The F-250's are a popular choice for people who want a little more pulling power when it comes to pulling a trailer. I was quite surprised to see just what the towing capacity for the F-250's was for some of the newer models and even more surprised to see that some of the earlier models had such low ratings.
Overview of the Data For the F-250's:
Engine Choices: There was a range of different engine options available for the F-250's over the years. The engine that was equipped was the largest determining factor when it came to the capacity numbers overall for the F-250 trucks.
Configurations: There were also a lot of different configurations that the F-250's came in and each of these did affect the maximum weight rating to some extent, some had a small impact on the numbers and others had a much larger impact.
The two variables that had the largest impact was the engine that was equipped in the truck and whether or not you had an automatic or manual transmission equipped, which could account for several thousand pounds of capacity.
Things that affected the capacities on a smaller scale were 2wd vs 4wd models, axle ratios and cab configurations.
Towing Capacity: The capacity range for the F-250's over the years ranged quite a bit, starting at 6,800 pounds for earlier models with manual transmissions to modern trucks capable of pulling 22,800 pounds!
The higher capacities were usually achieved using a 5th wheel hitch, in general.
Some of the highest capacity numbers came from trucks with larger engines (diesel or gas) and had automatic transmissions equipped. The lowest ratings
2020 Models:
The 2020 Ford F-250's had a pretty massive gap when it came to towing capacity that ranged from 12,200 pounds and went up to a maximum weight of 22,800 pounds.
These were the ranges for both conventional and gooseneck specs though, so keep that in mind.
The conventional and 5th wheel specs for the 2020 F-250's were very close to each other, with the 5th wheel specs having a higher end total of roughly 2,800 pounds but some of these specs required having the high capacity tow package installed though which is noted in the charts.
2020 Chart
2020 GooseneckChart
2019 Models:
The 2019 F-250's had a significantly lower maximum trailer weight capacity on the higher end of the spectrum but still had a towing capacity range of 12,200-18,500 pounds.
The conventional specs and the 5th wheel specs were very similar, only varying from 100 pounds on the lower end to 500 pounds on the higher end.
Some of the specs for the 2019 F-250's did require a tow package in order to achieve those higher ratings, but the charts did not specify which tow package that was.
2019 Conventional Chart
2019 Gooseneck Chart
2018 and 2017 Models:
The 2018 and 2017 F-250's had similar specs to the 2019 models and in fact the range was the same... ranging from 12,200 pounds and going up to 18,500 pounds.
The differences between 5th wheel and conventional specs were pretty substantial in most cases, so be sure you look and compare similar engine types.
In the 2018 and 2017 tow charts for the F-250 it states that an optional 9,900 pound GVWR package and/or a tow package will be required to achieve some of the higher capacity numbers. I have included both charts for both model years below (2018 and 2017) one for conventional specs and the other for 5th wheel specs.
The numbers for the 2018 and 2017 F-250's were very close, only differentiating 100-600 pounds from certain configurations.
2018 Conventional Chart
2018 Gooseneck Chart
2017 Conventional Chart
2017 Gooseneck Chart
2016-2011 Models:
F-250's made from 2016-2011 had almost identical specs because of the same engine options that they came with, which was the 6.2l or the 6.7l engines.
The overall towing capacity for F-250's made from 2016-2011 ranged from 11,800 pounds and went all the way up to 16,800 pounds and was for both conventional and 5th wheel hitches combined.
The F-250's that had the diesel engine (6.7l) had significantly higher ratings than the gasoline engine models. The regular cab models fared better as well too, along with the 2wd models in general with minor increases in weight capacities.
2016 Conventional Chart
2016 Gooseneck Chart
2015 Conventional Chart
2015 Gooseneck Chart
2014 Conventional Chart
2014 Gooseneck Chart
2013 Conventional Chart
2013 Gooseneck Chart
2012 Conventional Chart
2012 Gooseneck Chart
2011 Conventional Chart
2011 Gooseneck Chart
2010-2008 Models:
The 2010-2008 model F-250's had a slightly lower overall trailer weight capacity when compared to later model years due to the fact that there were manual transmission models, which always have lower tow ratings than automatic transmission models.
The 2010-2008 Ford F-250's had a general tow capacity range of 8,200 - 16,500 pounds, which included all models in all of the charts listed below.
