hey you guys. I'm looking to dive into rv lifestyle, and I'm hoping to be able to find a v6 manual transmission pickup to do the job of towing a toy hauler...from what I've seen so far on the market, I'm thinking 20-23 foot is my desired range, but I don't know what a v6 can and cant handle. please fill me in.

Welcome to the forum! A v6 is going to limit what you can tow. You might be in the right neighborhood lengthwise, but there are other factors to consider too. For one, where do you plan to tow? Flatland? Hills? Mountains? What toys and what is the weight?

If you don't have the truck yet, you might consider getting a V8 instead. There are a lot of very strong opinions out there. Especially from folks who want to tow at 70MPH or faster. I have found that 65MPH is a much more comfortable speed and I stay aware of my surroundings to ensure courtesy to fellow drivers. Having said that, vehicle manufacturers are very conservative in the tow ratings they give their products. As long as you comply with those, you should have a significant safety margin. Happy hunting!

I have a 2012 Ford F-150 XLT with 3.5L Ecoboost V6 engine and the max-towing package that has a towing capacity of 11,400 lbs. I am a full-time RV’er and have been towing my 30-ft. 2012 Heartland Prowler 5th Wheel, GVWR 11,000 lbs., with my F-150 for about 2-years now with absolutely no problems whatsoever.My F-150 has an automatic transmission and runs on unleaded gas. It is great towing over mountain passes, etc. I can tow at 75-mph on flat surfaces if I wanted to, but I don’t, further my gas mileage is about 11-mpg when I tow at 55-mph; which is the towing speed limit in California. When I’m not towing my F-150 gets about 23-mpg highway and about 17-mpg city. I am really satisfied with this truck and a lot of people have come over to my camping site and asked me about it; most say “can this small truck really pull that 5th wheel trailer” and they are surprised when they see me leave the camp group comfortably towing my 5th wheel.

I towed a 5er with a (large block) 4-cyl. OK, so it weight 1800 lbs loaded and was all of 18 ft long. But it wasn't happy with hills/grades.But you are talking a toy-hauler. I'm not aware of any toy-hauler that is small/light enough for a V6. They tend to be large (30+ ft) and heavy (12,000+ lbs). Which puts them right out of a V6, or a small V8, or anything but a large V8, a V10 or a good strong diesel.

what should and shouldnt be ok for a v6 to tow?

SkiSmuggs
Explorer
Jan 20, 2014
Having towed a 3500 lb TT with a 4.0L V6 and manual tranny with my 99 Ranger, I was fine unless I had to start on a hill, then I was afraid my clutch would glaze before I got moving. I now pull a 9500 lb five with a 3.5 V6 (Ecoboost) that is rated to tow 11K and it is so much better. There is decent engine braking in Tow/Haul mode that relieves brake wear. I've been through the mountains of NH and WY with no problem going up or down.
JEBar
Explorer
Jan 20, 2014
no problem .... I'm about as old school as they come and was very skeptical when I heard Ford was rating a V6 to pull 11,000+ pounds .... the power generated by these trucks is no longer in question, its very real .... the only questions that remain in my mind centers on longevity and how well they hold back going down long/steep grades .... longevity is being answered bit by bit with every passing day .... how they perform holding back is something I haven't heard discussed .... when we decided to purchase a new pickup I looked at the ECO Boost but couldn't make myself pull the trigger and bought a truck with a time proven V8 ... who knows what will be out there when it needs to be replaced

Jim
Larryzv7
Explorer
Jan 19, 2014
Thank you Jim for the clarification; it was not my intention to become defensive, although I have found that truck owners, especially some Chevy, Dodge, and Ford truck owners, are somewhat possessive about their trucks, and it seems I can include myself in that. Nonetheless, I can appreciate that you were addressing the original post in general terms.

Larry:)
JIMNLIN
Explorer III
Jan 19, 2014
Looking at the F150 shows the 3.7 V6 with a 5500-6700 lb tow ratings and of course the 3.5 V6 Ecoboost engine with a 11k + tow rating. No manual tranny shown.

The Dodge has a 3.6 pentastar V6 with tow ratings from 4500-7600 lbs and the new 3.0 V6 diesel up to 9000 lbs tow ratings. No manual tranny shown.

GMs 4.3 V6 shows a 5800-7600 lb tow rating and no manual tranny shown.

All three were in the 1/2 ton size trucks. The Toyota or Nissen may have a manual tranny.
JEBar
Explorer
Jan 19, 2014
Larryzv7 wrote:
P.S. 150-miles in a couple of hours amounts to driving at 75-miles per hour; maybe your friend should slow down a little.

when we convoy with him over interstate highways we tow in the 63 - 65 mph speed range .... at those speeds we can cover 150 miles in something over 2 hours which at 8 or so mpg means we need to stop for him to take on fuel in something over 2 hours .... sorry my comments weren't more exact .... the purpose of my post was to relay info related to the question asked in the opening post, from a person who has extensive knowledge, as what he considers to be strong and weak points with his V6 powered tow vehicle .... it wasn't to present concise numbers .... overall he's very happy with his V6 ECO Boost powered 150

Jim
Larryzv7
Explorer
Jan 18, 2014
Jim, I think the key in what you’re saying is that it depends on terrain, speed, wind, the type of load a person is carrying, etc. In California, where I usually hang out, the posted speed limit on the interstate for any vehicle towing is 55-mph; if you go over 55-mph when towing you can get a ticket.

