marcz62

I am sorry this is going to be like reading a book, but I wanted to give you as much information as possible.

Two months ago I traded in my 2010 5.4 that I had used for towing my company trailer. I am an artist and sell my work around the country. I purchased a new 2016 5.0 w/ 3.31 2 wheel drive sport. I didn't need the 4wd of the 2010 like before since I spend my winters in Florida.

But here is the thing. When I was looking at the specs. the 5.0 had more horsepower, torque, than the 5.4 so I figured that the 2016 would be a breeze. I do not know what the 2010 gear ratio was but at 70 it was under 2000 rpm and I was averaging about 15mpg. But that is total mpg, not just when I was towing. The 2010 also pulled the same trailer 150,000 miles and you really didn't notice it was there unless you had a head wind. But with the 16 it seems to struggle pulling it. It's like I need to really punch it to get it up to speed when I am merging into traffic on the highway. And so far I am averaging about 12mpg. I drive the 2016 the same way I did with the 10. Tow/haul, no cruise control, and about 70-75mph. Although I did seem to run the 10 between 70-80 more often. The trailer loaded is probably 2-3000lbs. it is an enclosed 5x10 v-nose utility trailer, with brakes. It also is about 10" taller than the cap on the back of the truck. So I know Aerodynamics is a bit of an issue, but not really all that much more than the 2010.

Then there is the issue with the Tow/haul mode. I hate it. And maybe this is my fault since it seems you need a serious education just to dial in all the stuff this truck is supposed to do towing. Like the back up assist??? But I thought that I set everything up right and maybe the trailer is just to old now. It has over 300,000 miles on it.

When I was first setting up the new trailer tried all three settings, and have set the trailer brake controller from 1 to 9 trying to get the right feeling. In the book it says to set it just before the brakes lock up at about 25mph Even at the top of the limits I couldn't ever get the brakes to lock up. I could get it to feel like it was slowing the truck and trailer down. And so initially I set the integrated brake controller set to 5 and the trailer computer on the dash was set to light. But, messing around with this many times I haven't felt any difference in the pickup of the truck, for better or worse. Nor have I noticed much change in how the truck brakes. Although I do think that the lighter I go on the controller the worse the engine braking gets. Holy crap, today I was pulling up to a stoplight and the engine dropped all the way down to 2 gear and I was still going about 30 to 40 at the time scared the crap out of me. I have tried turning the trailer stabilizer (sorry can't remember the right name) on and off. But the issue of the truck engine braking is something I never had with my 10 so I am not quite sure what to make of it. I can be going down a hill at 70 on the interstate and need to tap my brakes a bit and it will downshift to 5th and sometimes down to 4th. Really jerks the truck.

I love belonging to this group, I have learned so much that I wanted to hear your thoughts and is this happening to you, is it normal?. How did you dial in your trailer? Should my truck feel so sluggish? Or maybe I am just over thinking all of this.

Anyway, any thoughts and comments would be appreciated.

Jus Cruisin

Seems like you're making too much out of what you have. Tow/haul sounds like it's working as designed. It's saving your brakes. I've towed stuff for 40+ years so the trailer back up nanny is of no use for me. My trailer brake is set up at 7 for this





80 mph is really pushing the 65mph limits of the ST tires you likely have on your trailer. I get 9-10 mpg running at 65mph +/-

JeffKTM350

I've had the complete opposite experience than you even though our situations sound very similar. I went from a 2004 F-150 FX4 with the 5.4L and a 3.73 rear end to a 2016 Lariat 4x4 with the 5.0L and a 3.31 rear end. Hauling the same trailer (~4k pop-up) under the same conditions, my mileage went from 11.5 mpg in the 2004 to 14.5 mpg with the 2016 over a 2500 mile trip from Houston to Crested Butte and back. My 2004 did not have a built-in brake controller, but I had a decent aftermarket one that under full gain, could not lock up my trailer brakes and was jerky at low speeds. The integrated one in my '16 is leaps and bounds better in every way. It can lock up the brakes, if adjusted to do so, but when properly adjusted is so well integrated that you can't tell there's a trailer back there braking-wise, and is silky smooth at highway speed and in a parking lot. I will admit that with the 3.31 and my trailer connected, the acceleration can be sluggish if you lug it, the 5.0L really loves to rev and sounds amazing doing it. The 5.4L, even with the 3.73, was ALWAYS sluggish, trailer or no trailer.

Sounds like you might need to adjust or replace the brakes on your trailer and run the 25 mph setup again.

marcz62

Thanks for the help guys. I agree, that I need to look at and possibly change the brakes. That could be a lot of my issue right there. Jeff, on the dash setup do you have the trailer brake effort setting at light? Or one the other two settings? When I get back home next week I'm going to my trailer guy look at the trailer and see if I need new brakes or adjustments and then take a few hours and just experiment with the different settings. What do you have the gain set at on your trailer brake controller? I have mine set currently at 5. Again, thanks for the responses!!

marcz62

Thanks for the response!! Yea, I seem to have a heavy foot at times. Nice truck and trailer setup.

marshallr

I've seen several posts here where guys with the 5.0/3.31 gear combo have complained about poor towing performance. The 5.0/3.55 gear combo seems to work very well with much more weight.

On paper, the 3.31's should pull that weight just fine. But for some reason lots of guys are having the same issue.

BRUTE448

x2 , the 15+ 5.0's with 3.31 are just a bit off vs the rest

JeffKTM350

I left the trailer brake effort at the default setting. I believe I landed on 6 or 7 for gain, but that is totally dependent on the loading of the trailer at the time as well as the trailer itself. I upgraded the axle and brakes on my camper, so the setting I use wouldn't mean anything to someone else with a trailer like mine with a similar loading. An easy thing to do would be to check the adjustment of your trailer brakes. There are tons of helpful youtube videos on that subject. Good luck!

acdii

Well, in the one week I rented a new 2016 F150 with the 5.0, I felt it was a dog off the line, not sure what gearing it had, but compared to the EB with 3.19 gears, it took a lot of pedal for it to move anywhere close to how the EB in my 14 goes off the line. What I did find is that it doesnt wake up until it hits over 2500 RPM, then it shows its spirit. So you do have to get it up into the 3K+ RPM range for it to get up and go.

Not knocking the 5.0 here, just my personal experience, so that the OP can see it isn't just him. I'll bet a decent tune can wake it up and get up faster.