The Ford F-150 tows more than the RAM 1500. The number that proves it is 13,500 pounds, and it’s on every F-150 comparison chart in the country.
It’s also the wrong number for most buyers.
The 13,500-pound rating belongs to an F-150 with the 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 and the Max Trailer Tow package, a build that a fleet buyer or a contractor shopping the entry price almost never orders. The truck those buyers put on the lot is the F-150 XLT SuperCrew 4×2 with the base 2.7-liter EcoBoost, and that truck tows 8,400 pounds. The RAM 1500 in the same work spec, the Express Crew Cab 4×2 with the Hurricane Standard Output six, is rated up to 11,610.
Spec the trucks the way the marketing does, and the F-150 wins by nearly 2,000 pounds. Spec them the way a work buyer does, and the RAM wins by more than 3,000. The whole comparison turns on which engine is under the hood, and that is the part the headline number hides.
Key Takeaways
- The F-150 wins max tow, the RAM wins the work-spec tow. A fully-equipped 3.5L EcoBoost F-150 pulls 13,500 pounds; the RAM Hurricane SO pulls 11,610. But the base 2.7L EcoBoost work truck tows only 8,400, well under the RAM.
- The work engines tie on fuel. The F-150’s 2.7L EcoBoost and the RAM’s Hurricane SO both return 21 mpg combined on regular. The F-150’s only efficiency edge is the PowerBoost hybrid at 24 combined, which the RAM has no answer for.
- Ford wins jobsite power. Pro Power Onboard delivers 2,000 watts on gas trucks and 7,200 watts on the hybrid. The RAM’s bed inverter puts out 400 watts. For running corded tools off the truck, it isn’t close.
- RAM wins the warranty, decisively. RAM’s 2026 gas powertrain coverage is 10 years or 100,000 miles for the original owner. Ford’s is 5 years or 60,000 miles.
- The RAM offers a V8; the F-150 offers more of everything. Ford’s six-engine lineup includes a 5.0L V8, a full hybrid, and a 720-horsepower Raptor R. RAM counters with the Hemi’s return and the tow-leading Hurricane six.
The Engines
Ford sells more engine variety in the F-150 than any competitor. The 2026 lineup runs a 2.7-liter EcoBoost V6 at 325 horsepower, a naturally aspirated 5.0-liter Coyote V8 at 400, a 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 at 400 with 500 pound-feet of torque, a 3.5-liter PowerBoost full hybrid at 430, and, in the Raptor, a high-output 3.5 and the supercharged Raptor R. A 10-speed automatic runs the whole range.
RAM answers with four: the 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 at 305, the 3.0-liter Hurricane SO twin-turbo six at 420 with 469 pound-feet, the Hurricane HO at 540, and the returned 5.7-liter Hemi V8 at 395. An eight-speed ZF handles the shifting.
| Engine | HP | Torque (lb-ft) | Max Tow (lb) | Combined MPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAM 3.0L Hurricane SO (I6 TT) | 420 | 469 | 11,610 | 21 |
| RAM 5.7L Hemi V8 | 395 | 410 | 11,320 | 19 |
| Ford 2.7L EcoBoost (work engine) | 325 | 400 | 8,400 | 21 |
| Ford 5.0L V8 | 400 | 410 | 12,800 | 19 |
| Ford 3.5L EcoBoost (tow leader) | 400 | 500 | 13,500 | 20 |
| Ford 3.5L PowerBoost (hybrid) | 430 | 570 | 11,600 | 24 |
The spread inside the F-150 lineup is the story. The base 2.7 is a modest work engine. The 3.5 EcoBoost is a genuine heavy-tow motor. The gap between them, 325 to 400 horsepower and 8,400 to 13,500 pounds of tow, is wider than the gap between the least and most expensive engine RAM offers. What an F-150 can do depends heavily on which one a buyer checks, and the entry work engine is the weakest of the bunch.
Towing: Read Past the Headline
The 13,500-pound maximum is real, and Ford earns the crown. No RAM 1500 engine tows that much. The Hurricane SO tops the RAM lineup at 11,610.
The honest question is what the buyer in front of a work truck gets.
A contractor pricing an F-150 XLT SuperCrew 4×2 lands on the 2.7-liter EcoBoost as the standard engine. That truck tows 8,400 pounds. The RAM Express Crew Cab 4×2 comes standard-adjacent with the Hurricane SO’s 11,610-pound rating available at a $1,695 engine upgrade over the base V6. At similar money, in the trim a work buyer orders, the RAM out-tows the F-150 by more than 3,000 pounds.
To beat the RAM on a trailer, the F-150 buyer has to move up to the 3.5-liter EcoBoost and add the Max Trailer Tow package, which raises the price and moves the truck out of the entry bracket. That’s a fair choice, and for a buyer who tows near 13,000 pounds it’s the right one. But it is not a like-for-like win over the RAM. It’s a different, pricier truck.
