SixShooter14

I saw you mentioned the water tank being behind the trailer axles.

Do you happen to know the percentage of weight on the king pin with the tank empty vs. full.

It seems like full could put you light on the pin and over GCWR while empty could put you heavy on the pin but good on GCWR.

Water is heavy and that balance can have a major effect on how it tows.

johndeerefarmer

Not sure where you are planning to go but if in either the mountains and/or heat you need to consider adding an aftermarket CAC. The OEM CAC is inadequate. It will heat soak easily and I have saw the pcm pull as much as 8 degrees of timing which pulls your power way down
I had a Wagner CAC on my '11, 13 and just got one for my
'17. I would not tow heavy without one.

smokeywren

johndeerefarmerand I often disagree, and this another disagreement. The OEM CAC (charge air cooler or intercooler) is all I need for my 2012 F-150 EcoBoost. I have towed a trailer grossing more than twice the tow rating of my F-150, through the hills and valleys of the Texas Hill Country with plenty of power and torque to get the job done at highway speeds.


Granted, some of the better aftermarket CACs definitely increase power and torque when dragging a heavy trailer up the mountain in the summertime. The aftermarket CAC in this link costs $1,500. Do you really need $1,500 worth of additional power and torque to pull your RV trailer over the pass? I don't.
https://www.full-race.com/store/ecob...c-upgrade-kit/

johndeerefarmer

When the first ecoboost came out in 2011 the CAC was large and worked fairly well. Because some had condensation issues Ford shrunk the CAC for the '13 model. This makes it run hotter which means less condensation but also less power because it heat soaks quick. They also put a plastic shield over part of it to make it even more inefficient.
Because I tow heavy I monitor a lot of my engines parameters including ambient air temp, IAT2 (air temp at the intake), engine timing, etc.

With a stock CAC the difference between ambient and IAT2 is around 60 degrees. With a Wagner CAC the difference drops to around 15 degrees. Simple fact. Cool air means more power. On a trip through NM last year I was pulling two RZRs on a 24' aluminum trailer. Ambient temp was 112 degrees and IAT2 was 170 or so. The PCM was pulling 6-8 degrees of timing due to the hot air. This is power that you paid for but can't use because of hot air. Now in the desert of NM the loss isn't so noticeable but once you hit the mountains you need all you can get.
Most either don't know that they are losing power or don't care. Towing a heavy fiver with a large frontal area or a load of round bales stacked two high, I need and want all that all paid for.

Smokeywren your '12 has the original larger CAC. Once you get a new truck with Ford's newer smaller inefficient design, do some heavy towing with it and then give me some feedback.

Martiangod

im a normally aspirated 5 liter

acdii

Well I can see if you overload it like some people condone, but if you pull within the legal limits of the truck, an aftermarket CAC is not needed.

If you need a larger CAC to pull a trailer, you got the wrong truck.

smokeywren

GCWR 14,400 instead of the 17,000 of the 3.5L EcoBoost. If you had the 3.5L EcoBoost, you wouldn't be exceeding the GCWR. All the above discussion of CAC applies to the twin-turbocharged EcoBoost engines. It does not apply to the 5.0L engine.

johndeerefarmer

I can pull a 2k lb Polaris RZR on a 12' 1500 lb trailer and see IAT2 temps of 150-160 degrees.Not overloaded by any means and still get power loss due to Ford's design. You may find this acceptable. I don't. I paid for 375 hp and 470 lb ft of torque and want all of it.