Hi all,
I'm selling my 7.3L Excursion and am on the fence for my next truck. It will either be a Ecoboost FX4 CC with 6.5ft bed, or a 6.7L superduty.

Obviously the superduty will be better for towing, but is obviously a ton more expensive. I can handle that, but I just wanted to get some feedback on the towing capabilities of the F150.

I have a 24ft enclosed car trailer, roughly 9k lbs, that I pull about 7-8k miles per year. I know the properly equipped tow rating would handle this, but I wanted to hear some real world feedback from you guys. Anyone tow something similar? I don't want to have to put airbags on the rear, but I do use a weight distributing hitch.

I know towing mileage isn't going to be spectacular, but I'd surely hope it's a little better than the old 2004 5.4L F150 I had a while back that got about 7mpg towing at 68-70mph. I've heard reports of 10-11mpg with similar loads and speed, is that realistic? The mpg at 50mph with a tail wind doesn't mean much to me. If I'm not going to do any better than 7-8mpg towing at 70, I'll get the superduty.

I test drove both the 150 and 250 this past weekend and loved them both. The 250 felt a little better put together and was actually quieter going down the road, but the 150 will definitely be nicer for daily driving duties (parking, fuel cost, maintenance cost, etc).

 

If you're only towing 9k lbs 7-8x a year I wouldn't even consider a diesel. You will definitely need to use a WD hitch and I'd also get air bags or Timbrens to help the squat. You'd be surprised how much a newer F250 squats with that weight. They are made to though. I towed 8k lbs a couple months ago and got 10-12mpgs with my F150. My recommendation is either a 150 with max tow, or a 6.2 250/350. You'd really be surprised how well the Ecoboost tows that weight.

 

Thanks for the input, glad to hear 10-12mpg is possible with the F150.

My towing is 7-8,000 miles per year, not 7-8 times per year, so that's why I'm considering the diesel. If the F150 got 8mpg and the F250 got 12 with the same load, that's a pretty significant difference. The initial cost difference is also significant though, and if 10mpg is the norm with the F150, I can be happy with that.

I don't like how harsh the airbags make the ride when unloaded. Seems like even when deflated, it still makes a difference in ride quality. That's why I mentioned I'd like to stay away from them if I can.

 

I just went from a 6.7 to the Ecoboost with Max tow as I sold my 24' enclosed trailer and only tow about 4,500lbs now. If it was me towing 9000lbs 7-8000 miles a year with an enclosed trailer I would go back to a F350 with a 6.7. Will the F150 tow it sure all day long but you will feel it espeacially on a windy day. My 2013 F150 gets pushed around on windy days by itself let alone with a enclosed trailer behind you. The trucks do have sway control but you still feel the initial sway. This is only my opinion of course as I always like to way over rate my tow vehichle, peace of mind I guess. Maybe the dealer will let you hook up your trailer and take it for a short test loop with some stops and highway speed so you can get a good feel of the truck under working conditions. Good luck in what ever you choose.

By the way towing 4,500lbs at 70mph nets me about 10mpg.

 

With 9000 lbs towing you will be lucky to get 7mpg w/ the ecoboost unless it is all flat and your not running 70 mph.
I tow 6500 lb boat and I get 7 - 8 on the highway at 72 mph cruise set. There are some hills around here so it is not flat.
I do think the Ecoboost will handle it just fine though. For the overall cost and extra maintenance and extra fuel cost - I would really consider the Ecoboost if it were me.

Any dealer you are considering buying from should have a used Ecoboost similar to what you want that you can try hauling your trailer around for an hour and see.

 

The 250 or 350 will do a better job handling the trailer. The mpg will obviously be worse than the 6.7l but the 6.2l with 4.30 gears is by no means a slouch when it comes to towing. A 6.2l F-250 will be pretty close in price to similarly equipped EB 150.

 

My mistake. I misread that.

With that use, you maybe better off with the diesel. The F150 Eco can do it, but you're more comfortable in the SD. I personally didn't care for the ride of the SD unloaded. They will squat with weight in the rear too or towing, so be prepared for that.

