The Ford F-150 has lost some of its muscle – at least on paper – with the pickup’s overall load capacity while towing being trimmed. According to dealer documents shared to the Ford F150 Owners Australia group on Facebook, both short- (SWB) and long-wheelbase (LWB) versions of the Ford F-150 have had their gross combination mass (GCM) figure reduced by 450kg. For the Ford F-150 SWB, its GCM has gone from 7720kg to 7270kg, while the F-150 LWB’s GCM now stands at 7315kg from 7765kg.

“Ford Australia has updated the published maximum gross combination mass (GCM) of the F-150 line-up to include a reduction to account for maximum towball downforce weight (TDW) – 10 per cent of aggregate trailer mass (ATM),” a company spokesperson told CarExpert. “The vehicle itself and all other weights, including gross vehicle mass (GVM), payload and maximum braked towing capacity, remain unchanged.” 100s of new car deals are available through CarExpert right now.

Get the experts on your side and score a great deal. Browse now . While gross vehicle mass (GVM) refers to the maximum legal weight of a vehicle when it’s fully loaded – kerb weight plus payload capacity – GCM is the sum of the maximum weight a vehicle can carry and tow at the same time.

Unlike GVM and braked towing capacities, GCM isn’t an enforceable figure and is a calculation to better inform customers about how much they can tow with their vehicles fully loaded. In this case, Ford has nominated a TDW of 10 .