Okay. Serious Thoughts On EcoBoost Towing 9.5K

[Kampfirekid]

Im really trying hard to buy an economy car to allow me to keep my 2010 F250 6.4L Harley Edition Super Duty. Its not coming together well. Its several hundred dollars each month more than I spend now on my truck and fuel alone. It seems the savings in fuel alone by driving an economy car will pay for the truck payment alone, but there still is no savings. I put miles on too fast to pay my truck off before it hits 150k, and at 65k niw, Id like to get a car now while miles are low. Frankly, I dont want this truck after 100k as a daily driver. For pleasure and towing, okay, ill keep it past 150k.

So, I only tow about 4-5,000 miles a year, if that. All through the Midwest, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Usually less than 500 miles round trip. Our trailer is a 2011 Jayco Jay Flight 32BHDS. It weighs about 9,200 loaded. The tongue weight at 1,180. I am wondering if the Ecoboost Supercrew with the Heavy Duty Payload Package (yielding close to 2,200 lbs of payload) will foot the bill for the 12 trips a year under 500 miles. The expected payload already exceeds my 1,950 on my Harley F250 diesel. Will the lighter-duty F150 be that much more unstable and unbearable for my needs?

I was hoping my limited edition Harley could move to the pole barn for restricted use and a car run daily until it falls apart, 150k miles... whichever comes first. Frankly, it looks like a dream. The EcoBoost F150 could makea better daily driver being more comfortable, and netting better fuel economy at a reduced cost per gallon Granted, it wont get 30mpg, but it will beat the diesel, still tow, and fuel and maintence is cheaper.

All thoughts are appreciated.

[PartyMarty]

In addition to the insurance expense of an extra car I have discovered :
I left my glasses in my other vehicle .
I left my important paperwork in my other vehicle .
I needed my jacket that I left in my other vehicle .
I needed my tool kit that I left in my other vehicle .
I left my cell phone charger in my other vehicle .
I had to wash 2 cars and a truck this weekend because they were all dirty .
The list goes on .....

[Kampfirekid]

Gotta say, the savings isn't so astronomical with a second car that I'm am interested in driving the perverbial beater. I work long hours and have no interest in spending my off time turning wrenches. Most cars here at $5k and under are 140k mile rust buckets with worn out seats. I'm too old for that crap. I will consider a comfortable ride that is in good shape, and would pay extra for lower miles than sit in a pregnant rollerskate with 100k miles.

[mkirsch]

jevanb wrote:

mkirsch wrote:
If you're driving a lot, you can't just go out and buy some $3K-$5K jalopy. You need a RELIABLE car and reliable cars don't sell for $3K-$5K. That means payment.

really... I bought a 99 olds minivan to drive back and forth for 6 years cost me 4k, put 200k and 500 dollars plus lots of used tires . sold for 1800k been doing this about every 4-5 years with 3-5 k junkers.

Yes, really. You can't get nothin' but junk around here for $5K. 10 years old and 100K+ miles. At 10 years old they're completely rusted out underneath because of the road salt. Fuel lines, brake lines, gas tank, suspension... all shot.

Besides, you can't get a loan for $5K. Most people don't have that kind of cake laying around these days, so they need to finance even that much. Lenders want the car <5 years old and won't loan you less than $10K.

[jevanb]

mkirsch wrote:
If you're driving a lot, you can't just go out and buy some $3K-$5K jalopy. You need a RELIABLE car and reliable cars don't sell for $3K-$5K. That means payment.

really... I bought a 99 olds minivan to drive back and forth for 6 years cost me 4k, put 200k and 500 dollars plus lots of used tires . sold for 1800k been doing this about every 4-5 years with 3-5 k junkers.

[pappcam]

93Cobra2771 wrote:

pappcam wrote:

mkirsch wrote:
There is no such thing as a "reliable used econobox for $5k."

$5K gets you a 10-year-old car with 100K+ miles around here.

I've got a friend who is reliably getting 22MPG out of his Ecoboost after 15,000 miles. The best that diesel will do is 18MPG if you drive it like an old duffer.

He says the towing power is night and day compared to the 5.3L Chevy he replaced.

I call BS on the ecoboost mileage. It's a truck and there's no way he's getting that mileage unless he's driving well below the speed limit and holding up traffic.

I thought the ecoboost mileage hype was already done with.

