Educate me about 1/2 ton trucks

[JimMorrell]

My 2011 F 150 4WD, Super Cab w/5.0 L V8 pulls my 32', 8,500# TT beautifully. I understand the V6 Eco Boost does equally well. I believe the V8 might give a little more compression on the down-hills.

[vstrom]

Originally Posted by CNYCamper

Addendum to my post #8. The kayaks don't entirely fit into the bed, but they clear the camper which I don't think they would do with a crew cab. This shot is us getting ready to pull out of our driveway. Note mine is a 4x4.

I ordered ladder racks from Amazon along with clamps so I didn't have to bolt them to one truck, I can switch between the two trucks. Mounted 1 kayak carrier to the ladder rack for DW's 10' kayak and I lay my wide 11' kayak on the rack next to hers. Works great and keeps the kayaks out of the way of firewood and such. I wish I had pictures available.

As a side note on fuel mileage. My EB gets high 8's to low 9's when towing. Unloaded on the hwy we almost never see 20mpg when running above 63 mph. Seems like the sweet spot (loaded and unloaded) is below 59 mph.

[LarryBoy]

I have a 2011 3.5 Ecoboost Supercrew longbed 4x4 and towing my 33 ft 282QBXL at around 7500 lbs. i get between 9 and 13 depending on headwind and hills driving between 65 and 70. Funny thing is not towing I have found a sweet spot at 77 -78 where I get 19-20 Can’t explain it.

[babock]

Originally Posted by KyDan

My sons will give me a real hard time if I buy a Ford but I won't rule it out.

In the same boat. I was a GM employee at Delco Electronics for awhile and always used my GM discount to buy a GM truck except once(ex wife's decision). One of the things I worked on while at GM was adaptive cruise control. Now that I am looking at buying a new truck(I still get the employee discount through my dad), I find I can't even buy the adaptive cruise control on the GM truck but can get it on the Ford!

We are about ready to order or find a Ford on a lot with the 3.5L Ecoboost. Has way more power than my current 5.3L Silverado.

The technology in the Ford's is far more advanced that what's in the GM trucks now. They better get their act together. Maybe the new 2019's will have them so they can catch up. Not that I will need it but the trailer backup feature is pretty impressive. Will allow my fiance to actually back up our trailers.

[CNYCamper]

[QUOTE=5picker;1690242]Sorry Dan, I misread your OP.
I thought you were now looking for 4 doors, 4 handles.
The Ford version of that would be the Super Cab.
My apologies.


I think Dan meant me. I missed his 4 door 2 handle line.

[clarkbre]

Originally Posted by babock

.....We are about ready to order or find a Ford on a lot with the 3.7L Ecoboost.......

3.5 or 2.7?

[stevegotl]

I'd check out the RAM.... They have it all.......

[rickpb]

Originally Posted by KyDan

I almost hate to start yet -another- which truck is best thread but....
Can we please talk about what's out there and avoid the heated "which is
better" discussion pretty please...

I've been a Chevy guy for a very long time.
I currently have an 04 Silverado extended cab medium bed 5.3L 2 wheel drive.
I LOVE IT and will probably hang onto it a few more years but....

I've been shopping online at local dealers inventory and here's the rub for me-

I REALLY like the extended cab body style. 2 door handles- 4 doors.
I REALLY like maroon red. My motorcycle is maroon red also.
I'm not interested in 4wd. If it's snowing- I ain't going!
Finally- I really don't want a diesel.

Well Chevy totally walked away from me on those top 2 things.
They don't have extended cab w/2 door handles and they only have Red red no more maroon.

Ford still has a F150 extended cab 2 door handle model.
They have a color that is sort of a maroon red. They call it Ruby red.
Of course they have 2 wheel drive.
But.... when I'm looking all I can find are eco boost V6.

I want a V8. In fact I wanted a bigger V8 than my 5.3L

The main reason I'd trade is I would like a little more HP when we're pulling
the hills. It just sounds so wrong to consider a trade to a smaller engine.

