5 of the Best ¾-ton Trucks for Towing

In the early days of what we know as pickup trucks, assessing their payload was a practical way to ensure they were capable of doing the job required. Today you will see it truck models with 1500, 2500 and 3500 badges means ½, ¾ and 1 ton trucks, with little regard to actual capacity. With a 1-ton payload of over 3.5 tons, it’s probably best to keep the naming system simple.

If you could buy a truck intended for towing heavy trailers, such as fifth-wheel campers or construction equipment, it would be hard to beat a truck. 1-ton truck with double rear wheels (DRW)also called Dually. However, most people don’t buy a heavy-duty truck solely for towing and find that a ¾ ton truck has enough towing capacity for their needs while also being a better daily driver.

One factor that limits a truck’s towing capacity is its Gross Combined Weight Rating, or GCWR. You can find the GCWR for a particular truck on a sticker, usually on the inside of the driver’s side door. GCWR is the total weight of the truck, equipment, passengers, fuel and trailer combined. Fortunately, most automakers make the calculations easier by providing towing guides for the trucks they sell that include all, or at least most, of the relevant figures. Ford, Chevrolet, GMC and Ram offer the best ¾ ton trucks for towing. However, the Nissan Titan XD is considered a heavy-duty truck that could meet the needs of some truck buyers.

The Ford F-250 offers the highest towing capacity of a ¾-ton truck

The ¾-ton Ford F-250 Super Duty has a GCWR of up to 31,000 pounds when configured with the 6.7-liter Power Stroke V8 turbodiesel, the towing package and an axle ratio of 3.31:1 or 3.55:1. With that equipment, the regular cab F-250 can well towing a gooseneck trailer weighing up to 23,000 pounds or a trailer weighing up to 20,000 pounds with a conventional hitch. By comparison, Ford F-250s equipped with larger cabs and all-wheel drive have reduced towing capacity.

Ford is building the F-250 in multiple configurations and equipment packages for 2025. The base F-250 XL and XLT are the only versions that offer an 8-foot truck bed with Regular and SuperCab configurations. Choosing the Crew Cab F-250 offers more options, including the 7-foot truck bed and luxury trim levels.

The mid-range Ford F-250 Lariat starts at $80,000 when equipped with the High-Output 6.7L Power Stroke turbodiesel that can produce up to 500 hp and 1,200 lb-ft of torque. It includes towing-friendly features such as Pro Trailer Backup Assist, Pro Trailer Hitch Assist, Trailer Reverse Guidance and a Trailer Brake Controller.

The 2024 GMC Sierra 2500 HD has a GCWR of 30,300 pounds

The 2024 GMC Sierra 2500HD delivers up to 30,300 pounds of GCWR in the rear-wheel drive Crew Cab long-bed configuration equipped with the Max Trailering Package. That combination makes conventional possible towing trailers up to 20,000 pounds and gooseneck or fifth wheel trailers up to 22,070 pounds. Towing gooseneck and fifth-wheel trailers weighing up to 22,430 pounds is available with the regular cab Sierra 2500 HD. In both cases, the 6.6 liter Duramax V8 is delivered with the highest pulling power turbodiesel engine with 975 lb-ft of torque.

Like the Ford F-250, the Sierra 2500 HD’s towing experience is enhanced by technology. In addition to monitoring trailer tire pressures and the ability to create custom trailer profiles, GMC’s trailer technology offers Trailer Angle Indicator with Jack-Knife Alert, Trailer Side Blind Zone Alert and Gross Combined Weight (GCW) Alert.

The mid-range 2024 GMC Sierra 2500 HD SLT costs approximately $74,000 after selecting the diesel engine option and trailering package. Both items are essential to getting the highest towing capacity from the Sierra.

The Chevy Silverado 2500 HD is the Sierra’s commercial stablemate

As you’d expect from another General Motors offering, the Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD has towing specs very similar to those of the GMC Sierra. With a GVWR rating of approximately 30,000 pounds, the Regular Cab Long Bed Silverado 2500 HD is equipped with the 6.6-liter Duramax and Max Trailering Package can tow fifth wheel and gooseneck trailers up to 22,430 pounds. Opting for all-wheel drive brings the payload for the same base configuration to 22,050 pounds.

The Chevy Silverado 2500 HD uses the same 6.6-liter Duramax turbodiesel as the GMC Sierra to deliver the highest pulling power. Likewise, it produces 975 lb-ft of torque and up to 470 horsepower, and features a diesel exhaust brake to slow your roll on steep grades without using your brake pedal.

The mid-range 2024 Chevy Silverado 2500 HD LT with the optional 6.6-liter Duramax engine and Max Trailering package has an MSRP of approximately $69,000. Although the Work Truck (WT) trim is cheaper, there is no provision on the website to add the Max Trailering package, and with the Duramax it still costs over $60,000.

The 2024 Ram 2500 has a GCWR of less than 28,000 pounds

The Ram 2500 has the lowest GCWR of the ¾-ton trucks we’ve listed so far: 27,977 pounds. Ram lists the highest towing capacities for the regular and Crew Cab models equipped with them the 6.7 liter Cummins turbo diesel engine versus the 6.4 liter HEMI, with a maximum of £20,000but does not specify a difference between towing methods such as conventional, gooseneck or fifth wheel.

The six-cylinder Cummins available for the Ram 2500 produces 370 hp and 850 lb-ft of torque. If that sounds low, you might be thinking of the HO Cummins available in the Ram 3500 with its 420 hp and 1,075 lb-ft of torque. Sorry, this isn’t available in the ¾-ton Ram, but you can always opt for the single-rear-wheel (SRW) Ram 3500 to get the best of both worlds.

People who regularly tow heavy trailers will appreciate the Ram 2500’s towing-friendly features. The extra range between fuel stops provided by the 50-gallon fuel tank is a good start, but you’ll have to opt for the Tradesman trim with a Crew Cab and long-bed configuration. There are also some models with auto-leveling rear air suspension and trailer reverse steering controls.

A 2024 Ram 2500 Tradesman with rear-wheel drive and the optional Cummins and towing package brings the price to just over $61,000. While that truck will do the job, there are nicer options available for a little more money.

The Nissan Titan XD is a capable heavy-duty pickup

If you’re not familiar with Nissan’s pickup trucks, you might be surprised to hear this the Titan XD once offered a Cummins diesel engine. Although that option was discontinued in 2019, the Titan Sure, that doesn’t sound like much compared to the range of turbodiesel engines in the other ¾-ton pickups, but it’s comparable to the gas engines in the other base models.

To get the highest towing capacity from the 2024 Nissan Titan With these configurations, the Titan XD can tow up to 11,050 pounds gooseneck trailers or 10,900 pounds conventionally.

The good news is that a 2024 Titan XD is equipped to drag prices down to around $58,000. For that price you get a nine-speed transmission, tow mode, trailer sway control, and an available trailer brake controller.