RAM 1500 vs F-150 vs Silverado: Which Tows the Most?

The ranking, using each manufacturer's own 2026 figures: Ford first, Chevrolet second, Ram third. Now the part every other page leaves out. That ranking compares three trucks that are not comparable to each other, and it will not help you choose, because the three headline builds have different cabs, different beds, different drivetrains, and in two cases a different fuel.

Here are all three manufacturers' published numbers, then an honest reading of what they mean.

What Each Manufacturer Publishes

All figures below are 2026 model year, taken from each manufacturer's own website, checked 2026-07-30.

Ford (ford.com): "Best-in-Class Max Available Towing, 13,500 lbs" and "Best-in-Class Max Available Payload, 2,440 lbs." Ford attributes the tow figure to the 3.5L EcoBoost V6, and separately lists the 3.5L PowerBoost full hybrid at up to 11,600 lb.

Chevrolet (chevrolet.com), quoting its own FAQ in full because the sentence is unusually informative: "Every 2026 Chevy Silverado is built to tow heavy loads, with a minimum towing number of 8,700 lbs. and an available maximum of 13,300 lbs. for a Silverado Double Cab Standard Bed with the available Duramax Turbo-Diesel I-6 engine and 20-inch wheels." Chevrolet is the only one of the three to publish a minimum as well as a maximum, and that 8,700 to 13,300 lb spread across one nameplate is the most honest single data point on this page.

Ram (ramtrucks.com capability page), which publishes per-engine cards:

The same Ram page also carries a hero figure of 11,320 lb maximum towing capacity and lineup claims of up to 11,610 lb towing and up to 2,360 lb payload. Ram's disclosure, verbatim: "When properly equipped. Additional options, equipment, passengers, and cargo weight may affect payload/towing weights. Contact dealer for details."

The Configurations Behind the Three Headline Numbers

This is where the comparison falls apart, and it is worth seeing laid out:

Look at what you are being asked to compare. A four-wheel-drive gas crew cab against a two-wheel-drive diesel double cab against a rear-drive gas truck. These are three separately optimized halo builds, each engineered to win a spec-sheet line, and a buyer cross-shopping a crew-cab 4×4 gas half-ton is not choosing between any of them.

The 200 lb gap between Ford and Chevrolet is the part to be most skeptical of. It is roughly 1.5 percent, it separates a gas truck from a diesel one, and it would vanish or reverse if you held the configuration constant. Treating it as a meaningful capability difference is a category error.

One further note on the Silverado figure: Chevrolet attributes it to the Duramax diesel, not to the 6.2L V8, and GMC's FAQ for the mechanically related Sierra 1500 names the same build. If you assumed the biggest gas V8 was the max-tow engine, that assumption is wrong on this platform.

Why More Horsepower Often Means Less Towing

Ram's own engine table above contains the most useful lesson on this page, and it is fully counterintuitive.

The High-Output 3.0L Hurricane makes 540 hp and tows 10,000 lb. The standard 3.0L Hurricane makes 420 hp and tows 11,610 lb. The more powerful engine, by 120 hp, is rated to tow 1,610 lb less. Its payload is lower too, by 440 lb.

That is not an error in Ram's published data. Tow ratings are set by gross combined weight rating, cooling capacity, axle ratio, and curb weight, not by peak horsepower. A heavier, higher-output engine adds curb weight, and curb weight comes straight out of payload, which in turn constrains how much tongue weight the truck can accept.

The pattern runs the same way at the other end of Ram's lineup. The weakest engine, the 3.6L Pentastar at 305 hp, has the highest payload of the three at 2,360 lb, and it is the engine behind Ram's lineup-level payload claim. The lightest engine leaves the most capacity for everything else.

So "which one tows the most" and "which engine is most powerful" are close to unrelated questions. If a dealer's argument for a truck's towing ability is its horsepower figure, the argument is not connected to how tow ratings are calculated.

Payload Is the Comparison That Actually Bites

For most real buyers, the towing ranking is the wrong comparison entirely. Payload is the one that decides whether a rig is legal.

