Radioredline88 wrote:
Hello members,
New member here first post.
My family and I are looking at purchasing tomorrow hopefully
a Sportsmen LE 260bhle (19k)
We were looking and Almost bought a jayco x213 (28k), Starcraft 19bhs (22k)
I am curious about
1. Peoples opinions of sportsmen?
2. Sound ok to be pulled by my tow vehicle?
We have narrowed it down to this model that fits our budget and best floorplan. We live in Saskatchewan where it is flat but plan on taking it to Montana in mountains and further. I have travelled in USA extensively by car and truck but this would be biggest thing we've ever towed. I have towed cars on a flat deck trailer a few times. Trailer will come with an equalizer hitch.
2016 F150 Super crew but with 2.7 Ecoboost
3.55 gears according to Ford site my truck max tows 7500lbs
2018 Sportsmen 260bhle 4840lbs dry gvwr 7000lbs
We also really liked the sportsmen 291BHK, but it seems too heavy 8000lb gvwr and 10k more.
Thanks in advance Radio
That 7500 lbs is for a low frontal surface area trailer. Add in the large frontal surface area of a travel trailer camper, some hills, some wind, hot outside temps, and you'll just might overheat your engine.
THe 2.7L Ecoboost is a poor choice for a truck meant to tow. First it'll have poor engine braking with such a small displacement. The 3.5L is bad enough but the 2.7L is just a bit bigger than a 4 cylinder.
The GVWR on these model is very low, making very low payload. You can buy the optional 2.7L payload package which goes from a 6500 GVWR to a 6900 lbs GVWR, but still lower than the 7000 lbs GVWR of the "lighter" 5.0L. Yes lighter. The 2.7L and 3.5L Ecoboost engines weigh the same, which is about 30 lbs heavier than the 5.0L. Even then, the cost difference between the 5.0L and 2.7L is then only a few hundred dollars.
Then add in that unreliable Stop/start feature that shuts off the engine at every stop, and restarts when the foot comes off the brake, it's a disaster. Tons of complaints at the F150 forums about how their truck stalled from this feature making it even a safety issue.
2.7L engine is meant to be a grocery getter, not a heavy trailer tow vehicle.
Get the 5.0L (which is recommended) for a tow vehicle for the same amount of money with much more capability. Or the 3.5L Ecoboost which has worse engine braking than the 5.0L and the Stop/start feature for 2017, that the 2.7L Ecoboost has had since 2015.
Just make sure to get 3.73 gears for the 5.0L or a minimum of 3.55 for 3.5L Ecoboost since it's not offered with 3.73 gears without the HD Payload package.