Believe it or not, it is possible. I have gotten a best of 24.4 mpg on a route that I run very regularly (150 mile round trip). And that is without holding up traffic.

I do have a high flow cat back exhaust that gave me a roughly 2mpg gain.

Just got back from a 850 mile round trip to Myrtle Beach from East TN. That includes skirting Ashville and crossing the Smoky Mountains, and the 7% grade Black Mountain. 10.6mpg going over, and 10.4 coming back. That's with a 55-60mph range.

Have gotten a best of 11.4 on the same trip.

My around town mileage runs around 18mpg, give or take.

The mileage is possible on a nice clear highway but not for regular driving. I'm also very wary of your claim about your exhaust giving you an extra 2mpg so we'll agree to disagree on both points.

[Kampfirekid]

A lot of good points. I waiver back and forth. In the end, I'd like to keep my truck, and run an economy car daily. Even if I spend $20k on a car twice, two cars give me several hundred thousand miles of driving for $40k, while one diesel at $60k will barely give me the same... All with higher fuel and repair costs. I can't buy a stripped gasser truck- even an F150 - for what I owe on my loaded limited truck. If I keep the truck I'm hoping to run it for towing and weekend pleasure for about another 5-6 years. Then it will be 10 years old and ready to move off to someone else.

[93Cobra2771]

pappcam wrote:

mkirsch wrote:
There is no such thing as a "reliable used econobox for $5k."

$5K gets you a 10-year-old car with 100K+ miles around here.

I've got a friend who is reliably getting 22MPG out of his Ecoboost after 15,000 miles. The best that diesel will do is 18MPG if you drive it like an old duffer.

He says the towing power is night and day compared to the 5.3L Chevy he replaced.

I call BS on the ecoboost mileage. It's a truck and there's no way he's getting that mileage unless he's driving well below the speed limit and holding up traffic.

I thought the ecoboost mileage hype was already done with.

Believe it or not, it is possible. I have gotten a best of 24.4 mpg on a route that I run very regularly (150 mile round trip). And that is without holding up traffic.

I do have a high flow cat back exhaust that gave me a roughly 2mpg gain.

Just got back from a 850 mile round trip to Myrtle Beach from East TN. That includes skirting Ashville and crossing the Smoky Mountains, and the 7% grade Black Mountain. 10.6mpg going over, and 10.4 coming back. That's with a 55-60mph range.

Have gotten a best of 11.4 on the same trip.

My around town mileage runs around 18mpg, give or take.

[sele]

We love our eco boost flat out it is setup to tow our f'ver and as I have said many a time I would not go heavier! I get right at 16.5 to 17 mpg on a daily basis. I am happy with this, from what I have seen you either get a tow vechile and average mpg or good mpg and not so good towing good luck with whatever you decide

[Taco]

Get a cheap small fuel efficient 4 cyl car.

Don't look at payments look at depreciation. I drive 40k a year going back and forth to work. Say a vehicle lasts 240k that means I will pretty much wear a vehicle out in 6 years. So a f250 50k/6= 8300 per year cost to drive. Cheap car 14k/6=2300 per year. So 6k less per year or 500 a month less just in vehicle cost. The car should also be cheaper to insure and take much less fuel.

Take my situation. I plan on keeping my truck 12 years and expect 6 years from a car. So in 12 years with a car and a truck I used up two cars @ 14k each plus 2/3 of a 35k truck. 14+14+24=52k. I get 40 mpg in my car and 16 highway in my truck. So 5000 a year fuel savings over the 40k commute.

If I just bought trucks in 12 years 2 35k truck used completely up so 70k and 5x12=60k in additional fuel. So have a car and a truck saves me 60+18=78/12=6.5k So 6500 a year savings by driving to work in a small car.

[rexlion]

Make a list of what you want to achieve and number them 1- 2- 3 in order of priority to you. Be honest. If ride comfort is #1, let it be that. Or if it's the money, let it be that. Once you've made the list, ask yourself which option fits #1 (whatever it is) the best. That is probably your best option to take.

The thing is, there is no right or wrong answer. Only shades of gray (way less than 50, lol), because no one can see the future... so any change we make is a roll of the dice to some degree.

If commute comfort is #1 priority, nothing beats a separate commuter vehicle. (BTW, have you test driven an ecoboost with the HD package? Don't assume what the ride will be like.) And if the fuel savings pays for nearly all the expenses of that smaller vehicle (amortized over the vehicle's expected life, not just over the payment period), when you add in the lower wear and tear on your F250 you may actually come out ahead. Don't forget to add in the somewhat higher repair costs if drivetrain work is ever needed on the diesel.

