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If you intend on towing anything over 20', just go straight to the fully equipped towing rig. You will want tow mirrors, The 5.0+10sp is just fine if you cant find the right 3.5. You are making a 40K+ investment. Work with the dealer, find the right one (often on some other dealers lot, they will transfer it) and live with no regrets.
3.5 and stop messing around - this is your family we are talking about. Get the truck you need so you don’t have to start weighing spoons. That 1400lb payload is insanely low and you will be dangerously close to overloaded, just like every RAM owner on the road!
At a minimum get the 2.7 payload package - that should put you closer to 1700lb payload right? My current 2016 has 1750lb payload, my Camper is gross 6000lb (25ft) and I’m already maxed out. I placed an order for a heavy duty payload package! I’m not messing around. Trucks handle ****ty when they are maxed out, and just because Ford says you can doesn’t mean you want to!
We had the 2.7L w/ 3.55 for 2 days and put about 50 miles on it, all city minus 3 interstate miles just to see how it'd do, and it returned 17 mpg. We then took out the 3.5 w/ 3.31 and put 60 miles on it, arguably a bit more stop and go and 3 interstate miles, and it returned 18.5 mpg. I know that's nowhere near scientific, but I was impressed to see the 3.5 was even close, let alone a bit better. Over the long run, it'll probably flip, but at this point, the 3.5 is gonna be just great for me.
This begs the question of why they didn't put the 2.7 in a 502A and higher in '15-16..I wonder if the increased weight of all the bells and whistles on the 2.7 truck just makes it work that much harder. I'd imagine a 200 lb. moon roof has a bigger effect on that 2.7 than a 3.5.
If you ever get the opportunity to watch actual boost levels towing via torque app or a tuner, you can see how often the 3.5 is in serious boost. I can only imagine how much more boost the 2.7 would need to run to maintain the same pace as the 3.5. With boost comes heat, heat come damage. People throw out numbers like "rated for 13000lbs" or "rated to pull 8k", but our 6,000lb trailer has the 3.5 pushing 7-10lbs of boost just to maintain hwy speeds no hills. Unloaded requires virtually no boost. While the 2.7 may be a great performer or over perform in certain situations, ford themselves sees what is occurring
Here, take a look at this. 2014 F150 Lariat 501a, 3.5 EB, RWD with 3.15 gearing. Trailer is 7100 pound GVWR, 6300 (at that time) wet. Towed up I-70 through the IKE tunnel at 11K feet effortlessly. With the right gearing, the 3.5 can do both, MPG and towing. 3.31 rear gearing with the 6 spd can give you both, just keep in mind that 4x4 will reduce fuel efficiency a bit. My 16 with 3.55 is getting 2-3 MPG less. I want to swap them out to 3.31 but can't locate rear R&P.
It's really comments like that that discourage people from saying anything. It has nothing to do with towing mpg, but everything to do with sacrificing mpg when not towing. Why throw money out the window? Nobody expects these things to get 4,000,000 miles per gallon. But if that 2.7 is going to get 3-4 mpg better than a 3.5 real world, then it's worth the gamble. If it's more like 1 mpg real-world, then the 3.5 is worth the investment. With that I'll figure it out. Thanks to those who provided good feedback.
The 2.7 will not get 3-4 mpg better then either the 5.0 or the 3.5. The 2.7 will be struggling more then either of the other engines, using more fuel. BTW my 5.0 pulling an 8000 car trailer and 3 people in the cab gets 10 mpg on the highway and pulls it great.
Id seriously look at a new 5.0 and max towing package. it will be a beast and will be music to your ears towing too
04-19-2018, 03:51 PM