Here is why. A conventional trailer typically puts 10 to 15 percent of its loaded weight down on the hitch as tongue weight, and that weight lands in the truck, counting against payload exactly like a passenger. So a 9,000 lb travel trailer arrives with something in the region of 900 to 1,350 lb of tongue weight before you have put a single person in the cab.

Now look at the payload column again. Ram's High-Output Hurricane is published at 1,490 lb of maximum payload. Subtract a 1,200 lb tongue weight and you have under 300 lb left for the driver, passengers, and everything in the bed and cab, on a truck rated to tow 10,000 lb. The tow rating was never the constraint.

This is the single most common way an apparently legal rig turns out to be overloaded, and it is explained in full in payload vs towing capacity. The tongue weight side is in tongue weight explained.

Note also that all published payload figures are maximum available for the best configuration, and they fall as you add cab size, four-wheel drive, and equipment. The number that governs your truck is on its door jamb, per the Tire and Loading Information placard.

How to Cross-Shop These Three Honestly

1. Pick your configuration first, then compare. Decide the cab, bed, and drivetrain you actually want. Then get each manufacturer's rating for that specific configuration from their own towing documentation. The comparison at that point is real, and it is usually far closer than the headline figures suggest.
2. Compare payload before towing. Work out your trailer's expected loaded tongue weight, add your people and gear, and see which trucks have room. This eliminates candidates faster than the tow ranking does.
3. Decide about diesel deliberately. The Silverado's max-tow build is diesel. That is a cost, a maintenance profile, and an altitude advantage all at once, not just a bigger number. See towing at elevation.
4. Check what the rating assumes. Every one of these figures requires a package. See what does "properly equipped" actually mean.
5. Verify on the truck you are actually buying. Read the door jamb of the specific vehicle before you sign anything.

Individual worked examples: Ford F-150, Chevrolet Silverado 1500, GMC Sierra 1500. The sourcing method behind every figure is in towing capacity by vehicle.

FAQ

Which half-ton truck tows the most?
On published 2026 maximum available figures, the Ford F-150 at 13,500 lb, then the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 at 13,300 lb, then the Ram 1500 at 11,610 lb. The ranking is of limited use, because those three ratings belong to three differently configured trucks: a 4×4 gas crew cab, a 2WD diesel double cab, and a rear-drive gas truck.

Is the 200 lb gap between the F-150 and Silverado meaningful?
Not in any practical sense. It is about 1.5 percent, and it separates configurations that differ by fuel type, cab, bed, and drivetrain. Hold the configuration constant and the gap would likely shrink or reverse. Payload, equipment, and how each truck is actually specified matter far more.

Why does the Ram's most powerful engine tow the least?
Because tow ratings come from gross combined weight rating, cooling, axle ratio, and curb weight rather than horsepower. Ram publishes 10,000 lb of towing and 1,490 lb of payload for the 540 hp High-Output Hurricane, against 11,610 lb and 1,930 lb for the 420 hp version. The heavier, more powerful engine consumes capacity.

Should I compare towing capacity or payload?
Payload, first. A conventional trailer puts roughly 10 to 15 percent of its loaded weight onto your hitch, and that lands in your payload alongside your passengers and cargo. Payload runs out before the tow rating does on most real rigs.

Do these numbers apply to the truck on the dealer lot?
Only if that truck matches the exact configuration the rating was published for, which is unlikely. Read the Tire and Loading Information placard and certification label on that specific vehicle's driver's door jamb, and the towing section of the owner's manual for its model year.

The door-jamb sticker and the owner's manual for your exact VIN and trim are the authority. Towing capacity and payload vary by engine, axle ratio, cab, and bed configuration within the same model year, so none of the figures above describes any particular truck you can buy without confirming the configuration. Every number on this page is the manufacturer's own, from ford.com, chevrolet.com, and ramtrucks.com, checked 2026-07-30. No figure here is taken from a spec-aggregator site.