Now I have towed at 75-mph and found that my gas mileage was around 8-mpg, but when I tow at 55-mph my gas mileage is between 11 & 12 mpg. Terrain is also a factor as I can only tow over a steep grade at about 40 to 50 mph and a strong wind coming my way also slows me down. These have an effect on my gas mileage as well.

But on average I get about 11-mpg when towing with my F-150. As a fulltime RV’er, over the past couple of years I’ve owned this F-150, I’ve planned my trips and estimated my gas budget based on 11-mpg, and that has been rather accurate for me. Nonetheless, I do agree that different drivers of the same type of vehicle may get different results regarding gas mileage.

Larry:)

P.S. 150-miles in a couple of hours amounts to driving at 75-miles per hour; maybe your friend should slow down a little.
JEBar
Explorer
Jan 18, 2014
Larryzv7 wrote:
JEBar wrote:
businessonly805 wrote:
from what I've seen so far on the market, I'm thinking 20-23 foot is my desired range, but I don't know what a v6 can and cant handle. please fill me in.

much depends on the V6 .... Ford rates its twin turbo charged ECO Boost F150's to tow over 11,000 lbs .... with such a truck you can pick from a wide rage of campers and stay within what Ford rates the trucks to do .... the down side is they have a small fuel tank which results in frequent fuel stops when towing

Jim

Jim, my F-150 fuel tank holds 26-gallons, which takes me about 286-miles when towing, and I do not have to make frequent stops. Plus I carry three 5-gallon gas containers in the truck bed for my 2-Honda generators or if I am camping in the boondocks far from a gas station.

your F150 is apparently getting much better mileage than the one owned by a member of our camping club .... he says his truck has a world of power and pulls his camper without any signs of straining but, depending on wind/terrain and such, he only gets about 8 mpg .... he doesn't like to let his tank get below 6 gallons so his effective range between taking on fuel is around 150 miles ... consequently, he has to find fuel when traveling every couple of hours or so

Jim
DSteiner51
Explorer
Jan 18, 2014
businessonly805 wrote:
hey you guys. I'm looking to dive into rv lifestyle, and I'm hoping to be able to find a v6 manual transmission pickup to do the job of towing a toy hauler...from what I've seen so far on the market, I'm thinking 20-23 foot is my desired range, but I don't know what a v6 can and cant handle. please fill me in.

Depends..... do you know how to tow with a manual? Lots of folks don't and will tear out a clutch in short time.

Depends..... on the v6, the gearing, and the vehicle.

Depends..... on the driver. Even Toyota which rates their trucks by the J2807 standard claims the driver makes a difference. The SAE standard ratings are for those just over 'moron' rating while a professional driver will think it is very conservative.

While my rig was not officially tested I did my own with the older version of the J2807 before the last revision and put under lock and key and was surprised that my rig met the braking and takeoff performance and passing performance. The five stops on a 12% uphill in reverse without overheating may have been a stretch but I never do that anyway except in L in the 4x4 transfer case. I've done that dozens and dozens of times backing up old barn banks with hay bales, equipment, etc with ease.

I think it would be great to find a barn bank 12% slope or less around here but that no longer matters to me either as I sold my special flatbed beaver tail 8000lb GVWR gooseneck I designed and built for my Ranger. I guess I'm turning city slicker in my old age! :B

So it all DEPENDS! ;)
Larryzv7
Explorer
Jan 18, 2014
JEBar wrote:
businessonly805 wrote:
from what I've seen so far on the market, I'm thinking 20-23 foot is my desired range, but I don't know what a v6 can and cant handle. please fill me in.

much depends on the V6 .... Ford rates its twin turbo charged ECO Boost F150's to tow over 11,000 lbs .... with such a truck you can pick from a wide rage of campers and stay within what Ford rates the trucks to do .... the down side is they have a small fuel tank which results in frequent fuel stops when towing

Jim

Jim, my F-150 fuel tank holds 26-gallons, which takes me about 286-miles when towing, and I do not have to make frequent stops. Plus I carry three 5-gallon gas containers in the truck bed for my 2-Honda generators or if I am camping in the boondocks far from a gas station.
Larryzv7
Explorer
Jan 18, 2014
D. Steiner, thanks for explaining how you went about that; you really sound like you know what you‘re doing. I was going to put a hitch on the rear of my Heartland Prowler so that I could have a cargo carrier in the rear of my 5th wheel, but I talked with Heartland about it and they advised against it, also they told me it would void my warranty. So I’m opting for a roof cargo carrier on the truck instead, which I know will slow me down, but I don‘t think it would put an added load on my 5th wheel hitch as much as a rear hitch cargo carrier would.

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what should and shouldnt be ok for a v6 to tow?

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