Any have this 2011 F150 Ecoboost and 23' Corner International

[Althea68]

Hey Everyone,
I am looking to see if anyone has the same Set Up that I will be "working" with when I pick up our Airstream next week.
I am not looking at suggestions or opinions or this v. that. I know that a LOT of members are pulling with the F150 Ecoboost and I was looking to get some experienced info from these folks.
We are picking up our 2012 23' Corner Bedroom International. Went with the Corner Bedroom to ease up on the Tongue Weight and I purchased the EcoBoost a couple years ago knowing that we were going to be getting our Airstream later. Got the SuperCrew and 3.55 axle knowing that I would not be going over a 6000lb loaded Trailer weight and wanted the fuel economy as its my daily driver. We are pretty light, its just me the boss and a Black Dog. With our max tongue weight at say 720 (this is the max of the Airstream specs) and I don't think we will max it out most of the time, we still have 400-500lbs of Payload to spare in the Ecoboost. I did add the Blue Ox hitch weight in also. Anyone pulling this set up? What is your performance looking like?
Cheers!

[SCOTTinNJ]

Your only problem will be keeping your speed under 65 max on your trailer tires (I am assuming but that would be typical).

Seriously, go camp. Have fun. You have more than enough truck.

[Mike S.]

I have a similar set up. My truck is a 2013 with a 2012 23d trailer. We get @13mpg typically. Might vary due to wind. Headwinds are no fun. I usually tow in 5th gear so the truck isn't constantly shifting from 5th to 6th and back again. Set the cruise at 63 and enjoy the scenery.

[Althea68]

So we picked up the Airstream today and I towed it 70 miles from the dealer to the Storage facility and I thought it did really well. Averaged 12.5 mpg in really heavy stop and go traffic through Seattle, so it was pretty representative of the terrain we'll be covering, less the traffic hopefully. I think my only issue will be the rear suspension. It has the standard tow package and the Techs at Airstream Adventures NW set up the Blue Ox Sway pro and it was nice and level but it is pretty mushy back there. Stiffer springs, helper springs or Air Suspension??

[jimro]

We have a 2014 23d pulled with a 2013 ecoboost 3.55 axle. We average 12mpg and no problem maintaining speed ever. I did weigh the truck & trailer to find we are about 300 lbs over on the rear axle; not much payload on these trucks.


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[Althea68]

Jimro, what kind of a load were you carrying? How many peeps/dogs? I was not too surprised that the back end came down pretty significantly figuring the tongue weight seemed a little lite with full tanks which the dealer sent me out with and the rumored "notoriously" lite tongue weights published by AS. Did you put any air lift of heavier suspension on? I'm pretty locked in to this truck so it's sticking around for a while. I was really impressed with the towing performance though. My only fear would be wearing it down prematurely.

[jimro]

This was loaded for a two week trip, so worst case; two of us, no dogs, golf clubs, generator and stuff. My door tag shows a payload capacity of only 1225 lbs. Truck loaded without the trailer is at 3542 front, 3344 rear. Loaded with trailer is at 3454 front and 4180 rear which makes the tongue weight at 880 lbs. The as stated weight is 730 lbs. I have a tonneau cover that must be 150 or so and a pro pride hitch which is heavier. I think the rubber mat I have on the truck bed must weigh a 100 as well; should remove it I guess. When I ordered this truck the dealer told me it would have a payload capacity of approx 1900 lbs. so I was surprised to see it at 1225. The tires are rated for 2535 lbs each so I don't feel the truck is seriously overloaded and the truck sits quite level. The suspension is all stock.


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[Althea68]

I'm going to put on the Firestone Ride Rite Air suspension helpers. It seems pretty reasonable. The Kit is only $275 or so and the install is pretty straight forward but it will only cost $170 to have installed by one of the local truck outfitters. I'm leaning towards having the onboard compressor added too which will bring it up a bit in cost bringing it up to about $1000 altogether if I have it installed. Keeping in mind this won't increase payload, only bringing up the rear end but it should handle considerably better if all the reviews are true. I'll let you know how it goes.

[timhortons]

Maybe a weight distribution hitch would be better before you go replace your suspension ?

[Althea68]

I have a class 5 weight distribution hitch rated 10.5 K lbs, a Blue Ox Sway Pro rated to 10K lbs. and the Firestone Kit isn't a replacement of the suspension but an add on to the existing suspension that keeps your ass end up when the weight is loaded on to the hitch. Thanks for the reply though.