Does Ford even make a F150 with a big V8??

On Ford Trucks you need a F250 to get the 6.2L 2Valve SOHC V8, Dodge has the 5.7L V8 Hemi on their 1/2 Ton Tradesman.

Find a fleet truck man in Chevy or any brand, if they know anything they could order a truck with the bigger engine and the color you desire. As a old Ford Fleet Manager, we did it all the time to keep our customers happy and coming back. My competitors at Chevy, GMC, and Dodge did the same things. The marketplace is not the same today, but try and see if one can help you, it won't be something they advertise as a rule. Good Luck

[elchilero53]

The new Ford Ecoboost 3.5L with the new 10-speed tranny should be a towing beast. The towing performance of the 2017 Ford 3.5L Ecoboost and the Chevy 1500 Silverado 6.2L with the maximum towing equipment were compared on the Ike Gauntlet towing 9000 lbs and basically tied. The Ecoboost beat the Chevy by a few seconds (the Chevy was forced to slow down from the required 60 mph going uphill when someone pulled out to pass a slow truck) but the Chevy got better mileage than the Ecoboost. They both performed very well, but the Ford had more "bottom" that the Chevy. I have the 2017 Silverado Z-71 with 4WD and the 6.2L with the 8-speed and it is a great towing machine. We pulled our 6000# 25' TT thru the mountains of New Mexico with no issues. On the climbs, we got about 9 mpg; on the flats with no wind, we were getting 13-15 mph. With quartering 25-35 mph head winds we got 10.5 mph (on average). The average for the entire trip was 10.8 to 11 mpg while towing. With no trailer, I'm getting 19 - 22 mpg on the highway running 75 mph. Now, the one caveat to this engine (the 6.2L) is that Chevy recommends Premium gas (it has an 11.5:1 compression ratio). The Ecoboost 3.5L takes regular, so you have to decide what you want to do and where you want to go with this info.

Happy shopping!

[stevegotl]

RAM 1500 LARAMIE CREW CAB 4X4
Exterior Color: Delmonico Red Pearl Coat Exterior Paint
Interior Color: Canyon Brown / Light Frost Beige Interior Colors
Engine: 5.7-Liter V8 HEMI® MDS VVT Engine
Transmission: 8-Speed Automatic 8HP70 Transmission
MAX PAYLOAD 1290LBS

MAX TOWING 9870LB

[babock]

Originally Posted by clarkbre

3.5 or 2.7?

Ooops...3.5

[HangDiver]

Originally Posted by stevegotl

RAM 1500 LARAMIE CREW CAB 4X4

MAX PAYLOAD 1290LBS

Yikes!

[babock]

FWIW, the ten speed transmissions used by Ford currently are a joint effort with GM. The 2019 GM will likely have that same transmission available.

[sguard]

I used to lean towards Chevy as well. Last December I bought a 2014 F150 FX4 Crew Cab with the 3.5 Eco Boost that had 15,000 miles on it. Bought the trailer this year ( 26 feet, about 6,400 lbs loaded) We just got back from a 3 week trip around AZ from Northern CA and averaged about 9 MPG towing. I have to echo what others have said, "The 3.5 Eco Boost is a towing beast". It has great torque and I have no issues climbing hills while towing!

[timfromma]

Originally Posted by stevegotl

RAM 1500 LARAMIE CREW CAB 4X4
Exterior Color: Delmonico Red Pearl Coat Exterior Paint
Interior Color: Canyon Brown / Light Frost Beige Interior Colors
Engine: 5.7-Liter V8 HEMI[emoji768] MDS VVT Engine
Transmission: 8-Speed Automatic 8HP70 Transmission
MAX PAYLOAD 1290LBS

MAX TOWING 9870LB

Only 1290lbs cargo? Sounds more like a 1/4 ton.

