Ford F150 Eco-Boost.

[mojo]

Originally Posted by mikekey

I didn't realize I'd offend so many by being able to do math and tell the difference between payload capacity and towing capacity.

It should be noted, someone who tows on weekends has different needs from a full-timer.

And the fact remains, people order different options. This results in a wide range of payload capacities.

Originally Posted by Earthcreeper

...again, MikeKey has it right. Exceeding payload, hitch or tongue weight issues are not chronic problems you would constantly experience cruising down the road 45,000 across the desert when everything is la-tee-dah. The hap-hazard thumbing your nose at specs cause the safety crisis when the specs are challenged

The point is that you can sit and crunch numbers all day long but the reality is discovered when you go to the scales. Don't assume that just because you don't like what you hear, or have made a decision to take another route based upon some published specs, that everyone who actually owns and tows with an Ecoboost is an uneducated idiot.

As stated, all truck brands come in various configurations with a payload capacity that can vary by 2,000 lbs based upon the model. Mine works for me. I own a hitch weight scale and I use it based upon which vehicle I tow with. I do about 15,000 miles a year all over the western US and have to tow over two of the worst passes in Colorado just to go north or east. So please do not assume that I, or anyone else on the forums are some "clueless" rube who is looking for a busted hitch or some other calamity. Hope you have made the right decision in choosing your Dodge, Chevy, Toyota or whatever.

[BoldAdventure]

I apologize for my haphazard choice of words earlier in the thread. But, I got it now. Contentious subject. Religion, politics, diesel vs gas. Yup. Got it.

[iowaroots]

I took a photo of the Manufacturers sticker on my hitch. I do believe it is a class V hitch with higher capacities than those stated on AirHeadsRus previous comment regarding the F150 class IV. I wonder if the class IV or V is related more to which F150 model you have or package the truck was built with?

[richinny]

if you ordered the max tow package you also got a more stout hitch which is rated class 4/5. more than a 4 but less than a 5.

[iowaroots]

I can't seem to upload a photo.

It shows a V-5, 1,050-lbs max tongue weight, 10,500-lbs max tow w/weight distribution hitch. Hope that helps.

[switz]

When I showed up at the dealership to tow our new 2013 25FB International Serenity home, the factory literature tongue weight of 833 pounds was actually 1,150 pounds on my Shureline scale. That was a basically empty trailer with a single solar panel on the roof and street side and rear awning options with a Hensley hitch head attached.

After getting the unit home and loaded for camping, the tongue increased to 1,175 and about 6,900 pounds trailer weight unhitched.

So the initial tow vehicle that I had owned for years was not really up to the task in terms of exceeding the front axle rating and the GVW of the tow vehicle let alone the trailer's weight.

I researched the 1/2 ton arena including the Eco-Boost and realized that I needed more payload, axle and trailer weight capacity and ended up with the Dodge 3/4 ton diesel. I now have a load in the bed of the truck, a 9,200 pound trailer unhitched weight and a 1,345 pound tongue weight. The numbers all work and there is amble power to pull the mountains with not much effort.

Real scale numbers get posted to the forum and helped me with getting into the proper frame of mind for the tow vehicle decision. Wishful thinking does not overcome the designed engineering limitations.

[iowaroots]

Switz, nicely stated!!

[graysailor]

2015 Specs on the 2.7 liter Echoboost


325 HP
375lbs of torque
Max payload....2250lbs.
Max towing....8400lbs.

3.5 liter

365 HP
420lbs of torque

[kscherzi]

Remarkable. My current 5.4 liter V8:

260 HP
350 Torque

[kscherzi]

Copied from the news.

"Ford has revealed that the new aluminum-bodied pickup will weigh up to 732 pounds less than the outgoing model. Ford demonstrated this by putting two mid-level F-150 Lariat 4X4 Crew Cabs on the scales: a 2014 with a 5.0-liter V8 weighing 5,674 pounds and a 2015 truck equipped with a new 2.7-liter turbocharged V6 at 4,942 pounds. Ford revealed that the 2.7 -liter turbocharged V6 is rated at 325 hp and 375 lb-ft of torque, with a maximum tow rating of 8,500 pounds and payload up to 1,910 lbs."

I think the 2.7 liter truck might become the main competition to the new Ram Ecodiesel, also an excellent truck, though the Ram is almost 1,000 pounds heavier. I will be looking carefully at this truck/engine as I replace my 11 year old V8 hauler.

[gypsydad]

Originally Posted by kscherzi

Copied from the news.

"Ford has revealed that the new aluminum-bodied pickup will weigh up to 732 pounds less than the outgoing model. Ford demonstrated this by putting two mid-level F-150 Lariat 4X4 Crew Cabs on the scales: a 2014 with a 5.0-liter V8 weighing 5,674 pounds and a 2015 truck equipped with a new 2.7-liter turbocharged V6 at 4,942 pounds. Ford revealed that the 2.7 -liter turbocharged V6 is rated at 325 hp and 375 lb-ft of torque, with a maximum tow rating of 8,500 pounds and payload up to 1,910 lbs."

I think the 2.7 liter truck might become the main competition to the new Ram Ecodiesel, also an excellent truck, though the Ram is almost 1,000 pounds heavier. I will be looking carefully at this truck/engine as I replace my 11 year old V8 hauler.