Payload follows a similar pattern. The F-150’s maximum reaches roughly 2,440 pounds with the right engine and build, edging the RAM’s best of 2,360, though again the leading numbers come from specific configurations rather than the base work truck.
Fuel Economy: A Wash, Then the Hybrid
On the work engines, the two trucks tie. The F-150’s 2.7-liter EcoBoost returns 21 mpg combined in rear-drive form. The RAM Hurricane SO returns 21 combined. Same number, same regular 87 octane, despite the RAM giving up nothing on power. The Hurricane SO makes 95 more horsepower than the 2.7 and matches its fuel economy.
Ford’s efficiency trump card is the PowerBoost full hybrid, which reaches 24 mpg combined and adds a 7.2-kilowatt onboard generator. RAM has no half-ton full hybrid for 2026. The Pentastar’s eTorque is a mild-hybrid belt starter, not a full hybrid, and it doesn’t approach the PowerBoost’s efficiency.
So the fuel story splits.
On the trucks a value buyer cross-shops, it’s a dead heat. If a buyer specifically wants a hybrid half-ton, Ford is the only one of these two that sells one.
Jobsite Power: Ford’s Clearest Win
This is where the F-150 pulls decisively ahead, and it’s a practical, demonstrable advantage rather than a spec-sheet flourish.
Pro Power Onboard turns the F-150 into a generator. The gas trucks’ 2.0-kilowatt system delivers 2,000 watts. The PowerBoost hybrid delivers 7,200 watts, enough to run a jobsite’s worth of corded tools, a compressor, or emergency household power during an outage.
The RAM Express counters with a 400-watt inverter in the bed as part of the Bed Utility Group. It runs a laptop charger, a work light, or a small tool. It does not run a table saw. Against the F-150’s 2,000-watt standard output, the RAM is down by a factor of five, and against the hybrid’s 7,200 watts it isn’t in the conversation.
For a tradesperson who powers tools off the truck, this alone can settle the choice.
Warranty: Ten Years Against Five
RAM made a 10-year, 100,000-mile powertrain limited warranty standard on the 2026 gas 1500 at no extra cost, for the original owner. It reverts to 5 years or 60,000 miles on resale.
Ford covers the F-150 powertrain for 5 years or 60,000 miles, the same coverage the industry has offered for years. Ford has not matched RAM’s ten-year term.
For a fleet or a long-term owner, the RAM’s coverage is a real ownership-cost difference, doubling the powertrain protection window. For a buyer who trades every three years, the extra years mostly go unused, and the advantage narrows.
It is the RAM’s clearest win here, the mirror image of Ford’s onboard-power lead.
Reliability: Reputations and Recalls
Neither truck arrives with a clean sheet, and both deserve an honest accounting.
The F-150’s 10-speed automatic has drawn harsh-shift complaints across several model years, enough to prompt a class-action filing, though many owners resolve the behavior with a recalibration rather than hardware. Ford has issued recalls on the F-150 in recent years covering a transmission valve-body concern that can affect reverse-gear behavior, rear axle bolts on certain builds, and a backup-camera image fault that reached a large population of trucks. Buyers cross-shopping a specific F-150 should check its recall record against the NHTSA database before buying. The F-150’s full reliability record breaks those recalls and complaints down by year. The 5.0-liter V8’s older cam-phaser rattle is more a legacy-engine reputation item than a live 2026 defect, and recent-generation EcoBoost and PowerBoost engines have held up well by owner accounts.
The RAM’s Hurricane inline-six is new, having entered production for 2025, so its long-term record isn’t written yet. That newness is a fair concern, and the 10-year powertrain warranty is RAM’s answer to it. The DT-generation 1500 that underpins the 2026 truck has a longer track record, and The Weekly Driver’s reliability database covers it by year, with the reliability-by-year breakdown laying out which model years earned their keep.
Pricing
The F-150 opens lower on paper. The XL work trim starts in the high $30,000s, the XLT in the mid-$40,000s, both before a destination charge that Ford has pushed to the high end of the segment for 2026. Building an XLT SuperCrew 4×2 with a comparable equipment group, a spray-in liner, and Pro Power Onboard lands in roughly the same low-fifties territory as the RAM Express tested here at $51,030.
The two trucks end up close on price in a like-for-like work build. The RAM has also carried heavy bonus cash on the 2026 1500, which can swing the out-the-door number in the buyer’s favor, though incentive money changes month to month and shouldn’t anchor the decision. As always, the exact spread depends on the configuration and the deal in front of you.
Who Should Buy Which
Buy the RAM 1500 if:
- You want the strongest work-spec tow rating without moving up to a premium engine.
- You keep trucks a long time and value the 10-year powertrain warranty.
- You want the most power for the money in the entry engine, at 420 horsepower.
- You want the option of a naturally aspirated V8 with the returned Hemi.
- You don’t need more than a few hundred watts of onboard power.
