Considering a New Tow Vehicle

stevemorris wrote:
quick question, the ford says its a 10 speed auto transmission, does that actually mean there are 9 shifts during a typical acceleration?
seems a little excessive!

If it's as smooth as my 6 speed F-150, then you won't even notice the shifting.

Yes, 9 shifts, but if it is anything like the 6 speed transmission, you will not notice the shifts unless paying attention.

We did our 2014 trip of 6k miles with a 3500 pound trailer and the Ecoboost in my sig. It was a DREAM trip. So completely relaxed. Got 11.5mpg on that trip too! :)

quick question, the ford says its a 10 speed auto transmission, does that actually mean there are 9 shifts during a typical acceleration?
seems a little excessive!

Grit dog wrote:
High miles driving, do it in comfort in a half ton. Pick your flavor. Towing mileage won't be significantly different once you hook pretty much anything to the hitch, not enough to sway me one direction or the other, save for the baby diesel(s). They appear to do proportionally better, but ram quite making the Eco diesel? I think. Tells me I may not want one. Ford hasn't released theirs yet.

Eco boost, 5.0 ford, 5.3 GM or the Hemi. I've used them all except the Eco boost in recent years and they would all do what you want with authority and be so far above the old Dakota you won't care about the minor differences.
Not a ford guy, but if the best deal was a 6 speed 5.0, that would be my choice. Haven't run a 10 speed yet. Too many gears IMO if you're using it as a truck anyway.

Corrections to the above:

FCA hasn't quite making the Eco Diesel. They just haven't got the green light from the EPA to start shipping them.

The 10Speed in the F150 and soon to the Chevy 1500 has received great reviews and appears to be a grand slam.

Tacoma would work, in spite of those saying you need a F-550 to do it.
bumpy

High miles driving, do it in comfort in a half ton. Pick your flavor. Towing mileage won't be significantly different once you hook pretty much anything to the hitch, not enough to sway me one direction or the other, save for the baby diesel(s). They appear to do proportionally better, but ram quite making the Eco diesel? I think. Tells me I may not want one. Ford hasn't released theirs yet.

Eco boost, 5.0 ford, 5.3 GM or the Hemi. I've used them all except the Eco boost in recent years and they would all do what you want with authority and be so far above the old Dakota you won't care about the minor differences.
Not a ford guy, but if the best deal was a 6 speed 5.0, that would be my choice. Haven't run a 10 speed yet. Too many gears IMO if you're using it as a truck anyway.

1/2 ton sounds like it would do fine with what you have now, but if you plan to get a larger TT, I would look closely at the capacity of the truck you plan to buy. I loved my F150, the ecoboost was more than enough to tow my 5500 pound TT, but within a family of four, I was with 130 pounds of my maximum cargo capacity and even with a properly setup WDH it didn't feel safe. The good news is that you can get F150's in a wide range of cargo capacities, so if you go that route look closely and know your numbers when you shop. I upgraded to a 3/4 ton for safety and the prospect of a larger future TT.

I'm not the weight police, I just speak from experience.

Sounds like a 1/2 ton truck is in your future. I would never consider towing a camper with a mid size truck.

BTW... I believe the new Eco Diesel trucks are still on hold and cannot be sold due to the emission problems with the EPA.

Ford Eco boost or Ram eco diesel, I vote Ford

I should add that the colorado/canyon is out, the cab is too cramped compared to the Dakota!
thx don, the ford was high on the list, we didn't consider a small diesel, but will

its too bad that auto manufacturers don't quote hp ratings at 3000 rpm instead of 6000+ rpm. nobody drives around at 6000 rpm!