[Althea68]

Updating this topic.
We just completed our first trip. 787 miles round trip from Seattle to Eugene OR via I5 on the way down and back via the 101 and hit the OR coast.
The truck performed excellently. Better than I had expected.
I averaged for the whole trip 11.9 mpg. Half of this trip was down I5 as stated so my mpg was marginally better at 12.5 mpg on this leg. However we were stuck in stop and go rush hour traffic from Seattle almost all the way to Portland so I think we could have done better at timing. Blue OX sway prevention hitch worked great and had no issues with sway at all. Towed through the mountains on the way to the coast and felt the power was there if needed but it wasn't. This truck is perfectly matched for our trailer and our needs. If we had a couple kids and another dog I could see us moving into a 3/4 ton truck for the extra payload but we are pretty light and I think we should be good for a few more years with this set up.
I will however be setting the truck up with the Firestone Ride Rite air helpers. The only issue is the back end is a little low and my headlights are coming up a bit. Not exactly point to the North Star but I'm sure there were a few folks in front of us who were tired of my headlights directly in their rear view mirrors.
Hope this helps some other travelers out there.

[gypsydad]

Originally Posted by Althea68

So we picked up the Airstream today and I towed it 70 miles from the dealer to the Storage facility and I thought it did really well. Averaged 12.5 mpg in really heavy stop and go traffic through Seattle, so it was pretty representative of the terrain we'll be covering, less the traffic hopefully. I think my only issue will be the rear suspension. It has the standard tow package and the Techs at Airstream Adventures NW set up the Blue Ox Sway pro and it was nice and level but it is pretty mushy back there. Stiffer springs, helper springs or Air Suspension??

We have a new 25' FC, but also towed a 2008 25' w/ our 2012 super crew F150 Platinum, 4x4 last few years...turn off your "sway control" on your truck settings each time you start the engine before towing, see if that helps you...it works against the sway control of your trailer, from what I understand. Only other comment; the 48" bed is pretty tight for married couple, especially if your a big boy like me, so you may be looking at a "bigger bed" or twin 25' at some point...if not, enjoy the adventure!

[gypsydad]

Originally Posted by Althea68

I have a class 5 weight distribution hitch rated 10.5 K lbs, a Blue Ox Sway Pro rated to 10K lbs. and the Firestone Kit isn't a replacement of the suspension but an add on to the existing suspension that keeps your ass end up when the weight is loaded on to the hitch. Thanks for the reply though.

I am surprised to hear your rear end is "hanging low"-- with BlueOx...set up is key--how many links are you loading on your F150 and do you have wrong torsion bars for 23D weight? Set up is important here with correct torsion bars; are 10K lb bars the right weight for your rig?? I know from our previous trailer, if you don't have correct torsion load bars (our other BlueOx bars were 800lb; too light for that 25', but we did not know), or you do not have chain links set correctly to distribute the load, you can see dip in rear; this time, we had AS dealer help out, and got it right; bigger 10K bars, and links set between 9-10. worth a trip to a dealer who knows BlueOx and AS...IMHO

[robert claus]

A narrow body trailer with a corner bed offers challenges as far as room goes. It got to the point where we were making up the dinette and sleeping separately each night. Not good. We do like sleeping together. We're not big people (although we have a king size bed at home as a throw back to when we had large dogs). Anyway, we found the answer for us is to sleep with our feet at the narrower, window end, and with heads in the warmer part of the trailer. Without being confined by the bathroom wall, it feels much roomier, and we're sleeping together, again!

[Althea68]

