F150 3.31 gears vs 3.55 gears

[plasticmaster]

I accidentally posted this in the wrong section earlier, but please indulge me in 1 more question. I sort of asked this in another thread, but wanted to devote a thread to this particular question. My current truck is a 2014 Silverado 5.3L with payload capacity of 1638# and 9700# tow capacity as I have the 3.42 gear ratio. I tow a TT that's close to 9500# loaded and it tows it very comfortably. I'm looking at getting a 2015 to 2020 Ford F150. The payload capacity of the F150 will be greater than my Silverado, so I'm good there, but the tow capacity will either be 9100 or 10100 depending on whether I get the 3.31 gears or the 3.55 gears. Do I really need to be that worried about which gear ratio? Would it really make that much of a difference towing my camper? Please refrain from telling me I need a 3/4 ton or 1 ton truck as I'm looking for the answer about the gear ratio. Thanks.

[KD4UPL]

I'd always get the lower gear (3.55) for towing.
My 2500 Suburban has 3.73 and I wish it had 4.10. I've found if I put it in 5th gear instead of 6th it just tows a lot better, both up hill and down hill.

[MitchF150]

Depends... I think after 2018, the F150's came with the 10 speed trans as opposed to the 6 speed trans..

So, if that's the case, get the 3.55's if it's 6 speed.. I think from 15 on, that's all you can get in one, except if you find a HDPP (Heavy Duty Payload Package), but those are like Unicorns in the wild. (not very many, and if you find one, will cost lots of $$.. )

For the 10 speeds, I think you could get away with the 3.31's.. But, I'd still want some 3.55's with the 10 speed too, if you are going to be towing that heavy..

I have 3.73's with a 13 F150, but that's a different apple compared to the 15 and up F150's, so can't really compare, other than the Ecoboost and the 6 speed trans for the most part.

Oh, I see you are looking for 5.oh no's... Okay, I don't have any experience with those, other than they are not the 'top' engine option for the F150's in general... 🙂

Good luck! Mitch