buckeyefan

I am looking to downsize from my diesel to an Eco boost.
I have a 34ft trailer and it weighs ~ 8200 lbs wet.
I've recently moved it into a seasonal site. I will only be taking it on the road for one or two week vacations per year. I will be east of the Mississippi so no large mountains. The diesel is now overkill for me so i am looking for better mileage from a daily driver (95% daily drive, 5% towing)..

I've been looking at the ecoboost (4x4 short bed) for a few weeks now.
I want to get input from the community.
If I read http://fleet.ford.com right I can choose:
Option 1 - 3.55 with regular tow package and get 9700lbs
Option 2 - 3.73 with regular tow package and get 9700 lbs
Option 3 - 3.73 with max tow package and get 11,300 lbs

Am I really reading it correctly - the 3.55 and 3.73 both tow up to 9700 lbs?

Is anyone else towing with the length and wet weight I have with an EB?

rocco

i'm towing a 30ft that's close to 7000lbs ready to camp and for what its worth, i wouldn't think twice about towing a trailer thats a 1000-1500lbs heavier as long as i can be within the range of what the truck can handle for tongue weight. I did 600km's with mine this weekend towing my trailer and frankly, its a very relaxed setup. The truck has no problem keep speed in the hills and really doesn't break a sweat on onramps either. I'm happy i got the long bed because it makes for an extemely stable tow vehicle.

2011 supercrew 6.5 bed FX4
-Max tow w/7:73's

mlts22

First, get the 3.73 right off. You will thank yourself once you hitch up your rig.

Second, get the max tow package. It has the TBC, and the Ford brake controller kicks butt.

I think you should be fine with what you have, but 34 feet? Do you have a good WD hitch? I've seen some hitches that are expensive, but put the axis of rotation right under the rear axle which helps with sway and other things. That might be someone who is more educated can comment on.

I'm looking at doing a similar load on my '2010. It can go up to 9700 pounds (5.4, 3.55 gearing, tow pkg), but you have the advantage because the EB doesn't lose oomph when you hit the mountains.

To sum up, get the max tow package and the EB. That should be perfect for what you are doing. However, I'd recommend a WD hitch so you don't get white knuckles every time a semi passes you.

buckeyefan

mlts22 - I have a 1000lb Equalizer WDH that I use with my diesel.
Used it on my old 05 F150 5.4 4x4 SB 3.73 so I assume it should work with an EB as well.

Hondafan

You have read correctly.
I went around it the simple way, just buy an FX4 SCREW and thats it. All the towing goodies are already baked in, not to mention the skid plates and other off road goodies. Add the side steps and the luxury package and you get everything baked in (including nav and premium audio). The only things you'll be missing from a platinum (which tows a lot less) is the perforated leather seats with rear arm rest, seat coolers, the garage door opener (silly oversight) and the electrical side steps. The ecoboost comes with the 3.73 so there is no math to it. I'm getting 21mpg at 65 mph, at 75 it drops to 18. Not bad for a 3ton plus 4wd truck that can tow 11K. With the Lariat you have to screw around with the drivetrain configuration and multiple packages to get the same thing.

Adobe2X

You've gotten some real good advice here:

Get the Max tow package, you'll be super happy you did. And get the 1,000 pound WDH and use it to keep the truck almost level (don't crank it up as far as it will go as that overloads the front brakes).
I am towing about 8,400 pounds (although with the 5.4) and the F150 does OK. You'll know its back there, but if you only tow as seldom as you describe, you can also pick the windless days to do so, right?

keviinxk

i just drove 600 miles home on saturday from cedar point to long island with my new 7k tt. its a keystone 30fkv i factor 8k loaded,
pulling with a 2010 f150 5.4l, 3.55 rear not max tow, 9800lbs rated tow. equalizer hitch w/sway, air bags ,mostly for payload when not pulling trailer but not a bad thing to have to fine tune ride when all hooked up, edge tuner mostly for temp monitoring and i was impressed at how well it performed. experimenting a little to find right rpm/speeds i can hold 70 up all the hills on i80 at 3k rpms in 4th gear. thats not even at the trucks max torque rpms. if i hit the gas i was passing semis up the hills. again like i said i was doing this at times to test the setup out, its not how i plan to drive my truck continuously. only thing im going to do is get a set of tires specifically for towing the trailer that are smaller in diameter to increase the gear ratio without re gearing. that way i can hit that sweet spot of rpms at a lower speed. other than that i had no problems with they way it performed with all that trailer behind it, i thought it stopped great, climbed great and rode straight. i was a little iffy at first and getting all worked up before the trip if i didnt have enough truck. but these new f150s are a monster of a half ton if you ask me. completely capable of everything you ask of it within its ratings.

Fuiimus

I just downgraded from a 2009 F350 V10 6.8L to a 2011 F150 EcoBoost XLT with the "Tow Package". It has the 3.55 and the V-5 w/ 5000 - 500tw / WD 10500 -1050tw Hitch. I had the dealer add the TBC but was unaware of the "Upgraded Bumper Hitch that will help me get to the 11300 capacity. Now I am researching how to get that hitch and what parts I need to buy to upgrade the bumper hitch.

My Trailer is a 785tw with 9000 GVWR Toy Hauler. I am adding Airbags to compensate for the extra leaf they use on the Max Tow Package (I have added leafs to some of my other trucks and it really messes up the comfort ride)

I loved my F350 but I was in a head on collision last December which sheared my driver’s side axle from the frame and destroyed the steering box. Ford fixed it but it took them forever to pull that KIA out of the grill and the truck developed a shimmy and the transfer case started leaking (No one was hurt in the crash). That combined with 10MPG and only using my trailer 10% of the time, it was time to downgrade. I hooked up the EcoBoost to the trailer for a test run before I bought it and I think it has more power than the 6.8L F350. I think I may have actually upgraded

TheKurgan

I towed my 26ft trailer, car, and tools which is about 8000 lbs from Arkansas to Florida and back. It does fine but due to the height of my trailer the wind is a major factor on how fast you can drive. 70mph tops even with no wind. After that it just sways way too much.

I don't have the max trailer tow package however....just regular trailer tow package. Has anyone had this added on after they bought their truck ? How much ? What all does the max have that the regular does not ? I have 3:73 gears and Ecoboost so I guess right now I'm at 9700 which is adequate for me.

Fuiimus

Kurgan, The Max Tow Package has super duty mirrors, an extra spring leaf and a upgraded Bumper Hitch that will handle the 11300lb. thats really all you are missing