Our trailer is a wide body and while the bed is not huge my wife and I are not either. I'm 5'9 and the wife is 5'3 and we sleep it at what I would imagine is the foot end of the bed cause it made more sense to me. Its not the queen size we sleep on at home but it is pretty comfortable especially compared to the 24 inch thermarests on the ground we used to sleep on. The only person who is disappointed is the 100lb Black Lab who has to sleep in a dog bed, oh the humanity!
The sway pro was set up by the techs at AS Adventures NW and they did a fine job. I started at 7 links and drove it around some then moved it up to 9 links and that was too high pulling the front up and so I went to 8 links and the trailer is perfectly level. I measured the front fender height with a tape measure to the ground and it stays at 40.5 inches with or without the trailer hitched up. The back end is coming down and the truck is rotating up in the front. But I also had leveling kit installed before I went back to stock tires and came off the 35 inch tires so the kit will definately going to be coming out as that's likely the main issue there.
Now I should probably clarify that I am an aircraft mechanic by trade and am a little picky about the details. So what is sagging to me is maybe fine to most others. Truck handles well and the beams are on the ground mostly but I just figure that some airbags would perfectly level the truck body at least and take up some of the spring travel.
I went with the 10klb torsion bars since the only other option was too low in my opinion. The10ks allowed me to be closer to a middle ground for the tongue weight rating while the next lower put me almost to the max with the "notoriously low" tongue weight specs provided by AS.

[Keith Gantt]

2004 5.3 suburban 4x4 tows ours all day all night up hill down hill with ease 12-13 mpg 150000 miles....
You got more power less weight. Have fun!


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[gypsydad]

Originally Posted by Althea68

Our trailer is a wide body and while the bed is not huge my wife and I are not either. I'm 5'9 and the wife is 5'3 and we sleep it at what I would imagine is the foot end of the bed cause it made more sense to me. Its not the queen size we sleep on at home but it is pretty comfortable especially compared to the 24 inch thermarests on the ground we used to sleep on. The only person who is disappointed is the 100lb Black Lab who has to sleep in a dog bed, oh the humanity!
The sway pro was set up by the techs at AS Adventures NW and they did a fine job. I started at 7 links and drove it around some then moved it up to 9 links and that was too high pulling the front up and so I went to 8 links and the trailer is perfectly level. I measured the front fender height with a tape measure to the ground and it stays at 40.5 inches with or without the trailer hitched up. The back end is coming down and the truck is rotating up in the front. But I also had leveling kit installed before I went back to stock tires and came off the 35 inch tires so the kit will definately going to be coming out as that's likely the main issue there.
Now I should probably clarify that I am an aircraft mechanic by trade and am a little picky about the details. So what is sagging to me is maybe fine to most others. Truck handles well and the beams are on the ground mostly but I just figure that some airbags would perfectly level the truck body at least and take up some of the spring travel.
I went with the 10klb torsion bars since the only other option was too low in my opinion. The10ks allowed me to be closer to a middle ground for the tongue weight rating while the next lower put me almost to the max with the "notoriously low" tongue weight specs provided by AS.

Understand; we went from the 48" bed in our first AS, to Twins...34" each person plus room to dance in between! Not sure about the 10K bars however for the 23'? Check out this website...too strong a spring bar can also cause issues....
http://www.blueox.com/Uploads/Docs/B...,1500,2000.pdf
on their site they mention too strong a spring bar can cause issues, but the website above, page 7 on their troubleshooting manual, shows all kinds of situation with possible remedy's. Good luck!

[interstateflyer]

Our 23D corner bedroom went across the CAT scales at 5120, reasonably loaded for 2 weeks camping in Oregon, included 1/4 tank of water. The tongue weight on the Sherline scale was 780. (since added 3 solar panels, heavier 6 volt batteries, and a bike rack/bikes....65+30+80.)

We pull the 2014 23D with a 2013 RAM 1500 with shell. We use a simple Husky WD system/sway control with 800 lb bars, and AirLift 1000 air bags @ 20lbs (of 35 max). 11.5-12.5 mpg. The 23D has 15 inch Michelins now.....much better ride and control and higher clearance.

[hostage46]

Interesting thread, I'm about to trade in my little Escape for an F-150. I don't like or want a big truck, this will be my daily driver as well. And I do have toys to haul as well. Question is which F-150? I need a longer bed, 4 doors. I don't think I need 4WD, what other things should I be looking for?

I'll be looking for a 5 yr oldish 25' FB twin.

Dan in Dallas...

[Althea68]

Hostage, I can tell you that I would have gone for a long bed heavy duty tow package but I got my truck for a deal so I figured it would do well enough. It's unlikely you'll find a truck that fits those build specs on a lot though. You may get lucky and be able to find a dealer that can locate one somewhere and bring it in but in my experience your gonna need to order one.
And be ready to pull the trigger on a used AS also they go fast and there are plenty of buyers that are on the hunt. I would definitely recommend buying from an authorized AS dealer. We were very pleased with our experience at AS Adventures North West.