Ford 2017 F150 Ecoboost 3.5

[Teacher_Man]

We just pulled a '74 31ft sovereign home with our 2016 F150 Lariat (3.5 ecoboost, max tow, 502A, 1636# PL, etc.). The drive was from the edge of El Paso to western AZ. With the exception of one pass, the truck didn't notice the trailer. I averaged 14.2 mpg on the level stuff, and under 12mpg in the mountain passes. I had 0 problems with the brakes, or the trailer pulling the truck in 25mph winds. The ecoboost was awesome, and in tow mode, I averaged better mpg than in standard mode. Max tow makes such a difference.

[Coolbreeze]

I have a 2014 3.5 EB in a Platinum and towing is NOT an issue.

Payload is the issue. I have the HD Tow and HD Payload which is not available after 2014 in the higher trim levels. My GVCW is 7700# with the 6.5' bed.
Max payload for my truck is 1535#. I have an AS with a tongue weight of 1020#.
Just looked as some '18's and be best I saw was GCVW of 7K#

Plus long downhills @ 6% plus, are difficult for the gas 3.5 to hold back.
I am moving to an F250 for the extra payload, and engine braking.

F150's are fine, as long as you can accommodate the payload and downhill braking limitations.


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[KU9L]

Originally Posted by Coolbreeze

I have a 2014 3.5 EB in a Platinum and towing is NOT an issue.

Payload is the issue. I have the HD Tow and HD Payload which is not available after 2014 in the higher trim levels. My GVCW is 7700# with the 6.5' bed.
Max payload for my truck is 1535#. I have an AS with a tongue weight of 1020#.
Just looked as some '18's and be best I saw was GCVW of 7K#

Plus long downhills @ 6% plus, are difficult for the gas 3.5 to hold back.
I am moving to an F250 for the extra payload, and engine braking.

F150's are fine, as long as you can accommodate the payload and downhill braking limitations.


.

And the new 3.0 Diesel is not going to be including an exhaust brake as they feel the T/H mode SB enough. I've done enough of those passes (Monarch and Wolf Creek Pass, etc.) in the past with an 18,000# SOB 5W in my old 2008 Duramax without an exhaust brake and it took a long while for my wife to pry my fingers from the steering wheel. I Loved my 2012 F-350 dually that had a very ineffective exhaust brake, but I could never park it at the bank like my 2017 SB F150. My impending SB F250 should only be about a foot longer and hope I have found my forever ideal combo. I love my F150, but in going back to full-timing I want to be able to run all of the interstate overpasses while being in the same gear. My current 6-spd loves to run those 4-6 gears with great fuel economy, I just miss my old 6.7 with a passion.

[CanuckStream]

Dave. I asked the salesman a few times to send me the payload sticker, and just kept sending the brochure.

Frustrating as these guys have no idea.

We travel pretty light, Two of us and two dogs. Maybe a small BBQ in the bed, and some other travel bins but nothing crazy. Gotta figure payload is reasonable enough.

[GSP9]

I can relate. I'm in the market for a new F150 with max tow and 3.5 ecoboost. I can't tell you how many times I've just asked a salesman to simply walk out and take a picture of the actual sticker. In one instance, they sent the payload sticker but while talking to him on the phone, he mentioned that it must be wrong because the dealership's brochure says something else. I tried to walk him thru how it gets calculated but it wasn't worth the hassle as their price wasn't very good.

[CanuckStream]

Haha. Amazing !!

1583#s is the 2018 Lariat Sticker that I just had sent to me from a dealer. 3.5 Eco.

[GSP9]

Best I've seen is 1,951 pounds. That was on a stripped down XLT. Most seem to be in the 1,700 pound range that I've seen.

[CanuckStream]

1500 lbs is pretty decent tho right?

Funny checked the sticker on our 2011 Touareg. Its 1100lbs.

[abqdor]

We had exactly the same issue last summer when we started shopping for an F-150 Ecoboost. I felt like I was educating every salesman regarding payload capacity. They kept going back to their brochure ratings. There is a television ad running now for the '18 F-150 talking about highest towing and payload capacity in its class. But the disclaimer says, "When properly equipped". At first glance, you would think this means, "With the options you want". What it is really saying is, "If you go with the stripped down truck with max tow package, you can get the towing and payload numbers as noted in the brochure."

[CanuckStream]

Correct !!

And I do not like that. Makes me a bit sour towards marketing, and manufacturers.

There are so many options out there. What did you eventually end up getting?

[GSP9]

1,500 pounds seems a little lite to me but that might be because I've been looking at XLT's. I'm assuming once you jump up to a Lariat, Platinum, etc......they might fall in that 1,500 pound range because of the extra options they have over an XLT.

[CanuckStream]

I know it. But thats what it is. Sadly.

I am sure the F150 will be more than enough for our CURRENT need.

[abqdor]

CanuckStream, we ended up with a '17 King Ranch Short Bed Ecoboost with the 502A equipment group, max two package and 3.55 rear end. Our payload came in at #1576. As I said, we're pulling a 25' FB and love the combination. I especially like the Trailer Back-up Assist. Even if you move up from your 16' to something bigger in the future, you'll still be OK. Others might not agree, but 25' feels like the top end for a half-ton. If 27' or larger, a 3/4 ton might be better.

[Pat Pierce]

We bought a new '16 F150 Lariat Eco Boost 3.5 max tow package, Crew Cab,etc to tow our '16 27' AS Serenity. Just the two of us.

Living in the NW, with lots of high mountain passes, and travels through the mountains of ID, MT, UT, OR, WY and WA, we have no problems, and love all we have.

Plus, the F150 makes a great truck when not towing. The only issue so far, was the F150 brake controller failed, locking up the trailer wheels just before entering a freeway on ramp! Lucky it happened then.

Otherwise, doing great.

Enjoy your choices.

[CanuckStream]

And it has a built in sway package is that correct?

Does this alleviate one extra set up on your WD hitch?

Glad you are loving it. How was it moving down the backside of those mountain passes?

[billymyers56]

Had two F 150’s ecoboost. Now have F 250. Will never tow with anything different.

[Daquenzer]

I have 2017 xlt eco boost max tow package. Payload is 1750. No problem pulling my 28’. Plenty of power. Again think about how you are using truck? If you’re pulling a lot then F250 is way to go. If not then F150 makes a better everyday vehicle.

[ktmkirby]

I currently have have a 2008 F150 Lariat 5.4, and it pulls my 29' Squarestream just fine, but now that I'm retired, I'll be doing longer trips and I have to have my motorcycle with me. I've just ordered a 18 XLT Supercrew, 6.5 bed, 3.5 EB, with max tow. I'm not sure what the exact payload is going to be, but it's going to be tight! I might have to get a smaller motorcycle or leave the wife at home!

[RandyNH]

Originally Posted by CanuckStream

And it has a built in sway package is that correct?

Does this alleviate one extra set up on your WD hitch?

Glad you are loving it. How was it moving down the backside of those mountain passes?

Correct, it does have built in sway control, but it is an after-the-fact sort of thing, kind of like your airplane seat seconds as a flotation device....

It is not something you want to count on.

[CanuckStream]

1) . haha 'leave the wife at home'.....pure gold.

2) Yeah relying on the built in sway would not be my move but decent that is it built in.

3) is adaptive cruise dangerous when hualing a trailer? Would have to think there is little differnce in emergency braking between human/computer. Same end result.