The 2010-2008 F-250 tables are a little different than the later model years because they are divided into automatic transmission models on the top and manual transmission models below that. Everything else is the same though regarding engine options, axle ratios, cab configuration and 4WD vs 2WD models.
2010 Conventional Chart
2010 Gooseneck Chart
2009 Conventional Chart
2009 Gooseneck Chart
2008 Conventional Chart
2008 Gooseneck Chart
2007-2004 Models:
For the 2007-2004 model years, the F-250's had three different engine options: the 5.4l motor, the 6.8l motor and the 6.0l (diesel) motor.
The average towing capacity for F-250's made from 2007-2004 ranged from 6,800 lbs. and went much higher than that, up to 16,500 lbs.
F-250's equipped with the 5.4l engine had some of the lowest numbers on the charts, while the 6.8l engine and 6.0l diesel engine had pretty close specs in general. The 6.0l diesel engine did come out on top for '07-'04 F-250's though, having some of the highest numbers on the charts.
2007 Conventional Chart
2007 Gooseneck Chart
2006 Conventional Chart
2006 Gooseneck Chart
2005 Conventional Chart
2005 Gooseneck Chart
2004 Conventional Chart
2004 Gooseneck Chart
2003 Models:
The 2003 F-250's had a unique chart compared to previous and later model years because of the 6.0l AND 7.3l diesel engine options that were available.
The towing capacity for the 2003 Ford F-250's ranged from 6,800 pounds and went up to a whopping 14,100 pounds, depending on a few different configurations.
The 2003 model F-250's that had the diesel engines equipped (6.0l and 7.3l) had the highest capacity numbers compared to all other engine configurations. The 6.8l V10 engine was a close second for most configurations and the much smaller 5.4l engine had some of the lowest ratings.
2003 Conventional Chart
2003 Gooseneck Chart
2002-2000 Models:
The charts for the 2002-2000 Ford F-250s were a little different in 2001 due to the oddball 6.4l engine that was used for some trucks.
The main engine options for F-250's made from 2002-2000 were the: 5.4l, 6.8l and the 7.3l engines.
The towing capacity range for F-250's made from 2002-2000 ranged from 6,900 pounds and went up to 14,500 pounds, which is quite the gap! The lowest numbers on the tables were for trucks equipped with the 5.4l engine and a manual transmission and the highest numbers were from the 6.8l engine with an automatic transmission equipped.
2002 Conventional Chart
2002 Gooseneck Chart
2001 Conventional Chart
2001 Gooseneck Chart
2000 Conventional Chart
2000 Gooseneck Chart
Regular, Super And Crew Cabs...
There was also three different cab configurations listed in the charts I found for the F-250's and the capacity numbers did slightly differ depending on which cab configuration you had. Becoming familiar with what each cab style looks like will help you decipher the charts.
F 250 Cab Styles (raybuck.com)
Do I Have A Tow Package Installed?
Some of the charts for the F-250's did state that a tow package was needed in order to get some of the specified figures. Some charts just referred to a general optional package while others specifically stated a certain tow package (535).
It is hard to know if you have a factory installed package equipped on your truck and it is usually best to take it to a dealership to see if they can confirm this for you. A lot of time a tow package consists of a hitch, 4 pin/7 pin connector, a larger radiator in some cases, a transmission cooler, etc.
What Axle Ratio Do I Have On My F-250?
In all of the F-250's charts, you will have to determine what axle ratio was used in the rear end of your truck in order to get an accurate figure. This is easily achieved by opening the driver's side door and looking on the jamb for a manufacturer's sticker that has all sorts of useful information on it.
Example Of Ford Axle Code (blueovaltrucks.com)
The section you need to look for will be labeled "AXLE" and below it you will see letters , numbers or a combination of the two. You will then take that "code" and decipher which axle ratio you have installed. There is a post on blueovaltrucks.com that has these codes listed for you to make things a bit easier.
Be sure to check out some of my other articles on the other Ford trucks out there! I have articles on the F-150 tow capacities, F-350 capacities and F-450 capacities. I also have a page that has all of the tow guides from Ford that you can view, download, etc.
Resources For I Used:
For all of the information you see in this post, I used Ford's Tow Guides to get all of the information for the F-250's, which I have linked to below. The charts in the Guide's are shared for the F-250 and F-350's though so keep that in mind when looking through them.
