I know what you're getting at and I agree that people should heavily research before trying/buying. However, I believe you can pick any trim level with a supercrew, 3.73, 4x4, and ecoboost and you'll get up to 11k and then some.

 

yep, you are exactly right:

2011 Ford F-150 | View Towing Specifications | Ford.com

I think you are confused with the maximum payload capability (****Heavy Duty Payload Package Required)

http://www.ford.com/trucks/f150/specifications/payload/

 

I see this has turned into the standard F150 can't tow anything thread. Here are the facts. These new F150 have larger brakes, stronger frames, more power engines, and better transmissions than most of the Super Duties that have come before them. They also have integrated trailer brakes and sway control.

You can get 11,200lbs towing in any cab/bed configuration as long as you have the right engine and gearing. Options come off of the GVWR and GCVWR. I wouldn't hesitate towing anything within capacity as long as it was properly set up with a WD hitch. Yes you get less payload with the 150 vs 2/350 but that's the trade off for decent MPG and road manners when not towing.

Also as far as I know, the yellow stick states max payload and doesn't have anything on it in regard to towing capacity.

Mike

 

Towing a 29' TT with my 157" wheel base crew cab is well with in the tow limits of my truck with a loaded trailer weight of aprox. 6K lbs. Then there are people and cargo added to that. My truck tows stable and has good power, but limited reserve power, so I don't know that I would get a heavier trailer then what I have now, even though my truck is rated at 9500 lbs. of towing ( minus cargo and people of course). Also have to keep in mind the tall frontal area of some trailers too trying to slow the truck down on the open road, unlike lets say an open car trailer that has little air drag on the truck. There are so many factors to consider when it comes to tow ratings.

 

I'm guessing you have the 3.55 gears? Like you said, big frontal area will slow you down in a hurry. A boat or low profile trailer will do much better. Also your cargo and people do not reduce towing directly. You have to subtract them from the payload and GCVWR and then it could affect your towing indirectly.

The engine is IMO the least important thing. The 5.4 and any of the new engines will do fine to pull any rated load as a safe speed. Just look at the HP and torque to weight of the 5.4 in a 17,100lb GCVWR F150 vs an 80,000lb semi with a Cummins 600HP/2050TQ engine.

Mike

 

373 rear with electronic locker and tow package. The 5.4 is much better of a tow motor then it gets credit for for sure, but I would never be opposed to more power. The big plus is the 6 speed giving the motor more power band over the old 4 speed.

 

I used the Firestone Ride Rite air bags on my F350 when I was towing professionally.

It made a huge difference in the ride, stability, especially with 5ers.

They were also fun when empty. At stoplights, using the controls, making the back end rise then lower, then first the left side up and the right side down. Watching the folks behind me in the mirrors was always entertaining.

Great product, well worth the price and it was a great way to add an on board air compressorand tank.

I actually ran 'train horns' off the Ride Rite air tank, another self entertaining addition.

But I am easily amused

 

I was an RV transport driver for one of the northern Indiana based transport companies.

I carried everything. I had my truck plated for 25,999 pounds although I never carried that much.

I did pull 40 foot Raptors that had a "ship" weight of 13,5K with a tongue weight of 2800 pounds. These were the three axle models and the Ride Rite easily corrected for the weight.

The heaviest hitch I pulled was a portable bathroom trailer that was both men and women rooms with porcelin fixtures and tile walls and floors. My dispatcher assured me it weighed less then 10,000 pounds buty when I crossed the scales in Wisconsin (I was commercial so I had to stop at weigh stations) the truck and trailer came to just over 25K. The Wisconsin State trooper gleefully ordered me around back for inspection and then weas disappointed that my truck was not only licensed for the weight but I had a Class A CDL.

The truck with the 6.0L turbo diesel moaned and groaned with that much weight but the load stayed level with the Ride Rite. Absolutely great product and worth way more than the actual cost.

 

Now I Owen a 6800lbs travel trailer gross weight is 10000 pounds. I used to tow it with my 08fx4 witch had a gross towing capacity of 8800lbs. I never ran it with water in it. Only food and clothing. So I figured it was about 7500 when loaded. I did run a wd hitch and the fire stone ridrite air bags with a compressor after a year of towing. The difference was night and day. Not only did the ride smooth out alot but it some what helped with mpg.

 

Brandon,
Sorry for jumping in so late. Just signed up to the forum.
I have always been told that for safety never tow over 80% of your towing capacity. If you are rated at 8,000 lbs don't try to tow over 6,400 lbs. Remember you have to be able to stop not just pull!
docgj

 

Not sure if anyone will find this interesting, or if anyone is "in the market" and is going through the same decision/analysis process that I am. I've been poking around the F150 pages (including EcoBoost) for a few days now and am relatively new to the F150 threads.

I'm in the market for a truck, and up until this point, I was convinced that I wanted a F250 with the 6.7. I've spent the past countless months following threads in the 6.7 forum. I'm coming from an Excursion that had a 6.0 PSD. For the record, I typically tow fairly light loads as most people would consider them, which consists of a 3500lb 21ft boat "dry". I figured with trailer, 5 passengers, and plenty of gear, I'm roughly double that weight, but I've never hit a scale to verify, which I'm now very curious about. On rare occasion (few times of year), I'll tow a heavier dump trailer (probably 8-9Klbs+ loaded). I went from a gas (5.4 IIRC) Expedition to the diesel Excursion "just becuase". I was under the impression at the time that the diesel was the better option for such a big vehicle, that diesel fuel would ultimately cost less than regular (obviously not true), and would generally provide a better tow experience than the Expedition (which it did).

