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When I was shopping for used trucks 1.5 years ago all the 5.0's I found had 3.55's and all the 3.5 EB's I found had 3.31's in them. After driving several of each I felt the 5.0 had more power. At best it was a tie. I ended up buying a 14 Supercrew 4X4 with the 5.0 with 10K fewer miles for the same price as an identical 13 with the 3.5. For the same money I got a 1 year newer truck with 10,000 fewer miles and I don't feel I missed a thing by not having the EB.
If I had found a 5.0 with 3.73's I'd have bought it. But those are pretty rare.
I currently have 3.31 gear equipped 2014 Ecoboost and I have been very unhappy with the lack of power/ inability to tow well and just the Eco engine in general. I am in a position now where I think I can offload this truck and pick up a 3.73 equipped 5.0. I have no experience with the 5.0, so my question is directed at those that have experience with a 3.73 equipped 5.0. Will I be happier with the towing ability of a 3.73 5.0 versus my 3.31 Eco.
What exactly are you pulling with your ecoboost? I have a 2013 EB with 3:31 and have been trilled with the towing when compared to the old 5.4. I typically pull a cargo trailer loaded to about 5000# several times a week.
My BIL has a 2011 5.0 with 3:73s. I'll take the low-end diesel-like grunt of the EB over the roar of the V8. His 5.0 pulls well, but my EB doesn't seem to work as hard.
I'd say if you're struggling with the 3:31 EB you're at a weight where you want a Max Tow or a F250.
I'm happy with mine. I don't have any experiences with the eco motors so I can't say what driving those are like. If you were close to me (where are you?) I'd throw you the keys for the afternoon and see how you liked it. I didn't have to re calibrate the tire change and it still gets up and goes.
I've also only towed a couple times and have hauled various materials (bricks, wood, other building materials) a bunch of times to the dump.
Here's a couple pics, I try to take snapshots when I use it as a truck.
That trailer weighs a ton. It's all wood and over built. That's hauling my newphew's playhouse. I'll look for more pics.
Part of a load of my fence I removed. It doesn't help you judge by that was full of 1x6's and 4x4's. I've looked at my weight when I leave the dump, and it's in the neighborhood of 6400lbs if that helps. I wish I could help you more with towing experience. I really went with 3.73's because I knew I was upgrading my tire size and didn't want to have to regear from 3.55 or 3.31. I got lucky when I bought, I googled the axle code on the lot and was happy with what I found. It wasn't the main reason why I bought my truck but it is a plus IMO.
My buddy who has a 05 with a 5.4L and 3.73's and 305's said he wanted to see how mine did driving and towing his offroad toy and trailer but he's in Detroit and our schedules don't always work out.
Thank you very much for all the replies. I had previously convinced myself that I needed a 6.2 but finding one has proven hopeless unless in a Raptor that I cannot afford. It sounds to me based on the replies the 5.0 with 3.73s is a beast as long as your willing to rev it out which I'm okay with. My travel trailer weighs approx 5,000 pounds loaded and my little V6 spends most of its time in boost to keep rolling, I have it tuned by 5* which helped but I fear for this engines longevity, especially after reading countless blown eco engine threads, mostly with thrown rods. My truck spends alot of its life towing so the engine definitely works hard.
Thank you very much for all the replies. I had previously convinced myself that I needed a 6.2 but finding one has proven hopeless unless in a Raptor that I cannot afford. It sounds to me based on the replies the 5.0 with 3.73s is a beast as long as your willing to rev it out which I'm okay with. My travel trailer weighs approx 5,000 pounds loaded and my little V6 spends most of its time in boost to keep rolling, I have it tuned by 5* which helped but I fear for this engines longevity, especially after reading countless blown eco engine threads, mostly with thrown rods. My truck spends alot of its life towing so the engine definitely works hard.
Why not go superduty 6.2l? You can probably find those for the same price as a f150 6.2l. Worth a look anyway! I know overkill for 5000 lbs but then you could upgrade your trailer too
Why not go superduty 6.2l? You can probably find those for the same price as a f150 6.2l. Worth a look anyway! I know overkill for 5000 lbs but then you could upgrade your trailer too
This. I've posted before about looking for f250's if I hadn't bought my f150. Prices were similar, years were a little off. I could find 250's that were around 5 years used with average mileage for less than the sticker of my f150. Factor in the trade in value of my ranger and the prices were similar.
150 was $35k, they gave me $8.5k for my ranger. 250's were $26-30k.
You don't want an aluminum body? Why not? Have you ever heard about rust and corrosion? You won't see rusted out quarter panels on a new one.
I have read many threads about towing instability in the aluminum trucks that I don't want to deal with. That is one area where my truck excels, it is very stable when towing. Also, I don't want to deal with the warped dashboards that seem to plague all '15 up XL and XLTs. Insurance rates are higher with the aluminum body and I am limited to what bodyshops will perform repairs on it. I test drove a 2016 XLT and felt they really cheapened the interior quality compared to my 2014 XLT. Plus, being in Southern California I am not really concerned with rust as it isn't an issue here.
10-17-2017, 08:48 PM