Buy the Ford F-150 if:
- You run corded tools or need real onboard power. Pro Power Onboard has no RAM equal.
- You tow near 13,000 pounds and will spec the 3.5-liter EcoBoost to do it.
- You want a full hybrid half-ton, which RAM doesn’t offer.
- You want the widest engine menu, from the 2.7 to the 5.0 V8 to the Raptor.
- You value Ford’s dealer and service network density.
Verdict
The F-150 is the more configurable truck, and in two areas it’s the stronger one: onboard power and outright maximum towing. A tradesperson who runs tools off the bed, or a buyer who tows near the ceiling and will pay for the 3.5 EcoBoost to do it, should buy the Ford and not look back.
The RAM wins the comparison that most work buyers are shopping. In matched work spec, it out-tows the F-150 by more than 3,000 pounds, it ties the base F-150 on fuel while making far more power, and it backs the powertrain for twice as long. The F-150’s best numbers live in trucks that cost more than the entry bracket; the RAM’s best number lives in the truck a work buyer already wants.
Ford wins the spec chart. The RAM wins the driveway. Which matters more depends on whether you’re reading the brochure or writing the check.
The RAM side of this comparison is covered in full in the 2026 RAM 1500 Express review and the Hurricane versus Hemi engine breakdown.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the RAM 1500 or the Ford F-150 tow more?
It depends on the engine. The F-150 wins on maximum rating: a 3.5-liter EcoBoost with the Max Trailer Tow package tows 13,500 pounds, more than any RAM 1500. But the F-150’s base 2.7-liter EcoBoost work engine tows only 8,400 pounds, well under the RAM Hurricane SO’s 11,610. In matched work spec, the RAM tows more; at the top of the range, the F-150 does.
Which is more fuel efficient, the RAM 1500 or the F-150?
On the work engines, they tie. The F-150’s 2.7-liter EcoBoost and the RAM’s Hurricane SO both return 21 mpg combined on regular unleaded in rear-drive form. The F-150’s PowerBoost full hybrid reaches 24 mpg combined, which the RAM 1500 has no equivalent to, since RAM does not offer a full hybrid half-ton for 2026.
What is Pro Power Onboard, and does the RAM have it?
Pro Power Onboard is Ford’s onboard generator system. The gas F-150’s system delivers 2,000 watts, and the PowerBoost hybrid delivers 7,200 watts, enough to run jobsite tools or provide home backup power. The RAM 1500 Express offers a 400-watt bed inverter as part of the Bed Utility Group, which is far less capable. For onboard power, the F-150 is the clear choice.
Which truck has the better warranty?
The RAM 1500. For 2026, RAM covers the gas 1500 powertrain for 10 years or 100,000 miles for the original owner, reverting to 5 years or 60,000 miles on resale. Ford covers the F-150 powertrain for 5 years or 60,000 miles. RAM’s coverage is double the term for the original owner.
Does the 2026 F-150 or RAM 1500 offer a V8?
Both do. The F-150 offers the naturally aspirated 5.0-liter Coyote V8 at 400 horsepower across several trims. The RAM 1500 returned the 5.7-liter Hemi V8 for 2026 at 395 horsepower after dropping it for 2025. Ford also offers a supercharged 5.2-liter V8 in the Raptor R, which has no RAM 1500 counterpart.
Which truck is more reliable?
Both carry reliability caveats. The F-150’s 10-speed automatic has drawn harsh-shift complaints, and recent recalls have covered a transmission valve body, rear axle bolts, and a backup-camera fault. The RAM’s Hurricane engine is new and its long-term record isn’t established yet, though the 10-year powertrain warranty offsets some of that risk. Buyers should check the recall record of any specific truck against the NHTSA database before buying.
Is the F-150 XLT the right cross-shop for the RAM Express?
Yes. The F-150 XLT SuperCrew 4×2 is the closest match to the RAM 1500 Express Crew Cab 4×2 on price and equipment. Both are four-door, rear-drive work trucks in the low-fifties as equipped. The key difference is the engine: the XLT’s standard 2.7-liter EcoBoost tows less than the RAM’s optional Hurricane SO, which is the crux of the work-spec comparison.
Manufacturer Disclosure
FCA US LLC provided the RAM 1500 for review with a full tank of gas. Ford did not provide an F-150 for this comparison; the F-150 figures are drawn from manufacturer specifications and published data.
Michael Kahn
Michael Kahn is the writer, photographer, and publisher behind The Weekly Driver. He cares about how cars drive and what they're like to own. He covers automobile industry news, car shows and events, and new car reviews. The reviews come from behind the wheel: day trips that favor back routes, treating a good meal as half the reason to go. He directs and produces the visual media, matching each car to a setting and mood that fit it. When he's not reviewing new cars, Michael races paddleboards, camels, and ostriches, along with the occasional exotic car on the racetrack, and has driven in every state and country visited.
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