With the exception of the dump trailer, I know the SD w/ 6.7 is overkill, but I wouldn't consider a gasser in that vehicle. The F150 EB has recently caught my attention with the impressive torque, etc., and I'm now wondering if it's a better all around vehicle. I drove one last night and I like the ride overall. I also think the F150's are generally much better appointed on the interiors, although nothing wrong at all with the SD Lariats. The F150s just have a little more refinement and a few more bells/whistles (which I'm a sucker for).

It really comes down to general performance & "economy" (not in the literal sense) since the vehicles are similar in size with the 6.5ft bed (I know the F150 is a little shorter/narrower), but the cab and cargo room is quite comparable on a relative basis. Obviously both engines (EB & 6.7) are vastly different, geared for different applications/use cases, and the 6.7 is more costly to operate & maintain (diesel fuel is currently more expensive, requires DEF, and requires more oil etc during changes).

I've been trying to follow the MPG threads in both forums specifically to see how comparable the vehicles are. It's tough to tell what to really expect with the EB since it hasn't been out nearly as long as the 6.7, but preliminary data suggests that both engines are within a few MPGs of each other (with the edge going to the 6.7 currently).

Based on numbers alone, it would appear that the F150 w/ EB is more than adequate for my needs, and it's been a fairly significant adjustment for me to think I should consider the 150/EB over the 250/6.7. I never liked how my Expedition struggled to maintain a decent speed while towing a boat w/o constantly "screaming", so I'll be following people's towing experiences as the EBs continue to make their way out to market. If they truly perform as a "mini diesel" from a general torque/towing/MPG perspective, it might be up for serious consideration. Just curious if anyone else is going through the same thought process.

 

I have a lot of towing experience, almost all of it with with an F350 dually with the 6.0L. I towed in all 48 of the lower States and all of the weestern provinces (Ontario and west) of Canada so a lot of terrain experience.

I am out of that now and just towing a Jayco 17c which has a wet weight of 3500 lbs.

I needed a truck to tow the trailer when I finally convinced my wife that towing it with a Jeep Wrangler , even with the tow package, really sucked for want of a better term.

So we bought an F150. I started to buy a 2011 and the EcoBoost but being old (and really having been burned by that POS 6.0L diesel) I chickened out and bought a 2010 with the 5.44L gas engine. The $5500 in rabates had nothing to do with my decision, of course.

What i am trying to say is towing your boat with the Eco is probably just fine but hauling a dump trailer (and it's just my opinion) is going to be kind of iffy.

I prefer buxum women, large caliber handguns and pickup trucks with way more power than I really need.

I would not attempt an 8-9K dump trailer with a 5.4L gasser which means I also wouldn't with an Eco. Getting the dump trailer going may be possible but I would really want to be able to stop it also. A heavier truck (with plenty of power) makes that easier by going and stopping.

I am sure some of the other folks will chime in with different opinions, this was just mine

 

Thank you BudMan, good perspective. The difficulty in my decision lies in that desire to have a vehicle that will be capable in just about any situation (that is marginally less appointed/refined) vs having one that is capable in "most" situations (that is better appointed/refined). With respect to the dump trailer, I would give that the least amount of weight in my decision process since it's a borrowed trailer, not used for work, and is used only when I need to clean up junk lying around the house for the most part. I also have the benefit of being able to borrow other SD diesels in my neighborhood if I ever get into a pinch.

That being said, as far as considering the EB, it's a leap of faith to a degree...there is a psychological aspect to going from a diesel to a V6. While the numbers on paper look good, I'm really after real world experience. It sounds like the EB would do a great job towing the boat....would hope it does so w/o "screaming" like my 2000 Expedition did (maintaining 65mph up and down I5 to/from Shasta Lake), and with relatively good MPG performance. I should also add that I plan to lift either vehicle...I'd likely run 35s on the F150 or 37s on the F250. I know this ultimately impacts performance, MPGs, etc, but these mods should have a relatively equal impact to each vehicle (with maybe a slight advantage againg going to the 6.7 just because of the added HP/torque).

I played around with some numbers this evening from a MPG perspective. I assumed 3mpg difference (on average) between the EB & 6.7 (advantage to the 6.7), and based on a current $5K cost difference between the two (post rebate) 150 Platinum w/ EB loaded vs a 250 Lariat loaded, it still takes many years to offset on a MPG basis alone, not including the higher maintenance costs for the 6.7. In some respects, it boils down to a "pay for performance" argument.

 

You may already know this but if you order the FX-4 with the EcoBoost, you can get the 4.10 gearing with the Max Towing Package. It would help to offset the larger tires you plan on adding.

 

Thank you John, I didn't catch that when I was going through the specs, so I'll take another look. I guess the only disadvantage here is that this widens the MPG gap between an EB with 4.10 gears vs a 6.7 w/ 3.55 gears.