2018 F-150 - How it does pulling

[BabyBober]

Hi Jim - I have seldom seen 4000 RPM when towing with the Ecoboost. Highway towing cruise is 60 MPH at 2100 RPM. The turbos give the Ecoboost a “diesel shaped” torque curve reaching full torque before 2000 RPM.

Rob

Stop it Rob, now you are gonna make me start questioning my 350 purchase.

[SkiSmuggs]

Hi Rob, it is all in good fun... One of the main reasons I went diesel was the gear range/ RPM of the engines. Having towed for years with a gasser, that 4000+ RPM whine always stressed me out over long periods of hill climbs and fighting head winds. I know the engine is designed for it but my brain still says STOP! No matter how strong the eco boost is, it is still a gasser and needs that high RPM to get its HP.

Jim

That's the beauty of the Ecoboost; it has the torque curve of a turbo diesel. In 3 seasons of towing, I doubt I ever exceed 3500 RPM and that was rare. Before that I had a 2003 Tundra V8 that couldn't get out of it's own way towing a 5,000 lb trailer. Gas or diesel, I never want to tow without turbos again. I have an F350 Powerstroke now because I wanted the capacity to carry more stuff or a bigger fiver.
I believe I may have seen 6200 RPM a few times while testing a new tune though.

[Cate&Rob]

Stop it Rob, now you are gonna make me start questioning my 350 purchase.

Jim & SkiSmuggs - Your diesel 350s makes perfect sense to me. Another "right balance" of carrying ability and engine power. The truck that makes no sense to me is the most common tow vehicle in any park. Those ones with 800 ft lbs of torque and a 2000 lb payload .

Rob

[SkiSmuggs]

Jim & SkiSmuggs - Your diesel 350s makes perfect sense to me. Another "right balance" of carrying ability and engine power. The truck that makes no sense to me is the most common tow vehicle in any park. Those ones with 800 ft lbs of torque and a 2000 lb payload .

Rob

When I bought the F150, I was commuting 76 miles daily and we knew we wanted to get a 9-10K fifth wheel. The 2011 F150 Ecoboost handled both with finesse. By the time I was approaching retirement, we had 65K on the F150 and told my wife that if we ever wanted a bigger/nicer fiver, we needed more truck and the F150 trade-in was going to only going to decline, so we got the F350. It still makes sense to me.

[BabyBober]

Jim & SkiSmuggs - Your diesel 350s makes perfect sense to me. Another "right balance" of carrying ability and engine power. The truck that makes no sense to me is the most common tow vehicle in any park. Those ones with 800 ft lbs of torque and a 2000 lb payload .

Rob

So 935 lbs torque and 3750 payload is ok?

Jim

[BabyBober]

When I bought the F150, I was commuting 76 miles daily and we knew we wanted to get a 9-10K fifth wheel. The 2011 F150 Ecoboost handled both with finesse. By the time I was approaching retirement, we had 65K on the F150 and told my wife that if we ever wanted a bigger/nicer fiver, we needed more truck and the F150 trade-in was going to only going to decline, so we got the F350. It still makes sense to me.

My commute is 52 miles a day but I justified the F350 since from April- November I try to stay on 2 wheels as much as possible. The motorcycle gets 7k-9k a year on it. I also still have my old Durango beater for winter. Of the 6k I put on the F350 last year almost 4of that is was pulling the trailer.

[tigerdrvr]

The 3.5 EB is a great motor. We've gotten over 400hp to the wheels with a mild tune, intake and downpipe...and better mpg. For towing, though, they're constantly in the boost and mpg really suffers. My old tech 5.9 Cummins gets over 4mpg better at highway speed towing my 6300# enclosed (14-14.5 vs 9.5-10) and is generally more relaxed feeling on our typical CA hills. But, the F150 is a far nicer place in which to travel, of course.

The early EB's had lots of issues, mostly related to reciprocating assembly (rods most common), but I guess the '17 up version has addressed. The 10spd is pretty much magic. Really effective drivetrain, but I wonder about the service life.

[Cate&Rob]

So 935 lbs torque and 3750 payload is ok?

Jim

Yeah . . . you should be able to get by with that .

Rob

[BabyBober]

Yeah . . . you should be able to get by with that .

Rob

What I am pulling a 303 behind me? I didn't feel a thing....

[Ctdecuir]

Ok - guess I could throw in here... I had a short acceleration exercise with my '18 F150 3.5L Ecoboost 10 spd F150 w/3.73 gears against my son's '14 manual shift Mustang GT. 0 to about 40, and he didn't quite realize what was going on so I got a little jump. I was set for 4A and Sport mode, and at full boil we were pretty even before I slowed for my turn. Two things happened - my wife wanted to beat me when we got home, and my son was quite surprised :-)

Btw, we are doing our walk on a new Reflection 150 Series 230RL this afternoon - we can't wait!

Also, I can't thank all of you on this forum who have helped in my research over the last ~8 months to decide on a truck and trailer for our new RV life - I am humbled by not only the quality of suggestions and advice I have received from the Forum members, but also your willingness to help!

Stay tuned for posts on our experience towing the new GD 5er...