor off-road trim level now offers Ford’s 5.0-liter V-8 as an alternative to its twin-turbocharged V-6, and a new Rattler trim, which is now sold out, gives off-road capability and rugged looks at a more affordable price than the Tremor and Raptor models. Buyers can choose from three cabs, three bed lengths, six wheelbases, eight trim levels and more than half a dozen powertrains, including a hybrid and an all-electric truck.

The F-150 offers a class-leading towing capacity of 14,000 pounds, and its ratings are calculated according to the SAE International J2807 standard. However, these maximum capacities assume optimal conditions, and your F-150’s maximum towing capacities in the real world will depend on your occupant and cargo load, the trim level and additional equipment. The F-150 has a number of trailer-friendly tech features available, including an onboard scale with smart hitch option that measures tongue weight and shows on the dashboard screen how much extra weight you’re carrying. (Cars.com has more details on how to calculate the towing maximum for your truck with its options and its load for a given trip.)

With those safety variables noted, here’s a quick guide to the 2023 Ford F-150’s top tow ratings for its many configurations. Note that the highest ratings require the Max Trailer Tow Package, which adds a bundle of towing upgrades that vary in content and availability by trim level and engine; it includes features such as a 3.55 or 3.73 electronic locking rear differential, 36-gallon gas tank, seven-pin wiring harness, Class IV trailer hitch, integrated trailer brake controller, Smart Trailer Tow Connector, Pro Trailer Backup Assist and upgraded rear bumper. Most cases may also call for the Heavy-Duty Payload Package, which includes the 3.73 rear differential. Ford requires either the Max Trailer Tow Package or the more basic Trailer Tow Package when hauling more than 6,000 or 7,000 pounds, depending on the powertrain.

What’s the 2023 Ford F-150’s Maximum Towing Capacity?

The peak towing capacity for the 2023 F-150 is 14,000 pounds, which gives it bragging rights among full-size regular-duty pickups. That peak rating is for an extended-cab truck (Ford calls it the SuperCab and offers it on the two lower trim levels) with the long 8-foot bed or a crew cab (SuperCrew) with the mid-size 6.5-foot bed. Either must be equipped with rear-wheel drive, the twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6, and the Max Trailer Tow Package with 3.55 electronic locking rear differential or the tow package plus the Heavy‐Duty Payload Package with the 3.73 electronic locking rear differential.

What’s the 2023 Ford F-150’s Minimum Towing Capacity?

The lowest tow rating for the 2023 F-150 is 5,000 pounds. That rating is shared by the RWD regular-cab truck with either the mid-size or long bed and the four-wheel-drive regular cab with the long bed; all variants use the base 3.3-liter V-6 engine and a 3.55 rear axle ratio.

Max Towing Capacity by Engine

The volume versions of the 2023 F-150 offer V-6 and V-8 gasoline engines and a V-6-based hybrid system, all with 10-speed automatic transmissions. Also offered are the battery-electric F-150 Lightning, off-road Tremor and high-performance Raptor and Raptor R, which are covered separately below. The F-150 no longer offers a diesel engine.

3.3-Liter V-6 (290 HP, 265 Pounds-Feet of Torque)

The F-150’s normally aspirated 3.3-liter V-6 is the base engine for the lower two trim levels and has a maximum tow rating of 8,200 pounds with the regular cab, either the 6.5- or 8-foot bed, and either RWD or 4WD. The limit with this engine also is 8,200 pounds for the RWD SuperCab with the 6.5-foot bed, and the 4WD SuperCrew with the 5.5-foot bed. All require the 3.73 rear differential and Trailer Tow Package. Trucks with this engine and the 3.55 rear differential range in towing capacity from 5,000 to 5,100 pounds.

2.7-Liter EcoBoost V-6 (325 HP, 400 Pounds-Feet of Torque)

The smaller of the F-150’s two available twin-turbo V-6 EcoBoost engines — and base engine for some trim levels — can tow up to 10,100 pounds in the 4WD SuperCab with the 6.5-foot bed and 4WD SuperCrew with a 5.5-foot bed. Next highest is 10,000 pounds for RWD and 4WD regular-cab trucks with the 8-foot bed; RWD SuperCabs with 6.5- and 8-foot beds; and RWD SuperCrew trucks with 5.5- and 6.5-foot beds. These ratings all require the 3.73 rear differential and the 2.7-Liter EcoBoost Payload Package. Without that package, ratings for this engine with the 3.73 rear axle range from 8,100 to 8,600 pounds; with the 3.55 axle, towing capacity drops to 7,600 to 7,800 pounds.

5.0-Liter V-8 (400 HP, 410 Pounds-Feet of Torque)

The normally aspirated 5.0-liter V-8 engine, a Ford workhorse, can tow up to 13,000 pounds in an array of configurations, all requiring the 3.73 electronic locking rear differential and at least the Trailer Tow Package, with most requiring the Max Trailer Tow and Heavy-Duty Payload packages. V-8 configurations with this maximum tow rating include RWD and 4WD regular-cab trucks with the 8-foot bed; RWD and 4WD SuperCabs with the 8-foot bed; RWD SuperCrews with the 6.5-foot bed; and RWD and 4WD SuperCrews with the 5.5- or 6.5-foot bed. Other V-8 F-150s with the 3.73 rear axle have tow ratings ranging from 9,100 to 12,900 pounds. Those with the 3.15 or 3.31 rear axle ratios range from 8,300 to 9,900 pounds.

