2017 Ford F-150 Towing Capacity Resource Guide

Last updated on April 27th, 2022 at 06:42 pm

​The 2017 F-150 is a very capable truck and has ​a towing capacity up to 12,200 pounds, if equipped with the appropriate engine, axle ratio, tow package, etc. There was quite a range too though and the lower end of that spectrum, you could only have a 4,900 pound maximum tow capacity, so it really depends on what options you have.

This article goes into detail to explain what models had the higher capacity ratings, which ones had the lower ratings and what factors played a role in determining the tow numbers. Hope it helps!

Remember to look through your owner’s manual for all of the towing information for your 2017 F-150 to really get familiar with your truck. I tried to post most of the important parts that you need to know but be sure you do some of your own research too.

2017 F-150 Towing Overview

Overall Towing Capacity:

​The overall towing capacity for the 2017 Ford F150’s ranged from 4,900-12,200 lbs. when looking at all models. This includes conventional and 5th wheel towing specs, all engine types, cab configurations, 4WD and 2WD models and all axle ratios.

3.5L (V6): ​If you had the standard 3.5l engine equipped in your 2017 F-150, then you could expect to see a capacity range of between 4,900-7,600 pounds, according to the charts below.

2017 3.5l Conventional Tow Chart2017 3.5l 5th Wheel Tow Chart

2.7L (V6): ​Even though the 2.7l engine is a smaller displacement engine than the 3.5l engine, it had a higher overall capacity range of between 7,300-8,500 pounds, which is surprising.

2017 F-150 2.7l Conventional Tow Chart2017 F-150 2.7l 5th Wheel Tow Chart

5.0L (V8): ​The 5.0l engine brought a lot more pulling power, compared to the 3.5l and 2.7l engines and if you had a 5.0l engine equipped in your truck, you could expect to see a capacity range of between 7,700-11,000 lbs.

2017 F-150 5.0l Conventional Tow Chart2017 F-150 5.0l 5th Wheel Tow Chart

3.5L (V6) EcoBoost: ​The 3.5l EcoBoost engines produced the most impressive numbers on the charts overall, especially if you had a tow package installed, which would account for the massive 12,200 pound maximum weight specs of the 2017 F-150.

If you had the 3.5l EcoBoost engine equipped in your 2017 truck, then you would have seen a capacity range of between 6,000-12,200 lbs. The lower figures will be ​confined to specific models and/or wheel base distances.

2017 F-150 3.5l EcoBoost Conventional Tow Chart2017 F-150 3.5l EcoBoost 5th Wheel Tow Chart

Conventional:

​Conventional tow specs ranged from 5,000-12,200 pounds.

5th Wheel:

​5th wheel tow specs ranged from 4,900-12,100 pounds.

GCWR:

​​The GCWR figures ranged from ​9,400-17,100 pounds.

Assumed Weight: ​Here is a screenshot of the weight assumptions Ford makes for the 2017 F-150’s when they made the tow charts. There is an assumed weight of two passengers, weighing 150 lbs. each (combined total of 300 lbs.), no cargo and all mandatory options (like tow package).

If you have extra passenger weight, cargo weight or other aftermarket accessories, then you will need to deduct that weight from these figures.

2017 F150 Weight Assumptions

2017 F150 Weight Assumptions

The 2017 F-150 Towing Charts…

​Here are the towing charts for the 2017 F-150s that I found in Ford’s towing guides. There are two different charts here, one for conventional towing and the other for 5th wheel specs. They are very close when it comes to specs with slight differences so I felt it was important to list both so you can get the most accurate numbers possible.

Conventional Towing Chart

2017 Ford F 150 Conventional Towing Chart2017 Ford F 150 Conventional Towing Chart 2

5th Wheel And Gooseneck Towing Chart

2017 Ford F 150 5th Wheel Towing Chart2017 Ford F 150 5th Wheel Towing Chart 2

How To Read The 2017 F-150 Charts…

Now there is a lot of information packed into the 2017 towing charts and it can be quite overwhelming when you look at all of the data. There are so many columns and rows and then you have columns inside of other columns and rows inside of other rows on top of that.

I wanted to briefly go over how to read the tow charts for the 2017 F150s, what information is included, where to find that information and how to use it to determine your maximum tow capacity, accurately.

The towing charts used below may not be the correct year for your truck so just use them for example purposes only and do not take any of the data from them. The charts I have listed above are correct though for the 2017 F150s.

​Conventional & 5th Wheel Charts: ​There are two different charts that Ford lists in their towing guides and this is for conventional towing and 5th wheel towing. So it basically boils down to what type of receiver hitch you are using.

Conventional towing is what most people use and uses a receiver hitch mounted to the frame of the truck from the bottom side. A 5th wheel hitch/gooseneck hitch is mounted in the center of the bed and connects to the frame as well but is accessed from the top side.

Cab Configurations: For the 2017 charts, the cab configurations or cab styles made up the three largest columns (3 in total) that are shown along the top of the charts, with their respective names.

