I have for some time wondered if I really need a big superduty to pull my trailer and do my work. just doing a simple test drive would never tell me the answer. I wondered about fuel economy, pulling power, braking, load handeling etc.

so I went to a dealer and asked if I could take an ecoboost f150 for a couple hours. The plan was to see what the truck really could do. mainly that involved pulling a load. so I took the truck home and hooked up my 6000# cargo trailer. This trailer is 7 foot wide and is 6.5 feet tall inside, so it does have a bit of wind it pushes. The trailer also has about 700# of ball weight which is quite a bit to hang off the back of a truck. I took the truck and trailer in some city driving and highway driving as well as up the steepest grade in our area, parleys canyon. This grade ascends approx 2000 vertical feet over the course of 7-8 miles with the last 2 or 3 being a steeper assent to the top. My superduty pulls this grade and crests the top at about 75 mph pulling the identical load. The results are suprising, I had to slow to about 60 mph at the base of the steep last leg because a car was in the way. once they cleared out of the way I had started up the steeper section, so I stomped the throttle to the floor, the truck accelerated to about 80 mph. There is NO WAY my superduty will come close to pulling that off!!!! I held this speed for about a mile or so and then got a message saying reducing power engine high heat. looking at the heat gauge showed it about 85% from being all the way to H on the gauge. I continued to keep my foot in the throttle and the speed lowered to about 72 mph as I crested the top of the grade. I turned off the highway went under the bridge. I noticed the heat gauge quickly went back to normal, but I had to pull a short grade to get back up on the freeway heading back the other way, about 1/2 mile,again I floored it, temps again quickly climbed although didn't trigger reduced power mode.

fuel mileage ACCORDING TO THE COMPUTER. which on my superduty is pretty accurate, don't know on this truck, the fuel mileage up and back, stop and go traffic included showed at 9.8 mpg. for reference the superduty would probably have been around 11mpg doing the same trip. until I really stated pulling the hills I was around 12 mpg which is matching the superduty. so if you are pulling fairly level ground I don't see the advantage in superduty fuel mileage. This was very surprising to me. I am really surprised at the towing fuel mileage particularly in lower speed stop and go traffic. I am going to say advantage ecoboost here.

conclusions, the f150 passed pretty much every test, the brakes were excellent. power was plenty good. The load isn't quite as stable as the SD but maybe some increased tire pressure could fix that. The fuel mileage is close and factoring in gas is often 50 cent to $1/gallon less in the end is the diesel saving me money?? I wonder. The overriding truth is that the 400/800 rating on our trucks is a FARCE at highway speeds. it just is how could a truck like the f150 albeit 2000#'s lighter hang
(no beat)with a truck putting out almost double the torque?? now the full 800#'s is there at a dig to get the load moving but it aint there at 70 mph. One problem is the overheating issue with the ecoboost I encountered, is this normal temps outside were upper 70's what happens if the temp outside is 90 or more?? is this normal for the ecoboost to experience this?? is it just protecting the powertrain?? seems like a larger radiator could cure the problem?? lastly the ecoboost tows like no gas engine I have ever driven. that includes big blocks, small blocks etc. This truck pulls the load very well at all speeds. I don't think a gas motor at least in a pickup past or present can compare to it. now if they only had a small diesel in the f150 that put out similar numbers then we would really be seeing some savings. so in the end I don't know what I am going to do, I need to figure out what the deal is with overheating.

 

Interesting to hear that you saw the same results that I have. I never towed that much with my F350, but I can say that my new truck does every bit as well in most areas with a trailer. In last summer's OH meet my truck handily exceeded everyone's expectations with a 15,000 lb trailer.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...l#post13286730

Mine has the max tow package which has a bigger radiator than most F150s, and even though the engine got warm I never saw a reduced power message. Clearly the Super Duty platform has an advantage when it comes to cooling capability.

 

I really don't mean to sound like a jack wagon here, but I presume the F150 you drove was new from the lot, if so I sincerely hope no one from my family buys that truck after what you did to it before its breaking period is complete.
But thanks for the comparison report.

 

you mean people aren't supposed to do burn outs in those mustangs they test drive?? this truck had 1500 miles on it, so I dunno what the break in time is on it. are you suggesting the results would have been different with a more "broke in" truck??

