In reply to ShawnG :
My 3.5 never seems to be working really hard. Even when towing. It doesnt have to rev to tow so it's a very chill quiet experience. They have great commuting manners as well. I wouldn't recommend against a 5.0 either, I like them too. Nothing has shown me that the ecoboost is way more unreliable. Honestly, modern powertrains are just so good now the 4cyl engines live in 1/2ton trucks now.
In reply to A 401 CJ :
You may have ten (technically eleven, I think 2 is a different gear depending on upshift or downshift) but it skips gears a lot, by design.
As pain in the ass as that trans is, they should have stopped at six. IMO.
In reply to Fueled by Caffeine :
The 3.5 is 400hp/500tq for 21-up
In reply to Cooper_Tired :
I thought it was 470.
Pete. (l33t FS) said:In reply to A 401 CJ :
You may have ten (technically eleven, I think 2 is a different gear depending on upshift or downshift) but it skips gears a lot, by design.
As pain in the ass as that trans is, they should have stopped at six. IMO.
Full disclosure: I have not driven a 5.0 truck. But the 10 speed behind the Coyote in the Mustang I rented was spot on. Too bad it had rental car tires. Cheap Generals I think. A tragedy.
The transmission is another thing that's use dependent. For normal driving the ten speed is pretty great, it squeezes out that little bit of extra fuel economy and lets it run whisper quiet at highway speeds. Different drive modes change how many gears it actually uses and how it uses them. On the other hand for towing it can end up with a lot of gear hunting and inconsistent fuel mileage because there's a billion different variables that influence when it decides to chug along in tenth gear versus hanging out in eighth for a while. Recently we've been towing with a truck with the HD six speed and it's absolutely better for towing but not nearly as nice, smooth, or quiet for normal unloaded driving.
ShawnG said:Hard no on the ecoboost for me.
I don't want a high strung twin turbo V6 pulling its guts out, trying to do the work of a much larger engine.
Except that's not what the 3.5 TT is doing!
Not trying to say what to by, but that's not a reason to not want one. Towing 9500 lbs with a tall enclosed 26' trailer, the chassis was a bit light for my taste, but the engine and trans were just easing along (6 speed at, in 2011)
in my personal experience, both the V8 and the 3.5TT get around the same so-so mpg empty (difference at less to do with engine choice than all the other factors), and both drop mpg a lot (expected) when towing.
The only difference in choice, that I can tell, is if you love V8 exhaust note, or prefer the quieter engine.
Pete. (l33t FS) said:In reply to A 401 CJ :
You may have ten (technically eleven, I think 2 is a different gear depending on upshift or downshift) but it skips gears a lot, by design.
As pain in the ass as that trans is, they should have stopped at six. IMO.
I've not driven anything with the 10, or worked on either, but whatever 6 speed was behind the 3.5TT in the 2011 FX4 shifted flawlessly, towing or empty! Odd note, I liked it better in tow mode empty, and "normal" towing! I would use the up/down button on the shifter to get the shift where I wanted towing, but normal usually found it itself!
yupididit said:In reply to ShawnG :
My 3.5 never seems to be working really hard. Even when towing. It doesnt have to rev to tow so it's a very chill quiet experience. They have great commuting manners as well. I wouldn't recommend against a 5.0 either, I like them too. Nothing has shown me that the ecoboost is way more unreliable. Honestly, modern powertrains are just so good now the 4cyl engines live in 1/2ton trucks now.
Yep. I got to hear Cotton's friends 5.0 truck with the Roush exhaust ; leaving our driveway with the thunder chicken on the trailer - to the right is uphill. Sounded SO good!!!
My wife preferred her quiet v6TT with the 420 lbs/ft torque by 2000 rpm 
Strongly urge you to reconsider the 3.5 Ecoboost. Its a real gem of an engine especially in the 21+
It tows just as well as the 5.0
It runs down the road just as well as the 5.0, maybe better.
It knocks down 20.5 MPG all day long on regular and 22.5 on Premium.
With a quarter tank of 93 and absolutely no mods, a 2021 crew cab short box 4x4 with the 3.5 will do a 1.99 60 foot and 13.55@101 in the quarter at Great Lakes Dragaway on a decently cool August night.
I borrowed a 2011 5.0 truck from a friend once to go pick up a couple of rotary engines and various other RX7 parts. What I remember of that truck was how effortlessly it got up to highway speeds, I think I got to 80 mph without ever using more than 1/4 throttle. I also liked the way the transmission was programmed compared to my dad's Silverado which is a 2015. The Ford just seemed to be smarter about when it shifted.
The other thing I remember, and I guess this is true of most modern pickups, was that the truck was unnecessarily tall. I couldn't reach anything on the bed floor while standing next to the truck and had to hop a little to get in and out of the driver seat.. I'm 5'8" so your experience could be different. I also like the F150 side window design where the glass angles down at the front of the door, it makes the truck feel more airy.
In reply to dannyp84 :
That's one thing I hate about new trucks.
The stupid height of the stupid box sides because stupid people hurr durr want lifted trucks from the factory.
Then you have to have stupid tail gate ladders and stupid corner steps with a 150lb weight rating that bend.
And don't get me started on stupid 5.5 and 6.5 foot long beds with stupid bed extensions.
Just give me a proper truck with an 8' box with sides I can reach over to put my stuff in.
I swear the 1990s era Fords were the peak of useful design in trucks.
