Ford Truck Names: What the Heck Do They Mean?

By Jeremy Nutt, on December 17th, 2010

On Wednesday, we talked about Curb Weight, GVWR, GCWR, GAWR, payload capacity and how “tonnage” slang terminology is not reality.  Now, let’s put all of that great knowledge to use by deciphering the name’s of Ford, Chevy, and GMC trucks.  We’ll start off with Ford’s because they are the easiest to understand.   The automotive slang is in quotes for your reference.

Ford Truck’s

F100 Truck = “1/2 Ton”
(1953-1982) 4000-5000 GVWR

F150 Truck = “1/2 Ton”
(1975-Current) ~6000 GVWR. The F150 started life as a heavy duty alternative to the F100 (“Nicknamed the “Heavy Half Ton”, it was allegedly intended to dance around new emissions regulations.)

F150 Truck with “7700″ Package = “1/2 Ton” Heavy Duty
(1997-04) 7700 GVWR

F250 Truck = “3/4 ton”
(1953-1999) 8500 GVWR

F250 Heavy Duty Truck = “3/4 ton”
(1992-97) 9000 GVWR (Essentially an F350 with F250 badges)

F250 Super Duty Truck = “3/4 ton”
(1999-Current) 8800 GVWR

F350 Truck = “1 ton”
(1953-1997) 10000 GVWR

F350 Super Duty Truck= “1 ton”
(1999-Current) 9900-11200 GVWR
 » Continue reading more of this post…

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Totally Gross: Vehicle Weight Ratings 101.

By Jeremy Nutt, on December 15th, 2010

GVWR

Half ton, one ton, three quarter ton, etc…  The funny thing about tonnage ratings is that they are still thrown around today but were only really accurate up into the 1960’s.  Since then, “tonnage” has become a slang way of separating the light, medium, and heavy duty truck models. Back when tonnage was accurate, it was a measurement of the truck’s Payload Capacity.

Payload Capacity = Passengers + Cargo weight. This means the weight of the people, gas, beverages, rocks, mud, and yes even the pet raccoon that lives under the seat. This does not include the weight of the vehicle or any sort of towing number nonsense.   In a perfect world……

1/2 ton truck = Safely carry 1000 lbs of people and cargo

3/4 ton truck = Safely carry 1500 lbs of people and cargo

1 ton truck = Safely carry 2000 lbs of people and cargo

Unfortunately, those ratings have become vague guidelines on all trucks newer than the 1960’s. » Continue reading more of this post…

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