West Herr Ford of Rochester, at 4545 W Ridge Rd, serves Rochester, Greece, Spencerport, Brockport and Churchville, and a good share of the truck shoppers who walk in have the 2026 Ford F-150 and the 2026 Ram 1500 on the same list. Every towing and payload number below comes from the manufacturers' own published capacities guides — Ford's 2026 F-150 Towing Guide and Ram's 2026 Ram 1500 Payload & Towing Weight Capacities — rather than from brochure headlines, because the two trucks' advertised maximums describe configurations most shoppers never order.
A 2026 Ford F-150 with the 3.5L EcoBoost V6, the Tow/Haul Package (53T) and the optional Max Tow Axle is rated to tow up to 13,500 lbs. The 2026 Ram 1500's widely advertised 11,610-lb maximum applies only to a Tradesman with the available 3.0L Hurricane inline-six, in Quad Cab form, 4x2, with a 3.92 axle. Configure that same Tradesman as a Crew Cab 4x4 with its standard 3.6L Pentastar V6 eTorque mild hybrid — the way most crew-cab buyers actually order a truck — and Ram's own guide rates it at 7,340 lbs.
The clearest way to see the gap is engine by engine. These are Ford's published available maximums for the 2026 F-150:
| 2026 Ford F-150 engine | Available max towing | Available max payload |
|---|---|---|
| 2.7L EcoBoost V6 | 8,400 lbs | 1,775 lbs |
| 3.5L EcoBoost V6 | 13,500 lbs | 2,440 lbs |
| 3.5L PowerBoost Full Hybrid V6 | 12,400 lbs | 1,740 lbs |
| 5.0L Ti-VCT V8 | 12,800 lbs | 2,235 lbs |
Ford's 2026 F-150 Towing Guide, when properly equipped. The 3.5L EcoBoost, PowerBoost and 5.0L maximums require the Tow/Haul Package and the Max Tow Axle upgrade. Towing and payload are independent attributes and may not be achieved simultaneously. Raptor-only and Raptor R-only engines are omitted here, as they carry lower tow ratings and aren't cross-shopped against a work-trim Ram.
Against those figures, the Ram 1500's absolute ceiling across its entire lineup is 11,610 lbs — lower than three of the four F-150 engines above, including the F-150's hybrid. And that 11,610-lb Ram figure is not a Crew Cab number. Here is what Ram's own guide rates a Tradesman Crew Cab at:
| 2026 Ram 1500 Tradesman Crew Cab | Max trailer weight (4x2 / 4x4) |
|---|---|
| 3.6L Pentastar V6 eTorque (standard), 5'7" bed, 3.55 axle | 7,570 / 7,340 lbs |
| 3.6L Pentastar V6 eTorque (standard), 5'7" bed, 3.21 axle | 6,570 / 6,340 lbs |
| 3.0L Hurricane I6 (available), 5'7" bed, 3.92 axle | 11,490 / 11,200 lbs |
| 3.0L Hurricane I6 (available), 6'4" bed, 3.92 axle | 11,420 / 11,220 lbs |
Ram's 2026 Ram 1500 Payload & Towing Weight Capacities guide, SAE J2807 compliant, when properly equipped. Trailer weight and payload ratings are mutually exclusive.
Most F-150 and Ram 1500 shoppers in Monroe County are buying a four-door 4x4, so that's the honest matchup. A 2026 F-150 SuperCrew 4x4 with the 3.5L EcoBoost V6, a 3.55 axle and the Tow/Haul Package plus Max Tow Axle is rated at 13,100 lbs on the 145.4-inch wheelbase and 13,500 lbs on the 157.2-inch wheelbase. A 2026 Ram 1500 Tradesman Crew Cab 4x4 tops out at 11,200 lbs, and only with the available Hurricane inline-six and a 3.92 axle. On its standard mild-hybrid V6, the same Ram Crew Cab 4x4 is rated at 7,340 lbs.
That is a difference of roughly 1,900 lbs against the Ram's best four-door 4x4 configuration, and close to 5,800 lbs against the one a shopper gets without paying to upgrade the engine. For anyone towing a loaded dual-axle trailer, a camper, or a skid steer out of Spencerport or Brockport, that's not a specification-sheet distinction — it decides which truck can legally do the job.
Both trucks offer electrification, but they are not the same kind of system. Ram's eTorque is a mild hybrid: a belt starter-generator that smooths stop-start and adds a brief torque boost off the line. Ford's PowerBoost is a full hybrid powertrain with onboard generator capability, which turns the truck into a power source at a job site, a campsite, or a Ridge Rd driveway during an ice-storm outage.