 

^^^ ditto ^^^


The cooling issue could be that you are running the truck beyond its capabilities. I'm not understanding why you would floor the gas pedal and "race" up the hill on a test drive??? I mean...what is the rush?


biz

 

I'm sure an empty 150/eco will out run an empty SD/6.7 but with a 6000 lb. trailer..... I dunno. What makes you think the 6.7 carries farcical numbers , yet the eco's are gospel? I suspect you are driving the eco like you stole and the 6.7 like you paid for it. I've driven the eco and its a phenomenal power plant, but there is no way on the face of this planet that it produces more torque than the 6.7. With the load you're pulling the 150/eco is plenty of truck without a doubt, but when pulling steep prolonged grades the 6.7 is going to be strolling and the eco is going to be screaming. I am with you in that the 6.7's fuel economy while towing has left me a bit disappointed. I am getting exactly what I got with my 6.0 which is 10 mpg on the nose. I pull a 5er that typically goes right at 14,000 lbs (same trailer-both trucks) and I drive pretty hard so some of its my fault but I expected a bit better. I've pulled this trailer EVERYWHERE ( Alaska, Canada and upper mid-west) with both trucks so my database is not skewed. Anyway, If you like the 150/eco go for it. Its mucho plenty for what you're doing. As far as the high coolant temp., consider the huge amount of power you were extracting from a small number of cubic inches. Maybe that truck didn't have the max. towing/cooling package. If I was towing a smaller trailer I might consider the same thing you are, but I'd also want to see what kind of track record this engine/transmission establishes as a towing platform.

 

goodness sakes I simply wanted to see what the truck would do pulling a grade in a 2-3 mile stretch. now I am thrashing on the truck. and yeah I run my 6.7 wide open up the very same hill EVERY time. I understand there really isn't a way to thrash on a diesel engine, and no if I ran the ecoboost I would probably keep the speeds around 70ish. aren't you guys glad I at least gathered a data point?? who else out there has pulled the same exact load with different trucks and posted the outcome?? yeah like no one.

I wanted a baseline of what the trucks would do. I am not saying ford's ratings are wrong on the 6.7. what I am saying is ford detunes the truck at highway speeds. I suspect we are only seeing about 600#'s of torque from the 6.7 at highway speeds. the 6.7 produces tons of torque at low speeds sometimes I have even broken the tires loose with the trailer on and not meant to. thats the full 800# when that happens. The f150 does have its advantages I love its low seating height, for some reason the superduty has a hump under the seats that makes them only go down so low. the f150 is pretty much flat and thus the seating position can be lowered about 3" thats really nice because it doesn't leave me looking out the front having the rear view mirror block my view.

this truck had 3:55 gears doesn't the max tow only come with 3:73?

 

The only guy I know who has one doesn't like it much. He is a foreman in irrigation Co. The truck is not loaded that much. They have a fleet of Super Duties for hauling stuff. 17-18 mpg highway and not a lot of power. His personal truck is 08 Sierra.

 

I'd like to see any Eco outrun my h&s enhanced 6.7

 

It wasn't beyond the truck's capabilities though. Even with 3.31 rear gears, EB equipped trucks are rated to tow over 8,000 lbs. That reduced engine power message is normal, the owners manual states that this will happen during some towing conditions when the engine gets too hot. There have been some posts on the EB forum about that, and the general consensus is that the truck doesn't have the cooling ability to handle the engine under full throttle for extended periods of time.

I've done the same to my truck in the OH meet, and it never reduced power but it was getting warm and would have if we kept it up. These engines are built for towing; Cummins Cowboy didn't hurt it. I have never heard of someone who claims to have damaged their engine towing.

That's correct, max tow trucks are relatively few and far between.

 

At 1500 miles the truck was broke in...no harm done in my eyes.

I drove Tom's eco in Ohio this last summer. It was the fastest up the hill.

couple of things come to mind here. First was this eco with the max tow like Tom's? Any way to verify?

Secondly, and Tom can correct me if I am wrong, I believe the eco is all aluminum so it heats up quick when you start putting the power to it where the 6.7 is different.

So I think the eco is great for lighter loads and the general day to day stuff.

I think it could even pull my 5er on the flats but the axle's wouldn't support it.

It just does not have the cooling capacity to keep it from melting.

 

Senix. Well said.

 

I agree, well said senix. I'd add that fuel mileage is a factor too. I know I'm tuned, but even before all that, I'd get way better mileage.

My cousin has a 4 place open deck four wheeler trailer and pulls about 5400# behind his normal eco boost f-150. He drives aggressive and doesn't know how to feather the throttle to save his life, but he is always complaining about mileage under 10 mph. Before deleting I'd get around 13 mpg pulling a box kite with 5 wheelers. My trailer is an enclosed deck over trailer and when we are loaded up with everything we are pushing 7000# and I'm the one out front breaking the wind. Now I' get around 15 and have even more power.

He does run consistently hot temps after towing, but never sees any warnings or problems, but still I wonder about the lifespan of the heads (it's a new truck this year).

 

horse power is what gives you speed at the top of the hill
and they both have close to the same HP, the F150 being alot lighter will help also.
start both trucks from a stop at the base of the steep hill and see if there is a difference.

 

Ecoboost is a great grocery getter and really good at light hauling and light towing but hook it up to a 12 1/2 foot high 8 foot wide 12K 5'er and it won't hold a candle to the 6.7 Super Duty. It ain't supposed to..