#Payload

Towing 5,000 pounds isn’t what it used to be. The weight of steel and wood hasn’t changed but the towing capabilities and capacities of the vehicles responsible for moving them sure have.

It has long been the stereotype that pickup trucks are built for the tough types, the kind of people who can prepare the fields and plant the crops but aren’t clever enough to market them in the store with a catchy tagline.

Trucks are big profit generators for automakers. The half-ton and heavy-duty pickup segments are probably the most fiercely competitive categories in the industry. Brands fight tooth and nail for every sale they can make. To move the metal they’re willing to leverage any and every competitive advantage no matter how small. Not surprisingly this winner-take-all mentality is delaying common-sense reform that benefits truck buyers.

Ford announced the towing and payload capacity for its 2013 F-Series Super Duty pickup trucks today, bumping the best-in-class claim higher than ever before.