Skip to main content

The best trucks for towing

All cars can tow — even the pocket-sized Smart ForTwo can pull a small trailer — but some are happier doing it than others. If you’re occasionally taking bags of leaves to the landfill, you can get away with putting a hitch on your daily driver. If you’re regularly towing heavy loads, you’ll need to put a truck in your driveway. From midsize to heavy-duty models, these are the best trucks for towing available new in 2020.

The best midsize truck for towing: 2020 Chevrolet Colorado

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Chevrolet’s smallest truck, the Colorado, proves you don’t need to buy a mammoth pickup to benefit from a useful towing capacity. Although the entry-level, four-cylinder-powered model receives a 3,500-pound towing capacity, selecting the 2.8-liter turbodiesel engine and rear-wheel drive increases that figure to a class-leading 7,700 pounds. That’s enough to pull a car and a trailer, a camper, a couple of ATVs, or a boat. Selecting four-wheel drive reduces that number slightly to 7,600 pounds, so the trade-off is worth it if you want to venture off the beaten path.

The best full-size truck for towing: 2020 Ford F-150

2020 F-150 Power Stroke Diesel
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Powered by the 3.5-liter V6, the 13th-generation Ford F-150 is capable of pulling 13,200 pounds with ease. It tows more than its closest rivals, the Chevrolet Silverado and the Ram 1500, thanks in part to the widespread use of weight-saving aluminum. Ford introduced the 14th-generation F-150 in June 2020, but it hasn’t released its towing capacity yet. We expect it will pull at least as much as its predecessor; the aforementioned Ram is not far behind.

The best heavy-duty truck for towing: 2020 Ram 3500

2019 Ram Heavy Duty
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Ram’s 3500 Heavy Duty pickup was developed specifically for towing, so its 35,100-pound capacity is impressive but not surprising. This is the truck to buy if you regularly tow a fifth-wheel trailer, a camper (pictured), other trucks, or construction equipment. Alternatively, it offers a 7,680 payload, meaning it can carry as much weight in its cargo box as a Chevrolet Colorado can tow. It offers several useful tech features, including a function named Trailer Reverse Guidance View that displays footage on the dashboard-mounted touchscreen to help the driver back up.

Buyers have two engine options to choose from: A 6.4-liter Hemi V8, and a 6.7-liter turbodiesel straight-six that makes up to 400 horsepower and 1,000 pound-feet of torque. It’s the latter that crosses the 35,000-pound threshold.

Ronan Glon
Ronan Glon is an American automotive and tech journalist based in southern France. As a long-time contributor to Digital…
Audi ActiveSphere concept is part luxury sedan, part pickup truck
Audi ActiveSphere concept car in a mountainous setting with a bike on the rear rack.

Audi unveiled the fourth and final member of its Sphere-branded series of concept cars, and the design study is unlike anything we've seen before. Called ActiveSphere, it's an electric luxury sedan with a generous amount of ground clearance that can turn into a pickup truck.

Created at the Audi Design Studio in Malibu, California, the ActiveSphere stretches approximately 196 inches long, 81 inches wide, and 63 inches tall, figures that make it about as long as the current-generation A6, 7 inches wider, and 6 inches taller. It wears a rounded exterior design characterized by thin headlights, a transparent piece of trim where you'd expect to find a grille, and a fastback-like silhouette.

Read more
Ram EV concept previews truck brand’s electric future
The Ram 1500 Revolution BEV concept was designed around an electric powertrain.

Electric pickup trucks are a hot trend in the auto industry, and Ram is late to the game. So the truck brand of massive automaker Stellantis needed to work hard to stand out.
Unveiled at CES 2023, the Ram 1500 Revolution BEV concept shows what Ram has in mind for its first production electric truck, which is scheduled to arrive in 2024. This concept version combines some features we’ve already seen on other electric trucks with a few clever new ideas. So while it may be revolutionary for the Ram brand, which is new to EVs, it’s more evolutionary when compared to other electric pickups.

Unmistakably electric
The Ram 1500 Revolution has the bulky appearance of a traditional truck, but with proportions that clearly mark it as an EV. With no need to accommodate an engine, the hood is much shorter. This allowed designers to make the cabin four inches longer than today’s internal-combustion Ram 1500 without shortening the bed, Ram claims. The grille is also smaller, although Ram compensated for this with a giant light-up logo and headlights with the same “tuning fork” elements as its current gasoline and diesel truck grilles.
The roofline is a bit lower and sleeker, which probably helps with aerodynamics, but like a traditional truck, the Revolution rolls on massive wheels and tires. The 35-inch tires are wrapped around 24-inch wheels with smooth covers and light-up elements. The charge port, meanwhile, is located in the driver’s side front fender. It makes a noise when the truck has started charging and blinks to show that charging is ongoing.
Like rival truck makers, Ram incorporated a frunk where the engine would normally be, plus the RamBox storage bins from its current trucks. Nearly every opening, including the tailgate, frunk, and charge port, is also power-operated.
Underpinning all of this power-operated convenience is the STLA Frame dedicated EV platform, one of four such platforms Stellantis plans to use for future EVs across its many brands, such as Chrysler and Jeep.

Read more
CES 2023-bound Ram Revolution concept previews electric pickup
ram revolution electric pickup details unveiling date concept teaser feature image

Ram wants to plant its stake in the growing electric pickup segment its main rivals are already present in. The company will travel to CES 2023 to unveil a concept called Revolution designed to preview a battery-powered truck tentatively scheduled to make its debut in 2024.

While the Revolution's full design remains under wraps, a preview video published on Facebook suggests the pickup won't borrow styling cues from the current crop of Ram trucks. It's described as looking "fierce, slick, and heroic." From what we can tell, the Revolution's front end will be characterized by a pair of two-piece LED headlights, a massive "RAM" logo, and a hood that's lower than we're used to seeing on Ram trucks. Keeping the hood line relatively low is likely a way to make the truck more aerodynamic and in turn, improve its driving range.

Read more