Advice on Ford F150 Ecoboost

[seekingsummits]

Today I have a 1/2 ton Yukon XL Denali AWD. It does ok with my 6000lb lightweight TT here in the midwest but I dont really trust it across country and my tranny is getting close to needing replaced. Have heard a lot of good things about the V6 Ecoboost and it looks like the 2012 F150 with the 3.73 is even rated between 11000-12000lbs. Just curious what folks think about this vehicle and if its up for the challenge. I dont need an every day work truck by any means as Im in IT sales. We get out about 6 times a yr and 99% of the time its 2-7 hours away from our home and relatively flat, but I would like to hit Yellowstone next year and there are some good passes out that way. Any thoughts would be great.
Thanks
Adam

[BenK]

Ford advertises approx 700 lbs lighter

On a typical half ton and it's ~7K GVWR...that is about 10% lighter...and more if that half ton is UNDER GVWR

Boils down to the day Mr Murphy crosses your path either it can manhandle the setup or not...weight is one component of a TV's ability to manhandle the situation..

[BenK]

JAC1982 wrote:
snip.....

Funny you know that without seeing everyone's set up. We thought the same thing, and so we had the father in law, who tows large trailers for a living (he owns a hot shot company, servicing oil fields), look at it, and he said we were set up correctly. We also added airbags, new tires, and did everything else we could to try to make it work. It just wasn't a comfortable pull, at all, especially in the wind (which is a regular occurrence around here).

Agree...too many think in absolute terms...any single good or bad applies to EVERYONE...

Many lurkers and they follow any/all advice in an absolute view...but most only here wanting confirmation of what they wish to hear....


Via smartphone...excuse my fat finger typos

[JAC1982]

I also think the type of trailer has something to do with it. Our trailer is a toy hauler and is over 12 feet tall... a good foot taller than a regular travel trailer.

[JAC1982]

dodge guy wrote:
The F150 with the Ecoboost will have no issues towing your current trailer. those that had stability issues didn't have the hitch and/or tongue set up properly!

There are far more people here that have had nothing but good experiences with the F150 towing larger trailers.

Funny you know that without seeing everyone's set up. We thought the same thing, and so we had the father in law, who tows large trailers for a living (he owns a hot shot company, servicing oil fields), look at it, and he said we were set up correctly. We also added airbags, new tires, and did everything else we could to try to make it work. It just wasn't a comfortable pull, at all, especially in the wind (which is a regular occurrence around here).

[jerem0621]

I'm sorry, I have a hard time believing that the new F150's are not stable. Sounds more like a bad trailer design or a badly set up truck.

My OLD 1997 F150 SuperCab handled my 31.5 ft 7,700 GVWR TT perfectly. No sway, no stability issues whatsoever. No airbags, no LT tires...just a good handling rig. Maybe you all had other factors like off road tires etc that can cause bad handling in any rig or just a bad trailer design?

Thanks!

Jeremiah

[OH48Lt]

Like others have said, the 3.5 Eco has all the power you could want, but the truck itself can be an issue. I have a WD hitch with dual sway control that was properly set up by a very good dealer, and pulling the rig in my sig was a handful during sustained heavy crosswinds crossing western Kansas and back again across the Texas panhandle and western Oklahoma. Two problems: the mushy passenger-rated tires that half-tons come with, and the short 145" wheelbase.

Also, the Max Tow package and the HD tow package are very different. The Max Tow package is now the standard tow option that is on the majority of F-150's today. The HD tow package is very hard to find, and almost always requires a special order if buying new. A quick way to tell is look at the wheels. If they are 7 lug on a 2013-up truck, you have the HD tow. On 2011-2012 trucks, the Max Tow was the big tow package, that was changed in 2013.

[n0arp]

proxim2020 wrote:

dodge guy wrote:
The F150 with the Ecoboost will have no issues towing your current trailer. those that had stability issues didn't have the hitch and/or tongue set up properly!

There are far more people here that have had nothing but good experiences with the F150 towing larger trailers.

I agree. It's not a towing beast, but it's plenty of truck to hold its own within its limits. I've never understood the accusation that the weight of the F150 causes stability problems. The trucks really aren't all that much lighter than your typical half tons. They aren't heavy, but they aren't light enough to get tossed around like ragdolls in everyday towing conditions either. If you're hitched and balanced properly then there shouldn't be any problems.

I'm certain that the hitches and trailer were setup correctly. My first hitch was a crummy Eaz-Lift and second was a BlueOx Swaypro. I spent a lot of time taking measurements and even checked all the weights at the scales. Everything was as it was supposed to be.

The rig was perfectly stable with little wind, even in moderate rain... but we found lots of our travels were in 10-15mph sustained winds with 30+mph gusts. The rig didn't handle those situations gracefully or comfortably.

Eventually I broke down and bought a Propride 3P which fixed the issues. I don't think it was the weight so much as the 30' trailer length that caused it. Too much trailer for the truck.

Edit: also had LT tires (Firestone Destination A/T) and Air Lift 5000 bags on it.

[Community Alumni]

dodge guy wrote:
The F150 with the Ecoboost will have no issues towing your current trailer. those that had stability issues didn't have the hitch and/or tongue set up properly!

There are far more people here that have had nothing but good experiences with the F150 towing larger trailers.

I agree. It's not a towing beast, but it's plenty of truck to hold its own within its limits. I've never understood the accusation that the weight of the F150 causes stability problems. The trucks really aren't all that much lighter than your typical half tons. They aren't heavy, but they aren't light enough to get tossed around like ragdolls in everyday towing conditions either. If you're hitched and balanced properly then there shouldn't be any problems.

[seekingsummits]

I did see some stuff about that internal water pump too which is a bit concerning for sure. Doesn't sound like something you can help with prevention etc, its just gonna go if its gonna go.

[Dr_Quick]

My only comment is that the Ford 3.5 V-6 engine have an internal water pump, which if it goes, will be very expensive to replace. Like $1000 to $2000. Could also damage engine and engine would have to be replaced, as when pump goes, coolant can get into oil.
Have read on the internet of one engine failing at 61,000 miles due to pump failure.:(

[womps]

I pulled an 8,500 pound 5th wheel with a 2012 F150 super crew 4x4 with 3.73 ratio and the Ecoboost. I know trailers tow different than 5th wheels but it towed effortlessly. I now tow a 14,000 pound 5th wheel with an F350 with the Powerstroke. It does not handle this load as easy as the F150 handled its load. And the fuel economy is similar.

[dodge_guy]

The F150 with the Ecoboost will have no issues towing your current trailer. those that had stability issues didn't have the hitch and/or tongue set up properly!

There are far more people here that have had nothing but good experiences with the F150 towing larger trailers.

[seekingsummits]

Ive got an Equilizer on there now and it works well. Ive been wanting to get a truck in the future anyway, the tranny slipping etc and costing $3400 to fix has just possibly pushed up my time table up a bit potentially as my current TV has about 170k miles so may be a good time to look.

[NWnative]

I'm a fan of the EcoBoost. My combo works quite well for me.

[KD4UPL]

Why not just put a new transmission in the current vehicle? It would likely be less expensive than trading.