F-150 Non Ecoboost 3.5 towing?

[TomG2]

Anyone tried towing with what appears to be the current standard Ford engine? I know how everyone raves about the turbo models, but how about the majority of F-150's on the lot? Thinking of towing something under 5,000 total weight with one.

[TomG2]

Bionic Man wrote:
I've towed 17,000 pounds with both a 5.9 and 6.7 CTD. Will my experience help? 😉

You have asked the same question at least 3 times, and it does not look like anyone on this forum is towing with that engine. You might be better off going to a Ford Truck forum.

That said, I will agree with the majority of the other posters that have alluded to the idea that there likely are very few people using the base V6 in any of the brands for towing.

I realize that I have asked the same question more than once. Not everyone reads every post and someone might show up late at the party with some factual information. I am surprised how many posts have come from people who have never driven the vehicle in question. That would be like me commenting on your CTD, a total waste of time and bandwidth. There are other forums, but most enthusiasts opt for the more powerful engines.

[Fordlover]

I could try to get my friend to log on here, but you'll just have to settle for second hand reports for now. He's been towing with his V6 2011 F-150 for the past 4 years and doesn't have any complaints. He's vastly more impressed with it than the 4.3 V6 chevy 1500 it replaced(and has been more reliable), and has enough power to handle his midsize pop up+canoe loaded for camping. He can keep up with my V8 on the highway, though his trailer is about 1/2 the weight of mine.

[Bionic_Man]

I've towed 17,000 pounds with both a 5.9 and 6.7 CTD. Will my experience help? 😉

You have asked the same question at least 3 times, and it does not look like anyone on this forum is towing with that engine. You might be better off going to a Ford Truck forum.

That said, I will agree with the majority of the other posters that have alluded to the idea that there likely are very few people using the base V6 in any of the brands for towing.

[TomG2]

It will be a small travel trailer. Just curious if anyone has actually towed with the base 3.5 base V-6 and what their experience was. I am sure that it will do better than a minivan would. My friend may be the first to try that model.

[mcsurveyor]

Since you mentioned that it's a Casita, yes I would say it would work just fine. Casita's are frequently towed by small pickups, minivan's and even sedan's. The V6 F150 will tow it better than those options.

[TomG2]

colliehauler wrote:
Test drive one and pull the Casita,then you'll know.

Bet it does just fine.

Good idea. I will see if the dealer will loan my friend a F-150 and the RV dealer can provide the test trailer. I thought it might be easier if anyone had any first hand experience to share. I bet it will do fine too, but it is not my money that I would be betting.

[colliehauler]

TomG2 wrote:

Fordlover wrote:
What exactly would you like to know?

I thought it would be good to know if the base combination from Ford tended to overheat or fall behind the crowd when towing a Casita across the mountains of Florida. What kind of fuel mileage to expect both loaded and unloaded. Nobody likes more power than I do, but perhaps Ford actually sells base model pickups that are capable of towing a few thousand pounds. Maybe not?

Test drive one and pull the Casita,then you'll know.

Bet it does just fine.

[TomG2]

Fordlover wrote:
What exactly would you like to know?

I thought it would be good to know if the base combination from Ford tended to overheat or fall behind the crowd when towing a Casita across the mountains of Florida. What kind of fuel mileage to expect both loaded and unloaded. Nobody likes more power than I do, but perhaps Ford actually sells base model pickups that are capable of towing a few thousand pounds. Maybe not?

[Fordlover]

TomG2 wrote:
I asked about the suitability of the smallest naturally aspirated gasoline fueled engine available in the Ford F-150 and it took three pages before the word "diesel" appeared. Pretty good. Still wondering if anyone has actual experience with the little 3.5 V-6?

What exactly would you like to know? We have a 3.5 V6 Naturally aspirated in the family fleet, but it isn't in a F-150. It's in a 2011 Ford Edge with ~60K on it.

Here is a 0-60 video which is mostly useless, (traction limited though)
Video

comparing the base 2015 to the base 2014 V6

Rated to tow up to 7,600 lbs... wow. Way more power and similar torque to my ol 1995 F-150 5.0 V8 4 speed that was rated to tow 6,000 lbs.

[mkirsch]

Not likely to find any experience here, because anybody that's serious about towing wouldn't touch that engine with a 10-foot pole.

But, as others have said, there is no reason it won't get the job done within its ratings, maybe even a little over if you're in no hurry to get anywhere.

The only thing I see is that you're probably not going to find one with 3.73 gears. That's a towing gear, and this is an economy engine. You're far more likely to find them with ratios like 3.08, 3.23, maybe 3.42. Even with a 6-speed, it's going to be a dog with anything more than a driver and a passenger in those 3.08/3.23 ratios.

[TomG2]

I asked about the suitability of the smallest naturally aspirated gasoline fueled engine available in the Ford F-150 and it took three pages before the word "diesel" appeared. Pretty good. Still wondering if anyone has actual experience with the little 3.5 V-6?

[Terryallan]

valhalla360 wrote:

Terryallan wrote:

colliehauler wrote:
I know it's not a direct answer to your question but a friend of mine in Texas bought a new Ford but it had the 3.7 base model. Doing some research the V-6 had more hp then the old 460 during the late 70's. Use to pull all the time with that.

As long as your friend knows the limitations it should work fine.

But. What about the torque of that old 460CI. 385 FT pounds. V6=253. Remember. It's the torque that makes stuff move.

Sort of correct but not really.

Torque at the crank shaft isn't what determines if the stuff will move. It's the torque at the wheel. With the newer transmissions, they are better able to coordinate the gears so you have the torque at the wheels even if the engine doesn't have as much torque.

I agree to a point. However. the newer transmissions are coupled to a higher geared rear end that hurts them. At any rate. I'd rather have higher torque. Isn't that why folks like diesels?

[colliehauler]

Fordlover wrote:

JiminDenver wrote:
Haven't read the whole thread but I do have a 04 F150 with the V6. It's only rated to tow 3200 pounds and the cargo capacity is right at a half ton. It's a 4x4 toy, not a truck.

Unloaded it's a spiffy little thing but load it down or tow something and you really notice.

The 4.2 V6 in the 97-2008 F150 is a completely different engine than what is being asked by OP.

The 4.2 traces its roots back to the 3.8 liter essex V6 that started back in 1982.

The 3.7, which then became the 3.5 is called the cyclone engine which was released in 2006-2007.

Thanks for the clarification.

[Fordlover]

JiminDenver wrote:
Haven't read the whole thread but I do have a 04 F150 with the V6. It's only rated to tow 3200 pounds and the cargo capacity is right at a half ton. It's a 4x4 toy, not a truck.

Unloaded it's a spiffy little thing but load it down or tow something and you really notice.

The 4.2 V6 in the 97-2008 F150 is a completely different engine than what is being asked by OP.

The 4.2 traces its roots back to the 3.8 liter essex V6 that started back in 1982.

The 3.7, which then became the 3.5 is called the cyclone engine which was released in 2006-2007.

[alexleblanc]

With the 3.73 gears I wouldn't be afraid to pull a 5000lb TT at all, look at the videos on YouTube, it does as well as any of the small V8's from 10-15 years ago.