Did they have any new info on the 3.5 EB? all I could find was speculation:
" The current 3.5L EcoBoost produces 365hp and 420lb-ft of torque, but I expect to see an increase up to roughly 380 horsepower and 440lb-ft of torque." and "2015 Ford F-150 with 3.5L 4-valve EcoBoost V6 engine , develop 365 hp at 5.000 rpm, and its fuel consumption will be 20 mpg city / 29 mpg hwy."
This from blog's...
I have been happy with my 2012 EB so far. Saw the new RAM 1500 Echo-diesel may have serious payload limits, so a more efficient F150 with the 3.5 EB may be the way to go for 28' or smaller. Can't wait to drive this one and see early feedback reviews.

[LaBigDogs]

Have my 3rd EB on order, 1st was a 2011, 2nd 2013 and now the all aluminum 2015. This is the text I received from my dealer, as he was at the dealer show today. "The 3.5 Eco boost has no lag in throttle anymore and it sounds like a V8 for some reason!! Advance trac has a sports mode to burn rubber or aggressive driving and there is a sport mode in the transmission for aggressive driving" also he sent a pic and went on to say "6.5ft box looks amazing on new body style��"

Sounds like it's getting better and better..

[graysailor]

Keep us posted on your new truck. I have a 2013 F150 myself but payload is not nearly enough. Most likely will take a serious look at the 2015's.

[LaBigDogs]

I ordered the 3.31 locking axle. It's has so much torque. My 2011, had a 3.55 and 2013 has 3.37. Overkill. We have to re-think with the new generation of engines


Sent from my iPhone using Airstream Forums

[gypsydad]

update 9/17/14- We pulled our 25' FC with our 2012 Platinum F150 EB to Glacier Park, Placid Lake, MT this summer and back and forth from CA to MT, plus stop in Zion....only issue with the TV was going up the grade leaving Las Vegas on 15 heading to Riverside. We were towing at 65 MPH steady pull in traffic, and the temp gauge over heat warning came on; I backed off to 55 and it immediately went back down to 190 and stayed there...first time this has happened. Mileage overall pulling for this trip with average 65MPH was 9.8 MPG for entire 4700 miles we put on. Hope the new model lives up to the hype on better MPG! Don't want to go diesel since I love driving this F150 around town also...

[mojo]

Do you have the max tow package with larger radiator and 3.73 gears?

[DC Bruce]

People's real-world experiences with turbo charged gasoline engines suggest that when worked near capacity they burn substantially more fuel than a larger displacement normally aspirated engine of the same or greater output doing the same work. The turbo motor excels at light loads, hence the nice EPA ratings of the ecoboost trucks. The turbo motor has a nice, fat torque curve (like a diesel) so that makes it attractive for towing. You can probably pull the grade with 1000 less rpm; but you'll burn 10-20 percent more gasoline than a larger displacement normally-aspirated gas engine doing the same job. The boosted engine has to run rich to avoid detonation caused by very high compression.

[DKB_SATX]

Originally Posted by DC Bruce

People's real-world experiences with turbo charged gasoline engines suggest that when worked near capacity they burn substantially more fuel than a larger displacement normally aspirated engine of the same or greater output doing the same work. The turbo motor excels at light loads, hence the nice EPA ratings of the ecoboost trucks. The turbo motor has a nice, fat torque curve (like a diesel) so that makes it attractive for towing. You can probably pull the grade with 1000 less rpm; but you'll burn 10-20 percent more gasoline than a larger displacement normally-aspirated gas engine doing the same job. The boosted engine has to run rich to avoid detonation caused by very high compression.

People's real-world experiences with modern direct-injected turbocharged gasoline engines (and I'm talking about a group of 7 whom I know personally and who tow Airstreams of various sizes) suggests that they get around what I get with my 5.4L F150 when towing, actually. Direct injection with precise control of the ignition and injection timing have allowed the manufacturers to improve on just dumping in more fuel like older port-injected engines do. In about 13k miles spread over a bit more than 3 years, towing mostly in the upper 60s my towing trip average has ranged from 10.4 mpg (from Texas across the Continental Divide and back) to about 12.5 mpg (flatter routes with favorable winds.) My friends towing Airstreams with Ecoboosts are falling into that range too. Some tow a bit faster than I and some a bit slower, but the one thing they all seem to have in common is better mileage at steady-state highway speeds not towing than the 18 or so the 5.4 returns.

I suspect that if you want to tow heavy and/or fast with an Ecoboost you'd get better results with Super, which lets the engine run at higher boost before starting to knock, which would cost more than the same mpg on Regular Unleaded of course.

I don't think I'd buy a gas turbo engine to do nothing but tow, because the only real benefit you'd get would be the vastly improved power delivery as compared to a NA spark-ignition engine. From my 5.4L to an F150 Ecoboost, the RPM difference is probably more like 1500 when pulling a serious grade... and my 5.4L is howling up at 45 mph while the Ecoboost is rolling up 10 mph faster (still with that lower RPM). I can't say specifically about the RPM, but I do think they were pulling up into the passes in direct (their 4th) while I was floored in 2nd gear and losing ground. Yes, I'd have done better with a 3.73 diff than I do with my 3.55, but it wouldn't improve the fuel economy, just the point at which the truck can't do any more.

[RamblinManGa]

hi from AZ. . . my '11 Ecoboost FX4 blah-blah, is getting 14+ towing (65 mph ave) & nearly 20 without AS. I've added the Heartthrob cat back exhaust & the Banks Ram-Air intake system. I'm pretty happy with the Truck (still). . . regards, Craig

[RamblinManGa]

Hi again from AZ. . . let me add that I use premium when towing. Also, I was temporarily seduced by the Ram 1500, with the Italian diesel & the German automatic, but the reality of $61k including state sales tax, helped remind me how much I like my '11 EB . . . regards, Craig