 

Thanks, that's exactly the real world data I was looking for. I know the 150 will handle it, but coming from a veggie converted Excursion with practically zero fuel costs, I just really wasn't sure about dropping down to smaller vehicle AND getting 7mpg. I know I could drive 60mph and do better, but some of my trips are 800-1000 miles one way, so I'm usually in a hurry to get there.

In the end, I know the 150 would still be cheaper when you consider the initial cost and maintenance cost differences, so I still have that to keep in mind. Just wanted some real data for my "pros/cons" list

 

actually the new 14 Super Duty all have 4" rear blocks so the squat wont be as bad as the 11-13 trucks. This was Fords "cheap fix" to their overly weak leaf springs

 

As someone who's towed 24' and 28' enclosed car haulers over the past few years with two diesel Super Duties as well as an Excursion and my current F150, I completely disagree with the majority here.

What squat? This photo is of my trailer right at 9,000 lbs; there was a 4,500 lb minivan inside:



I had my StableLoads engaged, but I've never measured more than a 1/2" height difference with them engaged.


Fuel economy on the highway has almost nothing to do with weight; wind resistance is king here. So don't expect someone towing a 9,000 lb boat to get the same fuel economy as you will towing your enclosed trailer. My trailer is an 8.5x28 with 7' interior height. I can get 9-10 MPGs empty, and 8-9.5 loaded to 10,000 lbs. Both are between 60-65 MPH; the faster you go the thirstier it gets.

I don't know...I've found the much tighter rack-and-pinion steering to be an advantage over my old Super Duty while towing in windy conditions. The precision allows me to compensate for wind much easier. The Super Duty really shines with it's ability to handle the heavier pin weight of fifth-wheel trailers, as the F150 is limited by the semi-floating axle and chassis.

Just last June we had another meet in Millersburg, OH where my F150 was put against different Super Duty trucks. Mine was the fastest up the hill with a 15,000 lb trailer, beating Scott's 6.4L diesel F250 which was the next fastest up the hill. Four or five other Super Duty owners drove my truck with this trailer, and all of them commented on how stable it felt; nobody felt uncomfortable with 15,000 lbs behind my little F150.

The 6.7L Powerstroke is an animal; I really enjoyed mine but I didn't tow often enough to justify the cost. I had the opportunity to drive 2000SilverBullet's 6.2L F350, and it found it to be utterly gutless compared to my EcoBoost F150. And that makes sense considering how it weighs 2,000 lbs more and makes less torque. In an F150 the 6.2L engine gets nearly 5 MPGs less empty on the highway; your fuel costs in a heaver F250 will be far greater than what you would spend on an F150.

The majority of my driving is empty highway miles, but I have about 1,000 miles towing weights up to 15,000 lbs. You won't find a 6.2L truck with lifetime fuel economy anywhere close to what my Max Tow F150 gets.

 

Sorry folks, we have had this argument and conversation many times before, but it all comes down to what YOU want. My opinion is go with the diesel. Scientific facts are great and all, but in my experience, most of life is good ole common sense. You are gonna be towing a good amount of the year with something that would come close to maxing out what the 150 can do, or you can go with the diesel that gets better MPG, handles the load better and will hold it's value better. Let us know whatever way you go!

 

Mine will definitely squat in stock form with that weight. With my 2 place snowmobile trailer, nothing..

 

No arguement here, Tom always has a great defense about someone else's opinion that he doesn't agree with and while I may not agree with all his comments it very entertaining to read. Like Tom said wind is the killer here, if the OP was hauling that much weight for That many miles with a open trailer I would say yes maybe the F150 would be fine. Now with a 24' enclosed trailer thats a different story, and for me I would go with a SuperDuty with the 6.7. We all have different opinions, thats one of the things that still makes this a great country to live in, at least until big goverment takes that away also.

 

I'm sure everyone knows I'm a pretty opinionated guy, but I'll be the first to admit that there's more than one way to skin this cat.

This was my 2011 F350 with my empty 24' trailer a few years ago.

 

Five-O, this might help you some with the MPG compairson. This past summer I pulled our 7,500 lb camper 350 miles one way with our F-150 Eco-Boost running with a friend with a F-350 with a 6.7 pulling the same size camper. We both set the cruise at 75 and left it there. On this trip I averaged 7 mpg and my friend's 6.7 averaged 9 mpg. I can get 9 mpg pulling this camper if I slow down to 60.