[pappcam]

mkirsch wrote:
There is no such thing as a "reliable used econobox for $5k."

$5K gets you a 10-year-old car with 100K+ miles around here.

I've got a friend who is reliably getting 22MPG out of his Ecoboost after 15,000 miles. The best that diesel will do is 18MPG if you drive it like an old duffer.

He says the towing power is night and day compared to the 5.3L Chevy he replaced.

I call BS on the ecoboost mileage. It's a truck and there's no way he's getting that mileage unless he's driving well below the speed limit and holding up traffic.

I thought the ecoboost mileage hype was already done with.

[alexleblanc]

Take it from me, I towed a 7k TT for three summers with my 2011 screw ecoboost - worked fantastic with that size of TT. We upgraded to a similar size and weight to your unit and found that while the ecoboost provided all kinds of pulling power, the F150 chassis was simply too soft and light duty. I towed that TT around 2000km's with it and decided the only safe and comfortable choice was to go the 3/4 ton route.

My honest, well informed and experienced opinion in the matter is that the Ecoboost F150 won't cut it with your existing TT. Been there, done that and have the shirt.

Feel free to pm me any direct ecoboost heavy towing questions you may have.

Alex.

[PartyMarty]

"The best pickup is the one you bought new 10 years ago "
I read that somewhere .
It makes too much sense .
Especially if you haul stuff to the dump , go camping , throw the bikes in the back and use it as a pickup .
That does not mean that we cannot polish our trucks to keep them shiny and service them as if they were our last rig .
Drive that fancy truck and maintain it , it's a keeper .

[dodge_guy]

mkirsch wrote:
There is no such thing as a "reliable used econobox for $5k."

$5K gets you a 10-year-old car with 100K+ miles around here.

I've got a friend who is reliably getting 22MPG out of his Ecoboost after 15,000 miles. The best that diesel will do is 18MPG if you drive it like an old duffer.

He says the towing power is night and day compared to the 5.3L Chevy he replaced.

There all over the place! and 100k miles is nothing anymore. I`m consistently seeing 2-300k mile cars coming into the shop for nothing more than basic maintenance. and taken care of they look nice, some could pass for 50k miles. and that is why I said you need to shop and do your homework, for me that is well worth the $25-30k savings.

[Lantley]

Kampfirekid wrote:
I didn't initially post to debate the car. I was looking for input on an EcoBoost. There is a member here that pulls a heavy TT, and one who pulls a fiver. Both seem to tow a lot more and a lot farther than I do. They have no gripes. I have been a 3/4 plus pat form guy for about. 15 years, and the couple 1/2 tons I mixed in worked, but maxed out the payload.

A heavy duty payload F150 will exceed my current F250 by 200-400 pounds. Yes, I agree it is a lighter truck and lighter duty, but I'm not pulling the trailer 12 months a year and every week. It's less than 500 miles a trip and only 12 weekends a year at best. Is it perfect? No. Will it work? It seems so. Will it be cheaper maintenance than a diesel? Most likely. Etc...

If I could find a HD Payload locally to hook up and pull for a test, I would. That's not possible. I suspect that if I raised the question about going to a gasser 6.2L Superduty, the same would ensue.

The original goal was to save my current F250 before it hits 100k miles. I love the truck. But the more I looked at an additional car, it only works IF the primary goal is to prevent spending 65k on a new truck every few years. That's it. That's when I figured the EcoBoost could be middle ground by allowing me a better ride, cheaper maintenance, cheaper sticker to swallow every few years, and it could still tow my trailer the few weekends of short miles. Of course, I'm used to 1250 miles a week, so maybe 500 per trip is a lot of driving for some if you.

If you didn't own your 6.4 already an ecoboost maybe worthwhile, however I don't think I would buy an ecoboost or any 1/2 ton if I planned to tow a 9500 lb TT. A 9500 lb TT is solidly in 3/4 ton territory.
Why are you trying to preserve your truck? What are you saving it for?
The only way to get value out of your truck or RV is to use it. The more you use it the more value you will achieve.
Getting a new truck will not produce any real savings.
If you have purchased a truck that you can't afford to use that a different scenario.
Total value is when you have put 300k on a truck that is still reliable!