Mike_

Thank you, someone sent me that a little while ago, it was exactly what i had been looking for. I appreciate it!

stainlessman

And if you plan to tow at all get the biggest motor available. Ford has nailed it with the 10 speed tranny for towing. I pull a 18' enclosed trailer and it pulls and pulls and pulls. The tranny is great.

sholxgt

Ignore the guide. They have never been complete. Even in 2019 it didn't mention that the Max Tow got different steering gear, larger front sway bar, 3/4 floating 35 spline axles, etc. Usually also got an upgrade in frame thickness depending on build. None of that was in the guide, but it's on the trucks.

If you are going to tow a travel trailer, order the Max Tow. I have owned a couple and driven quite a few F150's. Wife worked at a Ford dealer for years. The Max Tow trucks drive significantly different and tow like a champ.

Mike_

No, I don't want to pull 15,000lbs. I was saying my goal was to not run anyone or anything over, not to tow 15,000 lbs. I'm sorry, I know it was a long post, my point was probably lost in there. it's a light duty pickup, frankly I don't care what the guides say, if I wanted to tow more than 11,000 I'd probably be building an F250.

Mike_

Sholxgt: I feel like this is what my salesman is trying to say to me. That they come with these things even if the catalog tells you it doesn't. I'm thinking of asking him to put it in writing somehow that it will come with the radiator upgrade and the tranny cooler as well as the larger rear end and the 36 gallon tank. I'm already paying separately the locking 3.55 rear diff, which is included in the Max Tow. It would start to make sense financially if I was confident it would arrive with the rad, cooler, rear end and tank too. I'm not sure why Ford has to make it so complicated

sholxgt

There is no additional transmission cooler for the 10A. Never has been as it's not needed. Radiator is questionably different as well. "Larger" rear end is standard on the 3.5EB, but Max Tow will give it larger internal axles that you'll never see.

Like I said, what you will gain is stuff that is not listed. Max Tow ensures max spring rate for whatever the build is (will have 3 layer spring instead of the new mono-spring thing), will have larger sway bar, most likely a thicker frame, different steering gear, extra gussets on the hitch receiver, etc.

Drive a Max Tow and a non-Max Tow and you'll feel the difference.

Worth mentioning that we're realistically talking about pennies in the overall cost of a new truck and some of it comes back in resale. Just click the box and be done with it. For a travel trailer, you need all that a half ton has to offer.

BareBonesXL

No offense sholxgt but you're just one more voice on the internet, another opinion. Where is the documentation of these things? That was the OP's original question - how does he know what to believe?

sholxgt

No offense taken. It's really easy to do what I did for 2019 trucks and use VIN numbers from one truck with Max Tow and another with the same build, but no Max Tow and pull up parts for the two. There's a LOT of stuff that gets changed.

What's much harder to know is what Ford will provide in a 2022 truck. All you can do is look at the past.

Regardless, we're talking about pennies here. Any of these trucks are over $50k. Just check the boxes that give you the best chance of having a properly built tow vehicle if you're specifically buying it to tow a travel trailer.

Mike_

sholxgt: First of all, thank you, you've actually made me understand where my salesman is coming from better. I like him, I dont get the impression he's trying to pull a fast one. It's just hard when the company won't put details in their marketing literature.

You're also saying something I've read but, again, can't find any proof from Ford. When I upgrade to the 3.5L, it automatically gives me the 9.75 gearset in the rear?

What you're saying makes sense, there's no way they're charging $2,000 for little to no upgrades. There has to be more to it. I'm just conditioned to get all the facts in front of me, then make a decision. I'm not going to understand why Ford won't spell out clearly what comes with that package.
I have considered the resale angle as well. Even if checking the box now just means I can check the box on KBB when I sell it, it might be worth it.

BareBonesXL

Because they're selling reputation now, not real performance. They can remove the expensive parts and use the old names to sell now. When you check that box you're paying for an old illusion. If the parts were there, they'd know it and use it to sell more trucks. If a salesperson can't give you a straight answer it's because they know the answer is not what you want to hear. That's one of those basic facts of buying things.

Just saw your reply and I think you need to reconsider the statement below. It's not how things work. "Caveat emptor" is an ancient saying.