Worried

[Thor4570]

2014 F 150 EcoBoost purchased new from local Ford dealer who assured me that it would tow 11,000 lbs. My trailer is 7200 lbs so I was not concerned. Also, at the time of purchase, the trailer would only be towed short distances for service etc. Now, I am able to travel over this upcoming winter and am getting ready but.......my TV has a 3:15 rear end (news to me) and is rated to 8400 lbs not 11000lbs. Surprised, but I am ok with load capacity. My question is this....will I have problems because of the high rear end gearing?? Anyone else pulling with this combination?? Thanks!

[fvstringpicker]

At 7,200 lbs loaded you're probably ok. I say that because I can tow my 32 footer with my 1500 Z-71. (I don't however tow with that truck unless I have to.) Like they say, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. I expect your short trips are a good indication of how it will perform on long trips.
Its amazing how salesmen will tell you anything to make the sale.

[Kaadk]

In the 1/2 tons our biggest concern tends to be payload. You might be under tow rating but over on payload.

Your best bet is to go get your weights, and then compare them against all of the trucks specs (GCWR, GVWR, GFAWR, GRAWR, etc...). This will give you a better idea of what's in, and subsequently out, of spec.

After that, well, that choice is yours. The responses often run the gamut of "you'll be fine, ignore what people say" to "if you go over by a pound on any spec you'll die a horrible fiery death and wipe out a small town in the process." Needless to say, I don't put a lot of personal stock in people's opinions for a setup they've never seen.

But I do believe the first step is to make sure you're educated on what your running. Know what you have, and adjust accordingly.






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[donanddona]

My cousin pulled a presidential TT with his and loved it. Adding a leaf spring here and an airbag there is part of "keeping what you got". You can get great tips (gearing changes/truck tires) from the Ford dealer too. Just make sure to ask for the light truck specialist or the service manager.

[asquared]

Do you have the tow rating he quoted you in writing? It sounds like he quoted the max tow hd version of the truck. It sounds like you do not have the max tow or hd version. As others stated, you have the truck now. Get it weighed with the trailer full loaded and see where your weights are. Weigh the truck with and without the tt attached. Have tv front axle on scale pad 1, tv reAr axle on scale pad 2 and tt on scale pad 3. Also, how does it handle? Go from here.

[goduc]

With 7200lbs loaded your pin will be around 900lbs. BTDT. You need to look on the door or the door jamb and see what the Tread Act sticker says for payload. Are you traveling with other people and what are you putting in your truck? All those things along with the 900lbs for tongue weight need to be deducted from the payload weight.

As far as the gearing goes, hopefully you have a tow package with the OEM brake controller. You will likely be in 5th gear most of the time. Maybe 4th a lot. Starting out will bog the 3.5 a bunch but just take your time.

Also how did you find out you have the 3.15? The gearing should be listed on the door jamb also. It will be a number letter combo. It will be either 15 or L5

Also if you don't have the trailer tow package then the max frontal area of the TT is 36 sqft. It's 60 sqft with the tow package.

[asquared]

Originally Posted by goduc

With 7200lbs loaded your pin will be around 900lbs. BTDT. You need to look on the door or the door jamb and see what the Tread Act sticker says for payload. Are you traveling with other people and what are you putting in your truck? All those things along with the 900lbs for tongue weight need to be deducted from the payload weight.

As far as the gearing goes, hopefully you have a tow package with the OEM brake controller. You will likely be in 5th gear most of the time. Maybe 4th a lot. Starting out will bog the 3.5 a bunch but just take your time.

Also how did you find out you have the 3.15? The gearing should be listed on the door jamb also. It will be a number letter combo. It will be either 15 or L5

Also if you don't have the trailer tow package then the max frontal area of the TT is 36 sqft. It's 60 sqft with the tow package.

This brings up another point. If you don't have the trailer tow package then you need to get a transmission cooler added. Also is the 7209 lbs dry weight or loaded weight?

[rlocicero]

Also look at your tires. The std tires will compound any load/sway issues.

[Dave Lyon]

Originally Posted by asquared

Do you have the tow rating he quoted you in writing? It sounds like he quoted the max tow hd version of the truck. It sounds like you do not have the max tow or hd version. As others stated, you have the truck now. Get it weighed with the trailer full loaded and see where your weights are. Weigh the truck with and without the tt attached. Have tv front axle on scale pad 1, tv reAr axle on scale pad 2 and tt on scale pad 3. Also, how does it handle? Go from here.

