mpoinar

Hi everyone,

John and I are an older retired couple and today will be looking at a 2014 STX F150, supercrew with a short bed, 4 by 2, 5.0L engine and 3.31 gears. It's rated to pull 8000 pounds.

For right now, we just want a nice roomy dependable vehicle that gets good gas mileage and were quoted a good price on this vehicle and it's just the two of us who will use it. We don't have a family.

But just in case we would want to tow a travel trailer in the future (it would be maybe only once or twice a year), would this be able to pull a trailer ok that weighed around 7500 pounds loaded?

We are cautious and safe drivers.

Thank you,
Martha

Wanted33

Welcome to the forum Martha. The 5.0L with the 3.31's will pull the trailer just fine. It's rated towing capacity is 8000 lbs., and that's a conservative number from what I have read here.

mpoinar

Thank you! You replied before we went to see it so that's a huge help!

I forgot to add one thing - we would want to tow the trailer (not bought yet) from southern NM to northern OR and back. It's a long trip with all kinds of terrain. But if we went slowly, we would be ok?

And thank you for the welcome too.

jwanck11

You might want a different gear set i.e.. 3.73 That will help in the low end department and when pulling hills. The engine will do fine.

mpoinar

We are leaving now to see it. I checked the towing guide for the 3.73 and yes it is way better! For this month's special, this one is the only one with the good deal though but we could wait and look around more OR consider buying a trailer that weighed 3000 to 4000 pounds dry. They have some nice ones out there now and that's in the future.

My husband is asking if we got the truck I mentioned with the 3.31 gears, couldn't we "gear down" when towing up the hills?

Many thanks!

mechanicboy

3.31 will do it, just will need to downshift more and won't have as much torque off the line. That said, once or twice a year it will definitely work for you. You probably don't drive in a hurry so you don't need every last ounce of power when towing.

If this particular truck is a bargain I'd definitely take it as the extra cost probably won't be worth it to get a different truck with better gears.

I have 3.55 gears with 4x4 and towed over 8k pounds just fine against a 20mph headwind when the truck was two days old. There should be a botton on the end of the shifter for towing, use it when towing. You should also be able to "lock out" 6th gear when towing (effectively gearing down). You can also manually shift and these are 6 speed trucks so you have more gears to choose from.

Make sure the truck has the towing package. You can add a hitch later but the towing package has the hitch, wiring, transmission cooler and I believe a larger radiator for those hot days or mountain climbs.

zx12-iowa

If you are a conservative driver you should look into the ecoboost option as well as it will yield a couple mpg better when driven conservatively.

If sticking with the 5.0, I recommend a 3.55 rear end gear. Will help the 5.0 tow better in the hills. Best of luck on your decision.

mpoinar

UPDATE:

We are back. We did not get the truck, we didn't like it and I'm very chemically sensitive and I couldn't even get into it. This is why we have all older vehicles, I can't handle the new car smells. We also didn't like the colors outside or in.

We had fallen in love with a 2010 we had seen earlier during the week, it was a 4x4, 5.4L engine, 3.55 gears, fancy package, large tires, 5'6 inch bed, and it had a towing package. It was a little more expensive than the new one we saw today but it was like experiencing Heaven inside when we drove it. And it had 53,000 miles on it. We LOVED IT, gosh it was comfortable and I could tolerate the odors. It was so fancy you pushed a button and the pedals came forward, I had never heard of that before.

My only concern is the gas mileage. Does anyone know what to expect for mileage in town, highway and mixed? We have a used 2003 F150 4.6, supercab Sporty model, 4 x 2, that we bought 18 months ago from an add and we also love that but would like a 4 door with lots of room in the back for luggage and our 15 year old doggy. We are very pleased with our 2003, we just want to get the 4 doors and more room inside. Our average on our 4.6 is close to 17 MPG.

But we only drive it about 3000 miles a year so even if it the 2010 got poor mileage it may be worth it anyway?

Any feedback on the 2010?

mpoinar

Yes we thought of that but were concerned with the ecoboost problems and it would have to be used because of my chemical sensitivities. I hadn't realized how strong the odors were on new vehicles because I haven't been in one for so many years.

brucesears

Martha I had a 2009 with virtually the same power train as the 2010 you're looking at(a Lariat). Empty you should get about 17-18 mpg highway, pulling a 4K boat I usually got around 13-14 mpg. You would probably get closer to 10-11 pulling the travel trailer as long as you don't push it too hard.