3.5-Liter EcoBoost V-6 (400 HP, 500 Pounds-Feet of Torque)

This V-6 does the heaviest lifting for the F-150, as it has the same horsepower as the V-8 but more torque. It achieves the peak towing capacity rating of 14,000 pounds in RWD configurations with the SuperCab and 8-foot bed or a SuperCrew with 6.5-foot bed and Max Trailer Tow Package. Either needs the Max Trailer Tow Package with the 3.55 electronic locking rear differential or the tow package plus the Heavy‐Duty Payload Package with the 3.73 electronic locking rear differential. With 4WD, these configurations have a 13,800-pound rating, while the RWD SuperCrew with the short bed, Max Trailer Tow Package and the 3.55 electronic locking rear differential splits the difference with a rating of 13,900 pounds.

3.5-Liter EcoBoost V-6 Hybrid (430 HP, 570 Pounds-Feet of Torque)

The highest-mpg option for the F-150 is the electrified hybrid powertrain that uses the twin-turbo 3.5-liter V-6 engine and has a higher EPA combined rating of 25 mpg with RWD and 23 mpg with 4WD. The system is offered only in SuperCrew configurations, which offer the 5.5-foot short bed and 6.5-foot mid-size bed. The crew-cab hybrid’s highest tow rating is 12,700 pounds with either of its two available beds and RWD, the Max Trailer Tow Package and the standard 3.55 rear axle ratio. Hybrids with 4WD have a 3.73 ratio and can tow up to 12,300 pounds with either bed and the Max Trailer Tow Package. Without the tow package, hybrid trucks with either RWD or 4WD are rated for up to 11,000 pounds.

Max Towing Capacities by Cab

Regular Cab

The two-door regular cab available on the two lower trim levels can tow up to 13,000 pounds with RWD or 4WD when also fitted with the long 8-foot bed, the twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6, the Max Trailer Tow and Heavy‐Duty Payload packages, and the 3.73 electronic locking rear differential.

SuperCab Extended Cab

The SuperCab extended cab can tow up to 14,000 pounds when equipped with the long 8-foot bed, RWD, the twin-turbo 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6, the Max Trailer Tow Package and 3.55 electronic locking rear differential, or with that tow package and the Heavy‐Duty Payload Package with the 3.73 rear differential. The maximum drops to 13,800 pounds with 4WD.

SuperCrew Crew Cab

An F-150 SuperCrew crew cab can tow up to 14,000 pounds when configured with the mid-size 6.5-foot bed, RWD, the twin-turbo 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6, and the Max Trailer Tow Package with the 3.55 electronic locking rear differential, or with that tow package and the Heavy‐Duty Payload Package with the 3.73 rear differential. Towing capacity drops to 13,800 pounds with 4WD.

Four-Wheel Drive

The max towing capability for a 4WD F-150 is 13,800 pounds. That rating is shared by the 4WD SuperCab truck with the long bed and 4WD SuperCrew trucks with the short or mid-size bed. To get this maximum figure, the truck must be equipped with the twin-turbo 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6 and either the Max Trailer Tow Package and a 3.55 electronic locking rear differential, or that tow package and the Heavy‐Duty Payload Package with the 3.73 rear differential.

What About the Raptor and Tremor’s Towing Capacity?

These off-road-oriented F-150 models have the crew cab, 5.5-foot bed and robust (but not the highest) towing capacities. The Tremor is rated for 10,000 pounds with either of its available engines — the 400-hp, twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6 or the 400-hp, normally aspirated 5.0-liter V-8.

The Baja-ready F-150 Raptor comes with a high-output version of the twin-turbo 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6 that produces 450 horsepower and 510 pounds-feet of torque. It’s rated to tow up to 8,200 pounds. The Raptor R includes a 700-hp, supercharged 5.2-liter V-8 with 640 pounds-feet of torque and a towing capacity of 8,700 pounds.

What About the Electric F-150 Lightning’s Towing Capacity?

The F-150 Lightning became the first battery-electric full-size pickup in the U.S. in 2022. It carries over for its sophomore year and is available only with the crew cab and short 5.5-foot bed in four trim levels, including a base truck for fleet buyers. The truck has two electric motors and standard all-wheel drive. It offers standard- and extended-range battery options with a total output of 452 or 580 hp, respectively, though both have the same 775 pounds-feet of torque. Range is EPA-rated from 240 miles to 320 miles.

Maximum towing with the extended-range battery, Trailer Tow Package and 18-inch all‐terrain tires or 20-inch all‐season tires is 10,000 pounds for the XL and XLT consumer trims; that figure drops to 8,500 pounds for the top Platinum trim level. The maximum for the standard-range battery with the Trailer Tow Package is 7,700 pounds.

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