I currently have a 2001 Ford Excursion with V10 and use it to tow my 2003 Weekend Warrior FS2600. By my estimates it weighs between 9,000-10,000lbs, depending on how long we'll be gone. I have been looking into the new F150's with EcoBoost and I know that with the heavy towing package and everything it's rated to tow up to 11,300lbs. I am wondering if anyone has towed this much weight with this setup, and if so how it went?

I'm not wondering about gas mileage, I have never broken 12mpg in my Excursion so I know that overall it will be better. I only tow 5-6 times a year to the local sand dunes (about 90 miles each way) and 1-2 times to St. Anthony,ID dunes (about 300 miles each way) and don't go over 65mph (normally 55-60). I have looked at a lot of threads about towing but haven't found more than 1 post towing over 8000lbs (maybe I missed the others).

 

Welcome to FTE!

I don't tow at all so I'm not going to be of any real assistance here. However I will say this:

I'll get flamed for this but I think a superduty is better equipped.

If you finally decide to go with an Ecoboost F-150, my strong recommendation would be to order an F-150 HD. It'll get you the 8200 lb package that you will need for your larger rig. 7 lug wheels, HD payload, heavier springs, 3.73 LSD, etc.

 

Tim...I don't know why you would get flamed by anyone for suggesting a F250. I myself am looking to maybe one day tow up to that amount with the F150 possibly. I would hope that the F150 would be able to handle that type of load. The problem that I foresee with that heavy of a load, and this is speculation on my part, are a few things. One I would imagine the F150 would get pushed around a bit and two I am thinking that the braking would be taxed at times with that amount of weight.

I think this decision is the hardest one to come across when deciding which truck to choose. I can see how the F250 would be a better choice the closer you get to the maximum load rating. It would be able to handle the weight much easier etc. however the drawback would be you would be stuck driving the 250 everyday when not towing. Tough decision for sure.

To the OP...I know there are people here that are towing that amount of weight with their F150 and hopefully they will chime in soon and give you their experience.

 

I too believe the bigger truck would be better for long term hauling, my old EX was amazing at it.

I also believe that he will be fine if he intends to tow only now and then and only for a short distance, the truck can do it no problem, I would avoid running back and forth across the country with it but that is not the plan anyway.

You will love it the rest of the time you are not towing that heavy trailer and the fuel savings over the V-10 will be incredible and the new crap to play with inside is way fun (remember I had an EX too)....get it man!

 

I tow a Keystone Hornet 31BHS. Last time across the scale it weighed 8600#.

I, Like you dont tow it too far nor too often. If I planned to tow that load often, I would have gotten the F250 and a Diesel. On the other hand I dont and did not want the extra upfront cost of a Diesel nor the added cost for fuel and maintaince.

While shopping for a used F250, I went to my dealer and for giggles asked what it would cost me for a new diesel. GM at the dealer handed me the keys to an EcoBoost and said. "Go hook this truck up to your camper and try it. If you dont like it, no problem. BUT I think you will be suprised". He was right, I WAS. This engine puts the torque out early. I have actually barked the back tires taking off with the trailer hooked up.

I decided on the EB as a cost effective vehicle to tow my trailer at times yet not break the bank on fuel costs and maint. for the small percent of the time I will be towing.

I know you dont care about the mileage, but while towing I get 8 mpg as a rule. And I, like you tow at 65 max. Normally about 60.

The max tow trucks Im sure come with the built in brake controller. A very good piece of equipment.

One other thing I chose was the longer 6.5' bed. I test drove and pulled my camper with both the 6.5' and the 5.5'. The 6.5 was noticibly more stable on the interstate with trucks passing.

Any thing else in particular you would like to know?

 

That helps. Have you had any problems with stability while towing your trailer (semis passing, towing in wind, etc does it get pushed around much)? With the soft suspension on the Excursion I feel it when getting passed more than I'd like, but since adding the Helwig sway bar it's not nearly as bad. Itvs lightest on our longer trip to ID since there are hookups so I don't put much water in.

 

That is what I call the old "Suck and Blow" of towing. It seems they suck you in and then blow you back. I have no issues with that since I use a friction type sway control. The longer bed is much more stable even with out the sway control than the shorter 5.5' bed. I did all my test driving both with and without the SC.

 

I have an equalizer hitch that I use rated to 12,000lbs with the 4 way sway control (bars instead of just chains) and the trailer brakes work great. I know the new F150's are bigger and heavier than my old 90's F250 I had a while back (I never towed this trailer with it so I don't know how that would've been) and I would think it'd be stable with the long bed and I know I'd have to get the heaviest tow package (according to the pamphlet from the dealership I could get 3.73 or 4.10 gears and tow the same weight). I appreciate the input, we had a bad experience a while back with a trailer and my wife gets pretty "excited" if the trailer moves very much, so I have to make sure she won't be freaking out every time we tow. The trip to Idaho is the only one on highways, there's a back way to the local dunes that's just a 2 lane road and almost no traffic so we take that most the time.

Sorry about the long posts/ all the information, I just want to make sure it'll work before I make the decision.

 

NO worries, Post away and learn all you can before you make that big of a leap!

If you think of any other questions... Fire away!

 

I appreciate the answers too because I look to do that in the future and hope I can do it with the Platinum. My payload will only be 1560 but I really like all the comfort and things on the Platinum.

BigDfromTN....did you get the max payload package too? I don't think I want the 6.5' bed because it just seems too long to me for everyday driving. I can see how it would help with towing but doesn't the 5.5' still tow it well too?

 

My wife has a'11 Ecoboost supercrew 5.5. 3.73 gears. 2" lift and 33" bfg mudders. She followed me from Logan UT to Dickinson ND 850mi pulling 10700. Nary a worry. Weight was balanced perfectly. No equalizer hitch either. My son said it hardly ever shifted. Only complaint was the suck and blow. If this was our main tow rig I would definitely get airbags. MPG was 8. Trailer was 18' Wells Cargo enclosed. Extra tall(7.5 ') and had a nosecone.

Also truck was not heavy towing or heavy payload.

In town mpg is only 11-12. Empty hwy is.only 13. If I would have known that I would have bought the 6.2. Fo sho.....

 

There's a cattle farmer near me that uses his Ecoboost to pull a large gooseneck stock trailer. It usually tips the scales at about 15k pounds. He knows he shouldn't but he does it anyway. Says he was tired of riding around in an F350 unloaded 95% of the time. He put on Load Range E tires and air bagged the rear. He loves the F150 and it pulls the heavy trailer much better than his 08 SD did. He has about 30k miles on it and hasn't had a bit of trouble. He thinks one of the keys is that he has the integrated brake controller and good trailer brakes. Claims he hardly notices it back there. I first heard about this guy from our local Ford dealer.

 

Last year I hitched my trailer I recently owned to my boss's Eco King Ranch with 20's and a 3.55 rear, and it pulled my TT surprisingly well. That's when I knew that's the engine I was getting next. Now I have a Max Tow EcoBoost Lariat on order. Just keep in mind that towing 9-10k pounds in an F-150 wont have the same stability as an F-250, but it will do the job just fine with the proper tow set up.

 

ask your dealer if you can test drive with trailer behind!!

 

The F150 with Egoboost is a great combination, but for that weight I would reccomend looking into the ProPride hitch. I tow 10K with my F250 and ProPride and sway and the push/pull is not a problem.
I traded up from an Excursion, best truck I have owned to date. But the F250 is far superior in towing my trailer out West.