NC F150

About to trade my highly problematic Ram Cummins 2500 in for a F150.

Ram continuously has recalls. At least one every three months and numerous other failures from leaking fuel filler necks to leaking rear windows. Final straw was today when the turbo actuator and catalytic converter crapped out. Had my repairs not been covered under warranty, I'd be out nearly $6000.00.

My question is this. I tow a travel trailer with my truck and we have a trip planned in a few weeks. If I get a new 3.5 F150, is there a break in period where you shouldn't tow?

Thanks.

Wicked ace

Manual recommends 1000 miles before towing.

KingDeleted

I’d put those first 1000 miles through a good breakthrough and then change the oil before I’d Have at it with towing

5.0GN tow

The manual says 1k miles before towing. I find that to be kind of standard advice from any trucks I have owned. I also find it humorous, because almost any commercial work trucks are put straight into service towing and hauling on day 1, and all the emergency response vehicles are immediately dropped into service under very severe use on day one too. I also know for a fact that at the All American Quarter Horse Congress, some of dealers are both truck and trailer dealers. They use brand new trucks to move trailers to the show, as both divisions have to get units there. Doesn't seem to hurt the trucks in either scenario. I would try to get a few hundred miles on it before super heavy towing, but if you can't quite get 1K I dont think it will hurt the truck too much.

ModularFord

You are going to be let down with an F-150 if you are towing around 10k, I’d highly advise doing an F-250 with the 6.2 V8. Much more forgiving than the half ton will be while not having the diesel issues.

duck9191

Rings need to be seated and the ring and pinion need some miles. There are lots of people who don't pay attention to breakin and either beat the hell out of the truck from day one or start towing immediately without issue but its recommended to give it 1k miles.

NC F150

Thanks for the input.

Since I have a trip planned in a couple weeks and I likely won't be able to properly break in the truck, it's probably best I wait.

As for towing. My TT is about 5500 lbs so dropping from a diesel to a F150 shouldn't be a compromise.

Deerchaser

The 1000 mile breakin is for the gears, motor doesnt require "breakin".

acdii

Other than the ring and pinion, and the transmission learning curve, not much else to be concerned with. If the trans programming gets goofy, disconnecting the battery and letting the energy fade can reset the PCM and relearn.

smokeywren

The F-150 Owner's Guide says put 1,000 miles on the new vehicle before towing. That's so the gears can "mate" and the rings can mate to the pistons. And the brake pads can "wear in" to the rotors.

Without a good break-in, the F-150 should still reach 200,000 miles before any wear problems caused by improper break-in, But if you expect your new truck to reach 400,000 miles before the first engine overhaul, then you need a proper breakin.

But a "proper" break-in can have several different senarios. Common "by the book" is to just drive the truck without towing until you reach 1,000 miles. An alternative would be to drive the truck in city traffic, with lots of stop signs and red lights so you have lots of throttle-off deceleration, for about 500 miles. "Baby" the truck with no hard starts or stops during that 500 miles. Or if you can't wait for even 500 miles of city driving before towing, then here's the drill:

Plan on lots of throttle-off deceleration. If towing on an interstate highway, take every exit and use the brakes as little as possible. Then get right back on the freeway and gently accelerate back up to cruising speed.

Vary the cruising speed from the slowest safe speed to about 4 MPH more than the speed limit. For example, if the speed limit is 70 MPH but your trailer tire max speed is 65 MPH, then

55 MPH for 5 miles - or until the next exit if more than 5 miles
65 MPH for 5 miles - "
50 MPH for 5 miles - "
60 MPH for 5 miles - "
Then repeat until you get there.

If your speed is not limited by trailer tires and the speed limit is 70 MPH, then

55 MPH for 5 miles - or until the next exit if more than 5 miles
65 MPH for 5 miles - "
74 MPH for 5 miles - ". 4 MPH over the posted limit is the "ticket limit" in most jurisdictions.
60 MPH for 5 miles - "
70 MPH for 5 miles - "
Then repeat until you get there.

For you folks smart enough to live in Texas, the speed limit in most of the state is 75 MPH, even when towing. So the ticket limit is 79 MPH.
"Way out west" the speed limit is 80 MPH. So if the speed symbol on your trailer tires is at least "N" (87 MPH), and the tires are pumped up to the max PSI on the sidewall, then you can cruise at 84 MPH without much worry about a speeding ticket or a trailer tire failure.