I was actually surprised at how flexible the dealership was to offer me an extended test drive. I think looking back at the dialog between myself and the salesman is that he knew I was highly interested in a truck and that I had been looking for a while. I just didn't walk into the showroom and demand a test drive. I spoke with him, explained what I was looking for, what I thought would work for me and what I thought wouldn't. He gave me his opinion and how I approached the convo was basically, "Well ya know, I really wish I could have a truck like this and hook it up to my trailer and see how it pulls... then we could settle this once and for all and I would be very comfortable making a purchase."

These guys/gals deal with people day in and out and I'm a firm believer that it is how you approach the situation. With that said, I wouldn't try an extended test drive of a 2011 Raptor. haha


Also - wow - to all that mentioned the sway control bars, why the heck did I not think of that... hmm . Ok well now that would probably help a ton.

Has anyone had any real world experience with those and that could give some feedback? Good brands?

 

I tow a 29 ft travel trailer with dry wt of 6500# using only the wieght distributing bars and no anti sway bars or devices with an 06 fx4, is almost rock solid. have been in 20 mile per hour cross winds no problems.

 

Here is some info and the site sells WD setups. If you really do not anything about WD and sway setups you may want to find a local dealer that sells them and can set you up.

Common Weight Distribution and Sway Control Questions | etrailer.com

IMO the F-150 and trailer in the picture looked level? I take it the trailer was loaded in the picture? Any idea what your tongue weight was?

I suspect the suspension on the suspension on the 150 was a little soft when you were towing. I'd bet money you could easily get away with your trailer with no WD setup on an F-250 or F-350. Myself I prefer not to screw with the WD or sway setups, kinda why I went to a SD.

 

RoyalFord,
Not to hammer on this attempt at a test drive too hard, but what I am most amazed with is how the dealership let you take the wrong setup on a F 150 to test towing. Max Tow and Heavy Duty package with and 8' box and the right hitch set up would have been a completely different experience. I am tempted to say you set them up. Catch Johndeere farmers test on pickuptruck.com...and he doesn't even have the HD package and he towed more and got 12.2. Are you actually a Chevy dealer? Don't believe this data guys...unless you want to miss out on the best pickup going

 

Why are the chains not crossed?

 

I agree you did not have the proper setup. I have a 2010 with max tow and weight and just did a 4,789 mile trip towing a 7,000lb trailer.
I was in some winds that were 35mph with over 50mph gusts. I did have a WD hitch but the truck handled it just fine!

My 5.4 went from 13mpg to 8mpg depending on hills and WIND.

Too bad you weren't able to use a max tow truck there is a difference.

Bill

 

Thanks Ham,

Yes, go read my towing test of 8200 lbs.

PickupTrucks.com Forums: my review: first heavy tow with my ecoboost

 

dkf - thanks a lot for the WD info


ham77 - No worries sir... but yes you are correct. The more I talk to people the more everyone is saying that the dealer and I should have made sure I was in a max tow and HD setup. That was my fault for being ignorant. I will definitely check out PickupTrucks.com: Pickup Truck News, Reviews, Community and Help Finding a New or Used Pickup... A chevy dealer? haha no man


So basically, anyone reading this... let me summarize my experience with the Ecoboost:

• plenty of power
• plenty of brakes
• towing mpg is low (like <10 MPG)
• everyone on FTE is way more experienced at towing than me

 

How have even towed that cargo trailer with your old truck and compared it to the new one? Since you don't know anything about crossing the safety chains or what a WD hitch is, I don't think so.
Or are you just overly critical of the 2011 with ecoboost?

The 2011 is quite a bit heavier than your old one so I have a hard time agreeing with your assessment.


I have the max tow on mine and I do agree that the springs are soft. I added airbags to mine. However max tow wouldn't have helped with your swaying. FYI, the springs appear to be the same for regular tow and max tow.

Are you sure you aren't a Chevy or Dodge guy?

 

Tell me a way to prove I'm a Ford guy and I will do it. Can't believe it has come to this.

 

I don't get the hate Royal...towards you that is...

Why don't you go back and get one with the proper setup and settle it once and for all?

 

Answer my questions two posts up.

Is that your trailer? How often do you tow? You say that your old truck handles it better than the new?

 

Yes that's my trailer. That's my baby I haul all over the south east and the entire reason why I'm looking for a new Ford truck to pull it. I burn a lot of fuel on my 98, towing every weekend on Saturday's about 6-7 hours round trip. Most of the time we are going either south towards S.C. / G.A. or to T.N. through the Appalachians. So yes, I am very critical especially when it comes to buying a new(er) truck.

Tonight I'll hook up my 98 5.4L in my sig to the trailer and post pics.

I would say the Ecoboost handles the trailer WAY better than my 98 5.4L in regards to power and braking! The only issues I saw, like I said in my initial post, was that I noticed the MPG was lower than I expected and the swaying was way out of control. Again, as I said in my initial post it was a very windy here in N.C. that day (tornadoes all across the state) I did the test drive and that it was a worse case scenario. Also I didn't have a WD setup and I will definitely use everyones advice regarding that in the future .

Now, for next steps... What does everyone think I should do:

• Bring home a Ecoboost with the Max Tow and try again?
• Bring home a 5.0 with Max Tow and try again?

Let me know!!

 

A little aggressive are we? The man was trying to give his thoughts to us.

 

mpg will not be good until it's broken in, so you can't tell anything by the figures that you got. Also, the rumor is that the ecoboost doesn't get good mpg until after 3,000 miles because the ECU is programmed to remap the valve timing, wastegate pressure, fuel map and ignition timing to avoid overheating or stressing the new engine too much. I can confirm that they are programmed to run rich by looking at the black soot in the tailpipe on mine.

You can check out my review that I linked to several posts above or you can go to pickuptrucks.com and read their towing experiences in the mountains.

A Ford engineer, Phil Fabien, in a chat said: "
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1. Under nornal weather and driving conditions, premium offers very little benefit. However, as the Ecoboost owners guide will state, premium fuel is recommended and will provide better performance under severe duty usage such as trailer tow.

2. Under normal trailer tow conditions, the Ecoboost offers a clear fuel economy advantage over th 5.0 and 6.2L engines. The advantage may be reduced in steep grades and very high ambient temperatures if regular fuel is used.

So its up to you to make your decision based on that as to whether you want the 5.0 or 3.5. How large are the mountains, how hot does it get there? How much does premium cost over regular unleaded. Here in Texas it gets upper 90's to 100 for most of July, August and into September. Premium is 30 cents higher. I tow about 20% of the time. I choose the ecoboost for its low end torque. If I tow heavy during those months I will run premium through it if necessary but if only 100 miles out of a tank is heavy towing, the extra $7.50 for the better gas probably wouldn't be made up for by the increase in towing mpg for the 100 miles. I keep good records, so in a year or so I will know if premium is worthwhile.

As far as the sway goes, I imagined that you noticed it more in the new truck because the anti-sway kicked in and applied the brakes and or reduced power. If you had of been running a WD hitch that wouldn't have happened. You should be able to turn it and traction control by holding down the button for OVER 4 seconds if you want to try it without it.

As I said, as far as I can tell when Ford removed the extra spring from the max tow package they just said that it could haul more. So the max tow will sag as much as the regular tow. I added Firestone airbags to mine to address that issue.

Good luck and let us know what you decide.