Towing with F150 Eco boost

[PMC]

Originally Posted by 2nOZ

What tires are you running? P rated? If so, change to LT.

After reading through this I was thinking the same thing.

I had a 2012 F150 Ecoboost that when we first got our White Hawk 27DSRL felt like it was moving all over the place even with an Equalizer hitch set up correctly. Moving to LT tires from P and running higher PSI made a huge difference.

[TWP723]

Originally Posted by gravedgr

I'll have to look into this, but have not had any problems towing our 23BHM so far. In fact, on our last trip to the N. Ga mountains, I ended up passing a minivan while climbing over the mountain because they were going too slow through the curvy sections.

I do have a little more bounce than I'd like over rough sections, but I haven't been inflating my tires to max pressure.

I always turn it off when towing and let my Equalizer take of it. The truck's integrated sway control doesn't do a thing with heavy loads. It works well when you go to the home improvement store and load the bed up. Or towing a lightweight trailer, like a landscaping trailer. But does very little with an 8500lb. trailer like mine. Pretty much useless with anything over 1000lbs.

Yeah, make sure your trailer tires are at max when towing. Not sure if that will correct the bounce you feel though. You're gonna get a little porpoising, but it shouldn't be excessive. What WDH are you running?

[gravedgr]

Originally Posted by TWP723

I always turn it off when towing and let my Equalizer take of it. The truck's integrated sway control doesn't do a thing with heavy loads. It works well when you go to the home improvement store and load the bed up. Or towing a lightweight trailer, like a landscaping trailer. But does very little with an 8500lb. trailer like mine. Pretty much useless with anything over 1000lbs.

Yeah, make sure your trailer tires are at max when towing. Not sure if that will correct the bounce you feel though. You're gonna get a little porpoising, but it shouldn't be excessive. What WDH are you running?

I've got a 10k or 12k (I'd have to go look) Equalizer. We have an 3.5 EB XLT "Sport" (appearance pkg) 2WD w/Max Tow, so tons of capacity but the tires might be P tires. Not getting a 4WD is one of my few regrets on the truck ("just because"), but otherwise it pulls and stops the TT great. A little porpoising as mentioned, but not much.

[TWP723]

Originally Posted by gravedgr

I've got a 10k or 12k (I'd have to go look) Equalizer. We have an 3.5 EB XLT "Sport" (appearance pkg) 2WD w/Max Tow, so tons of capacity but the tires might be P tires. Not getting a 4WD is one of my few regrets on the truck ("just because"), but otherwise it pulls and stops the TT great. A little porpoising as mentioned, but not much.

The 2WD's actually tow better in my opinion. Maybe get a set of air bags on the rear, they help a ton.

[Flyrotor]

2.7 eco boost? Didn’t realize that they made that... really? Ok! Can I ask why you would be interested in that engine? And to add, Why would you choose to tow with that?

I’m not trying to be rude about it, but really! Why?

[repacs0103]

Originally Posted by Flyrotor

2.7 eco boost? Didn’t realize that they made that... really? Ok! Can I ask why you would be interested in that engine? And to add, Why would you choose to tow with that?

I’m not trying to be rude about it, but really! Why?

Because it has 325 hp/375 tq- more than sufficient for a half ton truck. It’s not 1972 anymore, the power to displacement ratio of modern engines, especially on FI engines is impressive.


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[Ottawasteve]

Some good advice here such as looking into a Propride/Hensley (PP) hitch which are very different from any other hitch on the market. If you review the A very fast TV post you will see that the PP does an amazing job even with mismatched TV/TT combinations according to the maximum manufacturer specs so with an F150 within manufacturer specs you will likely have a much more enjoyable towing experience.

Hitch weight is setup at 12 to 15% of the loaded weight of the trailer, not the trailer’s GVWR-Gross Weight Vehicle Rating. If trailer is loaded to the maximum cargo carrying capacity including full fresh water tanks, then yes use 12 to 15% of the GVWR. Most of us load about 700 to 1000 lbs of stuff for most camping trips although there are some that load a lot more stuff. For example if a TT loaded for camping at 7,000 lbs but had a GVWR of 10,500 and tongue weight was set at 15% of 10,500, you would be carrying 50% more tongue weight than necessary.

Bad idea to disable the sway control with a properly set up anti-sway hitch, especially on a modern F150. If triggered, the F150 CPU will reduce engine power without applying vehicle brakes and apply trailer brakes faster than any human can reach their brake controller to tap it to bring trailer back in line. Same principle but a little more sophisticated with the F150 CPU.

Originally Posted by repacs0103

Because it has 325 hp/375 tq- more than sufficient for a half ton truck. It’s not 1972 anymore, the power to displacement ratio of modern engines, especially on FI engines is impressive.

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Not even necessary to go back to 1972, these tq and hp numbers are very comparable to the performance of the V-8 gas motors of the 250/2500/350/3500 from 10 years ago and with the new 10 spd transmissions. Chassis restrictions aside, the new 2.7 Eco will outrun the gas v-8’s from a decade ago with or without a 5600lb trailer behind it. Only downside I have heard to the 2.7 is a lack of engine braking if you were doing a lot of towing in the mountains.

[TWP723]

Originally Posted by repacs0103

Because it has 325 hp/375 tq- more than sufficient for a half ton truck. It’s not 1972 anymore, the power to displacement ratio of modern engines, especially on FI engines is impressive.


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Considering 03' 7.3 PowerStroke diesels had 275hp and 520lb-ft of torque and the 6.0 PowerStroke of the same year had 325hp and 560lb-ft. I'd say that 2.7 is quite the little puller.

[Phil2008]

Thanks everyone for your input. Presently have have P rated tires on truck. I don't have sway control on the hitch setup but will be putting it on in the spring. Can't do anything till the springtime. Will continue researching. I'm thinking if I had the 3.5 ecoboost with max tow package along with LT tires and sway control things may settle down. Thanks again and have a Merry Christmas and happy New Year 🎄☃🌨❄️🍺🍷🍾

[North of 49°]

Originally Posted by Ottawasteve

Not even necessary to go back to 1972, these tq and hp numbers are very comparable to the performance of the V-8 gas motors of the 250/2500/350/3500 from 10 years ago and with the new 10 spd transmissions. Chassis restrictions aside, the new 2.7 Eco will outrun the gas v-8’s from a decade ago with or without a 5600lb trailer behind it. Only downside I have heard to the 2.7 is a lack of engine braking if you were doing a lot of towing in the mountains.

I will second this. My current 3.5 litre Ecoboost noticeably outperforms my previous 2004 Silverado 1500 which had the 5.3 litre V8. I thought that Silverado was a towing beast and it could tow our old 20' hybrid trailer all day without breaking a sweat. Until we got the Jayco which was much bigger and heavier. Any strong headwind and the Silverado let me know that it wasn't happy. When we got the Ecoboost, it wasn't quite a night and day difference, but pretty close. Even in a strong headwind, the Ecoboost has no problem holding the speed limit -- I just pay for it later at the gas pump. As for engine braking, it gets pretty hilly in the western part of the province where I live, and going down some of the long steep hills isn't a concern. I just take my foot off the gas and let the engine do the rest. If the speed starts creeping up, I manually downshift the transmission.

FWIW, Ford is saying the specs on the first gen 3.5 litre Ecoboost is 365 hp and 420 ft-lbs torque.