I dont tow every day and I am not towing from Maine to California, but I have a need to tow a trailer up to 11k anywhere between 30 miles and 500 miles depending on my trip. I am thinking of down sizing my F350 since I dont tow as often, but I still need to tow.
While the F150's are rated to tow 11k I havent met anyone that is actually doing it. Im interested in your feedback if you are towing that much. Not to sound rude, but if you are towing a 3,500 pound boat I cant relate that feedback to towing 10k or more. I talked to a guy that was towing around 6k with a new ecoboost and he bragged until the sun went down but that doesnt tell me how that truck would do with 11k behind it.

Thanks in advance to those with feedback.

 

No. Biggest reason is I wouldn't put a GN in a F150 and I wouldn't tow 11K lbs with the bumper, even if I did have a GN I wouldn't tow that much with it. Maybe 30 miles in a pinch but that would be about all.

I am not a tow by the book type, we regularly tow much more with our SD'd than the book says you can but the F150 isn't in the same realm of truck for towing. What I have hauled so far with my '09 I can't imagine 11K behind it.

 

I think I would tow that much, on a level trip of 30 miles, with a good trailer brake setup, once or twice, but no more. 500 miles? no way. I'm sure Ford builds in some safety into their numbers, but I wouldn't push it that much. I doubt you'll find anyone that would. If they do, they're working the crap out of their truck for no good reason. If someone needs to pull that much, that should be a consideration at purchase time, even if it is just occasionally. The F150 is still a "light duty" truck, no matter what mods are done to it, it's just not meant for that kind of task. Like I said, maybe in a pinch. Just my .02

 

IMO frontal area on the trailer is more of a problem than weight. I tow a 7000 lb travel trailer with no issues BUT it has a big frontal area. It pulls well but I wouldn't want any more frontal area. With a smaller area (such as a shorter and/or narrower trailer) I would not hessitate to take on more weight.

 

I have pulled about 6K behind my '09 (flat-nose extra-width/height toy hauler, so lots of frontal area), and that was some work for the truck. If you're planning to pull something with a large frontal area (travel trailer) and weighing 11K, I would advise against it.

As MZEMS2 said... once or twice during good WX on a 30 mile jaunt? Sure. 500 miles? Not so much. I don't like to run anything at its maximum... in the case of the 150, you'll be running very close to its limit, which is great with good weather, flat ground, etc. What happens when you're trying to pull a hill, or run into a thunderstorm with some high winds? While the engine might be sufficient, what about the brakes, suspension, etc.? You would have zero safety margin.

Bottom line - keep the Super Duty.

 

I tow a 8500# TT maybe 5-6 times a year. My "11 F150 has max tow and the Ecoboost powerplant. This combination does well for the job I expect of it, actually it rocks. I have been towing for 25+ years and I always derate FoMoCo specs by 10%, just as a fudge factor. It may move the published weight, it does mean it will do it quickly. I say stick with the 250/350 combination, you'll be happier in the long run.

 

I most likely wouldn't, and let me tell you why. The tow rating is assuming that there's nothing else in the truck, not even the driver. So the Gross Combined Weight Rating (GCWR) is theoretically the Truck + Trailer. Well when they rate the truck at 11,300 for max tow trucks (like mine) they assume that nothing is in the truck (no fuel, no passengers, no drivers, nothing in the bed).
The theoretical max tow weight is GCWR - Truck Curb Weight. This leaves us at 11,300. Just to illustrate a point, you probably have yourself, your family/friends, fluid and gear in your truck. So let's call that 1,000 lbs to make things easy. Because of this, your max tow weight is now 10,300 lbs because of your onboard payload. So to be honest, you'll see lots of people towing between 9 and 10k regularly and that's where I think your max is going to be if you have a max-tow package.
I'd feel confident taking a 10k or less trailer (loaded) + buddies and gear on a 500 mile trip. But I really wouldn't want to break 10k even though I have max tow. I've provided the math and showed you how the mfr's rate towing. It's up to you if you'd feel comfy with breaking that limit.

 

A properly equipped F-150 ecoboost 4x4 Screw with the 4.10 or 3.73 axles, max tow package, etc carries a maximum GCVWR of 17100 lbs. Pulling an 11K trailer doesn't leave any wiggle room for passengers, gear, etc.

The only way to pull this off would be to maybe get an Scab 4x2 Ecoboost with max tow package.

IMHO, this is a job for a properly equipped superduty.

 

I would not, as mentioned once or twice in a pinch I would but as a consistent thing I'd stick with the 3/4 or 1 ton trucks.

 

I would do it every once in a while, but certainly not very often. That is max towing area for a f-150. I'd rather have the Super Duty components if I towed that much more than once a year.

 

Just my 2 cents,

I just got rid of my 08 f350 superduty, I had it tuned turbo back exhaust and an intake.. it was a monster. But, it was time for me to get more practical so i bought a new 2012 f150 ecoboost. I tow about 3k weekly and dont see any issues at all.. I love my truck and i want to say it is as bad a$$ as the next guy but lets face it... 10k is a lot of weight. The new fords you can get a max tow package and they say it should handle 10k.

If i was pulling that much weight even once a month there is NO way i would get rid of the Super Duty and put the f150 thru that wether it is the 5.0 , 5.4 , or the new eco boost. Its alot of weight. Now if you were doing this once or twice a year then i would say no big deal. Either way you cant go wrong with a Ford

 

A properly equipped truck can sure tow.

UP to 11,300? At least on a 2011

https://www.ford-trucks.com/specs/20...d-f-150-1.html

 

And keep in mind, it's not just how much it can tow that it is all about as much as how well it tows the weight it's self...

 

I used to tow over 12k with my F-150 weekly. I have the 5.0 with the 3.73s.

For comparison I used to tow that quite a bit with my old 2011 F-250.

I don't have that job anymore, and the truck is more so used a hunting and commuter vehicle for me now.

But would I have any problems hooking it back up to the F-150? No problem as long as the trailer had good brakes.

*Note trailer is empty in picture below.



The F-150 pulled it no problem, It bounced more and you definitely felt it more compared to the 250. But I was more then surprised how well it did.

the most I did ever tow in it was 4 yards of topsoil. Each yard weighed around 2500lbs. Trailer itself weighs in just over 3900 lbs.

So right around 14,000 lbs. Truck definitely knew it was back there. But with good brakes, great stock Ford brake controller, and tow/haul mode it definitely got it moving and stopping no problem!

 

Pull 8-9k worth of boat pretty often no problem and I leave all my tools in the trucks probably 500-1k lbs of stuff never had a white knuckle moment most I've had was one of the construction trailers around 10k bout 2.5hrs each direction plus truck full of parts and tools for the job mostly highway no problems but make sure you have good working brakes on the trailer I know I didn't have my gain high enough at first but I had it at 5 if I remember correct then upped it. I'm getting air bags because I do load it up pretty hard sometimes and don't have max tow springs and get some weight class D or E tires on it