What Tow Rig Combination

gimmie11s

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I agree with that. At some point the added weight of a 3/4-1 ton, combined with usually a stiffer suspension/frame,
pays off a lot towing heavy (9200 lbs for me, usually). I think the trailer helps also. This homemade deckover has 12" tall, 1/4 wall C-channels for the main side beams. It's so stiff, tows incredible, even at high speeds.
...

And thats a damn fine truck youre towing it with.
 

01yellercobra

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Food for thought.....

Back when we bought our boat we had a Mountaineer with the 5.0. It was rated to tow 7500lbs. My boat is about 5k with gas. I have a mountain I go over and that poor truck struggled. Plus there were a few times the trailer was pushing the truck around. The worst was one time the wind was blowing hard and it pushed me into the next lane. Thankfully no one was next to me. The boat was technically within the capability of the SUV, but I'll never do that again.
 

beau t

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This was pretty much the same thing i have done, and as stated its not a good feeling. I will do some
absolutely stupid stuff but i don't screw around with not having enough truck or trailer brakes not working properly anymore lol.
 

01yellercobra

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This was pretty much the same thing i have done, and as stated its not a good feeling. I will do some
absolutely stupid stuff but i don't screw around with not having enough truck or trailer brakes not working properly anymore lol.
We took a trip after buying my current truck and coming back up that same mountain (about 6% grade) I was cruising up the road and couldn't figure out why everyone was going so slow. I looked at the speedo and I was doing 70. Oops. The truck acted like nothing was back there.
 

1320goat

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new gas jobs have more torque than diesel trucks in the 90s and early 2000s that towed wayyy more than 20k.
Yeah? At what rpm are you pulling these numbers? Peak torque numbers don't mean a whole lot when towing. Give me a diesel with instant torque any day. I don't care if it's overkill for 75% of what I need it for.
 

Deceptive

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I did grab the engine specs to compare a new 3.5EB vs older diesel.


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01yellercobra

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I don't see the point of comparing trucks now to trucks of 20 years ago. That's like comparing the coyote to the old school 5.0. Technology changes. Plus a half ton still doesn't have the suspension and brakes for the heavier loads.

FWIW, I borrowed a buddies 2014 F150 with the 5.0 to move my boat after my Expedtion was totaled. It towed pretty good, but heading up a hill I had to keep it above 4k RPM to keep the speed up. I wasn't a fan of that.

Plus if you get a diesel you get cool extras like an exhaust brake. It's really nice to come down a mountain and not ever touch the brakes.
 
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Deceptive

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It makes perfect sense in comparing two vehicles when two vehicles have similar capabilities yet one is looked at as ok to tow with and the other is not.

As far as towing with a Coyote powered F150, I am not shocked it felt like a turd on a grade. I have 15 Lariat 3.5 EB SCrew FX4 with 3.55s and it is a great truck, goes up any grade with ease. Had the same truck as a rental, XLT non FX4 but 5.0 with 3.73s. That thing never stopped gear hunting in the mountains and it weighed less. The same hill my 3.5 would stay in 6th the 5.0 was going between 4th and 5th.


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john11gt

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View attachment 1637298
View attachment 1637299

I did grab the engine specs to compare a new 3.5EB vs older diesel.


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The peak torque for the ecoboost is at 3500 but I don’t think that’s where the rpm will stay when towing, any grade and it’s going to be up around 4000 rpm or higher.

Comparing the old and new doesn’t mean much to me considering the diesels back then are the best that we had for towing and they weren’t always ideal. We have way better vehicles to tow with today and if looking to tow on a frequent basis, an ecoboost wouldn’t even be on my radar.
 

OX1

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Most of the diesels, even 15 years ago can add several hundred foot-lbs (at least) with
no required change in fuel quality. Now that does bring up a point, diesel is about the same price as 93.
But 93 is not avail everywhere.
 

Deceptive

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But not everyone mods a vehicle either.

Don’t take it as I am trying to prove a point. Part of this post is because I am on the fence on what to do.

Tow less than 6k lbs between the trailer and car with a 3.5 EB Max Tow new F150 or get a F250 diesel and go gooseneck enclosed.

I also thought I’d take the hit on asking what some may be afraid to look stupid in asking. I admit, I have towed cars but it was short tows. Now I am looking at something for a hobby.

Part of my thinking is this.

Go F150, probably buy another in three years or so, so 2023-2024 Lariat SCrew EB Max Tow FX4 and get a 20’ or so open trailer with a guard on the front. Add a winch, this keeps me from ever getting to crazy with the car and racing this keeping it more of a hobby.

Get a 2023-2024 F250 diesel, SCrew Lariat FX4, get a 24’ enclosed trailer gooseneck, probably get carried away with racing at some point possibly taking fun out of it.

