F150 Towing Recommendations

[jfraizz]

Just as comparison for mpg, my 1999 F250 gets 19 mpg without pulling and 10 with the 2800 BH on it. It was my daily driver for many years and everyone comments how it drives so well and feels like a car. Given that, it makes it difficult to consider a 150 to safely pull a moderately substantial trailer. Never a problem with many different trailers over the years and going halfway across the country several times.....

[huegerich]

Hi All,

We are rookie travel trailer campers (long time tent camper). Saving for our first truck and travel trailer (GD Imagine 2800BH).

My questions are specific to folks who have towed with an F150 and seeking their input/experiences. We are debating on whether to purchase the 3.5L V6 vs. 5.0 V8 and looking for feedback.

We are young family, 30+ years from retirement, so this truck will be my daily commuter to work in addition to occasional summer travels across country visiting national parks. I am not interested in the F250, 350, etc. due to this being daily commuter, so if you can only please provide feedback related to the F150, it would be appreciated.

Have done research, but now want feedback from those who have actually towed with the F150 V6 Ecoboost or V8 engines.

Our payload will at times be ~2,000lbs I am guessing when you factor weight such as firewood, kayaks, gear, etc.

I have done some research and determined the following:

3.5L V6 Ecoboost Pros:
Better fuel economy
Better towing capacity
Lower RPMs (quieter engine) when towing in difficult climates.

5.0L V8 Pros:
Better payload capacity
History of solid reliable engine
Better displacement going down hills (less braking)


With all of that said, can you provide me guidance on what you think would be best? This is a HUGE investment for us, we are saving and plan to pay cash and I don't want to screw this up, as you can tell from my anal attention to detail above. Thanks all for the feedback.

I own a 2016 F150 with the 3.5l Ecoboost engine and use it to tow an Imagine 2800 BH. In the last 2 years we have towed it roughly 17,000 miles and we are very pleased with the performance of the F150. It is powerful yet also quick. We owned a 2011 F150 with the V8 engine using it to tow a smaller trailer over 25,000 miles. Frankly the truck was disappointing. Not powerful and certainly not quick.

One important word of advice - get a good antisway hitch. It is well worth the cost even if you are on a tight budget. We use a Blue Ox.

By the way we are very pleased with our GD Imagine 2800 BH. We have stayed it over 100 nights and have had no significant issues.

Good luck.

[Art Beetle]

I have the max tow option and a Super Glide hitch. I have never experienced any porpoising and control going down the hills is just fine. We just came through the Appalachian mountains without a hitch.

[Kenneth76]

Hi All,

We are rookie travel trailer campers (long time tent camper). Saving for our first truck and travel trailer (GD Imagine 2800BH).

My questions are specific to folks who have towed with an F150 and seeking their input/experiences. We are debating on whether to purchase the 3.5L V6 vs. 5.0 V8 and looking for feedback.

We are young family, 30+ years from retirement, so this truck will be my daily commuter to work in addition to occasional summer travels across country visiting national parks. I am not interested in the F250, 350, etc. due to this being daily commuter, so if you can only please provide feedback related to the F150, it would be appreciated.

Have done research, but now want feedback from those who have actually towed with the F150 V6 Ecoboost or V8 engines.

Our payload will at times be ~2,000lbs I am guessing when you factor weight such as firewood, kayaks, gear, etc.

I have done some research and determined the following:

3.5L V6 Ecoboost Pros:
Better fuel economy
Better towing capacity
Lower RPMs (quieter engine) when towing in difficult climates.

5.0L V8 Pros:
Better payload capacity
History of solid reliable engine
Better displacement going down hills (less braking)


With all of that said, can you provide me guidance on what you think would be best? This is a HUGE investment for us, we are saving and plan to pay cash and I don't want to screw this up, as you can tell from my anal attention to detail above. Thanks all for the feedback.

We have a F150 with the 3.5L V6, 4 doors & 5.5 foot bed. Bought off the dealer lot with a $900 tow package. Ford has several tow packages, this one did NOT have the brake controller which we discovered on our first short outing (NO brakes)
Also our tow package did not include the larger 36 gal tank, ours is the standard 23 gal.

We love our truck. 39k miles in 2 years. Regular mileage is 21 to 26. Towing our Imagine 2950RL (about 8600 gvw) is 7 to 9 depending on wind, hills & speed. Towing the trailer, the 23 gal tank gives 175 miles, so we gas-up every 3 hours & always research gas stations in advance that are large enough so we can easily make swings (I use Google maps with street views).

If you need the top-of-the line Ford tow package with the 36 gal tank, you will probably need to special order your truck. Our salesman knew nothing about tow packages and details are hard to learn from Ford resources.

Our other big lesson learned was our previous trailer's hitch was totally inadequate for our 2000 lb heavier Imagine. We now have an Equalizer which gives a virtually sway-free tow

[Wicked ace]

Not to steer you away but take a look at the Tow / haul forum on F150forum.com.... https://www.f150forum.com/f82/
I think you will find all of questions and concerns have been asked and answered by people that are very familiar with the F150.

[Wicked ace]

First off a fact of life, more options = less payload no matter which brand or model you get. The best and most reliable way to determine the options on a vehicle is the window sticker. A ford and I'm guessing GM and Ram dealer can get one for a used vehicle they have. You may need to prod a bit. Another way is Carfax. They include it as part of their report. There are a couple web sites that charge a fee to provide one.