3.5L V6 of 5.0L V8

tragusa3 wrote:
In '08, Chevy had a 5.3 liter, not a 5.7. Second, the 5.3 was 315 horsepower and 338 pound-feet of torque, which is not remotely close to the 3.5EB at 375 horsepower and 470 lb.-ft. of torque. 132 lb.- ft of torque difference and it all happens in a much broader range. I've towed with both engines too. I get better mileage towing with the EB and the experience is nothing alike.

It's okay for us to have different opinions. In the end, we both get what we perceive to be the better option.

CrewMax sounds like a Toyota to me, especially with a 5.7. They are around 400ftlbs of torque, I believe?

I wasn't trying to be disrespectful. I'm trying to come up with an explanation of why you may have had a "huge" fuel consumption difference. Each summer, we use ours to do 5-7k mile trips. We've done this for many summers now. My mileage is almost always 10.2mpg when we return. I don't think any gas engine would be "hugely" different, with most being lower and with less performance available.

In '08, Chevy had a 5.3 liter, not a 5.7. Second, the 5.3 was 315 horsepower and 338 pound-feet of torque, which is not remotely close to the 3.5EB at 375 horsepower and 470 lb.-ft. of torque. 132 lb.- ft of torque difference and it all happens in a much broader range. I've towed with both engines too. I get better mileage towing with the EB and the experience is nothing alike.

It's okay for us to have different opinions. In the end, we both get what we perceive to be the better option.

tragusa3 wrote:

trailer_newbe wrote:
I’m going to settle this. My company provided F150 with the 3.5L twin turbo is awesome. I had to tow a large maintenance trailer, empty, 500 miles. This trip I’ve done 100 times without a trailer and had 4 days of fuel once back in town. Towing a trailer taught me one thing: the 3.5 TT is awesome but as soon as those turbos need to wind up, kiss gas mileage GOOD BYE. I had to re-fuel just to get back in town. Go normally aspirated gas when towing in regards to gas engines. Turbos are great but they are like a fire hose when loaded.

I don't agree with this. However, I do think with the lower power band and ease of towing, people tend to tow quicker than they would with a N/A engine. When I use mine gingerly, I get better mileage towing than I did without turbos. However, access to more when I need it along with lower stress level of low rpm's would be worth it regardless.

I tow the trailer you see below with my 2008 CrewMax 5.7 which has similar HP to the 3.5 EB. I would never attempt to pull this trailer with a 3.5 EB, because the trailer I did pull with the 3.5 was a fraction of the weight and was empty. Not only that, but I’ve towed both through the same stretch of road. The 3.5 EB performs great but after 55K miles on both, there is a huge fuel consumption difference when towing.

normal_dave wrote:

Edit: for the budget-conscious, here's a nicely equipped F-250 XLT 6.2L priced a fair amount under an F-150 Lariat 3.5L Ecoboost Supercrew: (Fairfield, TX) Don't misunderstand, I love the Ecoboost engine, but just use the right tool for the job at hand.
F-250 XLT 6.2L

A Lariat costs more than an XLT. This is shocking news. Do oranges still cost more than apples?

trailer_newbe wrote:
I’m going to settle this. My company provided F150 with the 3.5L twin turbo is awesome. I had to tow a large maintenance trailer, empty, 500 miles. This trip I’ve done 100 times without a trailer and had 4 days of fuel once back in town. Towing a trailer taught me one thing: the 3.5 TT is awesome but as soon as those turbos need to wind up, kiss gas mileage GOOD BYE. I had to re-fuel just to get back in town. Go normally aspirated gas when towing in regards to gas engines. Turbos are great but they are like a fire hose when loaded.

I don't agree with this. However, I do think with the lower power band and ease of towing, people tend to tow quicker than they would with a N/A engine. When I use mine gingerly, I get better mileage towing than I did without turbos. However, access to more when I need it along with lower stress level of low rpm's would be worth it regardless.

trailer_newbe wrote:
I’m going to settle this. My company provided F150 with the 3.5L twin turbo is awesome. I had to tow a large maintenance trailer, empty, 500 miles. This trip I’ve done 100 times without a trailer and had 4 days of fuel once back in town. Towing a trailer taught me one thing: the 3.5 TT is awesome but as soon as those turbos need to wind up, kiss gas mileage GOOD BYE. I had to re-fuel just to get back in town. Go normally aspirated gas when towing in regards to gas engines. Turbos are great but they are like a fire hose when loaded.

