Noob here, needing help overcoming my hesitancy to pull the trigger on my first F150. Ideally I'd like the PowerBoost engine, but its payload limitations now have me concerned...

I just bought a boat. It weights 6,000 pounds dry. I've spent hours reading through the existing threads on this forum and the towing forums for the boat, and the sensible thing seems to be--which is especially loud and clear in the boat forum--steer clear of a half-ton truck, period. That is not what I expected. Shouldn't a truck with 14,000 advertised towing capacity easily tow my 6,000 pound boat, with room to spare? The devil is in the details, as usual, and I greatly appreciate the heads up provided by this forum to pay very close attention to those details...

Please help me decide between:

Plan A : F150 w/ PowerBoost :-)
Plan B: F150 w/ 3.5L EcoBoost :-/
Plan C: F250 :-(

I'd *really* like to make the PowerBoost work, so that we can use this truck as a daily run-around when we're not towing, and enjoy that 24 mpg, not to mention the oh-so-fun torque. But here are my questions/concerns:

1. Why doesn't the online build tool at Ford.com calculate payload and towing capacities as you choose the different combinations, and why aren't 2022 options available at all? A helpful member here (thanks Josh!) sent me the 2022 build guide, where it appears I'll have to manually calculate the dizzying array of possible combinations, and then somehow calculate the payload and towing limitations as a result of my chosen combination, taking into account the weight of all the desired options. Yuck.

2. From page 22 of the 2022 Ford Towing Guide, the PowerBoost has from 11,000 - 12,400 pounds of towing capacity, but what's the difference between the 17,000 and 18,400 GCWR displayed?



3. How do I accurately calculate the max payload of my desired model, before I purchase it? Just below the max trailer weight info on page 22 is this warning:



Where can I find the exact payload of my desired model? And what's the difference between the GCWR listed in the table, and the GAWR and GVWR listed in the fine print? So many acronyms with obviously important differences in meaning, and critical impacts to towing, payload, and safety limitations.

I see this max payload number for the PowerBoost on page 3 of the towing guide:



2,120 seems low enough to be concerning, but I don't know how much my desired combination of trim and options (Lariat, 4WD, dual moon roof, sport appearance, etc.) cuts into that... how can I tell, for a 2022 model? And I've read -- can't find it now though -- that the payload for the 2022 PowerBoost model might be as low as 1,320 pounds... where can I get an accurate number?

4. Am I really nearing my max payload with just my boat and five people in the cab, without any cargo?

Boat (dry) = 6,000 pounds
Trailer = 1,900 pounds
Extra gear = 1,600 pounds (1,000 pounds of lead weight, plus fuel, plus gear)
TOTAL BEING TOWED = 9,500 pounds
Est. tongue weight = 950 pounds

950 tongue weight + 750 people weight + 200 weight of truck options (wild guess) = 1,900 pound payload << without an ounce of cargo in the truck!

If my max payload is 2,120 with the PowerBoost, I'm already very close, but if my max payload is actually more like 1,320, I'm already WAY over... without an ounce of cargo!

5. If I switch from the PowerBoost to the 3.5L EcoBoost, I gain 1,100 pounds of payload, so I should be in the clear, right? Or is there something else I'm not considering?

Apologies for the long post, especially if this is ground already covered before... I did spend several hours searching, but couldn't find these particular answers. Thanks in advance!

 

The 1100 lbs gain would only be with the HDPP option. What trim level are you looking at? The higher the trim / options the lower the payload.

I suspect if you post your required options someone on here with a similar truck can come close to the actual payload. I have seen payloads posted on here ranging from about 1200-1900 and a little over 2K for the rare HDPP. The only real way to tell is to look at the sticker in the truck.

Do you have any idea what that actual tongue weight of that boat will be? With my brother in-laws mid to large size pontoon boat I can easily lift the tongue one handed, without the boat I can't budge it.

 

What's HDPP? Payloads from 1200 - 1900 is kinda scary for my situation... !

Here's my trim and options. These are from the 2021 model, I'm hoping/assuming the 2022 ones are close:

 

No offense but you're falling victim to sales brochure numbers and realizing the reality real quick.

Your boat isn't 6k....you ever going to run it down the road without a trailer or fuel in it? Ok, so it's at a minimum 8k. And, again, all the neato numbers that Ford (and every other truck manufacturer and trailer manufacturer and boat manufacture) put out are for sales. "It has XXX torque....it only weighs XXX" It's all BS. The 570 ft lbs of torque sounds great. What's the differential ratio? If it's a got high gearing, the engine torque isn't as great. In fact, an engine with less torque could easily keep up with lower differential gearing.

Bottom line, the boat forum guys are probably on to something. Buy a big toy, you're gonna need a big truck to pull it.

 

The Lariat and especially the sunroof will probably the biggest hit to payload.

Hopefully someone with a similarly equipped truck will chime in. My extremely poor guess would be under 1500lbs.

HDPP the the heavy duty payload package and is not very common and is somewhere between an F150 and a F250. It comes with heavier frame, brakes and LT tires. And in fairly limited configurations. Someone recently posted about 2500lbs payload which I think is a little higher then I have seen.

Can you find the true tongue weight of the boat and trailer? I am more experienced with campers and that would be too much for the truck.

EDIT:
sent too soon. Too much weight for a camper with that truck but I suspect a boat has a much lower tongue weight. And in general they tow much better and more aerodynamic.

A lot of people are quick a 3/4 ton + which is ok especially if you tow a lot. I had a 3/4 ton and it road so rough I went back to an F150 even though I had to downsize my camper to make it safe. If the truck use was 90% towing a heaver truck would probably be in order.

Depending how far you can most the people take a separate vehicle if needed?

 

[QUOTE=Rufftimo;7113532]

I just bought a boat. It weights 6,000 pounds dry. I've spent hours reading through the existing threads on this forum and the towing forums for the boat, and the sensible thing seems to be--which is especially loud and clear in the boat forum--steer clear of a half-ton truck, period. [quote]

Sounds like a travel trailer forum I'm on they think anything bigger than 5000lbs cannot be towed with any 1/2ton.

How did you get the boat home? what towed it? how did it behave behind that tow vehicle? since you have it what is the tongue weight? Is there a CAT scale near you to find what it really weighs? Are you factory ordering the truck or buying from the lot so you can see the payload label?

 

We have not picked up the boat yet. We go from Utah to Arizona to pick it up in two weeks using my son’s 2016 F150 EcoBoost.

We will factory-order our truck, not purchase from a lot, which is why I want to figure this out now.

We have just learned that the tongue weight for the boat we’re getting is 1,000 pounds. :-/

Maybe we need to go with Plan C, the 3/4 ton.

 

If you want a lariat or above you will need a superduty due to payload. If you go with a XLT 301a with the normal ecoboost 3.5 with max tow and the HDPP you can make that work.

My HDPP is 2,500lbs of payload for reference.

 

This is very useful, thank you. Funny, the 2021 build configurator on the Ford website won’t allow that combo (the HDPP with the 3.5 EcoBoost), even though in the details of the package it specifies that it should. Guess I’ll have to double-check the 2022 guide PDF… I assume that’s an error.

 

We have a 2020 Lariat, 3.5 EB, 3.55 locker, Max-Tow package. In fact, I think our truck is identical to the build listed with the exception of the tow mirrors and 360 camera. Our yellow payload sticker states 1609 pounds max.

According to the estimated weight of the boat, trailer, and gear that you listed (9500 pounds). While a boat is easier to pull than a travel trailer, the shortfall will be the amount of payload. I would be looking for a super duty if you want to pull that boat.