2012 F150 Towing Capacity Guide (with Charts)

If you have a 2012 Ford F150 and need to know the towing capacity of your truck you have come to the right place.

Here you will find all of the GCWRs and max trailer towing weights suggested by Ford. The information here is taken in combination with the 2012 Owner’s Manual and 2012 Ford Trailer Towing Guide Brochure.

The 2012 F150 has a max trailer towing capacity of 5,000 – 11,300 lbs for all automatic transmission trucks. In order for the F150 to accommodate these weights, the F150 will require either the Trailer Towing Package or the Max Trailer Towing Package. Without these packages, a trailer should never exceed 5,000 lbs.

Ford says that the tongue weight for any towing should be no more than 10% of the trailer weight. So without a weight distributing hitch, the tongue weight cannot exceed 500 lbs.

Trims

There are 10 trims in the 2012 F150 series. The main difference between these trim levels is the options available and the cosmetic additions that can be added (Source). Each of these trim levels has various package options, bed lengths, cab sizes, and engine types, but this post will not go through all the options.

Cab and Bed Sizes

The cab types in the 2012 F150 are regular/standard, SuperCab and SuperCrew.

The regular is a single-row seating cab, while the SuperCab and SuperCrew can support two different rows of passengers.

The SuperCab is slightly smaller than the SuperCrew in both length, rear-seat space, and rear door sizes.

Bed Sizes

There are three main bed sizes for the 2012 F150. These include the short, standard, and long bed.

The short bed is 5.5 ft, the standard bed is 6.5 ft, and the long bed I 8 ft.

Not all bed sizes are available with every cab size or every trim. Since the regular cab is the smallest, it can accommodate both the 6.5 ft and 8 ft bed sizes.

Up to this point, the F150 SuperCabs usually come in all three sizes, but this is the first year in which there is no 5.5 ft bed with this cab type.

And the SuperCrew, being the largest is offered in the 5.5 and 6.5 ft bed sizes.

Packages

Ford states that a max trailer capacity of 5,000 lbs should never be exceeded unless you have one of the two packages listed below.

All of the 2012 F150’s come with 4 pin wiring harness and trailer sway control.

Heavy-Duty Payload Package (Code 627)

This package is only available in the XL and XLT Regular and SuperCab models with an 8 ft bed and a 5.0 L engine or 3.5 L EcoBoost with the Trailer Tow Package or the Max Trailer Tow Package.

Trailer Tow Package (Code 535)

Max Trailer Tow Package

The Max Trailer Tow Package in the 2012 Ford F150 has all the same features as the Trailer Tow Package but also includes an upgraded rear bumper and Trailer Brake Control.

It has three different code versions all corresponding to the mirror type. (See below).

Towing Capacity by Engine

To determine the towing capacity of your vehicle, you need to know the:

If you know all of these items, then move on to the next section by engine to determine your towing capacity.

If not:

The image below will should you where you can find the axle ratio on this sticker in your car.

You can also see your GVWR for your vehicle here to determine your payload capacity.

Related: What is GVWR?

Designated on this label will be a two-digit code that corresponds to an axle ratio in your truck. See the chart below to determine the right one.

3.5 L EcoBoost V6

The 3.5 L EcoBoost engine is the smallest engine but supplies the second-largest power of the 2012 F-series engines. It has a hp of 365 and a torque of 420 lb.-ft.

The automatic transmissions in the 3.5 L EcoBoost V6 engine in the 2012 F150 series have a maximum towing capacity of 8,000 – 11,300 lbs.

3.7 L Ti-VCT 4V V6

The 3.7 L V6 engine is the least powerful engine of the 2012 F-series family. It has a hp of 302 and a torque of 278 lb.-ft.

The automatic transmissions in the 3.7 L Ti-VCT V6 engine in the 2012 F150 series have a maximum towing capacity of 5,500 – 6,100 lbs.

5.0 L Ti-VCT 4V V8

The 5.0 L V8 engine has 360 hp and 380 lb.-ft of torque.

The 5.0 L Ti-VCT V8 engine is only available with an automatic transmission and has a maximum towing capacity of 7,500 – 10,000 lbs.

6.2 L S0HC 2V V8

The 6.2 L V8 engine is the largest and most powerful engine in the 2012 F150 series. With the most power, it has 411 hp and 434 lb.-ft of torque.

The 6.2 L V8 engine in the 2012 Ford F150 has an automatic transmission and has a maximum towing capacity of 6,000 – 11,300 lbs.

2012 F150 Towing Capacity Chart

The following chart is from the trailer tow guide from the Ford brochure. If there are any differences between this document and what’s listed before, what is there is simply the information that came from the owner’s manual (which is the most reliable source).

2012 F150 5th Wheel Towing Capacity

Ford does not offer any kind of 5th wheel towing hitch, so in order to use your F150 for 5th wheel towing, you will need to get your own hitch installed.

The towing capacities for conventional towing and 5th wheel towing are the same. The main difference between the two is that the tongue weight for fifth-wheel towing should be between 15-25% as advised by Ford.

In need of a 5th wheel hitch? The item below is the top-rated hitch on amazon, go check it out!

Payload Capacity

There is no clear way that Ford lists the payload capacities of the 2012 F150. The best way to check the payload capacity is to find the GVWR listed on the certification sticker listed on the inside of the driver’s side door.

There is information, however on the maximum cargo weight (or maximum payload capacity) on F150 trucks with the Heavy-Duty Payload Package (see table below).

This is only available with the EcoBoost and 5.0 L V8 engine.

	GVWR	Payload Capacity 3.5 L	Payload Capacity 5.0 L
Regular Cab 4×2 4×4	8,200 lbs 8,200 lbs	2,667 lbs 2,398 lbs	2,667 lbs 2,382 lbs
SuperCab 4×2 4×4	8,200 lbs 8,200 lbs	1,826 lbs 1,539 lbs	1,831 lbs 1,523 lbs
SuperCrew 4×2 4×4	8,200 lbs 8,200 lbs	1,746 lbs 1,440 lbs	1,748 lbs 1,455 lbs

Rear Step Bumper Towing vs Hitch Receiver Towing

However, even if you have a hitch receiver, this does not mean that you can tow the capacities listed above. You first need a proper hitch receiver (Class III, Class IV), and a weight-distributing trailer hitch if towing above 5,000 lbs.

In either case with a weight carrying trailer or weight-distributing trailer, the tongue weight should not exceed 10% of the total trailer weight (according to the Trailer Tow Guide).

	Weight Carrying Trailer Capacity (Max Tongue Load)	Weight-Distributing Trailer Capacity (Max Tongue Load)
Hitch Receiver	5,000 lbs (500 lbs)	11,300 lbs (1130 lbs)

Additional Resources

Conclusion

Though this guide provides good guidance on how much you can tow with your 2012 F150, you should always calculate your own towing capacity.

Not sure how? Read: How is Towing Capacity Calculated? Here you will find a helpful calculator as well.

You’ll still need the GCWR, which should be appropriately listed here, but you should double-check the manual before you make a final decision.

Ford makes an assumption that there is a 150 lb passenger to make the maximum trailer weights listed in their manual.