I have searched and read this forum from top to bottom trying to decide on an order and I still can't make up my mind. I'm looking to order a 2022 platinum F150 and can't decide what motor, what tow package and what axle ratio. My moto is buy once, cry once since I normally drive a truck for 15 + years but I don't know what to do on this one. I only drive between 50-100 miles per week mostly normal local commutes. I do pull a 4000 lb boat an hour and a half each way a couple times a month on top of that though. We also occasionally take the truck on 8-12 hour road trips on the interstate. I ran the specs on a V8 with max tow package and 3.73 gearing for pricing. I'm know that setup is not optimal for gas mileage but I don't want to undershoot, buy a camper in 3 years and have to regroup again. Any thoughts? I'm torn and the dealer is telling me he sells about 50/50 V6 turbo and V8 and that the tow packages are all over the place. I need some help.

 

Is money a factor here? If so, that might help you decide a path. A 5.0 would be a more economical upfront cost than a powerboost or the 3.5EB. That said, your looking for a Platinum so money must not really matter.

Max tow or not, the Platinum will be limited by payload. Its unlikely you'll be able to tow a trailer in excess of 6,000 without overloading your truck. You will be able to tow a bit heavier with a boat though.

 

This is the reason I didn't go with max tow on my Platinum order. Just added trailer tow, left off FX4 so I could add Onboard Scale and CCD.

 

Please take a look at the payload stickers published here.

Platinum's are commonly under 1400lbs. Lariats at 1600, XLTs 1800 plus. When you are putting 10-15% of the trailer weight on your tow hitch, the payload becomes a significant limiting factor. If 4000lbs is the boat, trailer, with all safety gear, fishing etc gear, fuel, food and water, you can quickly see 400lbs at a minimum payload lost to the trailer. You also can make an argument for stepping up to the F250 just to support your long term usage pattern. Typically long term users increase the payload demands on their vehicles.

 

A 4000 lbs boat is well within the capability of any F150 for long term usage.

 

But OP was talking about perhaps acquiring a travel trailer down the road and he was concerned about not having enough truck at that point. He said he would like to buy once and have it last him 10-15 years. I've seen a lot of half tons overloaded with the trailer they are towing, just because Ford says it can tow 11,000 lbs, doesn't mean it can actually do that when you consider a tongue weight being min. of 10% of travel trailer weight and often 15% or more. You can quickly exceed payload under those conditions.

 

He will be fine with the half ton with everything he posted, as long as the travel trailer he might get in the future is not too big and heavy. As noted, Payload will be your limiting factor as it always is on a half ton. Maybe forgo the moon roof and propower onboard to free up a couple hundred more pounds.

OP, with everything you posted, I personally would go 3.5EB with max tow, 3.55 gears, and tow mirrors. It will tow like a dream and drive like a dream when not towing.

That is my personal preference though and everything you asked is highly subject to personal preference and opinion.

 

Exactly, OP is a long term owner. Not many decent sized travel trailers in the 4000lb loaded range. If he got one that had a GVWR of say 8000lbs, then he's probably 900lbs on the truck. Leaving just 500lbs or so of payload with a platinum. That would be me, wife and a full tank of gas. So either he drops a trim level or two, or some options, or goes to a F250 gasser with all the trimmings

 

Doesn't the trucks payload already account for a full fuel tank?

 

Correct.

The "Payload" number thrown around is pretty simple. It's GVWR - weight of vehicle as it rolls off the assembly line including a full tank of fuel's weight = Payload (weight of occupants and cargo not exceed)

Note that for payload, weight of the driver is not counted, so everything added to the truck...driver, passengers, dogs, coolers, tonneau covers, aftermarket bed liners, all subtracts further from payload. Heavier tires count too, yes unsprung weight counts, all weight that registers on a scale when you drive the truck onto said scale, counts.

However, in the real world, the weight of the gas counts. Because in the real world, what matters, is that your GVW not exceed your GVWR and gas has weight, so, the weight of the gas does count. You can tell people don't understand this when they claim the larger 36 gallon tank is a bad move for a payload limited truck...if you are really coming down to the 60-70 lbs of an extra 10 gallons of gas, don't fill it up all the way for that trip lol

But yeah if you were weighing your truck and really wanted to hit numbers, you could not fill up all the way to make it. I don't know that anybody actually does that though.