In reply to dps214 :
There was this further down in the post, " then use that as my daily driver too." If I really needed a full size as a DD, the Ecoboost looks really good for capability and towing. I prefer Chevy trucks myself though. My friend has driven his Ranger from TX to WA state and back, and all over the country. It does it with no complaint. He has towed things all over the place too.
And my Colorado had no problem handling 7,000 lbs. It was better than any pre-1995 truck I ever drove even with a wimpy V6. Engine and transmission tech have come a long way since people started towing with trucks. Now if I wanted to tow 12,000 lbs , I'd be thinking full size. The Ranger, Colorado and a slew of SUVs can handle 7,000-8,000 lbs no problem. After selling my truck I got the wife a Z71 Tahoe which can do lots of things.
Now if I were going to start a Hotshot business, get a big fifth wheel and tow who knows what all over the country at a moments notice, I might still choose and Ecoboost especially with today's diesel prices. It all depends on what your real mix is going to be. Once you throw in DD duties though the Ranger and Colorado become big winners.
In reply to Tom Suddard :
Could the company van, the Transit high top with EcoBoost, fill this need for occasional towing? True, it does not solve the 4 doors need. But, have you seen the new Transit Crew? Seats for 5 with windows on the front-sides leaving the rear portion all cargo. Could an updated van solve the "two vehicles replaced with one" scenario?
https://shop.ford.com/configure/transitcommercial/chooseyourpath/?intcmp=fv-modselect-bb-bp-transitcommercial
John Welsh said:
In reply to Tom Suddard :
Could the company van, the Transit high top with EcoBoost, fill this need for occasional towing? True, it does not solve the 4 doors need. But, have you seen the new Transit Crew? Seats for 5 with windows on the front-sides leaving the rear portion all cargo. Could an updated van solve the "two vehicles replaced with one" scenario?
https://shop.ford.com/configure/transitcommercial/chooseyourpath/?intcmp=fv-modselect-bb-bp-transitcommercial
We sold than van like two years ago. It was a pretty good tow horse, but loads above about 7000lbs taxed the chassis a bit. And while it was comfortable and fine for long distance hauling, it was a bit of a penalty box as far as daily driver use went.
For the weight and distance you are towing, I'd strongly recommend an F250 rather than a 1/2 ton
F-250 with the 7.3 gas engine would be my personal choice. I prefer 3/4 or 1-ton trucks over a 1/2 ton for towing duties, everything is bigger/stronger and won't break a sweat towing whatever you need to. The savings from the purchase price, maintenance, repairs, etc versus a same year/mileage Powerstroke would be significant.
My current tow rig is a 2015 Ram 3500 Cummins with the Aisin automatic. I prefer the Cummins over the Duramax or Powerstroke for easy of repairs and maintenance. It was purchased pre-Covid and during the peak of the used truck prices, I could have literally sold it for twice what I paid for it. It's got just over 200k miles and I wouldn't hesitate to drive it across country tomorrow.
Tom Suddard said:
Driven5 said:
If you can live with 'only' an XLT, a 3.5/5.0 F-150 with the Heavy Duty Payload Package might be the droid you're looking for. It beefs the truck up (including the frame itself) and increases the payload by ~500 pounds over comparable typical 3.5/5.0 F-150s.
Interesting! What's the easiest way to tell if a used truck has this?
Most dealership sites, regardless of brand, include a link to the window sticker for their used vehicles. Carfax also now generally includes a window sticker... At least on F150's. At a glance though:
Look for these wheels on a 2018-2020. It looks like 2018 was the last year for a HDPP Lariat.
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Look for these wheels on a 2021+. Looks like 2021 was the last year for the HDPP XLT.
In reply to Tom Suddard :
My buddy races lemons and has a big enclosed trailer(well big to me). He lives in western North Carolina and spends a bunch of time towing through the mountains. He was in the fence about getting the heavy duty f150 vs a 250-350. He had a 2013 f150 and it didn't have enough brake.
I'm rambling. Anyway he got the hd f150 and is throughly satisfied. If he's satisfied(picky as hell turbocharger engineer). You'll be fine.
Check for rental use in its history. A bunch of 3.5 crew cab f-1fiddies were in rental fleets. If that matters to you.
In reply to Tom Suddard :
That one was a fleet truck and also was in canada. So i'd expect rust and a lot of abuse.
