2016 Ford F-450 towing capacity.

Published pickup ratings run from 19,000 - 31,200 lbs for F-450 rows, DRW, 1 engine, and Conventional, 5th-Wheel, Gooseneck towing. This Ford guide does not publish a profile/engine available max-payload summary for this year; use the truck certification label for actual payload, GVWR, rear GAWR, passengers, cargo, options, and trailer tongue or pin weight.

Find your exact towing capacity Run the 2016 F-450 lookup tool → Check towing capacity by VIN Decode your VIN to prefill the 2016 lookup → View full comparison chart Jump to the full rating chart →

Retrieved from Ford RV & Trailer Towing Guide 2016. Citations available below.

2016 Ford F-450 guide illustration
2016 TOWING RANGE
19,000 - 31,200 LBS
CONVENTIONAL MAX
19,000 LBS
5TH-WHEEL MAX
26,500 LBS
GOOSENECK MAX
31,200 LBS
Engine Chart

6.7L V8 Turbo Diesel

F-450 · DRW · Conventional, 5th-Wheel, Gooseneck

19,000 - 31,200 lbs

Towing Capacity Chart

F-450 DRW Conventional towing

Crew Cab
4.304x4 4x4 Not listed 40,400 lbs 19,000 lbs p.18
Towing Capacity Chart

F-450 DRW 5th-Wheel towing

Crew Cab
4.304x4 4x4 Not listed 40,400 lbs 26,500 lbs p.18
Towing Capacity Chart

F-450 DRW Gooseneck towing

Crew Cab
4.304x4 4x4 Not listed 40,400 lbs 31,200 lbs p.18
PHYSICAL LIMITS MAX HITCH
19,000 LBS
DOCUMENT RULES ALTITUDE
-2% / 1K FT
Printed for gasoline engines
FORD LIMITS FRONTAL AREA
60-75 SQ FT
SAFETY BASELINE EQUIPMENT
BASE GUIDE
Warranty baseline; no weight-threshold rule
VIEW ALL POLICY RULES
TECHNICAL GUIDE

Document-level towing rules for the 2016 Super Duty guide.

These document-level rules define the physics and safety boundaries of the 2016 Super Duty pickup guide. They apply alongside the row-specific weights in the chart below.

FIG. 2016 LOAD Load + Altitude

Base loading guidance from Ford

  • Conventional: 10–15% tongue weight of total loaded trailer weight.
  • 5th-wheel: 15–25% king-pin weight of total loaded trailer weight.
  • Gooseneck: TowingIQ note: the 2016 guide prints no pin weight percentage for gooseneck towing, so none is shown.
  • 5th-wheel / gooseneck: 15–25% king-pin weight of total loaded trailer weight. TowingIQ note: the guide prints this range for 5th-wheel towing; it prints no gooseneck percentage.
  • High altitude: reduce gross vehicle weight (GVW) and gross combination weight (GCW) by 2% per 1,000 ft of elevation. The 2016 guide prints this under "Gasoline engines lose power by 3-4% per 1,000 ft. elevation." — it is stated for gasoline engines.
FIG. 2016 HITCH Hitch Capacities

F-450 receiver ratings from Ford's hitch table

  • F-350 Super Duty DRW w/6.7L engine and F-450 Super Duty hitch receiver Printed for: F-450 Weight-carrying 8,500 / 850 lbs; weight-distributing 19,000 / 1,900 lbs. Ford note 3 on the weight-distributing rating: 2.5" receiver. If the provided 2.5" to 2.0" adapter is used, this reduces the Max. Trailer Capacity to 12,500 lbs. and the Max. Tongue Load to 1,250 lbs.
FIG. 2016 FRONTAL Frontal Area

Frontal-area allowances are tow-type specific

Conventional towing

  • 60 sq ft
    Super Duty Pickup 60 sq. ft. for other Super Duty pickup applications

5th-wheel towing

  • 75 sq ft
    Super Duty Pickup 75 sq. ft. for 5th-wheel and gooseneck applications

Gooseneck towing

  • 75 sq ft
    Super Duty Pickup 75 sq. ft. for 5th-wheel and gooseneck applications

5th-wheel / gooseneck towing

  • 75 sq ft
    Super Duty Pickup 75 sq. ft. for 5th-wheel and gooseneck applications
FIG. 2016 SAFETY Universal Safety Baseline

Required equipment and threshold rules for the 2016 guide

This guide year publishes a warranty baseline only; no weight-threshold equipment rule applies to the pickup lineup.

Your New Vehicle Limited Warranty may be voided if you tow without required equipment.

FIG. 2016 EQUIP Printed Guidance

What the guide prints as required or recommended

  • Recommended: A weight-carrying hitch is recommended for all vehicles towing trailers less than 5,000 pounds. Ford guide, p. 13
  • Required: Weight-distributing hitch: required for certain Class III and all Class IV applications. Ford guide, p. 27
  • Required: A conventional, identical full-size spare tire is required for trailer towing (mini, compact and dissimilar full-size spare tires should not be used; always replace the spare tire with the road tire as soon as possible). Ford guide, p. 32
NOTES: Document-level universal rules sit beneath the row-specific chart ratings. Use the chart to narrow cab, drivetrain, axle, GCWR, wheelbase, and box length.
Technical Audit

Data sources

These citations show the Ford guide pages used for the 2016 Ford F-450 pickup overview.

Show source pages for the 2016 guide
DOC_ID: ford-tow DOCUMENT BASIS

Ford RV & Trailer Towing Guide 2016

Audit Scope PAGES: 4-5, 10, 13-15, 18, 28, 30-32