2013 Ecoboost or 5.0L V8 ?
06-20-2014, 08:33 PM
#242
They are both excellent. It is simply preference. If you want power the Eco is the way to go. I have a '13 XLT with the eco and my next door neighbor bought a '14 with the 5.0. He's got the 3.55 axle and I the 3.31 otherwise the trucks are identical except the colors. HE drove mine with the tune the other day and now wishes he'd bought the eco. We met in traffic the other day going home from work and were hot rodding it a little ... roll on on the free way and he simply can't keep up. from 50 to 80 I gain a good truck length on him.
07-07-2014, 09:12 PM
#243
I found this website and post while searching the web for information to help with my decision buying an F150. I'm torn and confused on whether to buy the F150 Ecoboost or the 5.0L V8? And to make matters worse, which gears to pull my 21' 3200+ LB bassboat and still get good fuel mileage for everyday use. I find a towing and spec chart showing all the engines, gears, tow ratings and cab models and what I don't understand is why the 3.5 L eco shows a greater tow rating than the 5.0L with the same gears? Example: These are for the 145" WB supercab 3.5L eco 3.55 gear 15,400 GCWR 9700 towing 5.0 L 3.55 gear 13,500 GCWR 7,800 towing I will tow to TN, SC, Canada and upper state NY once a year and the rest maybe a 150 mile radius from where I live in NE Pa. Yes there are mountains in Pa but nothing like thru VA and TN and SC. Anything I could find on towing and gears the 3.73 were mentioned but always stating the item being towed was over 7,000+ LB's which is why I'm confused. Thanks for looking! Craig I have read almost all of the pages on this post with the exception of where the subject got a bit off course.
07-07-2014, 09:21 PM
#244
I'm looking at 2014 F 150 with the 3.5 Eco boost. Have 07 with the 5.4 now. I tow 7x12 tandem enclosed trailer with the motorcycle. Will the Eco boost give enough power when pulling up the mountains of CO and down the interstate at 75 mph without working the truck to hard?
07-25-2014, 06:19 PM
#245
Junior Member
Hey everyone, new guy here. I never thought I would be looking at Ford, have always been a Dodge/Ram guy but it looks like I am going to the "dark side"! Anyway, curious on your opinions of which would fit me better. I am a salesman and put a lot of miles on my vehicle, split between town and highway. I won't be using the truck to pull very often so that's not a big concern of mine. Mostly just hauling the family and traveling for work. What are your recommendations for this situation? Thanks for any advice in advance!
07-25-2014, 07:00 PM
#246
Senior Member
Hey everyone, new guy here. I never thought I would be looking at Ford, have always been a Dodge/Ram guy but it looks like I am going to the "dark side"! Anyway, curious on your opinions of which would fit me better. I am a salesman and put a lot of miles on my vehicle, split between town and highway. I won't be using the truck to pull very often so that's not a big concern of mine. Mostly just hauling the family and traveling for work. What are your recommendations for this situation? Thanks for any advice in advance!
07-26-2014, 12:10 AM
#247
The 3.7 or the 5.0 Super Crew would do more than you need. Whichever trim package you prefer and probably a 3.55 gear or 3.31 gear to net you the best mileage. I prefer the 5.0 as I don't tow heavy loads, but I do pull a trailer occasionally. Plus I like the rumble. The eco is a good engine too, but it's more for hauling or high elevations since it's forced induction. Good luck.
Altitude is a consideration that doesn't get mentioned much. I live in the Rocky Mountains up in Salt Lake City. Having the turbo engine makes a big difference at this altitude. If you live any where near the mountains, especially in the western US or Canada, you'll be glad you went with the EcoBoost.
07-26-2014, 10:01 AM
#248
Junior Member
Altitude is a consideration that doesn't get mentioned much. I live in the Rocky Mountains up in Salt Lake City. Having the turbo engine makes a big difference at this altitude. If you live any where near the mountains, especially in the western US or Canada, you'll be glad you went with the EcoBoost.