I've noticed a lot of used 2016+ f150's started life in Canada. Why is that?
Any thought about getting a 2011 F250 with a 6.2? I'm currently looking for one.
I had that generation F350 with a 6.2 as a press car, and it was a total dog. Even driving around empty I kept thinking "wow this is slow."
Could you keep the current truck as a beater for hauling engines and stuff and buy a nicer tow vehicle to daily?
A TDI version of this comes to mind. Carvana has a couple, $25k with 80k miles and $39k with 30k miles.
In reply to TJL (Forum Supporter) :
Rust depends where in Canada. Mine came from British Columbia and it's spotless underneath.
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In reply to yupididit :
Apparently the equivalent trucks are thousands cheaper in Canada, even new, and they're easy to import because .gov considers them identical. So people who are well versed in the process can save some coin and/or turn it into easy money.
A dealer by me has a 2020 370Z that started out in Canada. Must be reaching for inventory.
In reply to Tom Suddard :
Does this mean you're canceling your Maverick order?
In reply to Pete Gossett (Forum Supporter) :
I'm not sure. If I go the big old diesel truck route probably not, but if I buy a newish F-150 I'll skip the Maverick.
I think it's a moot point as they are only building half of the orders, anyway.
When you're looking at F-150s see if you can get someone to run the VIN of the specific truck that you're looking at to be sure that it's optioned appropriately for the towing you're going to do. There's a huge range of towing capacities on those.
sevenracer said:
I'd vote #1, as I can't see spending that much for the larger truck just to sit most of the time.
I have a 2017 F150 3.5 EB MaxTow to tow my 8500lb 24ft box trailer, and it does fine. Though this thread reminds me I need to order up airbags for the rear axle, the springs are a little soft for the trailer tongue weight.
I got a Lariat because I wanted the creature comforts, but if I had it to do over again, I'd get an XLT and get aftermarket leather seat covers installed. Mainly to avoid the sunroof which is problematic and expensive to have fixed. And while dual zone climate and cooled seats are nice, I'm not sure they justify the price premium for me.
The 2021+ XLT have dual zone climate - basically everything the Lariat has less the sunroof and the cooled seats and factory leather - pushbutton start, remote start, 12" screen, console shift with proper bucket seats, mid-tier instrument cluster (mechanical speedo and tach and digital everything else). You can even get them with the Blue Cruise and 360 cameras which mine doesnt have but I wish it did. The XLTs also have nicer looking grills, and in the sport package with the body colored bumpers, are real real sharp looking.
SV reX
MegaDork
2/2/23 1:55 p.m.
I'll give you a half price budget for an excellent Ecoboost...
I blew the motor in my 2012 F150 Platinum. I'll be selling it cheap.
Since you are not in a rush, go the distance for a full blown factory warranty new 3.5L Ecoboost. Even if you have a dealer install the motor, it should still get you a complete excellent condition F150 EB with a new motor for half your budget.
I'd do it myself, but I'm not in a position to wait on an engine.
In reply to 93gsxturbo :
To clarify, the 2021+ XLT don't all 'have' that equipment list, but they do get it all 'available' with various combinations of packages and options. The probloramic moonroof also is, and has been since it's inception, optional on XLT.
In reply to Toyman! :
Not so sure I'd want to tow 8000lbs with our Cayenne diesel. Sure, it's rated to 7700lbs but a larger enclosed trailer would potentially wag the dog if you know what I mean. It's really a small frame SUV, my 200 series land cruiser is far larger, with basically the same tow rating and I'd still hesitate to use it to tow that much, for that far.
Tom Suddard said:
I had that generation F350 with a 6.2 as a press car, and it was a total dog. Even driving around empty I kept thinking "wow this is slow."
Like stock 7.3 slow or like its underpowered for the vehicle its in?
In reply to yupididit :
Maybe an 8-second or so 0-60? Nowhere near as quick as a modern F-150. But mostly it wanted to downshift constantly even driving around empty.
Toyman! said:
Could you keep the current truck as a beater for hauling engines and stuff and buy a nicer tow vehicle to daily?
A TDI version of this comes to mind. Carvana has a couple, $25k with 80k miles and $39k with 30k miles.
I actually considered these and the Audi Q7s, but my wife wanted even more room so the Tahoe won out in our case.
