Hello newbie here from Vancouver BC.

In the market for new(er) crew cab truck. Currently have 07 Silverado Ext cab with rear suicide doors. Just had our 3rd child and 2 older kids are getting bigger. Looking at a 21'ish speedboat down the road, regular bow rider style not the wake setter type. Did some research and those boats with trailer weigh around 5,000lbs. I'm also in construction and haul about 5-6,000 lbs a couple times a month in a utility trailer. Trying to decide on an F-150 with HD payload package or stepping up to F-250/350. Heaviest load would be during family trips with boat, family of 5(3 kids getting bigger each year)and all our gear. Decided against ever getting an RV, would rather have a boat and stay in hotels.

I really like the 2015 and up F-150 or 08 (I think) and up Super Duty...although I've heard about issues with 6.4 power stroke. I'd probably stick with gas, as diesel would be totally overkill for me 99% of the time. Explaining to the wife that paying all the extra cost owning a diesel would also be difficult, lol. I work close to where I live and generally do short trips around town, again another point against getting a diesel. I really do get "diesel truck" envy every time I see one though. They look damn cool too!!

Has anyone had experience with the HD F-150? Sounds like there has been some ordering delays.

In other news, ordered up for the wife a new Explorer Sport in Magnetic! Receiving it mid March!! Can't wait!

 

Welcome to FTE!

For the weights you've listed, you don't need either the HD or a superduty.

 

^^ This. Unless you buy the 3.5L Ti-VCT motor (naturally aspirated) with the 3.55 rear end (which is only rated to tow 5K), *every* other combination of truck, engine, drivetrain, and gearing will pull what you want to pull.

If you want to overkill it, go with the 3.5EB... although the 2.7 and the 5.0 would also get the job done quite effectively.

 

Yep, no need to do overkill unless you just want a big size. 2.7 EB would probably be plenty good for you and you'll have plenty of power for all your needs. There are still some leftover '15s that would probably be a better deal than finding something used. Used late model vehicle prices are still really outta wack. Sorry that Chevy had your expectations pulled down so low on what a truck could do!

 

Thanks for all the replies.
Totally agree about the overkill thoughts about getting a Super Duty. Again more of a want than a need, I'm sure a lot of people get them as a status symbol more than anything. No disrespect to anyone that went that route, I'd just personally rather put my money towards other things, lol.
The Chevy has honestly been a great truck, no complaints. It just seems like Ford has really stepped up their game recently.
I'm still leaning towards getting the HD payload just in case...bigger boat down the road etc. Stick with the 5.0 or 3.5EB. I have a 5.3 now and wouldn't want to downgrade from that. I'd also only go Super Duty if I got a really good deal on one.

 

The F150 would certainly do the job for you. If you want an F250 you should go drive one. The F150 and F250 have totally different driving characteristics. I went to buy a 2015 F150 and ended up with an F250 just because the pricing was much more aggressive on the F250 at the time.

 

How do you find the F-250 fuel economy? Heard they average 14-16 mpg in the gassers.

 

I'm at 13.4 life time. That's over 22,000 miles of driving. I did get 16 on a tank of all highway driving. On that tank there was heavy traffic so I rarely got over 65, most of the time it was 40-60 MPH. If you keep it under 75 you can get around 15.

 

One big thing is that towing a boat is a lot easier than towing a camping trailer of similar weight, since they have much less frontal area. That means you will need a lot less engine to keep that load moving down the road.

I guess since you don't "need" a super duty for this towing, you just need to figure out what engine you enjoy most. If you like Diesel or EcoBoost, that makes your choice for you. If you like a Gas V8, then it's a little harder, but not that much.

Best of luck with your decision, and be sure to post pictures when you bring it home!

 

You really need to go on some test drives.

The HD package comes with substantially stiffer springs, and I don't think you'll come anywhere close to using it with your described use. The 2.7L EcoBoost has 325 HP and 375 ft-lbs of torque compared to your 315/338. It's already a huge upgrade from your 5.3L.

I like the way my truck rides with the standard payload package. Here's a photo from the day after I bought it, there is 1,000 lbs of bagged concrete in the bed:



I almost got the 2.7L engine, but got the bigger engine because we're getting a camper this year. The more I read about it the more impressed I am with it, some part of me wishes I chose that over the 3.5L.

 

Boats are easier to tow, except for the tongue load issue. The trailers I towed could not use a frame equalizing hitch. A few years ago I moved a friends boat from Houston TX to Racine WI. It was a Formula Fastech 292 on a triple axle trailer which he said weighed about 9,000lbs. The 08 F150 Max Tow handled the load just fine. Since the new EcoBoost engines are much better than the 5.4L, I would think a new Max Tow F150 would handle that load even better.
You could probably tow a 21' boat with the Explorer. I towed my MasterCraft all over with my 96 Explorer. The F150 does a much better job though.

 

Good call, a really heavy boat will have tongue weight problems. His 5000 boat and trailer combo should be no big deal though.

 

Yup sounds like the newer 1/2 tons are almost at the level the 3/4 tons were 15-20 years ago.
The new explorer sport is rated at 5000lb towing capacity. I'd feel better using the truck if towing the boat, and family etc.
The Explorer just happens to come equipped with the tow package, I'll probably never tow with it, as my personal vehicle will always be a full size truck for construction work. The Explorer will be for hauling groceries and kids! I'll be sure to take the Explorer out for a burn every so often, man are they quick with that EB!

 

In the last 3 years I have gone from the 6.7 to the 3.5EB and now the 6.2. (I'm done owning diesels) I can tell you that the new F150 with the 3.5EB would be my choice. I am still having a hard time with my recent move to the 6.2 from my EB, which I did because I tow heavy equip and rent it from time to time for work. I ran oversized 10ply tires on my F1 and run the same on my F250 now. I do roughly 50/50 rural and town driving, no real hwy driving. My 3.5 avg tank mpgs was 16-17. My same driving in my 6.2 is 10-12. And this comes with a less powerful motor and isn't nearly as fun to drive.

 

So I played around a bit on Ford website. I select a Super crew 6 1/2' box, 4x4. That's the style I want.
With 5.0 it says max payload 2660 lbs, max towing 8900 lbs.
With 3.5 EB the payload drops 10lbs to 2650 but towing jumps up to 10,700! I didn't know the EB was that much better for towing!! I always thought the 5.0 and EB would be pretty evenly matched with towing etc? It is a v8 after all. I know Ford has really worked hard on the EB, but also figured they're keeping the V8 around for the more traditional crowd.
The EB has the "Max Tow" and HD payload options where as the 5.0 only has the HD payload option. On the EB selecting the HD payload also adds the Max Tow. Interesting!