If you do have it in writing, take the truck back and tell them to exchange it for the quoted one!

[Black]

Payload,payload,payload !!
Everything is there...towing capacity is worthless if you can't load the truck.

[vinmaker]

These salesman are tricky. Doubt it is anywhere in the paperwork.

[vinmaker]

Originally Posted by Black

Payload,payload,payload !!
Everything is there...towing capacity is worthless if you can't load the truck.

True. But the truck should have a payload around 1,500 lbs. With a 900lb tongue it only leaves another 600lbs or so. Yeah. Not too much, but doable. I suspect there is another 1,000lbs available in the trailer for cargo. Just need to place the stuff where you can.

Vin.

[Kaadk]

Originally Posted by vinmaker

True. But the truck should have a payload around 1,500 lbs. With a 900lb tongue it only leaves another 600lbs or so. Yeah. Not too much, but doable. I suspect there is another 1,000lbs available in the trailer for cargo. Just need to place the stuff where you can.

Vin.

My 1/2 ton is only 1150 lbs, my brother in law's is 1300. His could be much lower. In my case, I'm just under when I have the trailer and me in the truck. Through in the family, car seats, etc and I'm over.




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[Thor4570]

Thanks for all the info. We don't load heavy so I'll be within specs. My concern is the 3:15 rear end gearing. What can I expect from this combo vs the 3:55 or lower rear end gearing? Will the EcoBoost be overworked? Thanks again.

[goduc]

Originally Posted by Thor4570

Thanks for all the info. We don't load heavy so I'll be within specs. My concern is the 3:15 rear end gearing. What can I expect from this combo vs the 3:55 or lower rear end gearing? Will the EcoBoost be overworked? Thanks again.

Main thing is does it have a tow package? If not you can't tow that TT. Also what's your door sticker say for payload? If you have a King Ranch or Platinum then your payload could very well be under 1200lbs.

JMHO but you got duped and need to take it back and get the 3.55.

One more thing to think about is the trucks GCVWR. It's only 14000lbs with the 3.15 gears. If you're at your trucks GVW or close to it and with a 7200lb TT then you'll be over the trucks GCVWR of 14,000lbs.

I hope that 7200lb TT weight you're talking about is the loaded weight. If not then you're in over your head.

[ddphillips52]

Originally Posted by Thor4570

Thanks for all the info. We don't load heavy so I'll be within specs. My concern is the 3:15 rear end gearing. What can I expect from this combo vs the 3:55 or lower rear end gearing? Will the EcoBoost be overworked? Thanks again.

I'd recommend just keeping it out of the overdrive gears. Lock out anything above 1:1. It might accelerate like a dog, but you can probably get by. If it's a 2 wheel drive, consider changing the rear gears to something more tow friendly, like 3:73 or even 4:10. If it's a 4 wheel drive, you can do the same, just costs twice as much.

[Iwannacamp]

It's always my opinion.... I would not consider towing anywhere near 10,000 lbs. with anything less than 3.73:1 gears. JMHO


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[jaydubya]

I wonder if the salesmen are being slimy or if someone told them ecoboost=11,000 pound tow capacity and didn't educate them that that is "properly equipped". I'm assuming it's 2wd as I don't think 4x4s were available with the 3.15 gear. Maybe you could get the dealer to cut you a deal on a swap to 3.55 or 3.73.

[RollingDownTheHighway]

I would take your vin# to a ford dealer and get the actual specs of your truck. When I bought my '14 Silverado, he had the basic stuff listed and under options it had the max tow package listed. Before I bought it, I took the vin to another dealer and had them run it so I knew what the truck actually had it without depending on a sticker in the window.

[beerjay]

Originally Posted by bagged123

I would take your vin# to a ford dealer and get the actual specs of your truck. When I bought my '14 Silverado, he had the basic stuff listed and under options it had the max tow package listed. Before I bought it, I took the vin to another dealer and had them run it so I knew what the truck actually had it without depending on a sticker in the window.

X2!

Look into the build sheet using the VIN to see how it was equipped. If it wasn't built for towing you can't fix that.

Judging from my door sticker that shows 1516 lbs. CCC, my Suburban has more than a lot of 1500 trucks!