Anyone tow a 3500 lb boat/trailer with an F150 5.0?
 

I was wondering if anyone here owns a boat in the 3500 lb range and how this truck does pullling it?
We were thinking diesel F250 but we only have a small boat for now and a bigger one on the way after we find the right tow vehicle.

What kind of mileage are you getting with this kind of weight behind you on long trips?

Pickuptrucks.com did a heavy towing road test on a pair of 4x2 XLT's with the 5.0L engine. They were towing enclosed trailers that weighed significantly more than your future boat and they both performed flawlessly through mountains, on flats and in high heat. I'd find the article for you but I'm tired and off to bed.

Not many outdoorsmen here huh? What do you guys do with your trucks?

Plenty of outdoorsmen, just not a lot of 5.0 150's out there yet I imagine. Give the forum time to gain some members and you'll see more and more posting. I think it'd be awesome to have a 5.0 pickup! I'm sure it will tow just fine.

I've got a 2011 FX4 Supercab 5.0L but I haven't towed with it yet.

I think the article Tim was talking about is this one. This should give you the information you need about how well the 5.0L tows.

Road Test Review: 2011 Ford F-150 XLT 5.0-liter V-8 - PickupTrucks.com News
(Pretty impressive considering that was right at the trucks max tow rating)

I know that even though I haven't towed with it yet I love this new 5.0L! :-jammin

I bought a 2011 F150 XLT 4x4 with the 5.0 and 3.55 rear end back in March. I've done a lot of hauling with it and towed our Polaris Ranger and quad a few times now. I think the Ranger and Quad on the trailer is pretty similar (1100 lbs trailer + 1300 lbs ranger + 800 lbs quad + 200 lbs of stuff (gas cans, coolers, etc) = 3400 lbs) plus I've had three people in the cab and a bed full of gear (not sure what the total weight would be). To put it simple, it pulls this like a dream. I'm coming from a 2007 Explorer with the 3v 4.6 v8 and it's a major difference between the two. Handling is great and power is not a problem. Cruising on the highway I used the selectshift to lock out 6th gear for parts of the trip because it won't hold it with much of an incline or when we hit some strong headwind (the explorer wouldn't hold 6th for much of anything towing). The biggest trip was from Seattle to Spokane including the I-90 pass through the Cascades. Power wasn't an issue and it would hold close to the speed limit of 60 up Snoqaulmie with no problem. There were spots were it would downshift and get above 4,000 rpms but then the power would really poor on! The mileage on that trip wasn't too bad. I average about 13 but there was a lot of flat cruising as well. Going by the mileage screen, it was well into the single digits climbing the passes. I did this same trip with the Explorer and would be lucky to be in the double digits. My only compliant is the rear squat. This load would make the Explorer sit about level but it puts the truck just below level. The rear springs are really soft so I'll probably add helpers to even it out. I'm extremely happy with the truck. I've also hauled about a 1000 lbs of gravel in the bed a couple of times (it squatted pretty good but there was still good clearance above the bump stops) and it handled that with no problem but I'm not sure what the mileage was exactly. Commuting and hauling stuff I'm average about 18 mpg.

AdamTN
Nice post!! Thanks...That's what I was looking for.

With my 2011 screw 4x4 5.0 3.55 gear I have pulled a 24 ft enclosed car trailer and have made 2 trips with the race car .Averaged 11.6 about what my 2008 F350 crew cab dually 4wd would have done.LOts of power it just down shifts more than my old 6.4 powerstroke but it has one more trans gear so its no supprise.It does everything I have wanted it to do and gets good milage when driven correctly.:-jammin

Vehicle: 2011 F150 FX4 Screw, 5.0L, 3.73, 6.5'.

Pulled our '07 Trophy 2502 WA w/twin 150 o/b's 165 miles, no issue other than it was a high / gusty wind day and was aware it was back there in crosswinds. And would have felt that with previous F250 SD 7.3L. Note:this boat just clears our 10'3" barn door. As stated by others, plenty of power (actually accelerated better getting on e-way with same load than SD 7.3L), just more up/dn shifting on total trip. Boat, motors, trailer, part fuel load probably put weight around 7,500#s+. Fuel use around 10 mpg, Diesel was around 11.

Also pulled a Ford 641 with front loader and ground equip. on a steel flatbed (5,500 - 6000# load) 225 miles at 65 getting about 12.3. The next 40 miles were sharp curves (20-25 mph) with a lot of short close coupled steep hills (a great bikers road) and it dropped to about 11.0. Powered through it fine.

On e-way road trips with out a load at 72-5 it's around 18.5, On 2-lanes at 55-60 steady seeing just under 20.

And don't forget to engage trail tow mode like I did 1st trip, it does seem to make a difference in pulling. I thought with a trailer with brake controller and info loaded it would auto engage - nope. My error, not the trucks.

My 5L tows a 19' aluminum fishing boat with a 100 litre gas tank full just fine with power to spare. Not sure of the tongue weight and I stopped checking mileage when the price of gas reached $1.00 per litre---dont want to know! Just filler up once a week, hundreed bucks or so.
What do they mean by the term 5L "Coyote"? Is every 5L a coyote or is this something special?

Big Red~
In the development stages at Ford, Engine Programs are given a code name, like Coyote. As another example, the 6.7L Diesel program I was working on at time of retirement was referred to as The Scorpion Program.

Not exactly. My Boss 302 is a "Road Runner." If you remember your Sat morning cartoons, Wile E. Coyote never quite catches the Road Runner! }>

nice
 

Just got my '11 scab one month ago. Had to rush to get the one thousand mile break in before towing.
Ten days ago I left with a twenty five foot camper that weighs 5500# empty. With water tanks full, propane, twin six volt batterys, fridge full of food, coolers full of beer and ice and every thing else it had to be well north of six grand.
In the bed was my four wheeler, gas cans, tool box, jack, ramps. You get the idea, she was loaded.
The trip was from far south west Virginia to north east PA. Up and down "81" for the most part. The south part of the trip is all up and down hills, the northen part is much flatter.
I could not be happier with the way that truck tows. The trailer sway thing is the best. You know when an 18 wheeler passes you and it first pulls you in and then pushes away? That just dosn't happen any more! The break controller is flawless. When you come to a stop sign it's like the trailer isn't there, like a empty truck.
My last truck was a "97" with a five point four. It had the trailer package and a 3:55 rear. It got the job done, and it made that trip many times with no problems. But I am telling you I had to push it hard on those hills.
This five ooh just dosn't seem to strain at all. Yea it likes to rev, but it feels there is aways more.
Oh, buy the way 11.5 to 12.5 MPG with a calculater. The "lie o meter" was one half a mile higher.