The 2019 Ford F250s were quite capable when it came to their overall towing capacity, having the ability to haul up to 18,000 lbs. if they had the right equipment.
Now on the other side of the spectrum, some of these trucks were only able to pull 12,200 lbs., so having the proper equipment installed on your truck can make all the difference in the world, roughly 6,000 lbs. difference! Let's dive into the data to see what these trucks need in order to get the most out of them!
Be sure you read through your owner's manual and that you follow all of Ford's recommendations and requirements when hauling anything.
2019 F-250 Overview
Overall Towing Capacity: The overall towing capacity for the 2019 Ford F250s ranged from 12,200-18,000 lbs. and varied depending on many different factors. Two of the biggest factors that determined your maximum trailer weight rating was the engine you had equipped, along with the axle ratio.
Engine Options: There were two different engine options you had to choose from and this was either a 6.2 L gasoline powered engine or a 6.7 L diesel engine. The powerhouse out of the two options was definitely the 6.7 L diesel engine, that had 1,500 lbs.+ more capacity over the 6.2 L engine.
It was hard to compare the two different engine side-by-side though because different axle ratios were used, so we couldn't get a clear-cut comparison.
Axle Ratios: There were four different axle ratios that were used with these trucks, and each engine used two different axle ratios. For instance, models that had the 6.2 L engine equipped had a 3.73 and a 4.30 axle ratio available to them, while models that had the 6.7 L engine had a 3.31 and 3.55 axle ratio available.
Assumed Weight: There was an assumed weight for the driver, which Ford specified 150 lbs. for in order to achieve those trailer weight ratings in the charts. If you have any additional cargo, passengers or any aftermarket equipment that you installed on the truck, then you will have to deduct the weight of those items from the maximum trailer weight ratings, as the assumed weight was only for the driver.
Standard and Gooseneck Charts:
The charts for the 2019 F250s were also broken up into conventional and fifth wheel charts, conventional being the most common weight rating that most people are looking for and is where the receiver hitch is mounted under the rear of the vehicle. A fifth wheel or gooseneck hitch is mounted right in the middle of the bed and is accessible from the top side.
If we compare the data, we can see that the conventional type of hitch had a higher overall maximum trailer weight rating, set at a maximum of 18,000 lbs., compared to the 17,400 lb. fifth wheel hitch rating.
It is important to note that you will need to know the cab style that you have equipped on your truck, along with the axle ratio, what engine you have installed, whether you have a four-wheel drive or two-wheel drive truck, what size bed you have and what your wheelbase measurement is.
It seems like a lot of information to go through in order to get an accurate maximum trailer weight rating, but I will go through all of this information in this article and walk you through it to eliminate a lot of the frustration that might come from having to find all this information.
Trailer Frontal Area Considerations
Tongue Weight Rating:
I was able to find a little note at the bottom of the chart that talks about the maximum tongue weight ratings and it lists them at 10% for conventional hitches and 15% for fifth wheel and gooseneck hitches.
I was able to find another note in the owner's manual, however, that states that you do not want to go below or above 10 to 15% for conventional hitches or 15 to 25% for 5th wheel and gooseneck hitches.
What Axle Ratio Do I Have?
One of the first things you will want to figure out is what axle ratio you have installed on your 2019 truck. You can actually find the axle code on the certification label that is located on your door or door jamb of your driver side door.
If you open the door, you will see a label that looks like the one in the image below and at the bottom of this label you will see the words "axle" and below that you'll see a two-digit code.
You will need to write this code down and plug it into a chart, that I have listed below that deciphers what axle ratio you have equipped on your vehicle.
The chart below lists the different axle ratios for all of the F250-F550s, so there will be some overlap because it references four different F-series trucks. All you have to do is plug in your code to the chart below in order to find out your axle ratio.
On a side note, I do want to mention that the F250s only came equipped with the 3.31, the 3.55, the 3.73 and the 4.30 axle ratios and are the only four ratios that you need to be concerned about. The 4.10 and 4.88 axle ratios do not apply to these trucks.