07-27-2014, 01:31 PM
#249
I will be late to chime in here as a new guy, but I have pulled trailers with Ford trucks for years, 12 of them my trucks, and various more at places I worked for. I am pretty experienced with towing having towed everything from utility trailers, to triple axle lowboy heavy equipment set ups.
I just traded my 2010 4.6 RCLB for my current truck a few months ago. My current truck is the 5.0 SCSB STX 4x4 3.55 gears. I have to say its the best towing truck I have owned, its smooth, reliable, quiet and most of all very strong on power, much more than I expected. I also own and ecoboost in a Lincoln MKT so I know that engine well and tow our 19foot boat with it.
The majority of towing I do with the truck is a 3 Horse GN with a 4 foot Shortwall dressing room with AC. The towed weight with two medium horses and all tack aboard is 7K. It does pull this with ease, staying in 6th on flat and dropping to 5th or 4th on hills, but maintaining highway speed of 70 or better is easy. I have towed in hills and on flats and it is hands down the best truck I have ever had.
I am confused a bit about the ratings for the 5.0, it seems Ford is sandbagging it a bit. If you look all GCWR of all the engines comparing 4X4 to 4X2, the 5.0 is the only one that drops in rating by more than the 2-300 lb difference of the curb weight difference and most do not drop at all or increase with the change to 4wd. Even the 3.7 stays the same and the max towed weight only drops by a couple hundred pounds. The 5.0 in SC goes from 14900 to 13500 GCWR with 3.55 gears just by going to 4wd, this makes no sense at all when compared to the others across the board, makes me wonder if it was a typo that has been carried forward since 2011. If it was supposed to be 14500 instead of 13500 then the tow rating would be closer to 9100 vs 7800 which makes more sense when you look at the numbers. Just some observations I made when looking over the numbers. The truck I have is within its ratings to pull my trailer, but feels easily capable of much more than its rated for. Just wanted to add, that contrary to what I expected no airbags were required when using the GN trailer I tow now, the truck sits level with the trailer hitched up and all gear aboard, so if you have a medium weight GN trailer give the 5.0 look.
I just traded my 2010 4.6 RCLB for my current truck a few months ago. My current truck is the 5.0 SCSB STX 4x4 3.55 gears. I have to say its the best towing truck I have owned, its smooth, reliable, quiet and most of all very strong on power, much more than I expected. I also own and ecoboost in a Lincoln MKT so I know that engine well and tow our 19foot boat with it.
The majority of towing I do with the truck is a 3 Horse GN with a 4 foot Shortwall dressing room with AC. The towed weight with two medium horses and all tack aboard is 7K. It does pull this with ease, staying in 6th on flat and dropping to 5th or 4th on hills, but maintaining highway speed of 70 or better is easy. I have towed in hills and on flats and it is hands down the best truck I have ever had.
I am confused a bit about the ratings for the 5.0, it seems Ford is sandbagging it a bit. If you look all GCWR of all the engines comparing 4X4 to 4X2, the 5.0 is the only one that drops in rating by more than the 2-300 lb difference of the curb weight difference and most do not drop at all or increase with the change to 4wd. Even the 3.7 stays the same and the max towed weight only drops by a couple hundred pounds. The 5.0 in SC goes from 14900 to 13500 GCWR with 3.55 gears just by going to 4wd, this makes no sense at all when compared to the others across the board, makes me wonder if it was a typo that has been carried forward since 2011. If it was supposed to be 14500 instead of 13500 then the tow rating would be closer to 9100 vs 7800 which makes more sense when you look at the numbers. Just some observations I made when looking over the numbers. The truck I have is within its ratings to pull my trailer, but feels easily capable of much more than its rated for. Just wanted to add, that contrary to what I expected no airbags were required when using the GN trailer I tow now, the truck sits level with the trailer hitched up and all gear aboard, so if you have a medium weight GN trailer give the 5.0 look.
Last edited by 5.0GN tow; 07-27-2014 at 01:35 PM. Reason: info added
