Who builds the toughest new full-size pickup truck? We put the newest Ford F-150, Ram 1500, GMC Sierra 1500, and Toyota Tundra on the Ike GauntletTM – the world’s toughest towing test. We are pulling a very heavy 9,500 lbs trailer up and down the country’s most dangerous Interstate highway. Who wins? Let’s dig in!
Ike GauntletTM
The Ike Gauntlet is an 8-mile stretch of I-70 that crosses the Continental Divide in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. This is a 7% grade with a top elevation of 11,158 feet above sea level. If a pickup truck can tow well here, it can tow with amazing confidence anywhere.
Competitors
Here are the competitors. All of these pickup trucks are crew cabs with a shorter bed option and 4×4. ( *The payload and tow ratings listed below are for the specific trim levels that we tested, not the maximum advertised numbers. )
| Ford F-150 | GMC Sierra 1500 | Ram 1500 | Toyota Tundra | |
| Engine | 3.5L TT V6 H | 6.2L V8 | 3.0L TT I6 | 3.4L TT V6 H |
| Power | 430 hp @ 6,000 | 420 hp @ 5,600 | 420 hp @ 5,200 | 437 hp @ 5,200 |
| Torque | 570 lb-ft @ 3,000 | 460 lb-ft @ 4,100 | 469 lb-ft @ 3,500 | 583 lb-ft @ 2,400 |
| Transmission | 10-speed Auto | 10-speed Auto | 8-speed Auto | 10-speed Auto |
| Rear Axle Ratio | 3.73 to 1 | 3.23 to 1 | 3.92 to 1 | 3.31 to 1 |
| — | — | — | — | |
| Payload* | 1,430 lbs | 1,494 lbs | 1,757 lbs | 1,290 lbs |
| Tow Rating* | 10,800 lbs | 9,200 lbs | 11,200 lbs | 11,020 lbs |
World’s Toughest Towing Test Results
Here is what happened on the Ike GauntletTM. We want to see minimal suspension squat and fewest brake applications on the downhill. On the way up the mountain, we are looking for a quick acceleration, near 8-minute perfect time, the quietest interior, and the best reported MPG.
| Ford F-150 | GMC Sierra 1500 | Ram 1500 | Toyota Tundra | |
| Downhill | 14 brakes | 11 brakes | 15 brakes | 13 brakes |
| Squat | 3.75 inch | 3.5 inch | 4 inch | 4 inch |
| Stability | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent |
| Ride | Excellent | Excellent | Good | Good |
| — | — | — | — | |
| Uphill 35-60 MPH | 12 sec | 17 sec | 15 sec | 14.5 sec |
| Uphill Interior | 60 dB | 61 dB | 59 dB | 62 dB |
| Uphill Time | 7:59 | 7:57 | 7:50 | 8:03 |
| Uphill MPG | 3.5 MPG | 3.9 MPG | 3.9 MPG | 3.5 MPG |
| — | — | — | — | |
| Towing Tech | Excellent | Excellent | Good | Good |
All four manufacturers are super close in this competition. All of them were able to maintain the 60 MPH speed limit all the way the mountain. All of these truck were superbly stable and confident with this near maximum trailer load. All of these trucks were very quiet with the engines working hard.
In the end, one pickup truck stood out with a significantly better downhill grade shifting and braking performance. The GMC Sierra 1500 V8 won this competition.
2026 Truck of the Year
Here is the ranking. The truck with the most points after these three major tests gets crowned the winner. Each event offers a maximum of 4 points.
While you can already see all of the data from the test, we had to inject some subjective thought into awarding points for this comparison. We deliberated and awarded maximum points to the GMC Sierra, followed by the Ford F-150 as a runner up, followed by Ram for the third place, and the Toyota Tundra in fourth. We considered the Tundra’s second best performance on the downhill, but its lowest payload in this group, poor uphill mpg, and lacking trailer info management software put it behind the others.
| Ford F-150 | GMC Sierra | Ram 1500 | Toyota Tundra | |
| Ike Gauntlet | 3 pts | 4 pts | 2 pts | 1 pts |
| Denver 100 MPG | 4 pts | 2 pts | 1 pts | 3 pts |
| Drag Race | ||||
| — | — | — | — | |
| Total: | 7 pts | 6 pts | 3 pts | 4 pts |
Please stay tuned to next weekend, when we show you how all four of these pickup trucks do on the Denver 100 MPG loop. This will be surprising.
Please join us in the video below for all the latest heavy trailer towing fun.
