isthatahemi

I took my 2011 3.7L Scab 4X4 on a cross country trip this summer. I started in Stony Mountain, Manitoba, Canada, and went down through ND, SD, Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, California, and return. The trip worked out to approximately 6000 miles. I'll try to be short and concise, but it was a long trip.

I'll give a summary for those that want the short version. The truck was great, all the typical F150 upsides apply; great ride, quiet, composed, comfortable, reliable, and a joy to travel in. It handled our travel trailer with ease.

Our trailer is a Sunset Trails SK 17 Hybrid. When travelling, it is usually near its max GVW, with 3500# or so on the single axle, and about 300# on the hitch. It tows well, but not easily, as it stands over 10' tall, 8'wide, lots of ground clearance, and has a nearly flat front. I have pulled a few trailers with my truck, and my parents substantially larger TT that is both longer and heavier, tows much easier.

We headed out, with the intention of keeping the speed down, and conserving fuel somewhat. We travelled around 65mph initially (5th gear 2200rpm), but that proved to be too slow for the Interstated once we got to ND. I started going 70 (4th, 2700rpm), for the simple reason is I don't like to cause traffic problems with folks who are blowing by at 80mph+.

We stopped in Fargo to install a Bakflip Tonneau cover, (which is awesome IMO, way better than the solidfold in function and appearance). Immediatly after installing it I noticed the truck towed with less strain. I was now back in 5th @ 2400ish RPM at 70 mph. For the rest of the trip I was able to typically run a gear higher at 70 mph than before, so the tonneau must smooth the aerodynamics a little. Mileage while towing jumped about 5% correspondingly. Wind was a huge factor as well. Any noticable head or crosswind and I was in 4th. The truck did not seem strained, although the intake was not very endearing, with the truck running high load. It was a constant growl, and to be honest, I would remove it in advance of another long trip.

As we got into some climbs, especially 2 VERY steep ones near the black hills, the truck needed to rev. In one scenario, I was stuck at 6000 rpms in 6th for about a minute. I could have slowed down, but it's only noise, right? Here's a simple fact, for those of us who are willing to rev the nuts off it, this truck has the same 300+ horsepower the 5.4 had. At WOT, the 5.4 has no meaningful advantage, other than composure.

As we pressed on through Colorado, and the mountains, I found that I was in 3rd for a lot of climbs, usually able to maintain 65 mph or so. On a number of occasions, such as 7% grades, elevations above 5000 or so feet, 2nd was the only gear that would do it. That left me with a choice, noisy, or slow? I chose noisy, and charge up the mountains at 60 mph, 6000 rpm. I was generally passing most other folks who were towing, even had a couple 5th wheel diesels give up maintaining that speed near me. Other than a couple passes above 10 000 feet, the truck could maintain any speed up to 65 mph, just about anywhere. I am normally easier on the truck, but I had 16 days to do this trip, and was determined not to miss out!

Leaving Salt Lake City a couple days later, I had the same choice, right lane, 30mph with the semi's or next lane over, 65 mph. I hopped into the faster lane, and put the hammer down. Not knowing there was a 10 minute climb ahead of me. This was the only time any of the gauges moved. The engine temp rose from it's usual 4/10ths position to half. The trans never heated up, and nothing went awry. Pretty harsh to be at 6000 rpm for 10 minutes or so. Hopefully my fresh Mobil 1 was taking care of things.

The rest of the trip went much like that, flat and no wind, 2400 rpm@70mph, headwind was 4th@3000, slight grade and strong headwind would mean 3rd and 4000 rpm. That was about as high as I felt like revving the engine, generally speaking, as it gets a tad noisy above that. Mileage was great, and I know mentioning numbers will just trigger a bunch of arguments, but I will say that compared to my dads 4.6, and my previous Tacoma 4.0 5 speed, the F150 beats the Tacoma by about 15-20% while towing, and edges my dads gently driven 2010 4.6 by about 5 - 10% when speed differences and such are factored in. I will say that I usually got around 10mpg, lower on some days, generally higher on others. An average 70 mph day, would yield more than 10 mpg, which for me, is fantastic.

