I'm slightly over my gvwr but not too bad from what I can tell.

2.7L pulled great through the grapevine today - 108 outside at 8% grade for 10 miles or so. Temp went up to 235 a couple times but gauge was is in the middle. Total towing trip of about 800 miles to Yosemite and back to Orange County. Lots of mountain towing. Truck heats up a bit but nothing I don't think that's out of the norm. Sometimes wish I had the stability and exhaust brake of a 2500 diesel but it really does do good for being a half ton with a big trailer and a 2.7L that gives me 23 mpg daily.

Overall towing mpg was 12.8. Not bad at all really.

 

12 MPG? Was that hand calc? That's really good for mountain driving. If the trans is getting too warm, maybe drop a gear next time and see if it runs cooler. The lower RPM's of the EB tend to cause the trans to heat up more than the 5.0 would. Thats the downside of producing the torque down low, not enough RPM's to get the fluid moving through the cooler fast enough to stay cool.

 

That truck is LOADED. Since the steer axle is still 120 lbs. lighter than the unloaded weight, you could increase the hitch head tilt one more increment. That would transfer a little more weight off the drive axle. Also look at anything that could be transferred from the truck to the trailer. I relocated about 100 lbs. after I saw what the scale said.

 

Thanks but my fender height is about the same loaded with WDH as without. Manual says to not let it go lower than without.

I've got a propane tank I could stick in the back which might help and a chair to go up front which should take weight off the truck and add even weight to the trailer to not affect the tongue weight %.

Other option I've been thinking about is to get a ram 2500 CTD which I could do for about an even trade payment wise. It's a tradesman vs my lariat F150 but the diesel would do good in the mountains we tow in a lot. Additional 400-500 pounds of payload would be nice too.

 

The objective is to not put more WEIGHT on the front than the unloaded weight. The fender height measurement is just a less accurate substitute for the scales. If all the weight is restored to the front, but no more, it won't be lower than the unloaded condition.

The 2500 will certainly handle the load better. Better brakes and axle bearings, too. I didn't want one as a daily driver so I chose a lighter trailer plus I don't have the big family to accommodate.

 

Good point on the weight being more accurate than the fender measurement.

Can anyone else comment on that? Wondering if it's better to move weight to the trailer or increase the WDH by a washer.

 

I would trust the scale more than the tape measure. The scales don't lie but just a little uneven ground could throw you off a bit. I am PM'ing you about your spreadsheet.

 

Your 12.8 MPG is making me jealous. I just did about 800 miles Bako to Sacramento and got 10.2 including about 100 vicinity miles w/o the trailer on my 3.5EB.

Its weird when the transmission downshifts on the downgrades. With low compression, the EB really does no compression braking, so its fairly pointless. Can we add a jake brake?

 

My 2.7 holds me at 50 mph down 6% grades no problem. I'm actually surprised at how well it works. It holds 30mph down steeper grades down a mountain near me. Surprised he 3.5 eco doesn't do better since it's bigger.

I really think the 2.7 is just marketed down from the 3.5. I did a lot and I mean a lot of research before choosing the 2.7 over the 3.5. I think the reliability will hopefully be better with a CGI block too.

Hope your performance improved. Especially since you paid more for that engine. Maybe take to the dealer and have hem check compression and any other parameters.

 

Any chance of sharing that spreadsheet? I think it could be very useful for anyone trying to properly set up a WDH on their truck and trailer. I need to get to the CAT scale sometime soon.

The 2.7L ......
I am very intrigued by this little, yet impressive power plant. Watching the Fast Lane Truck reviews on Youtube of the tow and MPG tests, I am sold on these Ecoboost motors. It's so cool how you can get 22mpg just rolling down the road and then also be able to pull a 7500lbs trailer up a hill with ease. Granted you won't do both MPG and towing at the same time. Either way, when my wife decides to retire her 4runner with a "powerful" 4.7L V8, I will really push for an Ecoboost driven vehicle.