This is out of the Ford order guide

MAX TRAILER TOW PACKAGE (53M)
Availability:
• XL, XLT (XLT requires 17" tires P265/70R17 OWL A/T (T7H) or
XTR Package)
• FX4 (145" or 157" WB)
• Lariat, Lariat Chrome, King Ranch® and Platinum
• Standard on Heavy Payload Pkg. (627) with 3.5L EcoBoost™
Engine
Not available with:
• Lariat Limited Package
• Harley®-Davidson™ Package
Requires:
• 3.5L EcoBoost™ Engine (99T) – XL, XLT , FX4 and King Ranch®
• 3.5L EcoBoost™ or 6.2L Engine for Lariat, Lariat Chrome and
Platinum Models (6.2L Engine also requires 145" WB and is N/A
w/55A off-Road Package)
• XL Models require Fog Lamps (595) and XL Décor Pkg. (86D)
• All XL Models and XLT Regular Cab Models require Heavy-Duty
Payload Package
• XLT Models Require 17"
• FX4 Models Require 18" or 20" Wheels
• 3.73 LS Rear-axle (XLT SuperCab and SuperCrew Models and
Lariat Models)
• 3.73 Electronic-locking Rear-axle (XLT, Lariat or King Ranch®
w/Off-Road Pkg. – 55A and FX4)
• Includes:
• SelectShift Transmission
• Super Engine Cooling/Auxiliary Transmission Cooler
• Trailer Brake Controller (standard and already included with King
Ranch® and Platinum)
• Upgraded Rear Bumper w/class 4 Hitch (Bumper Mounted)
• 7 Pin Trailer Tow Wiring Harness

 

From what i read befour the Max tow turcks have different shocks and springs, as well the 09/10 has a different gearing in the stearing rack it is like 20:1 and standard was 15:1 if i rember corectly. Befour i got my truck when i test drove one, not the truck i ended up with it was a standard tow package the truck rode much softer then my Max tow truck, and if the springs and shocks are stiffer like i was infomed then thats showed up in the test drive. It has the smme 20" wheels well not the exact same as it was a lariet not a Plat. that i ended up with. I do have the later 3 spring pack all we can do is compire the spring code to make sure they are different.

 

I don't think so, the thread says that the Eco comes with the medium or large radiator. The Ford tow guide says both the tow package and max tow come with the upgraded radiator, so both have to have the largest radiator since the Eco does not come with the smallest radiator, the only way it can come with an upgraded radiator is from medium to large.

no tow - medium/super cooling - 41 rows
tow or max tow - large/super cooling - 51 rows

So if its an Eco and it comes with a tow package, it's got the biggest.

 

Well if they change springs between 17 and 18" wheels, I guess they would definitely change them for the Max Tow. Maybe someone from Ford will come on here and tell us for sure.

 

I meant the 17 and 18" wheeled trucks have the same springs as each other, but different than the max tow package with the same sized wheels. The 20" wheeled trucks may be the same as the max tow package, but the GVWR is not.

 

There are different levels of upgrades.

For 3.7, 5.0 and EB trailer tow, means upgraded over the smallest, so you get the medium.

If you want the largest, it is only available with Max Tow.

 

With EcoBoost, you get the medium upgraded radiator as standard equipment whether you get the regular trailer tow package or not.

When you add Max Trailer Tow, you get the large upgraded radiator.

 

Cool, that makes sense. Thank you!

 

If the radiator/cooler and shifting ability is different, I would go with the max.

 

You are off. Here's why. If I buy an Ecoboost without any tow package I do NOT receive an upgraded radiator. I only receive the basic radiator for the ecoboost (not the basic for the truck). When I buy an ecoboost with a tow package I receive an upgrade to the basic ecoboost radiator. Since there are only two radiators available for the ecoboost that means I get the larger radiator when I buy the tow package. If Ford fails to provide an upgraded radiator over the basic one offered for the ecoboost they have committed several violations. One is false advertising, depending on the state the other could be fraud. Ford can very easily change the order guide and advertisements to delete the upgrade to the cooling system, but they have not.

Edited to add: Mine has 51 tubes and it only has the trailer tow package. Granted this is using math, because I'm not going to rip my truck apart to settle some internet argument. I measured the height of the radiator then measured the number of tubes per inch. It works out to exactly 51 tubes.

 

before i bought the ecoboost i have now, lariat, i drove a max tow. would have bought it but i did not like the mirrors sticking out.

went to another dealer where i bought my current truck and asked what the difference was between the tow and max tow packages. i was told only the mirrors and the brake controller. guess that was a little off from the real truth. like i said i didnt like the mirrors, they would have been acceptable if they were power fold but they were not. the brake controller could have been added after market.

so i guess we can add the radiator to the list of differences on the max tow. what about suspension? whats the difference?

 

I don't believe anything the dealership tells me. Sometimes, they know less about the vehicle than I do from reading all these forums.

And I think the verdict is still out on the radiator, such as in the post above yours, some of the regular tow package still have the large/51 tube radiator.

True, you can ad and aftermarket trailer brake controller, but is the stock one better? And can the stock one be added at the dealership, or must it be wired from the factory?

 

i agree completely about believing the dealers. i asked after i thought i knew the question. the radiator completely escaped me. prior to the eco they had 2 radiators, standard and the heavy duty tow package. now they have 3. when i compared the equipment list all i noticed different was mirrors and controller. i have the same xmsn with the manual shift, same class hitch reciever, same 3.73 rear.

never and still have not seen anything different on the suspension. is there a difference and what is it?

 

Max tow is marketing for increased payload. If you want to tow heavy, get the Max tow with the heavy duty package or better yet, get a F250 for the same price with beefed up everything including the 6.2L V8.

400 lbs of additional payload is marketing. Ford adds heavier axle rated for only 200 extra lbs over the original. However all the additional weight is 75 lbs. So you gain a whole extra 125 lbs of capacity yet Ford inflated this to 400 lbs through vapor ware and ink and paper. It offers heavier duty axle/suspension and bumper but the extra 275 lbs of payload magically appears from nowhere. Get HD package or F250 and get the real deal.

 

Do yourself a favor and drive a truck with the bigger mirrors. Visibility is so much better with the bigger tow mirrors! I drive a friend of mine's truck when we fish tournaments and I struggle with his tiny little mirrors after growing accustomed to the tow mirrors...