I will say this, as much as I think the 3.7 is and awesome motor, I would not buy it again if I had this sort of trip in mind more than once in a lifetime. It was excellent 90% of the time, right up until I wanted to go over 70 mph into a headwind, or climb 6-8% grades. I say this given the fact that we spent a huge amount of time climbing. I can say without a doubt, that I was thoroughly impressed with the 3.7, it never lacked ability, or power, just had to rev it to get it. I always despised the 5.4, for reasons ranging from crappy throttle response, poor mileage, and mediocre power. I personally think the 3.7 was far superior in all aspects except power, where it was a wash.

One last note, on the last day of our trip, I had to cover 750 miles in under 11 hours, into a wicked headwind. The truck did it, 4400 rpms for the entire day, 6.5 mpgs. But it did it, and didn't break, overheat, or cause any problems, other than ear watering gasoline usage.

For a typical owner / RVer, that has any degree of patience whatsoever, I can say this 3.7 rocks. Keep the speeds reasonable, and it is truly a gem. What an awesome truck. Manual shift function was neat, but the transmission was usually in the right gear anyhow. I used it sometimes to lock in 5th, so that it wouldn't jump down for a few seconds on slight grades. The Tow / Haul engine braking was phenominal. Descending out of Yosemite, it grabbed 2nd gear, and kept the engine around 5000 rpm, providing lots of slowing power. Brilliant. Amazing that this does does so right, everything the Tacoma did so wrong.

The trip was cool, Royal Gorge, Yosemite, and Vegas was fun. We towed the trailer up some mountains in National Forest for some dispersed camping, which was the highlight of the trip. 4Low, crossing streams, up 20% grades, the truck did it all. Best vehicle I have ever owned by a longshot.

Watt-maker

Thanks for the report. Looking forward to when I can buy a TT.

Al Kohalic

Thanks for the report. It sounds like you had an awesome trip.

I Googled that travel trailer and I am amazed in all that it has and it is only 3,500lbs with some gear.

mechanicboy

Glad you had fun. Which engine would you buy if you had to do it over again? 5.0?

MadocHandyman

Thanks for the write up! It's great to read these positive stories and see what these trucks are capable of.

MXD

I'm sure the trip was fun but it sounds like you kicked the **** out of your truck. 10 minute climbs at 6k rpm? 11 hours straight at 4400 RPM? No thanks. Just because it didn't break doesn't mean it made it through unscathed.

djfllmn

iTrader: (1)

OP glad to hear your truck treated you well on the trip

safetypin

ya, hot damn

do you have the 4" display? how were tranny temps during this?

CDC5.0

Great report, sounds like the 3.7 got the job done nicely for you.
Personally, having to hold my engine at 6000rpm for the length of time you you described would bring tears to my eyes, but never the less I'm happy to hear that little motor pushed through everything you hurled at it

isthatahemi

I would likely buy the Eco. So much potential, yet so impressive stock. Not dissing the 5.0, but the rated mileage on it is not impressive to me at all.

As I mentioned, it was less than ideal. At some points of the tow, it was second gear no matter what. I basically had the choice to ease up, or not. Treating the engine rough is not a concern for me, the noise was, but even then, it was not that bad. I beat the life out of my old Dakota with a 318, and traded it off at 300 000kms. I would be surprised if I was harming the engine. Usually RPMs that high only cause harm because the engine oil overheats, the F150 has a cooler, and Mobil ! in mine.

But I entirely get what you are saying.

I don't have the screen, but I know from experience, if the trans temps climb, so does the gauge. It never budged. Realistically, I was putting at most 300hp, through a trans built, rated, and cooled to handle 400+. Not so much as a bad shift occurred during any of the thrashings.

That was my reasoning for saying I would opt for the Eco if I had more mountain trips in mind. I figure that if they let it out of the factory, set up to do it, then it should be able to. My sled, and previously my sportbike would spend a lot of time north of 7K RPM.

Still, what a truck. So much better than my Tacoma. And the truck cost nearly $10K less.