smurfs_of_war

There is likely a reason for this

Al Kohalic

Thank you for building such a great truck. Maybe you can answer my question then. How come the Tacoma has a greater tow rating then the F-150 3.7 when it has bigger brakes, stiffer suspension, better gearing, better frame, and considerably more power? I see it time and time again with all of the other makes as well. Like the 5.0L and the Chevy 5.3L. The 5.0L tows slightly less then the 5.3L even though the 5.0L is more powerful and Ford says the F150 is beefier in every way vs the Silverado. What gives? Is Ford sand bagging its numbers?

I think Ford has a different definition of towing vs the other makes. To others, towing means squated all the way to the ground with only an inch of clearance, sloppy steering, 300 ft stopping from 60-0, and sway to the point you have better write your will before you tow their max tow numbers. I think Ford's idea of towing is only squating 1-2 inches, firm steering and control, 60-0 is less then 200ft, and feel safe and secure when you tow even the max rating. Just my opinion from what I have experienced in other half tons. Since you work at Ford building these trucks, what do you think it is?

steelerz1

I don't know why there is even a discussion between these two vehicles...like night and day. And I am not talking about Ford vs. Toyota...one is a small truck and the other is a full size. I am not going to slam Toyota because I just traded a 11 year old Tundra that had been flawless and gave me 250k miles on my new FX4. I looked hard at the new Tundras but in the end I just never was excited about the styling. I didn't hate it but I never really fell in love with them. One day, just for the heck of it, I stopped at a Ford dealership (after hours)and found a FX4 that was unlocked. I got inside and was blown away by how nice the thing was. A few days later I saw my truck online and knew it was the one I wanted. The rest is history.
My last two vehicles were the Tundra and a 95.5 Tacoma (first year). They were both great, trouble free, rides. I really hope that I get the same reliability and stress free service out of the F-150. I love it so far and was glad to be able to buy something that I am excited about . Good luck with your choice but I would really drive /research both and pick what works best for you and or your family's needs, and your budget...

peterhurcos

I believe Toyota claims more U.S. content on the Tundra than Ford.

gigemrick

^^ thanks for sharing and contributing to the post STEELERZ^^ its like I said my 10 tundra I traded in was nothing really to "wow" about just the styling that I attributed with by adding aftermarket products. Ford is light years ahead in tech. and features. pluse you can get a xlt with back up sensors, power rear window, power driver seat, bluetooth in a XLT! in a tundra it seems you get a "grade" (base) and to get frils you have to get a Limited 50K. I hate it when people just post to bash one side both have pro's and con's. That 5.7L is a best of a motor and bullet proof from what I read in my research pluse 4 piston disk brakes and big ol 4.10 rear end like I said both have great attributes. O yah were talking about a Tacoma for Toyota...huh... G ford dude... Sack up! ;p

DangFoo

Agree 100% - wish more people would tell it like it is.

gigemrick

Thats true tundra is assembled in the great state of TX in San Antonio

FX4MAX

Nicely Said!

amascio

I just posted this in another F150 forum with the subject tag "When can we trust these new truck engines?" ; it says it all for my F150 experience:

I have 2 Ecoboost trucks, both early build models (manufactured 1/11) and have had no problems with either of them.
EB#1 is a Red Candy Platinum 4X4, 3:55 geared Screw that currently has 33,000 miles on it. With it finally being broken in, it routinely gets 18-19 mpg.

It is my wife's main mode of transportation and it has been driven from Houston, Tx. to Bisbee Az. 5 times in the last year (it is 2 weeks shy of being one year old). In it's life here in Houston and out on the road it has dealt with freezing rain, 108 degree heat, driving straight through from Houston to Az (13 hrs straight), 1-3% grades at 80+ mph, wind and being operated at altitudes up to 6800 feet. Through all this it hasn't consumed the first drop of oil or made noises that even so much as indicated any type of problems. As a matter of fact, the engine is dead quiet. All it has had done to it is oil changes (6), one engine air filter and tire rotations. If I had to take off right now to go back to Az I wouldn't think the first thing of it: check oil, tire pressure, gas her up and GO! I worry more about the tires than anything else!

EB#2 is my FX4 Screw with 18,000 miles, bought 6 weeks after we bought the Platinum: same story, no problems what so ever. I'd take it to Az except the wife hates the small running boards compared to the power ones in her Platinum. We are in our early 60's and she hates clamoring up into my truck.

He still catches action though, going from Houston to San Marcos to see my father.
The only time the FX ever even thought about giving me any trouble was when I was coming back from San Marcos late last fall. I drove the truck into a storm front that was on it's way toward Houston. I entered the rain, traveling with the front and broke out on the leading edge of it just before Houston. Driving in the near torrential rain it was 38 degrees and when I got to Houston ahead of it, it was 75 degrees. The driving time in hard rain was approximately two and half hours. It was beautiful day in Houston when I broke out of the front and when I went for full power there was a slight stutter before she answered the helm for more power. I just took it easy and in a day or two this cleared up.

We now know that the Ecoboost intercooler is so efficient that it can condense water inside itself under certain conditions. This will cause water to be ingested and thus the stutter. I ran into this same weather scenario in February, driving into a east to west storm front while traveling to San Marcos from Houston. But this time I did things a little differently. Instead of using cruise, I controlled the speed and every once in a while I would floor it and let the RPMs span out, making the boost sweep out what ever water may be in the intercooler. When I arrived in San Marcos the truck was running fine; these things loved being whipped anyway and now I realize that when driving in cold rain it pays to punch it once in a while.

I know it sounds crazy buying two largely "unproven" engine powered vehicles but I am a torque addict and quite frankly when I test drove the 5.0 I was a little disappointed. Not trying to start a war here but the EB engine is about torque RIGHT NOW whereas the 5.0 has to be revved a bit to get power.

Also, I had a 2008 Mazdaspeed 3 that had 60k miles on it when I traded it in on my truck. It never failed to give me absolute driving pleasure and it took nothing more than oil changes, air filters and tire rotations. As far as I know, he did not clog up his intake valves, in fact, when I traded him in he was running better that when he was new. I as sure Ford had a small hand in the Mazdaspeed engine as at the time they shared a lot of technology. I feel that some lessons learned with that 2.3 liter engine were applied to the Ecoboost engine. I miss that car and have plans to buy another one just before Mazda decides to take them out of production - I loved it that much. Trading him in was a major mistake that I will rectify - the wife has already been put on notice concerning this. Then, I will have 3 direct injection, turbo engined vehicles in house. And no worries.

Sorry for the too long post guys, but I felt I had to weigh in on this subject as my experience has been totally positive with all my direct injection turbo vehicles, which all totaled up is about 110k miles between 3 vehicles.

So how does the Ford stack up to Toyota? Not equipped to say but I have heard they are nice. If you would like to see a dealer web site with discounts included ( the discounts are based a lot on Fords current incentives ) go here:
www.machaikford.com and check out the truck inventory.
Good luck to you with your search and no matter what you go with please get back here and let us know your experience!
Cheers!

Jvivek

if i had to do it over again. I would have bought the tundra over f150