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by stevegotl

RAM 1500 LARAMIE CREW CAB 4X4
Exterior Color: Delmonico Red Pearl Coat Exterior Paint
Interior Color: Canyon Brown / Light Frost Beige Interior Colors
Engine: 5.7-Liter V8 HEMI® MDS VVT Engine
Transmission: 8-Speed Automatic 8HP70 Transmission
MAX PAYLOAD 1290LBS

MAX TOWING 9870LB

Payload of only 1290lbs is pitiful.

[timfromma]

My old Tundra had a payload capacity of 1700lbs.

[KyDan]

My truck gets the job done but last January when we were heading to
San Diego we encountered fierce head winds while climbing over some
of the passes and even on the flat I couldn't maintain 60 unless I drafted
a semi.
My foot was as far down as possible without the stupid tranny dropping
to 2nd. 4 speeds aren't enough especially with marginal engine power.
I -really- wish it had option to lock it out of 2nd when above a certain speed.

I just went thru the Ford website and clicked all the options I wanted.
I sent it in and the local dealer will get back to me.
We'll see how it prices out with the X plan and go from there but honestly
it's probably gonna be later next year before I write any checks.

[Hman0109]

KyDan,
Looks like your “only” option would be 4 doors with 4 handles 😜. I don’t think that the difference in size will be bigger than we you have now. Anyway, the back seat is just to carry stuff, correct? And if you need to have some guests with you, they will be more confortable. I’m a Ram lover, with a 2003 HEMI engine and I lot of miles; when I decided to have a new truck, I went and bought another Ram, Diesel this time for more towing and decided to keep my HEMI for daily driving. They don’t make it like the old one anymore. Good luck!

[itat]

Originally Posted by clarkbre

No. Ford makes the 5.0L as their big V8 in the F150's.



First, you need to understand the difference of HP and torque and what's most important when towing:

Referenced Here
Horsepower provides highway passing power when your engine is revving hard, allowing you to accelerate at high speeds, while torque gives you low-end power and the ability to move quickly after stopping. In other words, torque lets you do the work, but horsepower lets you do the work quickly.

It does seem counter-intuitive to use a smaller motor for towing; however, if you're looking to pull hills better, forget horsepower and focus on torque.

I AM NOT STARTING A FORD/CHEVY DEBATE...SIMPLY STATING MOTOR SPECIFICATIONS.

Below is a breakdown of the maximum HP @ RPM and maximum Torque @ RPM.

Ford
3.5L offers: 375 hp @ 5,000 rpm & 470 lb·ft @ 2250-3500 rpm
5.0L offers: 395 hp @ 5,750 rpm & 400 lb-ft @ 3,850 rpm

Chevy
5.3L offers: 355 hp @ 5600 rpm & 383 lb.-ft. @ 4100 rpm
6.2L offers: 420 hp @ 5600 rpm & 460 lb.-ft. @ 4100 rpm

So, what does this information tell us?
To utilize maximum HP, all 4 motors need to be revved to 5,000+ RPM
To utilize maximum torque, the naturally aspirated motors need higher RPMs to provide the maximum pulling power.
Even with a smaller motor, the 3.5L Ecoboost's torque peaks at a very low RPM and stays at peak torque throughout the RPM range.

The conclusion is that with very different displacements, motors can make similar pulling power with or without a turbo.

Essentially, the 3.5L Ford and 6.2L Chevy will pull identical trailers/weight up a hill very similarly.....

....The Ford will pull at a lower RPM than the Chevy because the turbos help create torque.

.....And, the Chevy will pull at a higher RPM with the same torque but be able to increase speed easier from a constant speed because it has higher HP at any given RPM.

Both the 6.2 and 3.5 are great motors for towing, they just have different configurations to create power.

Interesting comparison. Thanks for this post.

Personally, I'm not nervous about reving my gasser to the 4000 - 5000 rpm range. I'm more nervous about the turbo in Ford's Ecoboost 3.5L engine. So if I were buying a 1/2 ton again, I'd go with the 5.0L. I understand that most Ford mechanics would make the same choice.