I am hoping that if I take the plunge, I wont regret with towing.

 

An F150 with Max Tow will handle it fine. I have the 2015 version of that and recently towed an 85 F250HD and a huge quantity of parts, totaling about 9000 lbs, from Florida to Oklahoma, a distance of 1000 miles. My brother, a Toyota man, went with me and kept commenting on how easily my truck pulled it and stopped it. The EB just makes child's play of pulling, and the tow/haul mode with compression braking makes stopping easy. In fact, he was asking questions about which models of the F150 have that feature.

And the beauty of the EB is that it gets decent MPG without a load. Mine gets about 18 running 75 MPH with several people in it. And it got 15 MPG towing just the trailer to FL, although that was with pure 91 octane gasoline. Then, with the F250 and all the parts loaded it got 9 MPG at 75 MPH.

 

Thanks for all the help. I am leaning towards the f150. I am guessing I have to look for a 2015 and up for what I need?

 

The same driveline was available before 2015. The main difference is the aluminum body in the 2015 and later trucks, which improves towing capacity by about 700 lbs. And 2017 trucks have the new 3.5EB with a 10-speed tranny that should help MPG.

 

I'd recommend checking out a previous-gen truck. The new design boasts higher towing capability, but several folks have reported that they're not as stable with heavy trailers as the previous generation. I haven't pulled heavier than a 3,500 lb boat with my '15, so I couldn't give you a first-hand comparison.

My '13 was a towing animal, though. With the max tow package it was rated for 11,100 lbs, and it was rock solid with my 28' enclosed trailer loaded to 12,000 lbs.

 

You have asked a very fair question, and the accurate responses are what I have come to expect from this community.

To your point I towed my 9100# 35' TT last year with my 2016 F-150 SCrew, 3.5 EB, 4x4, equipped with the max tow package for over 7200 miles last year. Detroit to Georgia, to South & North Carolina, Kentucky and Ohio, plus 14 various horse shows that my daughter competes in.

Weight distribution hitch is a requirement

F-150 squat is about 4"s with my tongue weight of 900#s, the WD hitch brings me back up to within 1" of unloaded (no trailer) height. I have set my trailer to run level with the WD in place.

Fuel mileage in the flat is around 10-10.5 mpg towing heavy, at 65 mph.

Fuel mileage in the eastern hills is in the 9+ mpg range.

I replaced the 2016 at 38,500 miles, (lease expiration,) with a 2017 speced the same except I now have the 2nd generation 3.5 EB and 10 speed trans.

Pulled one short haul and got an increase of about 1 MPG towing with this new drive train.

Stopping distance is what you will notice as the most different from your F-250. I previously had a F-250 with the V-10 and plenty of power and stopping. Both my 2016 and 2017 F-150 with 3.5 EB put more torque power to use while towing at a much lower rpm. I believe the braking ability is equal to the F-250 I had, but remember you have less weight in front of your trailer with the F-150 than the F-250.

Just my rambling thoughts, good luck.

Fx

 

You don't mention whether your 2011 is diesel or gas. If comparing to the 250 gas engine, the new Gen 2 Eco with 470 ft/lbs of torque with the 10 speed transmission will not be lacking for power. Towing 10,000 lbs will give you a 1200 to 1500 lb tongue weight if your WD Hitch is setup properly. You will definitely want to look into whether your dealer can locate or order a Heavy Duty Payload Package equipped F150. Due to thicker frame and upgraded suspension, they will have an extra 500-600 lbs of payload. (Search HDPP on the site) Unfortunately HDPP is no available on the luxury packages. The upgraded suspension will reduce squat and the truck will come off the lot with LT tires which will further increase stability while towing heavy. Don't let the salesman tell you the Max Tow or Heavy Duty tow package is the same, look for the Heavy Duty Payload Package which is tough to find on a lot, but they can be located or ordered.

 

After do more research, a 2017 f150 with the 3.5l eb, max tow and hd suspention super crew cab is rated at 11,700 and you have to have the 18" wheels and a 156.8" wheel base. The shorter wheel base is not available with this type of set up.

 

If you're only towing 4-5 times a year the 150 is the way to go.

 

Update: I leased a 2017 f150 with the 3.5 EB max tow, 5.5ft bed, sport package supercrew cab. i am impressed with the truck in almost every aspect. Towed my TT camper the other day and wasnt quite happy with the sway I was feeling at 60MPH. I dont know if its the way the WD hitch is set up, the slight wind condition, tires not correct rating for the tow package or what it could be. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

 

Setting up your trailer and hitch can make a big difference.
Do you know your axle weights? Moving some weight around in the truck and trailer can help you get things evened out, and AFTER you have done that, you should then work on adjusting your weight distributing hitch to put some weight back onto your steering axle.

 

Also, raise the tire pressures on the truck. If yours is like mine the manual says 35 psi for everything. But not too many years ago all manufacturers listed pressures for running light and for running loaded, and loaded always took more pressure, especially in the rear. I run 45 psi in the rear when loaded.

 

The Max Tow Pkg should not be sold with P rated tires. Just my opinion, but trade your tires in on a minimum C rated tire. E rated are easier to find.

 

I have goodyear wrangler fortitude tires that came on the truck, did the research and am told these tires are rated for the towing, axle weights are 5080lbs. Have tried moving weight around in the camper, not much different. I know this is going to sound stupid, but how do you adjust the wd hitch?

 

Let's back up a second, when I say axle weights, I mean taking the truck to a CAT scale or somewhere that you can get individual loaded weights on the steering, drive and trailer axles. let me see if I can find the old thread where I explained this.