evoskani

I am in the market to purchase a tow vehicle to tow a travel trailer with the dry weight of 6,000 and loaded 7,700lbs. I want to stay with F150 series trucks and nothing larger. My questions is if a used 2017 F150 equipped with only the 3.5 EcoBoost engine and a 3.55 gear ratio would do the job safely. The truck I am looking at does not have a trailer hitch on it, which I must assume it does not have a factory towing package. What would be the maximum tow rating of the above described truck? Any help would be appreciated, as I am a first time truck buyer. Thank you.

chief_bs

What does the sticker on the driver door pillar say? Does it have a GVWR of 7000#? What are your front and rear axle ratings? Does it have a plug for a 7 pin connector on the back bumper? I have a 2015 3.5 EB SCREW with max tow (3.55 rear end). 7 pin connector and factory brake controller. Mine are GVWR 7000#, front axle 3450# , rear axle #3800. Your engine and transmission will have NO PROBLEM pulling that weight. I have a 26 foot travel trailer which empty weighs 5600# and as I load it is around 7500#. It pulls like a dream. If you don't have a aux transmission cooler, you can add one for ~ $200. Bolt on a class 3 hitch, buy a factory brake controller, program it with FORSCAN, and away you go. You'll need to also buy a weigh distributing hitch. Mine is a harbor freight special. With 2 sway bars it was still <$200.

Ask if you can get a copy of the original window sticker.... You can get one from a dealer with the VIN.

chimmike

without a hitch it probably won't have the aux trans cooler and other tow package stuff. Not saying you can't use it....but there are a ton of trucks out there. Find one with a tow package and sufficient payload rating.

Fatmattyd

Agree that it would be good to find one with the factory tow package. Preferably the max-tow package.

However, I see no reason that a truck without the tow package couldn't be fitted with the right equipment to tow the trailer described.

I can't imagine it would be that hard to add the factory max tow trailer hitch, but I think either hitch would work. Factory trailer brake controller is certainly do-able and can be enabled at the dealer or via forscan. I'd think you'd want the trans cooler as previously mentioned.

A rear view camera would be a must-have for me... something to consider.

You haven't pulled the trigger on this truck yet, correct? Have you had a chance to review any of the towing material that Ford puts out? This document provides an overview for many (all?) of Ford's vehicles with respect to towing, but its a good start.
https://www.fleet.ford.com/truckbbas...wing_Guide.pdf

You should consider how much weight you plan to keep in the truck and in the bed so as to not exceed the payload of the truck including the tongue weight.

Lots of info on the forum about towing setups and how to calculate max weight etc. I think most of the time people find that the max payload is the limit vs. the 11,300# rating that Ford likes to advertise. It would be good to know if you'd be running up against the max payload limit before you buy your truck as you might be able to find a truck with the heavy duty payload package.

Good luck!

Aj06bolt12r

Better find one with the towing package. Your going to want the upgraded cooling packages that come with the towing package.

rliles1

I had a perfectly good 2002 Silverado that was doing fine when I traded it off because it didn't have a tow package and I wanted to buy a TT with a 6,000# GVWR. Pushing the limits on the truck's ability to tow is not good for the truck in the long run. While it may work in the short term, you are asking for problems "down the road."

denton

Honestly if you can buy a 2017 used you can order a new one with all the towing goodies, including the trailer mirrors. For example, does this truck come with the 36 gallon gas tank? You'll be lucky to get 10mpg when towing, you really want the 36 gal tank.Here's the sticker from mine which was specifically ordered as a tow vehicle (you could bring it in for less than the sticker, but the point is it has the tow stuff).

Ricktwuhk

Read some of the dozens of threads on the Towing section of the forum.

evoskani

Wow, I am impressed with all the good info provided. Thank you ALL. No, I haven't purchased one yet, and still looking. The most of the 2017 F150 3.5EB I have found so far don't seem to have a towing package, and I agree that the best choice would be to get a truck with the factory towing package. I also agree that it would be a good idea to purchase a new truck with all the options required for towing, but the price tag is pretty high, compare to a 2017 used with only 14K miles for $28,000. I wouldn't mind spending $50K plus for a new one but I recently purchase a new 2016 Ford Explorer that I am not willing to trade in for a new truck. However, looking at the 2017 F150 brochure, it shows the 3.5EB with either 3.15, 3.31, and 3.55 GR will tow 10,700 without requiring the max towing package. Is this correct? Also, how can I tell what gear ratio the vehicle has by just the VIN#?
Thanks again for all your input, as it was very educational to me for a newcomer to Truck & TT.

evoskani

Wow, I am impressed with all the good info provided. Thank you ALL. No, I haven't purchased one yet, and still looking. The most of the 2017 F150 3.5EB I have found so far don't seem to have a towing package, and I agree that the best choice would be to get a truck with the factory towing package. I also agree that it would be a good idea to purchase a new truck with all the options required for towing, but the price tag is pretty high, compare to a 2017 used with only 14K miles for $28,000. I wouldn't mind spending $50K plus for a new one but I recently purchase a new 2016 Ford Explorer that I am not willing to trade in for a new truck. However, looking at the 2017 F150 brochure, it shows the 3.5EB with either 3.15, 3.31, and 3.55 GR will tow 10,700 without requiring the max towing package. Is this correct? Also, how can I tell what gear ratio the vehicle has by just the VIN#?
Thanks again for all your input, as it was very educational to me for a newcomer to Truck & TT.