Towing with F150.

[Ddip1125]

Hi Everyone. Has anyone towed their 24' with a 5.0L F150 for an 8 hour trip? If so any issues towing it for that long?

 

[jawsf16]

My Eco handles it no problem. Your 5er will be awesome. I had a 2010 with an old 5.4 and it towed the AR no problem.

 

[Scottintexas]

Do you know if your truck has a transmission fluid cooler? I understand that most transmission fail because the fluid gets to hot causing the parts to have issues.

If you don't have a cooler you may want to invest in a gauge just to be able to monitor it. Breaking down along ways from home is a quick way to ruin a trip while a $100 gauge gives you some peace of mind.

 

[Speedling]

I believe all xlt and better packages come with trans cooler separate. Others have it built into radiator? Don't quote me on that.
My f150 xlt with 5.4 and my expedition with 5.4, both 3 valves, same transmission etc tow like a boss. Also have a full upright camper that they both tow no issues. Towed 8 hours to Lake Cumberland (a few kid stops) with both trucks, boat and camper and no issues during the hottest week of the summer. In hills. Then went to Shelbyville. Then home. Lots and lots of towing. Ford and Chevy make great trucks right now in my opinion.
Thank goodness i couldn't afford an ecoboost...

 

[Bennie]

The longest I've towed mine is just under 4hrs with my '14 FX4. The trans temp gauge never moved. I did have the "tow" option engaged on the trans but I believe that is more for city driving; and to keep you from constantly getting in and out of overdrive. That is what can do your trans/converter serious damage.

When you get done with your trip please let me know if everything went off without a hitch. We are wanting to take the boat up into AR later this year. A long 8-10 hr drive.

 

[Ronnie]

I've been told the expedition shares the same chassis and drive train, I have an expedition and love it, tows like a boss. If I could justify it though I'd buy a new ford 150 with the independently controlled video trailer ing system.

 

[MattFX4]

@Ddip1125 I towed my 242 limited s 6 hours with my '13 FX4 5.0. You will be fine. These newer engines (5.0 and Eco) are awesome. Plenty of power. The 5.0 will downshift some on hills, but it loves to make it's power in higher rpm range. On a plus side it sounds amazing when it does!

 

[Ddip1125]

Hi All,

Thanks for the great input. The longest I have towed with my 13' FX4 5.0L is 4 hrs but I towed my dads lightweight pontoon. This will be a first with the 5,000 lb rig behind me. It's a long way to go so I wanted to get some input. I'm thinking about going 250 or 350 diesel at some point to try to save on the gas guzzling.

 

[swatski]

If I was in the market for an F150, the 3.0 diesel is finally coming. And this time - it is for real.

Well, its a Power Stroke, 3.0 turbo diesel, which like all awesome diesels these days comes form Europe. Ford tries to pass it as a domestic product which is just silly. It is an old Citroen/peugeot V6 they have been using in Range Rovers for years.
Should be very competitive with EcoDiesel and TDI, all w/over 400 ft lbs of torque. Now, those will tow a boat!

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[veedubtek]

I was reading about that yesterday. Pretty exciting really, I'd love to see alot more diesel options.

 

[bronze_10]

When is that coming? 2018?

 

[LeeFlan7]

I'm actually a GM at a Ford/Lincoln dealership...your f150 5.0 will eat that trip up.

 

[Larkintx]

I had a 2015 F-150 3.5 eco boost and it had issues pulling my 242x. I traded it in for a Ram 2500 6.7 diesel and its flawless.....

 

[brockhals]

I tow my Crownline (8,500 lbs) with my 2015 F150, 3.5 EB with no issues. I have the 3.55 gears

 

[Bruce]

Having a boat behind the F150 makes it much more difficult to push the truck from the heated and cooled tailgate.

Although I do think the upcoming F150 diesel will receive serious consideration for my next truck. My guess is that the lower weight aluminum body will allow it much higher cargo and towing capacity than the Ram Ecodiesel.

 

[swatski]

Having a boat behind the F150 makes it much more difficult to push the truck from the heated and cooled tailgate.

Although I do think the upcoming F150 diesel will receive serious consideration for my next truck. My guess is that the lower weight aluminum body will allow it much higher cargo and towing capacity than the Ram Ecodiesel.

I will be curious to see what you decide @Bruce !
One aspect of towing that hardly ever gets any attention, which I puzzles me, is the distance of the hitch ball/trailer coupler from the rear axle of the tow vehicle. The shorter it is, the better for towing - less squat, sway, and all sorts of other issues. Hence different tow ratings for some seemingly identical vehicles/models, where one would have a shorter rear end (and therefore higher tow rating).

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[Bill D]

"...heated and cooled tailgate" That made me giggle.

 

[blacksapphirez]

Having a boat behind the F150 makes it much more difficult to push the truck from the heated and cooled tailgate.

Although I do think the upcoming F150 diesel will receive serious consideration for my next truck. My guess is that the lower weight aluminum body will allow it much higher cargo and towing capacity than the Ram Ecodiesel.

put in $80 airlift bags and you can put have a pretty hefty payload!

 

[Bruce]

put in $80 airlift bags and you can put have a pretty hefty payload!

I 100% agree about the physical capability however legally a nicely equipped Ecodiesel is limited to cargo and towing capacities that are lower than what my family needs.

 

[Fozzy]

View attachment 50255 I had a 2015 F-150 3.5 eco boost and it had issues pulling my 242x. I traded it in for a Ram 2500 6.7 diesel and its flawless.....

That is strange. I have a 2016 F-150. 3.5 Ecoboost that pulls my 242LSE with no problems. I did add 2000# air bags that took the sway out of the light truck. It's a towing beast and I gave up a 13' Powerstroke F-350 since I don't tow heavy any more.