LightdutyF150

I'm thinking about buying a 2018 F150 2.7L with 3.15 rear. 95% of my driving is city and flat highway, so want the best MPG 95% of time. About 3 or 4 times a year I'll likely tow 5000 lb camper (GVWR) about 1000mi roundtrip mostly flat, but maybe 'some' hill country now & then. I'll lock out gears 9 & 10, use tow mode, and don't care what gas mileage is when I tow.

The truck I'm looking at in the door sticker says payload is 1575 lb and GVWR is 6360. The only 'tow package' the truck comes with is a class IV hitch & blind spot trailer monitoring...

After reading through a number of threads, I'm more confused than a goat on Astroturf...

SO... curious from experienced and knowledgeable users with better math skills than me, would this truck be able to handle light duty work described above? Payload in my truck would likely never be over 1000 lbs with my family & gear. 5000 lb camper trailer (maxed out.)

Thanks!
Tony

redranger04g

Your truck with a 5000 lb camper (wet) will be just fine. 13% hitch weight is 650 pounds which still leaves you with 925 lbs to spare. Should not have any worries with that weight. Enjoy!

LightdutyF150

Thank you, RedRanger. Much appreciated. Just needed confirmation I wasn't going crazy! The only thing I might add is a trailer brake controller when towing over 2 tons. Have a good one, -Tony

nickf2005

3.15 is usually a pretty high gear to be pulling with Traditionally. Does that all go away with these new 10 Speeds?

clarkbre

To some degree...YES!

Rear end ratios get real foggy when you start adding or subtracting gears in the transmission. I've seen people on this forum state "My old 6 speed would never shift pass 5 while towing...but my new 10 speed shifts all the way to 8 while towing". While this seems great, it's essentially in the same gear and they are failing to compare apples to apples. Both transmissions are very capable in their own right but have to be looked at separately. When the 3.5 Eco came out in 2011 mated to the 6 speed, it provided more low end torque and drivability than prior models...it felt like pulling with a small diesel but got ok MPG empty. 6 years later in 2017, the 3.5 Eco was still around with a little more power and torque. And, it was mated to the 10 speed transmission with more gear range. The chart below shows the comparable gear ratios for each gear in the 6 and 10 speed transmissions:



With the above chart, you can see:
- The 10 speed has a lower 1st gear to get the truck and trailer going from a dead stop.
- There are multiple gears on the 10 that sit between the 6 speed transmission gears that help fine tune the motor's RPM for optimal output.

The bottom line is that because the 10R80 has a lower 1, higher 9 & 10 and more available mid range 2 - 8 gear ratios, it can handle a higher diff gear (all other things being equal) that the 6R80 could not.

acdii

Go for it. My 14 was the 3.5 with 3.15 gears and towed my 6300 pound trailer just fine all the way up and over and back the IKE on I-70 @11k feet.

LightdutyF150

Great feedback guys! Thanks. Upgraded front stabilizer bar and transmission cooler needed? Again, 2018 Lariat with 1575 lb payload, 2.7L screw 3.15 rear, and camper trailer is 5000 lb (wet.)

I realize it cannot hurt, but not going to get it if I don't need it for what I use described in original post above.

Thanks again!

acdii

if it has a tow package it will already have the transmission cooler, but after market sway bars wont hurt. The only thing not that great is the 2.7 only because its limit is 7000 pounds max trailer weight. It's wont be a speed demon or anything like that and accelerating from a stop will be slow, but the 10 Spd makes up for the tall gears much better than the 6 spd ever would.

My only complaint with the 3.5EB and 6 spd when towing with the 3.15 gear was the drone in 4th gear, had no lack of power, but tended to stay in 4th when doing 60 MPH. You may not have that with the 10 spd though.

Lets just say that if I had a light trailer like yours, I would not hesitate to tow it with the truck you are looking at, Been there, Done that.

redranger04g

I used to tow a 5,000 lb boat with my 2004 Ford Ranger and I was still within/at the max specs. You'll be just fine.

old_programmer

You should be fine. Your trailer GVW is in the actual weight range I tow. If your truck came with the 53A towing pkg you already have a transmission cooler and upgraded front stabilizer bar. You will still need a brake controller and towing mirrors if the trailer is over 7ft wide. I recommend you go with the factory controller as it is integrated into the trucks systems. To activate it you would either have to have a dealer do it or use Forscan to do it yourself.