There are many reasons why one would buy a truck. One of the major ones is because you have much cargo that needs to be moved. So how much can you tow? Your truck’s towing capacity is the maximum amount of weight your vehicle is capable of towing when pulling a trailer. Therefore, you need to know the truck’s capacity. If what you want to tow is heavier, is there a way to increase the capacity?
Do electric brakes increase towing capacity? Electric brakes can increase towing capacity somewhat. An important part of towing capacity is that the brakes need to be strong enough to stop the load. However, many other measures should be taken to increase towing capacity.
Of course, if you have much cargo that you are towing, the higher the towing capacity, the better. Therefore, you might want to do everything you can to increase it, including looking into a braking system that will maximize the towing capacity. However, going above that capacity can be dangerous.
Do Electric Brakes Increase Towing Capacity?
Towing capacity involves not only the vehicle’s ability to pull a large load while you are driving but also the ability of the vehicle to stop itself and stop the load from moving as well. Electric brakes can help increase towing capacity.
Adding electric brakes to your vehicle can play a role in increasing towing capacity. These systems have the capability of sensing which of the brakes requires more pressure. This will increase the stopping power of the vehicle, making it so that your brakes work more efficiently and are likely to last longer, not being worn out by repeatedly breaking with a higher than recommended load.
What Are Some Other Considerations Regarding Brakes?
The added weight of a trailer is going to put a lot of stress on your brakes. It can be a good idea to upgrade your brake pads and your rotors to handle this stress. Much friction is generated between the brake pads and rotors every time you come to a stop, which makes for a lot of wear and tear. This is why you want to make sure that you’re not exceeding your towing capacity.
Another good idea would be to install a trailer brake control system. This way, there would be brakes on the trailer itself, so that your vehicle wouldn’t have to take on all the weight that is in the trailer. With a controller on the trailer, the trailer will stop itself and play a role in stopping your vehicle. The dragging effect that the trailer brake system will create will inevitably take some of the pressure off the brakes of your vehicle, reducing wear and tear and helping them last for a longer time.
What Are Some Other Methods You Can Use to Increase Towing Capacity?
Electric brakes can help increase towing capacity, but there are other things you should do if you want to maximize this capacity. Specifically, there are upgrades that you can make that will make your vehicle stronger and prevent overheating and other types of wear and tear.
It’s important to know how much weight you
want to tow. If you’re trying to tow an amount that is at least 1,000 pounds
over your towing capacity, it might be impractical to expect any set of
upgrades to be enough. In this case, you might want to use another vehicle.
However, if it is a fairly small amount, upgrades might be sufficient to
increase your towing capacity adequately.
If you want to learn a more detailed explanation of towing capacity and how
it’s determined, check out this
video.
Get a New Vehicle Programmer
With a new vehicle programmer, you’ll be able to adjust the settings of the computer that operates your vehicle. You can give your vehicle more torque and horsepower this way. The manufacturer has likely set your default programming for the highest possible fuel efficiency, likely compromising somewhat on horsepower. You should keep in mind that if you change these settings, you might end up consuming more fuel.
Upgrade Your Suspension System
This is a very important part of maximizing towing capacity. Upgrading a suspension system can be somewhat pricey, but it’s quite effective. If you don’t have a high-quality suspension system, you can end up with not only a low towing capacity but also safety issues.
When you’re towing a trailer, the weight of that trailer will weigh down the back end of your vehicle. Your suspension system will have to bear that load. If you upgrade the system, the weight will be distributed more evenly over all the axles. More of the weight will be put onto the front part of your vehicle so that you won’t have to worry about the back end being overburdened.
Make Sure You Have the Right Hitch
In the most basic terms, the hitch is what connects the trailer to your vehicle. Since different types of hitches are capable of handling different amounts of weight, it’s important to have the proper hitch. It would help if you also made sure that the hitch receiver is correctly attached to the chassis of your vehicle since this is the part of the vehicle that is equipped to handle the weight of your load.
Replace Certain Parts
There are other parts of your vehicle that you might be interested in replacing to maximize towing capacity.
Radiator
A radiator is very important because this is what keeps your transmission and engine from becoming overheated. If you install a bigger radiator, these parts will have an easier time staying cool. This can help preserve the parts of your vehicle if you are trying to tow a large load.
Axles
It would be a good idea to have heavy-duty axles in your vehicle. If you have a very heavy load that you are towing, you can end up overloading axles that aren’t prepared to carry this weight. One option may be to replace the parts of your truck with RV parts since these are made to carry heavy loads. Ideally, you should have this done professionally. Of course, if you’re the do-it-yourself type, check out this video to see what’s involved.
Exhaust System
Making sure you have an appropriate exhaust system, which allows your engine to be exposed to an adequate amount of air, could be very helpful as well. Your engine will perform better this way. Better air filters and a stronger exhaust system could give you more torque and horsepower.
Frame
The frame and chassis of your vehicle are very important. In fact, they are a big determining factor in the towing capacity of your vehicle. If you put too much weight on the end of your vehicle, it can damage or even break the frame.
If you’re considering buying a new truck, it would be a good idea to look for body-on-frame construction. This will give you the ability to make adjustments that you can’t make with unibody construction.
Final Thoughts
When you buy a truck, you are often doing so for a specific purpose. One purpose is so you can transport large amounts of cargo. Therefore, it’s a good idea to do everything you can to maximize the towing capacity of your truck.
Electric brakes will help you achieve this goal. However, this is only one of many things that you should do if you want to maximize the towing capacity. If you make all the upgrades mentioned above, you should be able to increase your towing capacity reasonably.