McCarthy

2013 F150 5.0l 4x4 3.55 SCrew. Completely stock. THIS IS NOT A SHOULD OF BOUGHT A ****ING ECOBOOST THREAD!

So i've towed a bunch with the truck before around town, never long distance- towed a 7x12 cargo trailer 1200km today. Trailer weighed 6500lbs. Between tongue weight and passengers I was at 1550lbs payload.

First off, I had NO sway, and the truck didn't even really squat. I don't want to hear I should of had a WDH or this or that. Unless the sticker on the window from the hitch adds +50hp? Lol.

I ran into a big issue. Going up a 6% grade, foot flat to the floor, AC off, tow haul on, the truck would not accelerate past 45mph. 2nd gear, would accelerate extremely slowly to 5800rpm, shift to third, and lose all power. Speed would drop to 40mph, it would downshift to second, rinse and repeat. I was literally passed by a ~2007 F150 towing a good sized travel trailer...

Is it just me or is this ridiculous? in this case, it's a factor of brute horsepower and torque. As soon as it goes into third, at like 3800rpm, it would not accelerate. Period. Unhooked the trailer and took it for a drive, power seems normal. I wonder if something's broken, as 360hp 380ft/lbs seems like PLENTY to tow 6500lbs...

antho

Should have bought a ****ing Eco boost.

lewisra

What altitude?

mike243

I have a 11 with same engine and rear gear,sounds like some things not rite,my camper is around 6 or so dry weight 6500 with 3 bodies in the truck,5% grade last summer and could run up it as fast as I wanted. 60mph average for the whole trip,

5.0GN tow

Something not right or you have way more weight than you think you do. I pull a CAT scale verified 7500 to 9000 pound trailer literally all the time with my 2013 SCAB STX 4X4 3.55 5.0L. I have pulled long 2 to 4 mile 6% grades no problem at 70mph, never dropped below 3rd and was in 4th most of the hill. When I had to drop speed for traffic, I was easily able to regain speed in 3rd and then shift back up to 4th.

Ricktwuhk

With a 6,500 pound trailer, you would have had maybe 850 pounds of tongue weight. Your hitch is rated for 500 without a WDH, so that's an issue.

You stated your estimated payload, but didn't state your truck's rated payload, which is on the sticker in the door jamb. Highly likely you were at or over payload.

You were at the limits of what your truck could tow safely. I'm not surprised that it bogged down. Can't speak to why it lost power when you were up at 5,800 RPM though, that does sound odd, UNLESS you were at high altitude as someone else asked. I haven't towed that weight though because my payload would not allow it.

5.0GN tow

I am truly stumped by his issue, the hitch issue aside. The the GCWR of the truck should be enough to allow the pull no problem. The payload is another story but that does not factor into the issue he is experiencing, which is a lack of power to pull. The payload is about sway, stopping and control, he is having issues with the go part. My truck is at max payload when I hit the heavy side of what I tow and I have no issues at all.

timtrace

With that kind of weight attached to the truck, if you're feeling a lack of something on grades, I would think you'd also feel it on flat terrain. Are you?

Dirttracker18

One of two things is happening.
1. Something is wrong with the truck and is not making the HP and TQ that it should.

2. Your estimate is way off and the trailer weight was much higher than you think it was. FWIW, 6500# on that trailer is high to begin with and likely overloaded, but that does not account for the issues.

I am towing considerably more than that with an 04 (5.4l) and do not experience that issue and the 5.0 has much more HP and TQ as well as a better TQ curve.

SixShooter14

Sounds a lot like the: "Terrible time towing....but why?" thread. His is at the dealer with problems. Sounds like you need to do the same.

do you have the different Tow, sport, reg. modes? try switching.
do you have a programmer with any other tunes?