Further down this article, I explain what the different cab configurations look like and what Ford considers a regular, super and crew cab, so be sure to check that out if anything is unclear to you.

2016 Ford F-150 Cab Configuration Reference

2016 Ford F-150 Cab Configuration Reference

4WD vs 2WD: ​In the 2017 charts, you will also see two section underneath the cab styles columns and these are the specs for 2WD and 4WD models. There will be slight differences in numbers when comparing similar setups and only certain wheel base options were available for 2WD and 4WD models.

Note: A “-” indicated on the charts means that Ford did not make a model with that axle ratio, wheelbase and 4WD or 2WD combination.

2016 F150 4WD and 2WD Columns

2016 F150 4WD and 2WD Columns

Engine Equipped: ​One of the most important pieces of information you need to know is what engine you have equipped in your 2017 F-150. The engine option row is shown in the example image below and is divided by larger rows. The example shows two different engine rows for the 3.5l and 2.7l engines.

2016 Ford F150 Engine Choices

2016 Ford F150 Engine Choices

Axle Ratio: ​In each engine row, you will find an axle ratio row just to the right of the stated engine option. The axle ratios will make a big difference, in some cases for the towing capacity numbers and you need to be sure you are looking at the right row for your specific axle ratio.

I go into how to find ​your specific axle ratio information ​below, for those of you out there that need help finding out what axle ratio you have on your truck.

2016 Ford F150 Axle Ratios

2016 Ford F150 Axle Ratios

Axle Ratios For The 2017 F-150’s:

​Finding the axle ratio on your 2017 F-150 is pretty easy and exactly like other model year F150’s. If you open your driver’s side door, you will see a certification label like the one in the below image. If you look towards the bottom of this label you will se a section labeled “AXLE”.

There will be a code under that with numbers, letters or a combination of both that you will need to write down and decipher.

Example Of Ford Axle Code

Example Of Ford Axle Code

​I like to take the “code” and plug it into a site that has a chart of Ford’s axle codes, like this one in order to figure out what axle ratio you were equipped with.

Alternatively, you could climb under your truck and look for a tag on the rear differential that has the axle ratio information listed but looking at the label is surely the easiest and most convenient way of going about it.

Cab Configurations:

What cab style you have on your truck was one determining factor for what your maximum trailer weight would be set at and knowing what those cab configurations are will really help some of you out there that may not know.

The image below shows what the three cab configurations are for many different manufacturers and you can find Ford’s cab configurations on the third row down, or at least what they call them (Regular Cab, Super Cab and Crew Cab).

The regular cab has two doors and a standard sized cab area, while the Super Cab has an extended cab area. The Super Crew Cab has four full sized doors and a much larger interior cab area.

Truck Cab Configurations_Styles

Truck Cab Configurations/Styles (styleyourtrucks.com)

​2017 Towing Equipment & Packages Offered…

​Here is a chart I found in Ford’s 2017 Tow Guide that lists all of the standard and optional tow packages and equipment that was offered for the 2017 F-150s. I have outlined the areas for the F-150 because this chart is for many different models and it is hard to scan with so much data to look at.

2017 F150 Tow Equipment And Packages Chart

2017 F150 Tow Equipment And Packages Chart

What Engine Do I Have?

​As we know by now, what engine you have equipped played a huge role in your towing capacity numbers but some of you out there may not know how to look up your truck’s engine, so this section is for you!

Looking up what engine you have installed is easy to do and there are a couple of different ways you could go about achieving this but the easiest way would just be to plug your VIN into a decoder that will have all of the specs listed for you.

1. I like to use this website to look up my VIN. Just enter your VIN in the search bar and then search. For this example, I used a 2017 F-150 that I found online and entered the VIN in the search box.

VIN Decoder Site

2. You will get a bunch of different specs about the vehicle, which is helpful to have anyways but we want to scroll down and see what engine we have. The image below shows where to find this info and it is labeled as “Engine Model” in the table and we can see that for our example, we have the 3.5L GTDI (EcoBoost) engine equipped.

Looking Up Engine

Important Safety Notes:

Reading through your 2017 owner’s manual is highly recommended (like I’ve said many times) and you can find all kinds of towing related information in it, not just tow figures but additional safety and load limit info and more.

2017 F150 Recommended Towing Weights

2017 F150 Recommended Towing Weights

2016 F150 Higher Altitude Weight Warning

2017 F150 Higher Altitude Weight Warning

2017 F150 Maximum Loade Traile Weight Definition

2017 F150 Maximum Loaded Trailer Weight Definition

Helpful Links:

I always like to add links to my sources where I found my information and for the 2017 F-150’s, I gathered all of my information from the 2017 Ford Towing Guide and the 2017 Ford F-150 owner’s manual. The tow guide had all of the charts that I used and posted pictures of in this article.

The owner’s manual also had tow specs but had a lot of other useful tow related information that I recommend you read up on to know what limitations your truck has. Feel free to check out the links, which come directly from Ford.

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