Tow capacity of a 2020

[EricM]

Overloading an axle shouldn't ever shear wheel studs because the weight is carried by the center bore of the hub, not the wheel studs.

A ton of Raptor owners run Method wheels that are NOT hub centric. That has always amazed me that people chose to downgrade their wheels.

I think it's mearly from ignorance though- as most guys buying aftermarket wheels for their Raptors are only interested in what they look like and have no clue what hubcentric wheels even are.

Even lug centric wheels aren't going to shear off though, the clamp load that 6 lug nuts puts on the wheel is immense. That's only happening if the lugs are loose. Witness all of the non-hubcentric Method wheels on 6000 lb Raptors for a decade plus now.

 

[K9 EXPERT]

As someone who's frequented racetracks for years I see this somewhat regularly. Overtight lug nuts can cause them to shear but not tight enough does too. Once the nuts loosen enough the studs are loaded in shear instead of tension, shear strength of steel is generally around half of its tensile strength, so once they are loaded hard enough in shear they shear off. Overloading an axle shouldn't ever shear wheel studs because the weight is carried by the center bore of the hub, not the wheel studs. The purpose of the studs and lug nuts is to retain the wheel to the axle and transmit force from the drivetrain, not carry load. In a vehicle that is properly maintained, if the axle is overloaded the axle itself will bend before a wheel falls off.

Towing guidelines and payload/GVWR rules should obviously be followed, but I wanted to stress the importance of proper vehicle maintenance and not scare people that if they find themselves in an overloaded towing situation that their wheels will fly off and kill someone.

I am not getting in a sword fight and I know zero about racing, but I have 2000 hours of formAl education in traffic collision investigation and personally investigated 1000’s of accidents. Obviously I cannot go into physics, but a tire that is cupped or not balanced will not rotate as designed and if the wheel is bearing too much weight and is wobbling, it will place undo stress on the lugs and they will shear off. I never personally saw it, but I have taken statements from witnesses that did and more often than not, I also discovered the vehicle was overweight. There is nothing set in stone, but logic will dictate that not all lug nuts will detach simultaneously. However, the collisions where the wheel separated from the vehicle and some lugs were not sheared off, is indicative of a few loose lug nuts. The real world is not a race track which is the reason a race car driver may be awesome on the track, but drive like crap on the freeway. The track has rules and drivers anticipate other drivers actions, the freeway doesn’t have that type of control. lastly, to set the record straight I’m not trying to scare anyone! I shared info and people have the right to interpret it as garbage

 

[shigman]

I wonder how these wrangler guys deal with GVWR with 1000 lbs of static bumpers/winch, skids, sliders, air compressors, lights, radios, jerry cans, hi lifts, 120lb wheel tire combos, roof racks, dual batteries. Not a single one of those builds is legal when fully loaded with people, let alone towing a small trailer.

 

[GordoJay]

I doubt it. Overload in what way exactly?

Again, you *can* tow 8000 lbs with a Raptor, you just can't do it with half of your belongings and family in the truck.

Go look at the doorjamb sticker. It has load capacity and maximum load for each axle. For example, mine says 3700lb max load on the front axle, 3750lb max load on the rear axle, and 7050lb max GVWR. My truck has a max payload of 1205lb. That implies a curb weight of 5850lb. Since we all run more air in the front tires by a couple of psi, we can infer that 2/34 or 6% higher load is seen by the front. That would be about 175lb. So an unloaded no moonroof SCREW should have 3100lb on the front axle and 2750 on the rear. Say 400lb for two adults up front, maybe 300lb is seen by the front axle, 100lb by the rear. That gives us 3400lb in front, 2850 in the rear. We now have 800lb in the budget for trailer tongue weight. But because the hitch is behind the rear axle, loading the hitch puts more weight on the rear axle than the tongue weight. Weight is actually transferred off the front axle because of the leverage. Putting 800lb on the tongue likely puts 1000lb on the rear axle. In our case, it brings the rear axle up to 3850lb, 100lb over the spec limit. Add a moonroof and other heavy stuff, and it looks worse.

For those who have never worked in a corporate setting, I'll fill in a couple of blanks. Engineering says useful towing capacity is X. Marketing says WTF? that's too low, make it higher. Engineering says we can't without ruining performance. Marketing says what's the biggest number you can justify? Engineering says if we assume a 90lb driver, an empty vehicle, and max loading, we can say 8000lb. And it becomes the spec. And customers all over the country load in 1200lb, hook up a trailer, and go out onto the highway. The ones who live complain about destroying the rear leaf springs.

 

[Cybot]

I feel I must apologize, I didn't mean to cause an uproar. This is the second thread that I've started that has caused a little discontent among the members. I think I'm a bad influence.

 

[ayoustin]

Nonsense, it's the internet, people are going to speak their mind. Disagreements and discussion can breed thought and that's not a bad thing. You came here to learn so there's no need to apologize.

 

[GordoJay]

I feel I must apologize, I didn't mean to cause an uproar. This is the second thread that I've started that has caused a little discontent among the members. I think I'm a bad influence.

You're not a bad influence yet. But keep working at it. We like bad influences.

As to the discontent ... you didn't cause any. You just gave it an excuse to resurface. It's all good. The only dumb question is the one you don't ask.

 

[hingedthinker]

I have two of these Fords, therefore I do not care about towing in my Raptor. Because the F350 can tow a Raptor, and my house, and your house too all at once.

I do have a 7k box trailer that I occasionally tow with the raprap, it does well enough.

 

[CleverGirl_]

dammit @Cybot again?

 

[Cybot]

dammit @Cybot again?

View attachment 424035

Yeah, I know I am always starting crap.