But again, I don’t know enough about towing, weights, trailer lengths, and that sort of stuff to make an informed decision.


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AustinSN

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Remember RPM isn't really a bad thing for gassers, it hurts your wallet at the pump but these engines are designed to run at RPM for a long time. You'll more than likely be replacing transmissions before engines anymore.

It's just really ****ing annoying to sit at 3200 RPM on the highway but there are tons of hotshotters/uhaul/penske/motorhomes/box trucks that do it every day with gas engines.
 

Deceptive

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Remember RPM isn't really a bad thing for gassers, it hurts your wallet at the pump but these engines are designed to run at RPM for a long time. You'll more than likely be replacing transmissions before engines anymore.

It's just really ****ing annoying to sit at 3200 RPM on the highway but there are tons of hotshotters/uhaul/penske/motorhomes/box trucks that do it every day with gas engines.

I’m old enough to remember over 3k RPMs being the norm with shitboxes and 3 speed transmissions.

I currently live in Tennessee and plan to move to Florida so hills are not a big concern.

Routine maintenance isn’t a concern, fixing issues caused by a lack of use are things I’d rather avoid.


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AustinSN

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I’m old enough to remember over 3k RPMs being the norm with shitboxes and 3 speed transmissions.

I currently live in Tennessee and plan to move to Florida so hills are not a big concern.

Routine maintenance isn’t a concern, fixing issues caused by a lack of use are things I’d rather avoid.


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If I was in your position I would probably end up with a half ton and an open trailer.
 

earico

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It makes perfect sense in comparing two vehicles when two vehicles have similar capabilities yet one is looked at as ok to tow with and the other is not.

As far as towing with a Coyote powered F150, I am not shocked it felt like a turd on a grade. I have 15 Lariat 3.5 EB SCrew FX4 with 3.55s and it is a great truck, goes up any grade with ease. Had the same truck as a rental, XLT non FX4 but 5.0 with 3.73s. That thing never stopped gear hunting in the mountains and it weighed less. The same hill my 3.5 would stay in 6th the 5.0 was going between 4th and 5th.


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The EB makes the TQ earlier in the RPM band and that's why it outshines the 5.0 towing. I'm telling you the 16 3.5EB I have tows great. My boat and trailer is around 6.5k lbs. This truck is the best towing gasser I have ever had. 2nd best was my 08 QX56 and back then I was towing in the NV mountains. I'm now towing thru the TX hill country and this truck gets it done. I'd just use the truck you have. Upgrade later if you want more after you have gained some experience towing.
 

gimmie11s

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@Deceptive why would you buy an F150 when you have one now?

Out of all of this discussion, this makes the least sense to me.

If you want another truck, why wouldnt you upgrade and upgrade bigly.
 

Deceptive

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@Deceptive why would you buy an F150 when you have one now?

Out of all of this discussion, this makes the least sense to me.

If you want another truck, why wouldnt you upgrade and upgrade bigly.

When I got my company vehicle my wife confiscated the truck. We downsized and sold her car. My wife is the typical woman; clean house, messy vehicle.

My two concerns are not wanting to over or under buy on the vehicle and how little it will get used. All I have to do is have 80% of my company vehicle use for work. I take it on vacation and put none of my own money in gas in it.

The 2015 F150 we have is about due for another oil change. A whopping 2k miles in 6 months. Lol

The two drawbacks to my F150 is having the 6 speed vs 10, which isn’t a big one, and only 23 gallon tank. The 16 or 17s got the 10sp and 36 gallon tank with the Max Tow.

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Corbic

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It makes perfect sense in comparing two vehicles when two vehicles have similar capabilities yet one is looked at as ok to tow with and the other is not.

As far as towing with a Coyote powered F150, I am not shocked it felt like a turd on a grade. I have 15 Lariat 3.5 EB SCrew FX4 with 3.55s and it is a great truck, goes up any grade with ease. Had the same truck as a rental, XLT non FX4 but 5.0 with 3.73s. That thing never stopped gear hunting in the mountains and it weighed less. The same hill my 3.5 would stay in 6th the 5.0 was going between 4th and 5th.


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Agreed, had a rental Ram 1500 5.7 followed up by a rental F150 5.blow. Night and day difference, had to pop the hood twice on the F150 to make sure it was a Coyote.
 

nickf2005

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Talk about the tow ratings all you want in today's F150 versus yesterday's SD... the one thing SD will always have the advantage in is payload.

Thats where 99.9% of today's half tons are limited in what you can actually put behind you.

You can get 3.5TT all day long, but if you put it in a Platinum trim with Vist Roof, you're going to have like an 1,100 LBS payload. Put two people in and your instantly dropped to 850 pounds. That capacity disappears quickly with tongue weight of your trailer.

My 15 XLT 3.5TT, 36 gallon tank has a payload of 1,750. Not to shabby for a half ton.

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