2019 Gold Hitch Truck Awards: Which Is the Best Towing Half-ton Truck in America? (Guide)

2019 ford f150 ram 1500 gmc sierra mpg towing loop

The 2019 Gold Hitch Awards is TFLtruck’s way of determining the best towing truck. This year we are laser-focused on all-new or significantly updated half-ton trucks.

These are the best towing and off-road trucks for 2018 Gold Hitch and earlier.

Our trailering prowess real-world tests consist of the points-based Ike Gauntlet: world’s toughest towing test, our 100-mile highway towing MPG loop, and our subjective analysis.

This year it was all about GM and Ram who have all-new trucks on the market for 2019. Ford, Nissan, and Toyota did not update their half-ton trucks in a significant way as far as trailering is concerned. We always ask every manufacturer to submit truck for the annual competition. This year it was GMC versus Ram, with the Ford F-150 used for comparison as a winner from the previous year.

If you care more about off-road trucks, we are also awarding the 2019 Gold Winch off-road award this year.

Ike Gauntlet

We tested these three truck up and down an 8-mile stretch of I-70 in the Rocky Mountains. It’s a 7% grade with a power-robbing maximum elevation of 11,158 feet above sea level.

The new Ram 1500 scored the best on this particular test when we pulled a 9,000 lbs+ trailer.

Check out all of the 2019 half-ton truck trailering scores for the Ike Gauntlet – world’s toughest towing test.

Highway MPG Loop

It’s not all about extreme mountain towing. We also run about 100 miles on a mostly flat highway to get an accurate fuel economy reading while pulling the trailer.

This time it was the GMC Sierra 1500 that got the best result (best fuel efficiency).

So, which truck will get the coveted Gold Hitch Award? We are voting on the best truck this month and the winner will be announced on March 27th, 2019 at the Denver Auto Show.