New Tow Vehicle - Ecoboost!

[dretired]

Originally Posted by The_Stuff

ya i played on the usa site. that XL package is nice but not offered in canada.. still tempted at a '11 xl f150 4x4 for 25k in saskatoon but... no ecoboost. just the normal v-6..

I looked at the Canadian build and price site .. too bad... that you cant order what you want in a truck ..... thats strange...And.. it seems you folks are paying waaay too much !!

[bean]

Thanks for the kind words everyone. I have the camper (Flagstaff 625D popup) away for the winter, so I haven't towed with it yet. But the power going up mountains tells me it won't even notice it.

Originally Posted by crocus

bean, my buddy with an EcoBeast wanted to put a screen in front of that "ecoboost" hole to keep the grasshoppers out of the rad, but was told that putting anything in that hole would void the warranty. Did you get clearance from the dealer to do that?

It seems stupid, as a rad plugged with grasshoppers is far worse that putting a lousy screen in front of it.

I've had it to the dealer since I installed it, and they didn't say anything about it. I think ford would have a hard time proving that a simple grill would block more airflow than a dirty inter-cooler. I may ask about it next time I have service done. I'd rather have protection from a bird or rock.

Bean

[bean]

Originally Posted by LFugate

So the EZ down is some kind of struts for the tail gate?

It lets the tailgate down nice and slowly. But offers no resistance when putting it up. I have an 8 year old son, and if he lifted the handle he would get quite a knock on the head without it. Plus it really looks cool when you just pull the latch and let the tailgate go. You should see people's reaction, they always puts their hands out to catch the tailgate, then put them down when they see it lowering very slowly. It's the "coolest" $30 mod I've seen.

Bean

[bean]

Originally Posted by acadianbob

Bean, nice! Now get some 30lb fishing line and "saw" those Ecoboost badges off of the doors (like flossing your teeth). A little GooGone on the remaining adhesive.

Why the tailgate lock? The Ford lock insufficient?

Yeah, I'm not crazy about the ecoboost badges. They look terrible on some colors. Not too bad on the brown though. I may eventually remove them.

By removing 6 screws on the inside of the tailgate the Ford lock can be unlocked. Or it can be simply "punched out" pretty easily. The McGard is basically a glorified hose clamp that prevents the tailgate from being removed from the hinge (how often do you need to remove your tailgate anyway).

It won't prevent a determined theif, but it will slow them down, and hopefully move on to an easier target.

For $20 it's cheap insurance. I've heard tailgate theift is a growing problem in high crime areas mostly.

It's sad that you have to install such things, but such is the world today.

Bean

[MtnGuy]

Originally Posted by bean

The McGard is basically a glorified hose clamp that prevents the tailgate from being removed from the hinge (how often do you need to remove your tailgate anyway).

It won't prevent a determined theif, but it will slow them down, and hopefully move on to an easier target.

For $20 it's cheap insurance. I've heard tailgate theift is a growing problem in high crime areas mostly.

It's sad that you have to install such things, but such is the world today.

Bean

I accidentally made the tailgate on my F150 unattractive to thieves. I lowered the tailgate onto a socket wrench sitting on my bumper, and I now have a nice little dimple there.

[acadianbob]

Originally Posted by mtnguy

I accidentally made the tailgate on my F150 unattractive to thieves. I lowered the tailgate onto a socket wrench sitting on my bumper, and I now have a nice little dimple there.

In my case, it was a pipewrench! $150 of paintless dent removal. So, I don't leave anything on the bumper anymore . . . .

[Len & Cheri]

I bought a 2000 F150 Lariat Flareside in late 2000. In early 2001 I had to go to Iceland for a year without the family. When I got finally got back a year later I noticed a huge scratch in the tail gate. After grilling the wife (now ex) she told me she was hooking up the utility trailer and it got away from her. The tongue of the trailer rose up and put about a 12 inch scratch/dent in the tail gate I wasn't really mad about the scratch, but more about the fact I had told her not to try hooking up the trailer without help for just that reason. Women just don't listen sometimes. Ending up trading the truck in 2007 with the scratch still there.

[bean]

Originally Posted by LFugate

... Women just don't listen sometimes. ...

I can't believe you got away with saying that... At least you put in the "sometimes" to C.Y.A.

My wife drove "my" truck for the first time yesterday. I was white knuckled the whole time. You should have seen the look I got when I told her she was following too close.

Then I warned her about the tow mirrors and to not "ride the yellow line". Well then she starting hugging the white line, and I was ducking at every tree branch that hung out on the road.

I finally took to closing my eyes and pretending to look out the side window. I may have even said a little prayer in there too.

