boxer

Here is my dilema, i am for surely buying a 2012 f-150 proabbaly this week. Here is what i am going to do with it. Roughly about twice a month i will be hauling my 26 foot travel trailer and my 2010 yamaha grizzly to the cabin which is 2 hours away from me and mainly flat with a couple of small hills. My total pulling weight loaded up might get around 8000lbs. I have the ford brocure in front of me and the ecoboost crew with 3.73 will pull 9500lbs and the 5.0l with the 3.73 will pull 9200lbs. Is the eco worth it or should i get the more trustworthy 5.0l????

superccs

Step one, don't ask for that kind of advice here, folks tend to lose their minds.

The correct answer is pick the one you like the most, they are both awesome engines.

Best of luck on the buy, I hope you can get a really good deal and get exactly what you want.

Roadrunner2

I tow a lot and went with the 6.2 with no regrets. The 5.0 is a great engine as well and would serve you well. The Eco V6 I just couldn't warm up too. Probably is a good engine, but I guess I am too hard headed to get off the V8 Engine gig.

TruckLarry

That didn't take long

BlueOval5.0

I believe you can pull over 11k with a properly equipped EcoBoost - Max Tow required. The 5.0L can only do 9,200 as you stated.

That said, if I was towing the amount of weight you are I would want the Max Tow AND Heavy Duty Payload Pkg with the EcoBoost engine.

I'm a neutral party, don't have either engine or even an F-150 at this point. Get what you need and in this case, it sounds like the EB to me.

eco12

Blue is right. A properly equipped Eco will pull 11,400 lbs. and from what I'm hearing mpg Is actually about the same between the two trucks.

Now when I was deciding here 2 months ago which truck to get this was the deal breaker for me. ELEVATION!! I live at 3800ft above sea level. And as everyone knows the higher up you go the more power you lose. With an n/a motor such as the 5.0 at my altitude I lose about 12% power. But with a forced induced motor like the Eco boost you only lose 7% so it was the clear winner for me. So if altitude is an issue I highly recommend the Eco boost. If its not then its all with What you need and how much money your willing to spend. Good luck with the buy.

dirkdaddy

Pulled this from another Ford truck forum. Pretty sure you aren't ever going to read a thread about the 5.0L V8 with a problem even close to this. Multiple people on this forum have complained about the exact problem as well and it appears Ford is fully apprised of the situation:

"I also had my first issue. While driving through a rain storm in Iowa and South Dakota I had the cruise set and pulled into the left lane to pass a tractor trailer I step down on the accelerator to get around the truck and the truck started coughing and bucking and had to shifted down to 3rd gear to maintain speed. I then had to feather the throttle a little for it to even itself out. This happened another time and then the check engine light came on. I took it to my dealer when I got to Montana as I was traveling on a Saturday and no service departments were open. They ran the codes and checked OASIS and found there is an advisory out from Ford. It states that when operated in high humidity areas with cruise control on for prolonged periods and the operator attempts a hard acceleration it could cause misfiring and lose of power. Well the dealer cleared the codes and checked to make sure I had the latest updates. However, they said Ford engineers are working on it but that Ford currently doesn't have a fix for the misfire isssue.Ford thinks it has something to do with condensation building up in the turbos intercooler. I also noticed while my check engine light was on my mileage was terrible. One tank I hand calculated 9.8 mpg."

Good luck with your choice.

CDC5.0

Both engines will serve you really well. Gas mileage is a wash between the 2 in most cases.
The ecoboost will feel more confident while towing that much weight mainly cause it makes its power a lot lower in the rpm range then the 5.0 and as far as reliability goes I doubt you'll run into any major issue's with it. The people on the forums who have problems with their trucks only represent a very small grouping of F-150 owners.
Having said all that I've pulled a 6500lb camper with my 5.0 with 3.31's (the truck is rated for around 7800lb) and it felt great, it had to get up the rev range a bit to maintain speed on steeper hills, finding a sweet spot around 3500 - 4000 rpm, but it sure did sound great while doing it.
Take both for nice long test drives and get which one makes you happy, they are both great motors.

troutspinner

As a camper, every time I have been out someone or multiple people will stop by and ask me about the truck and they all wish they had it or state that it will be their next choice.....even a guy who had a 5.0.

troutspinner

BLU4TJW

superccs and CDC5.0 have it right. Take em both out. Depending on who you are, the obvious choice usually jumps out. I drove both, and liked both for different reasons.

As stated, fuel economy, on average, is a wash. EB is more powerful and will tow more, but into the boost, into the fuel. The slightly less expensive 5.0 is no slouch and sounds great, but enjoying the throaty growl come alive, also costs you at the pump.

The reliability for either engine is a moot point and neither one is any more or less trustworthy than the other. Despite some recurring themes depicted in some of these threads, Ford is selling thousands and thousands of these trucks, and if problems were chronic, they wouldn't be.

Both engines are competent for your requirements. The trick is, regardless of whatever engine choice you make based on your actual needs and desires, don't look back. Enjoy the truck.