go-on3

I'm pulling a 30 foot ,heavy, mid cabin boat with a truck lowered 6"in rear on 22s and couldn't be more pleased with my 3.5 ecoboost. It pulls through the steep Ozarks hills.

doctorschlachter

I routinely pull 7000 lbs with my 5.0L. It does it well, just needs to rev. I had a 3.5 ecoboost previous to this one. It pulled it "better". By better I mean in a higher gear at lower RPM. Mind you, while the 5.0 needs to be a gear lower than the ecoboost up hills, it returned much better fuel mileage while towing. My eco was disgusting, getting 30L/100 km. 5.0 towing same load, same roads gets 22L/100 km. Either will be fine. Just get the best deal you can find!

BRUTE448

if u dont ever plan to upsize your tires 3.55 in a 5.0 are fine. when i got my truck i knew i was going ot get 33's or 34's at some point so i searched high and low for a truck with 3.73's. if i didnt want to up tire size ever, i would have just got anything on the lot with 3.55's

tampastx

I had a 2014 5.0 (not 3.55) and it towed a 5000 pound travel trailer but it had to work. Got a 2015 3.5 EB with same gearing as the 5.0 and it's a world of difference.

Steve Osborne

with an e.b. no problem...well equipped 5.0 no problem...

5.0GN tow

This exactly! If you have a 3.55 geared 5.0 just plan on locking out 6th gear in hills. Let the 5.0 wind up and pull, its just doing what it was designed to do. It will get better mileage towing in most cases than the eco despite the rpms its turning.

tampastx

I agree. One thing to consider. I had a mild magna-flow exhaust on my 5.0 and under load that thing was deafening with the sound bouncing off the trailer. On longer trips it got old fast.

The 5.0 may get better mileage (1-2) while towing but most of the trucks life will be unloaded. So when you add up the actual mileage and fuel consumption (especially true 2015+) over the trucks life time the EB comes out way ahead.

5.0GN tow

Not to sure about the unloaded mileage, my 5.0 and the eco in our Lincoln MKT get about the same overall mileage and the MKT is lighter and much more aerodynamic than a 150. Overall not sure the mileage for most drivers is much different. Also trailer design has a lot to do with the noise you experienced, as well as your aftermarket exhaust. My stock 5.0 is pretty quiet.

N3UP

For the elevations you are planning to go to, the EB might be the slightly better choice.

If you are having a hard time finding one, come out to the east coast, there's a crap ton of used EB's out here.
I was looking for a 5.0, and had some slim pickings trying to find one with the other equipment I wanted.
I wanted the 5.0 because I plan to keep it for a long time, and I didn't want the worry of a possible expensive turbo replacement down the road.
The 5.0 is more than adequate for what I will be towing, and then there is that beautiful V8 growl.....

Some people say the 5.0 can't tow, which is BS.
The 5.0 just tows differently. Don't worry about winding the 5.0 out, the Coyote loves to run.
My boat is around 6000 loaded, and my old truck was a 97 F150 Scab 4X4 w/3.55's.
I had to run with the O/D locked out, so I was turning around 3000 at 65-70 mph. The 4.6 would do it all day long.
In the mountains you'll probably have to lock out 6th with the 5.0, but that's where the 5.0 power band is, up around 3000 or above.

The main difference is the 5.0 is much more sensitive to the rear end gearing.
The EB can get away with the 3.31. 3.73 is the one you really want with the 5.0, but the 3.55 will do you just fine since the 3.73 5.0's are hard to find.
I did a 100 mile search looking for a 3.73 5.0 and found 1 truck, and it was out of the budget range.
I "settled" for the 3.55, but it is more than enough for my use.

Properly equipped, I don't think you could go wrong with either.

Boulevard

The eco will rev less, hold its gear better and be nice and quiet. The 5.0 will do the exact same job but will rev higher, will shift gears more and that mustang sound can get loud and annoying after a while.

What the 5.0 really has is engine braking. This is a great feature if going through hills and I would never be without it.

Anyone suggesting the 2.7 turbo over the 5.0 is just delusional and any comparison of the 2 is just ridiculous if not downright stupid. The 2.7 is meant for grannies, groceries and to satisfy FORD's Carb emissions problems. Stay away from this toy of an engine.