Bean

[tom50mg]

Nice,I have the ez down as well,nice addition when your humped over between the truck and trailer and just let the tailgate go! Backup camera gets me to about a quarter inch from my work bench in the garage.I added the chrome door handle kits and the chrome pillar post covers,nice touch on a 08 f-150 black super crew ! Glad I went with the sunroof too.The tri-fold cover I have will also hold up to 200 pounds on the top of it.

[Old car]

The DW and I went to our local Ford dealer today to see what could be worked out on a 2012 Ford F-150 Supercrew with the Ecoboost. Love the truck and the trade in offer they gave us for the Silverado. Everything about the deal is very attractive. Just not sure about taking on a vehicle payment. Probably going to be a sleepless night.

[dretired]

Originally Posted by Old car

The DW and I went to our local Ford dealer today to see what could be worked out on a 2012 Ford F-150 Supercrew with the Ecoboost. Love the truck and the trade in offer they gave us for the Silverado. Everything about the deal is very attractive. Just not sure about taking on a vehicle payment. Probably going to be a sleepless night.

Will it have a 6 1/2 foot box ? The reason i ask . it should have the heavy duty payload pkg with a 6 1/2 box ..IF you need a little more...something to think about...

[Old car]

It has the 5-1/2 foot box. And the regular trailer tow package. It's rated at 11,300 lb. tow capacity and my trailer is right at 7000. Decisions---decisions.

[acadianbob]

Originally Posted by Old car

It has the 5-1/2 foot box. And the regular trailer tow package. It's rated at 11,300 lb. tow capacity and my trailer is right at 7000. Decisions---decisions.

Better double check that! The regular tow is not good for 11,300 to the best of my knowledge. Only Max Tow gets you 11,300. I think your capacity would be 9,600. If this is key to you, double check before you buy.

Scroll down to the bottom of this 2012 F150 brochure.

http://pa.motorwebs.com/ford/pdf/brochures/f-150.pdf

Good luck! Hoping mine arrives at the dealership today. It's in transit from Kansas City to St. Paul.

[wneise]

The 3.73 rear end alone will get you the 11300. Max tow requires the 3.73 but only includes goodies like extending side mirrors, trailer brake and maybe beefier rear springs. I got the 3.55 rear and have no trouble hauling around 8500 lbs with a set of helper springs under the rear axle. BTW, the trailer brake came with one of the other packages on our truck.

[dretired]

Originally Posted by Old car

It has the 5-1/2 foot box. And the regular trailer tow package. It's rated at 11,300 lb. tow capacity and my trailer is right at 7000. Decisions---decisions.

Depending on your rear gear (3.73) or 4.10 ..you will need those... But it might be nice to have both the Max tow pkg and the Max payload pkg...together.. Check out the Ford web site 2012 F 150 towing Capacity... lots of good info..

[Old car]

One thing I insisted on while looking was the 3.73 rear end. That eliminated about 95% of the trucks sitting on Kansas City dealer lots. I have a brake controller on the Silverado I can take off and hopefully put on the F150. The Silverado has been great for flat landing towing around here but we do want to head to the mountains with the TT sometime soon.

[dretired]

Originally Posted by Old car

One thing I insisted on while looking was the 3.73 rear end. That eliminated about 95% of the trucks sitting on Kansas City dealer lots. I have a brake controller on the Silverado I can take off and hopefully put on the F150. The Silverado has been great for flat landing towing around here but we do want to head to the mountains with the TT sometime soon.

Insist on knowing what you are getting when it comes to payload capacity and towing capacity... check...double check..then check again.. i found that a lot of sales people have very little.... if any... knowledge of this.. and you are the one stuck with something ...if it truly isnt what you would need for towing...just saying..

[acadianbob]

Originally Posted by wneise

The 3.73 rear end alone will get you the 11300.

I don't think that is true. Without Max Tow (or HD payload in some cases), the hitch is not rated for that weight. Look back on earlier pages on this thread and you will see pictures showing the difference in the hitch. Not being contentious but just trying to make sure our information is accurate for everyone.

If you look at the link I posted to the Ford brochure, scroll down to the bottom and you will see the towing capacities for all of the configurations. The footnotes suggest that all of the 11,300 capacities require either Max Tow or HD Payload.

If I am reading it right, a 3.73 rear is required but does not in and of itself get you the 11,300. e.g. The FX4 comes standard with a 3.73 but towing capacity is 9,600 without Max Tow.

[dretired]

Really do your research when looking for towing in the 2012 F150... Depending on Cab type box type , engine, MAX towing ,, max or heavy duty payload pkgs rear ends...a person can get as high as 11,300 for towing and up to 3,000lbs payload..go on the ford price and build web site and "play" with it ...have fun

[Len & Cheri]

Here is the chart. Looks like you can get a 11,200 lb capability in a Supercrew shortbed (145" WB), but only in a 4X4 with a 3.73 rearend. This would require the Max Trailer Tow Package.