HDJeff

Greetings once again to all on the towing forum.

I own a 2016 F150 SuperCab with the small Ecoboost, which has a GCWR of 12,500 lbs.

I have never actually towed anything with the truck. The biggest hauling I do is my 800 lb. motorcycle in the back of the bed, which works just fine and is more than adequate for the task. Perfectly happy!

Now the wife and I have gotten this idea in our heads that we would like to buy a small camper/trailer.

I hope that some small Ecoboosters can attest to the towing capability of the truck. In particular, if you are close to the GCWR (say 12,000 lbs) are you struggling to go down the highway, or up a hill, especially towing a trailer that is nearly 12 ft. tall?

Is the rated max. GCWR a "comfortable upper limit" or are you struggling and near failure at the max. limit?

Thanks in advance for any insight...

Regards,
HDJeff

mass-hole

What is the axle ratio?

I would doubt that you will struggle pulling anything up to your GCWR. The torque on the ecoboosts, big or small, comes on early and strong so it can generally just cruise along without much care. I have a friend with a 2.7 4x4 XLT Crew cab that towed his 28', 7500 lbs GVWR trailer(it was brand new, towing home from dealer so empty) up from Salt Lake City to Park City(3000' climb) and said it was pushing the truck but it was also 95 degrees out and at 7000' above sea level. He said he could maintain the speed limit. I am pretty sure he is pulling at or over his GCWR because he doesnt have the 3.73 gears(hes on 3.55's and thinks the truck is rated for 8500 lbs like it is with 3.73's). Hes got a cap on the bed plus the wife, baby and stuff in the truck so Its gotta pushing it.

I would make sure you have the proper tow package with the trans cooler and what not.

Also, if you are willing, a towing tune from 5star will make the experience much better. You get a some more power and much better transmission programming. An upgraded CAC would help keep power strong in the hot weather.

Ricktwuhk

I would strongly recommend you review the many posts on this section of the forum discussing PAYLOAD, how to read your Payload Sticker, and the reality of the max LOADED trailer that you can SAFELY tow.

There is nothing "comfortable" about towing at any of your limits. Ideally, you want to be noticeably below them for "comfort".

HDJeff

I have a 3.31 axle ratio, trans cooler and "trailer tow package". I am missing the electric brake control and tow mirrors that the heavy duty package includes.

I didn't consider reprogramming the truck. The truck does comes with a "tow/haul" selection enabled at the shift lever. This must change shift points vs RPM.

Regards,
HDJeff

mass-hole

It does change the shift points, but I think they still leave something to be desired stock. 5Star tested and adjust everything to make it work very well together(power curve and transmission gearing/shift points). Its just a much better experience.

And yeah just to clarify, like Ricktwuhk mentioned, you gotta watch the payload on the 2.7 trucks. The come from the factory with a lower GVWR than the 3.5 and 5.0 trucks so they generally have a lower payload. Your's may be ok being that its a supercab, but check the sticker on the drivers door frame.

What I was trying to say in my first comment is that the 2.7 should be strong enough to pull up to its GCWR without much issue.

bubbabud

2015 XLT SCAB standard tow package with added tow mirrors and brake controller with 2.7 and 3.31 open diff. Trailers towed
1 20' flat tandem axle car hauler 6,500 GTW no problem.
2 Coleman Niagara pop up 3,000 GTW no problem
3 Jaco Jflight TT 3,500 no problem with weight but due to the high profile a head wind rely. works it.
I love my 2.7 but for the purpose you describe you would be better served wit a 3.5 and and a 3.55 or 3.73 gear

Darnell Umagat

I have a 2.7 with 3.73 gears. I don’t have the max tow package, but the vehicle does have the brake controller and auxiliary oil transmission cooler. I added slip on tow mirrors which work well. Payload is 1408lbs

Over the the summer I towed my 1997 26 footer aerolite. The GVWR is 5000lbs. I never weighed it, but I’m guess I was around 4700lbs with everything in it. Empty I know it weighs 3986lbs.

I live in the PNW and traveled several times over the cascade mountains with it. The truck had plenty of power and stopping power. I was able to maintain speed and pass if I needed to. However, I did feel a little bit of sway in the freeway. I am running P rates tires and still on stock shocks. I plan on going with bilsteins 4600 or 5100 in the rear before next summer.

chimmike

If we compare power of these trucks to trucks over the past 20 years......285hp was "a lot" for a truck in the early 2000's. Shoot, in the mid 90s we used my dad's reg cab 318 magnum powered 94 ram to tow a 23' TT, and that thing only had 230hp.

325hp and 375tq is a lot. Is it going to work? Sure. It's going to work hard mainly due to the crap aerodynamics of a travel trailer.

We have a 20' Coachman Apex that probably weighs 3300lbs (tops) with all our crap in it. I have a 3.5EB so I have a ton of power........but the 2.7 would tow just fine as well.

You're always going to feel a TT back there...but be smart about it. A big TT will eat up payload and probably pushes your GCWR. Only get one as big as you need, but make sure it has plenty of storage space.

Nighthawk87

Nobody has said it but, while you’ll have plenty of power, the stability of the rig will be the issue. I’m speaking from experience. I wouldn’t tow over 5000 pounds TT with a half ton ever again. It’s just not comfortable.

RedsRock302

I am judging my response based on my research, not personal experience with the 2.7.

I wouldn't tow anything over 7k with a 2.7, and I probably wouldn't tow anything over 6k with the 3.31's in a 2.7, but that is just my opinion.

There are plenty of travel trailers out there with great floorplans and room, while keeping a low hitch weight and tow weight. The best I have found, both reliability, price, and weight, is the Passport Grand Touring Ultra Lite's. You can get a 28' bunkhouse with a super slide weighing 5200 pounds with a 565 pound tongue weight. Or a 24' bunkhouse with a slide at 4700 lbs. and a 515 pound tongue weight. And based on peoples actual weight measures of tongue weight, they are legitimate #'s on tongue weight, not underrated. I have done plenty of research on travel trailers, reliability, tongue weights, etc. Also, they have a wide axle footprint to help with towing stability.