Wheelbase Lengths:
The next thing you'll have to figure out is the wheelbase measurement and in the charts this is just simply labeled as "WB". There were five different wheelbase lengths listed in the chart and you will need to have this information in order to get an accurate number.
The wheelbase is simply the measurement from the front wheel to the rear wheels from the center of the wheels themselves. This measurement is given in inches and are listed as: 142 in, 148 in, 160 in, 164 in and 176 in.
Bed Lengths:
There were also two different bed lengths listed in the charts and these were labeled as the 8 ft and 6 3/4 ft boxes. The 8-foot bed is basically just a long bed and measures just over eight feet in length, while the standard size bed measures just under 7 ft in length.
Trim Levels Explained:
There were also six different trim levels available for these model year trucks, which were listed as the: XL, XLT, Lariat, King Ranch, Platinum and Limited models.
I did not see anything in the charts that would indicate a different maximum trailer weight rating that was specific to any trim level that you had, so I do not think the trim level that you had equipped on your truck affected the weight ratings at all.
Cab Styles...
There were also three different cab styles that were listed in the charts that you will also have to plug in, in order to get your trailer weight rating. These three cab styles were listed as a regular cab, a super cab and a crew cab. The image below shows what these three different cab styles look like, so you can match that up with what you have on your truck.
GVWR and GAWR Figures:
GVWR& GAWRs: The gross combined weight ratings were listed in the charts, which made it really nice to find those figures but I know some of you out there going to want to know what the gross vehicle weight rating and gross axle weight ratings were as well.
I was not able to find either of these figures in the owner's manual or the guide but I was able to find information on where these figures can be found.
Certification Label: I talked a little bit about the certification label already and how you can find your axle code on that label, but you can also find other information on that label as well, like the gross vehicle weight rating and the gross axle weight ratings.
I posted a screenshot of the certification label below and it outlines the four different areas where you can find these specific pieces of information. You can also see other information on this label that would come in handy, if you ever needed it.
Standard Equipment & What's Included...
The 2019 F250s did have a lot of the tow equipment that you needed available as a standard auction, which is really nice. I was also able to find a small chart that lists these specific equipment that comes with these trucks.
If you look at the image, you will notice two different columns and the first column is standard equipment, while the second column is reserved for the tow package that was available. In order to have this package, you had to have the diesel engine equipped in your vehicle, as it was not available for gasoline powered models.
(11) F-350 DRW/F-450 only. (12) In-cab, no controller (SRW). (13) Requires 6.7L diesel engine. (14) Polished (Platinum).
Trailer Brakes:
Pulling around the added weight of a trailer can be really tough on your vehicle and your vehicle's braking system is only designed to handle the gross vehicle weight rating of the vehicle, not an additional load like a trailer.
This is where having trailer brakes comes in and is actually a requirement by Ford and by most local law enforcement agencies. Ford requires that you have trailer brakes equipped on your trailer if it weighs 1,500 lbs. or more. You will want to check with your local laws to see if this 1,500 lb. rating complies with what their standards are.
Other Notes I Found:
One additional note I found in the owner's manual talks about higher altitude areas and how you have to reduce the gross combined weight rating of your truck by 2% for every 1,000 feet of elevation.
If you are planning on traveling to areas that are higher in elevation, then you will need to adjust your load accordingly. Keep in mind, that if you are planning to travel to a location that is 8,000 feet in elevation, you will lose 16% of your gross combined weight rating!
Sway Control Requirement
Helpful Links:
There were only two different resources I used to gather all of the information in this article and these were the owner's manual and the guide that Ford uses for all of their vehicles.
The guide really proved to be the most useful resource, and is where I gathered a lot of the images you see in this article. The owner's manual also came in handy, as it is usually the resource that Ford recommends reading when you have any questions about your truck.
I wanted to post links to these resources below, just in case anyone out there wants to dive a little bit deeper into the research themselves.
Last updated on April 27th, 2022 at 06:47 pm