Pulling a load DOES take fuel. The turbos do increase fuel usage, which is why ford doesn't have them kick in unless you punch it. The turbos also let you keep most of your power at altitude. It is a trade off. If you stay light on the gas pedal, the 3.5l EcoBoost gets good gas mileage. ANY tow vehicle pulling a 10,000# wind sail will get crappy gas mileage. Personally, I would never "{g}o normally aspirated gas when towing in regards to gas engines." Turbos "are like a fire hose when loaded", but they are great at keeping power at altitude. They are also the reason you have your power band at about 2,700 RPM rather than 4,000 RPM and above.

Comparing the truck on that run pulling no trailer vs pulling a trailer is not a good comparison to determine if the turbos are the problem. You need to try that run pulling a trailer with a turbo engine vs a NA engine. Then you would have a meaningful comparison. I would not be surprised if the NA engine had MPG almost as bad as the turbo, but ran at 4,000 RPM while doing it.

What actually cost you your gas mileage was the big wind sail you were pulling, not the turbos.

DoberGirl50 wrote:

Bobbo wrote:

DoberGirl50 wrote:
Let me throw in a new variable just to keep the conversation interesting.

The only reason I have a TT is because I couldn't talk my fiancé into a fifth wheel. He's the one who has to tow it with his gazillion ton truck since I didn't want to part with my beloved Explorer so I had to concede. Fast forward a few weeks and I'm having a change of heart about my Explorer and thinking of getting my own gazillion ton truck (hence this post). If I'm going to get a truck, I might as well get something that will safely tow a fiver (See? I'm getting the lingo down) if I decide to trade on the TT.

I agree with the others, if you are thinking a fiver, a 1 ton truck is what you want. Buy a truck that will handle your next RV so you don't have to upgrade trucks too.

DoberGirl50 wrote:
The dealership wants to sell me a F250 Diesel 6.7L PowerStroke, which sounds super scary and powerful to me for daily use.

Sigh. I'm realizing that if I want to dive into the RV life, I'm gonna have to commit all the way. Bye-bye sexy red Explorer! :-(

I disagree. There is nothing sexier than a lady driving a monster truck! Put an NRA sticker on the back and I may even propose.

I'm not a member of the NRA, but I do own a Glock and have a CHL. :-)

I think I'm in love! :W (My wife shot NRA Bullseye pistol competition for years. Then she fell and tore up her shoulder.)

trailer_newbe wrote:
I’m going to settle this. My company provided F150 with the 3.5L twin turbo is awesome. I had to tow a large maintenance trailer, empty, 500 miles. This trip I’ve done 100 times without a trailer and had 4 days of fuel once back in town. Towing a trailer taught me one thing: the 3.5 TT is awesome but as soon as those turbos need to wind up, kiss gas mileage GOOD BYE. I had to re-fuel just to get back in town. Go normally aspirated gas when towing in regards to gas engines. Turbos are great but they are like a fire hose when loaded.

I think they get pretty good economy for something that'll tow like a V10 naturally aspirated engine.

If I were going to get a diesel, I'd go 1 ton all the way. Why, you ask? Because of the weight penalty you pay with the 3/4 ton and diesel.

That diesel weights a lot more than a gas engine. That extra weight comes out of the overall cargo capacity of the truck, thus limiting what you can tow.

If you are thinking of going the 5'er route, go ahead and get the 1 ton diesel so you will not be wanting to get a bigger truck when you do get the 5'er.

DoberGirl50 wrote:
Let me throw in a new variable just to keep the conversation interesting.

The only reason I have a TT is because I couldn't talk my fiancé into a fifth wheel. He's the one who has to tow it with his gazillion ton truck since I didn't want to part with my beloved Explorer so I had to concede. Fast forward a few weeks and I'm having a change of heart about my Explorer and thinking of getting my own gazillion ton truck (hence this post). If I'm going to get a truck, I might as well get something that will safely tow a fiver (See? I'm getting the lingo down) if I decide to trade on the TT. The dealership wants to sell me a F250 Diesel 6.7L PowerStroke, which sounds super scary and powerful to me for daily use.

Sigh. I'm realizing that if I want to dive into the RV life, I'm gonna have to commit all the way. Bye-bye sexy red Explorer! :-(

I’m going to settle this. My company provided F150 with the 3.5L twin turbo is awesome. I had to tow a large maintenance trailer, empty, 500 miles. This trip I’ve done 100 times without a trailer and had 4 days of fuel once back in town. Towing a trailer taught me one thing: the 3.5 TT is awesome but as soon as those turbos need to wind up, kiss gas mileage GOOD BYE. I had to re-fuel just to get back in town. Go normally aspirated gas when towing in regards to gas engines. Turbos are great but they are like a fire hose when loaded.