I'm looking at a used 11 Ecoboost. I understand the towing capabilities are good. Just have to wonder how well they are holding up under towing. Any comments, pro or con, greatly appreciated.

I believe 2011 was the first year it was available in the F-150. Ford recently reported IIRC, that nearly 1/2 of all F-150's are being produced with the 3.5L EB. That is a lot of trucks. There were some scattered reports of a few issues early on but haven't heard much lately but considering the numbers that are being produced I would think any major problems would have been screaming headlines and affected 10's of thousands of vehicles. The power the little motor makes is impressive and the technology is not new earth shattering experimentation by any means, just a new application for it. With any new product there will always be a few glitches but to think the rollout was anything but a huge success is unfounded. Good luck on your research

I have a 2011 eco boost for almost 3 years now. So far so good with the engine and transmission. I have had a few issues, like the tire pressure sensor going bad and a couple other small items. It has quite a bit of power, and the best part is that the max torque is around 2500 rpm, so the engine is not screaming at 4500rpm down the highway.The most towing I have done with it was a 2500 lb popup. Did the Grand Canyon and back through the mountains in southern Colorado. Even on the steep grades had tons of power.You should check out the Eco Boost Torture Test. It is a bit gimmicky but still cool to watch.

I have the 2011 EB towing the 27' TT in my signature. We bought it before we picked out the trailer so we wanted to make sure we could easily tow whatever we bought. The loaded weight of the TT is about 7500 lbs and our tow capacity is 11,300 lbs. We've towed it 7500 miles in our first two years (Nova Scotia to Montreal, White mountains, Newfoundland and parts in between). We have our share of hills and the EB engine handled them with ease.This is our first truck and RV so I can't compare to any truck. Overall I love this truck even if the mileage may not be all it's cracked up to be.

dockmasterdave wrote:I'm looking at a used 11 Ecoboost. I understand the towing capabilities are good. Just have to wonder how well they are holding up under towing. Any comments, pro or con, greatly appreciated.My suggestion would be to be sure you're getting a good deal on the '11 and it is quite a bit cheaper than a 14. Right now there are excellent incentives on Ford trucks with deep discounts off sticker. All too often I've seen late model used vehicles priced not much cheaper than deeply discounted new ones.I think this would be even better advice for the ecoboost. Don't catch it in the first year, and get more years of newness. Unless it is very significantly cheaper than a deeply discounted new price.

I bought a 2013 last year that was windowed right at $44,500 and paid $33,200. Loaded out (4X4) and still figuring how everything works as it has so many doo-dads. It's a super crew short bed. Back seat is large enough to hold a dance in.

Ecoboost | Good Sam Community

Caveman_Charlie
Explorer II
May 15, 2014
The neighbor has one and says he get's 20+MPG in our rural 2 lane driving area. I don't know what he gets city driving or towing.
MitchF150
Explorer III
May 15, 2014
JEBar wrote:
what are the ECO Boost trucks getting for gas mileage .... I know a couple of guys who have them and the numbers they give are much lower than I'd expect from a 6 cylinder

Jim

Depends on how you drive 'em.. ;) If you can stay out of the turbos, you can get some good mpg's.. If you get into them a lot, not so much.. :)

I'm averaging 16 mpg for 3500 miles. Daily commute is around 17 and towing one time, it was 11.. I've not taken it on a straight long hwy run yet, but the short hwy only times I've done, it's been 20+ mpgs..

Power wise, you won't believe all of it comes out of a 214 CI engine!

Love mine.. :)

Mitch
JEBar
Explorer
May 15, 2014
what are the ECO Boost trucks getting for gas mileage .... I know a couple of guys who have them and the numbers they give are much lower than I'd expect from a 6 cylinder

Jim
wa8yxm
Explorer III
May 14, 2014
3wheel wrote:
The most towing I have done with it was a 2500 lb popup. Did the Grand Canyon and back through the mountains in southern Colorado. Even on the steep grades had tons of power.

Reading this thread cause I want to know more about Eco Boost (What I know about it now I have already put in this post so as you can see, There is more to learn)

Just found out though that in six months, Unless some laws change, I won't be returning to the canyon grand... Idiot county the park is in just outlawed me.
Tystevens
Explorer
May 14, 2014
I love my '11. My research hasn't shown any chronic problems in the '11 compared to the '12-14. It tows really well, and gets good mpg when not towing. So nice and easy with the low torque curve. I couldn't be much happier with the truck so far.

I wouldn't worry too much about your friend's concern about longevity. Yes, the EB goes against old school thinking about displacement and all of that. But this isn't an off-the-line V6 that they found in the warehouse and bolted a turbo to. The engine was engineered from the ground up to run the power and pressures it deals with.
MitchF150
Explorer III
May 13, 2014
Dannyabear1 wrote:

Interesting - car tires on truck but truck tire for spare.......

Yeah, but just finished with my first tow with it and pumped them up to the 44 max psi listed on the sidewall of the tire and they did just fine with my #5000 TT.

They actually felt more 'solid' then when I towed the same TT with my 97 F150 that had LT265/75/16 tires on it.

It corners better, that's one thing I noticed right off. But, that could be the suspension too.

Jury is still out of the long term with the P tires, but for now, it's what it's got and until I need new tires it's what I'm gonna run.. ;)

Mitch
Dannyabear1
Explorer
May 13, 2014
MitchF150 wrote:
Oh, I forgot to say, make sure you look at the payload stickers for sure when shopping! I've seen some as low as #850!! I've got #1900 per my sticker and #7700 GVWR for the truck. They go as low as #7200 (non MAX TOW)

Mitch

Interesting - car tires on truck but truck tire for spare.......
MitchF150
Explorer III
May 13, 2014
Oh, I forgot to say, make sure you look at the payload stickers for sure when shopping! I've seen some as low as #850!! I've got #1900 per my sticker and #7700 GVWR for the truck. They go as low as #7200 (non MAX TOW)

Mitch
MitchF150
Explorer III
May 13, 2014
I can't comment on the 11's, but I simply love my 13.. :) I've only towed with it one time so far and it's only got 3500 miles on it, but it's a puller for sure!

Mine has the "Max Tow" option which gets you a couple hundred more pounds of GVWR and payload (I've got #1900 of payload per the sticker.. :) ) and those nice big a$$ tow mirrors, which are great by the way!

I was shopping for a used truck initially too... But when I saw my brand new 13 for $33k and a used 11 and a 12 for around $30k I decided to go with the new one! Those used ones had over 30k miles on them already too!

Good luck!

Mitch
dockmasterdave
Explorer
May 13, 2014
Lots of great information here and on the links. I'll keep watching this thread. I just have a friend who swears it's asking for too much power out of a small engine, and can't possibly have longevity.
I'll also double check the weight stickers. Thank you all and keep the opinions comin.

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