I took the blocks out of the rear springs, and turned down the torsion bars in my 2k Silverado. Next generation, that won't help.
In reply to ShawnG :
So, I get the impression, you might think it's stupid 
I do agree that modern trucks are way to big, to be no more truck - like than they are.
My wife's 11 F150 FX4, 100% stock, was able to pull under our attached carport, by about 3/4". My 03 F350 has 285/75R16 ILO 265 16s, but otherwise stock factory 4x4. It has about 1 1/2" of clearance!!!
having to climb up into what was only a stock 150 did not appeal to me.
Company rented me a car earlier in the year; rental gave me a brand new Ranger. I had to look underneath to make sure it was really RWD only! Had taller tires, and more ground clearance than my F350!!! More cab room than my obs fords! , Sorry, that's not a compact truck!
'Coures the MPG was almost as bad as my F350. The Turbo 4cyl did run nice
2.7EB = Small V8 pull, nearly V6 fuel economy, small sound.
5.0 = Small V8 pull, small V8 fuel economy, small V8 sound.
3.5EB = Big V8 pull, small V8 fuel economy, small sound.
The only thing holding the 2.7EB back is the shiny happy persons at Ford intentionally sandbagging the payload it with a lighter duty axle and making it unnecessarily difficult (and ridiculously uncommon) to option back up for 'real' truck duty, all in the name of maximizing profits and saving egos.
Modern V8's trying to hit EPA standards are not simple, or less complicated than turbos, and have demonstrated no apparent overall advantage (nor disadvantage) in durability or reliability that I have found. They are all good engine that each has their own well documented, but not as widespread as the internet makes them out to be, issues these days.
It's funny how replacing "gasoline fueled" with "diesel fueled" causes most of the arguments typically used against engines that are turbocharged for torque (specifically in relation to doing 'truck stuff') to simply fall apart.
Driven5 said:It's funny how replacing "gasoline fueled" with "diesel fueled" causes most of the arguments typically used against engines that are turbocharged for torque (specifically in relation to doing 'truck stuff') to simply fall apart.
In reply to Fueled by Caffeine :
Yeah it was a little confusing in the 18-20 years as I think different trims got different power ratings. But all non hybrid, non-raptor 3.5 are the same now
ShawnG said:In reply to dannyp84 :
That's one thing I hate about new trucks.
The stupid height of the stupid box sides because stupid people hurr durr want lifted trucks from the factory.
Then you have to have stupid tail gate ladders and stupid corner steps with a 150lb weight rating that bend.
And don't get me started on stupid 5.5 and 6.5 foot long beds with stupid bed extensions.
Just give me a proper truck with an 8' box with sides I can reach over to put my stuff in.
I swear the 1990s era Fords were the peak of useful design in trucks.
It's like the old German Baptist farmer (think Amish but with new tractors) told me once: if you can't shut the tailgate on an 8' sheet of plywood, it's not a truck.
I've owned my 2018 F150 with the 5.0 for 2 years now. Plenty of towing involved. I have been very happy with it.
F250 towing mirrors bolt up and are a massive improvement over the car mirrors OEMs seem to think should come on half ton trucks. Also a weight distro hitch and a pair of timbrens (enhanced bumpstops) in the rear. She tows my 24' steel enclosed trailer like a dream and gets 12-13mpg doing it.
I've never experienced gear hunting while towing.
I had a 2006 Chevy 2500 with the 6.0 before this and the F150 does EVERYTHING better than it did.
I don't dislike the ecoboost, but it sounds stupid to me.
I have the same setup as Dave describes above. My 2018 pulls my 30' travel trailer without issue. I like the EB engine, and had one in my Flex, but for the F-150 I much prefer the 5.0.
In reply to STM317 :
Modern diesel owners believe that factory turbocharging reduces the longevity of the engine, and that more hp and less torque is better driving with a heavy load? The arguments people make against turbo'd for torque gas engines vs their naturally aspirated contemporaries, are among the main reasons people doing 'truck things' still buy diesels despite their modern issues.
DaveEstey said:F250 towing mirrors bolt up and are a massive improvement over the car mirrors OEMs seem to think should come on half ton trucks.
Yeah I never understood why the tow mirrors were a separate option from the tow package. I guess if you're towing 10k lbs of open trailer with a physically small load you wouldn't need them. Or maybe if you need the tow capability but only use it once or twice a year you could live with the normal mirrors; the tow mirrors are kind of a pain to deal with in normal driving and certainly have *some* impact on fuel economy.
I swapped the mirrors after towing my trailer once. Couldn't see anything. I can't speak to impact on mpg since I switched so quickly, but I wouldn't doubt losing .5mpg to them.
How about the 3.0 diesel? I dont know anyone that has any experience with one lol.
In reply to ShawnG :
I bought one in 2017 it's got 85,000 trouble free miles. Really powerful. Especially if it's got flex fuel. It smoked the tires getting on the freeway the first time I used E85.
You do loose about 2 mpg using it but it cost $1.00 a gallon less so your cost per mile works out to saving about $10 per tankful using E85.
You should change oil at 10,000 using 87 octane but if I use E85 I change at 7500
The transmission behind it is also really stout.
I pulled heavy loads(9000#) from San Diego to Minneapolis over the 13,000 ft Rockies. And it never down shifted. Averaged 17 mpg. Loaded and 24 mpg empty.
I was a lifelong Chevy owner but this Ford has made me very happy
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