The capability difference follows. A PowerBoost SuperCrew 4x4 is rated at 11,600 lbs on the 145.4-inch wheelbase and 11,500 lbs on the 157.2-inch wheelbase, with a lineup maximum of 12,400 lbs — so even the F-150's hybrid out-tows the best-equipped Ram 1500 Tradesman Crew Cab 4x4, while adding a generator the Ram simply doesn't have.
One Ram advantage is real and worth stating plainly. The Ram 1500 uses a coil-spring rear suspension as standard across every trim, where the F-150 runs leaf springs, and an available four-corner air suspension goes further still. On frost-heaved pavement — which describes a good stretch of Monroe County road in March — an unloaded Ram 1500 rides more smoothly than an unloaded F-150. If a truck spends most of its life empty and commuting, that's a fair reason to drive both before deciding. It is also the trade-off the coil-spring setup buys: the softer unloaded ride comes with the lower ratings in the table above, and the Ram's lineup-maximum payload of 2,360 lbs trails the F-150's 2,440 lbs.
The 13,500-lb ceiling is not what every F-150 tows. The standard 2.7L EcoBoost V6 is rated at up to 8,400 lbs, and reaching the maximum takes the 3.5L EcoBoost V6 together with the Tow/Haul Package (53T) and the optional Max Tow Axle. Two details from Ford's own guide are worth knowing before signing anything: the F-150's standard hitch receiver is rated at 11,600 lbs, with the reinforced receiver that comes with Max Tow Axle rated higher, and Ford states that towing above 11,600 lbs without the Tow/Haul Package and Max Tow Axle may void the New Vehicle Limited Warranty.
So the real check on either truck is the same: match the engine, cab, drivetrain, wheelbase and axle ratio to the trailer, rather than trusting a brochure maximum. The team at West Herr Ford of Rochester can pull the rating for a specific F-150 sitting on the lot, which is a more useful number than any figure on this page.
Want the tow rating for a specific truck in stock? Call sales at (585) 431-1251, or reach service at (585) 352-1200. If the F-150 build you want isn't at 4545 W Ridge Rd, West Herr transfers vehicles between its 40 stores free by next day, with no obligation to purchase.
The Ford F-150 does, and by more than the advertised numbers suggest. A 2026 F-150 with the 3.5L EcoBoost V6, Tow/Haul Package and Max Tow Axle is rated at up to 13,500 lbs, while the 2026 Ram 1500's 11,610-lb lineup maximum requires the available 3.0L Hurricane inline-six in a Quad Cab 4x2 with a 3.92 axle — and a Tradesman Crew Cab 4x4 on its standard mild-hybrid V6 is rated at 7,340 lbs in Ram's own guide.
Per Ram's own 2026 payload and towing guide, a Tradesman Crew Cab with the standard 3.6L Pentastar V6 eTorque and a 3.55 axle is rated at 7,570 lbs in 4x2 and 7,340 lbs in 4x4, rising to 11,490 lbs and 11,200 lbs respectively with the available 3.0L Hurricane inline-six and a 3.92 axle.
With the 3.5L EcoBoost V6, a 3.55 axle and the Tow/Haul Package plus Max Tow Axle, Ford rates the F-150 SuperCrew 4x4 at 13,100 lbs on the 145.4-inch wheelbase and 13,500 lbs on the 157.2-inch wheelbase. The standard 2.7L EcoBoost V6 is rated at up to 8,400 lbs across the lineup.
Ford's towing guide requires the Tow/Haul Package (53T) and the optional Max Tow Axle upgrade to reach the 3.5L EcoBoost V6's 13,500-lb maximum, and states that towing above 11,600 lbs without them may void the New Vehicle Limited Warranty — so the equipment matters as much as the engine.
Unloaded, the Ram 1500 generally does — it uses a coil-spring rear suspension as standard on every trim, and offers an available four-corner air suspension, where the Ford F-150 runs leaf springs. That softer unloaded ride comes alongside lower trailer ratings and a lower maximum payload than the F-150.
Yes — the 3.5L PowerBoost Full Hybrid V6 is a full hybrid powertrain with onboard generator capability, rated at up to 12,400 lbs of towing, which is more than any 2026 Ram 1500 configuration. The Ram's eTorque is a mild hybrid, a belt starter-generator that adds a brief torque boost rather than driving the truck on its own.
West Herr Ford of Rochester, at 4545 W Ridge Rd, stocks the F-150 lineup and serves Rochester, Greece, Spencerport, Brockport and Churchville — call (585) 431-1251 to check current availability or to have a specific build transferred in.
The Ford F-150 is part of the F-Series, America's best-selling truck for 48 years straight, based on 1977–2024 industry-reported total sales. West Herr Ford of Rochester is rated highly by thousands of Google reviewers.
