Ford F150 PowerBoost or F250 PowerStroke for 25FB?

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by Nosnurbs

We’re at a dealership right now and the salesman is trying to sell us an F-150 3.5 ecoboost with max tow package, but the payload still shows 1952 lbs. Which number(s) do we go by?

Hi

By far the best thing to do is to total up what your actual load will be with your folks and your gear. Then add a couple hundred pounds of "pad".

If you have 4 folks and they each weight 250 pounds, that's 1,000 pounds. Your trailer tongue at 1,000 pounds gets this up to 2,000 total. A 200 pound hitch plus 150 pounds of generator and fuel puts you at 2,350. Another 200 pounds of tools and parts ... you are at 2,550. Toss in 300 to 600 pounds of "pad" and you are in the 2,850 to 3,150 payload range.

Again, only a small part of that is the trailer. The rest of it is specific to your situation. We have a lot of data on the trailer. We can only guess at the rest.

If you want to avoid the math and just have a number, you want a payload of at least 3,000 pounds.

Bob

[DKB_SATX]

Originally Posted by Woolecox

My son has that same truck, 2018 model Crew Cab. He does a couple of hunting trips a year in the mountains towing a large covered trailer for tents and gear. He is headed to Colorado this coming weekend.

Once getting into the inclines, he says the turbo charger runs constantly. I don't know if these engines were really designed to have the blower gong full blast for long periods of time or not.

He has never reported any overheat issues but, his trailer is a lot less weight than what we are talking about with these airstreams. Something to consider.

These engines were designed to work. Ask your son if he uses the transmission controls... pulling up a pass with a big trailer requires boost, but much less if you're in the appropriate gear, and if you put it in the right range before it needs to be there, you're not playing "catch-up."

It's not a diesel, it's not designed to run its entire life under heavy boost, but I put mine to WAY more use than "a couple of trips to Colorado per year" and it hasn't missed a beat. I have over 45k miles on mine, with a bit more than half of that towing our 26U. Truck, trailer dog & I are in Colorado as I type this, in fact. I typically run the passes at the posted limit unless traffic slows things down.

[Jiminy0201]

Just did 10k miles from California to the East Coast and back. F-150 Powerboost and a 25’ FC -payload from sticker: 1308#. Absolutely no problems pulling, 13mpg avg towing (24+ when not), and the comfort of knowing you have the generator when needed. Great setup.

[Woolecox]

Originally Posted by DKB_SATX

These engines were designed to work. Ask your son if he uses the transmission controls... pulling up a pass with a big trailer requires boost, but much less if you're in the appropriate gear, and if you put it in the right range before it needs to be there, you're not playing "catch-up."

It's not a diesel, it's not designed to run its entire life under heavy boost, but I put mine to WAY more use than "a couple of trips to Colorado per year" and it hasn't missed a beat. I have over 45k miles on mine, with a bit more than half of that towing our 26U. Truck, trailer dog & I are in Colorado as I type this, in fact. I typically run the passes at the posted limit unless traffic slows things down.

Good to know. My son bought his used with over 40K on it. There is not too much I can tell this kid anymore that he does not know. He is an engineer. They do out to state DYI hunts every year, sometimes two.

They have yet to come back empty handed. This is last week in CO.

[Bcc75]

It's not about the engines on these F150's, never has been. David is correct in saying that these Ecoboosts are built to work, and built to last. These things are more than capable of towing the #'s that Ford publishes. The problem is simply payload, period. You can change other things. Add HD brakes, Max tow package, larger wheels, E rated Tires, and all of that helps, but you cannot change payload. The door sticker is what it is. I had one with 1683lbs. For a high trim level, FX4, this was respectable. We were at the max, always and I don't feel that we overpacked. 2 average adults, a medium dog, and moderate gear. 1000lbs tongue weight will eat it up quick. So I went a F250. I want the extra comfort of a higher level trim. Call me spoiled I guess. IF Ford could figure out how to get 2000lbs payload on an F150 crew cab with at Least a Lariat trim, I would switch back, but I have yet to see one.