Considering selling my Super Duty and going to an F-150. Had another 350 ordered May '21 and still has never come in so started to think about doing something different. 90% driving is empty. Occasionally pull trailer with compact tractor or camper (8000lbs) once or twice a year. Did some searching and saw a couple trucks I liked but wanted to ask for opinions as I'm not as knowledgable on the 150s as I am on the Super Duty.

2015 Platinum with 17k miles
2018 Lariat Sport with 46k miles

Same price. Both of them have the 3.5 TT.

Do you trade miles for a newer year? What are the Sync versions for each of those? I assume the 18 has Sync 3 like my 350 has now. Not sure when FordPass started on the 150s. Any help or advice would be great.

 

That 8k, will equal 1100 tongue weight after wdh. Does not leave much left with typical payload on those 2 trucks. I have a decent payload for a maxtow 150 lariat (1760) and I personally wouldn't do 8k with it. I think you will be much more happy going / staying the SD route. If you are hellbent on a F150, try and find a true hdpp. Many get stirred up not understanding the towing numbers Ford pushes in brochures. Sure you can pull it, but there is never enough payload to drop on the rearend. Then the bandaids become comical.

 

Thanks for the info. I did some checking on the window sticker and found out the 18 does have the max tow package. It is also the 502a package which I see in your signature on your truck. 8k may be a bit of a stretch on the camper but just shooting high to be safe. Towing guide looks like 12,700 lbs. It's crazy that the payload gets you that quick. Never had to worry about this with a 350 lol.

 

I ordered my 502a to eliminate the moonroof and rear step, that probably gained me 200# payload. The maxtow adds the 36g gas tank, a big plus. Just make sure you peek at the yellow sticker in drivers door for the true payload of that truck, some loaded ones get under 1500#s available. Good luck, hope you find one that works.

 

My 2015, Lariat 502a with pano-roof and tailgate step has a payload of 1560. That can get eaten up quick with 3 adults and tongue weight (plus weight dist. hitch). I'd say with the three of us (and extras we carry) in the truck it drops available payload to right at 1000.
With the way the new 250/350 ride I don't think I'll ever go back to a half ton truck after this one.

 

I love my current truck. Having a few emissions issues which is getting annoying and paying an extra $1.20 for diesel is getting old. Only reason to do this is to take the equity from my truck (paid off) and buy a cheaper one then pay off the wife's explorer. Then we can have 2 fairly new vehicles with no payments.

My other option I'm looking at is buying a 3/4 or 1 ton (any brand) gas truck. Don't have to worry about what I'm towing, but then my fuel mileage is going to suffer all year long. I'd much rather of the bigger truck, but maybe I'm growing up and trying to be more responsible. Getting old is boring.

 

A WDH does NOT increase the tongue weight. It transfers part of the tongue weight to the front wheels, but does zero to the overall tongue weight (it actually decreases the load on the rear axle).

Safe towing for an 8000 lb trailer would be a tongue weight in the 800 to 960 lb range (10% to 12% of the trailer weight).

That said, it would be on the upper end of what a F150 can handle unless it had the heavy duty towing package.

 

I'd take the Platinum any day. The Platinum has Sync2. Still a really good system. I would trade newer year for miles, and that truck being a Platinum adds to its appeal.

 

I was referring to the 100# weight of the wdh. That along with the trailer tongue weight equals total tongue weight

 

The 2015 is a first gen 3.5 with a 6 spd tranny.
The 2018 is a second gen 3.5 with a 10 spd tranny.

The 2018 is far better than the 2015 and will tow more.

 

I concur the 10spd will outshine the 6spd. Myself going from an 11 to a 19 (both 3.5 ecos) hands down I get better performance, gas mileage and towing out of the 10spd. Miles don't scare me either with these trucks.

 

OK. I get that, but our WDH is only about 50 lbs all in, so I think maybe you're talking about a pretty heavy WDH. Not arguing with your basic premise though because 8000 lbs is on the upper end unless it's a HDPP.

 

The Max Tow alone is a big option - go look up the '18 towing guide and see what all it gets you... I'm in the go with the '18 for all the other reasons posted above camp - the 3.5 will have both port and DI - keep that intake and backside of the valves clean

 

I thought I'd add my $.02, since I just got done doing some comparable towing this weekend.

My dad had a 2015 3.5 f150 that I borrowed for hunting season a few years ago, after I had sold my '99 7.3 f250. I towed a loaded atv trailer and a ~8k lb travel trailer with it and was very impressed. It wasn't quite as planted to the road at highway speeds as a heavier/longer truck, but it held its own much better than I expected. I stopped shopping for a newer used diesel trucks and bought a new 2019 f150 3.5 with the max tow package.

I just got done towing those same trailers on the same routes in very similar conditions with my 2019 f150. The 2nd gen 3.5 ecoboost did a phenomenal job. The 10-speed shines so nice while towing. It was pulling grades at 2500-3000rpm nicely. Manually downshifting to 3500-4000rpm on steep grades made the engine run at near cruising temps and pull effortlessly, even compared to my previous diesels. I'm still blown away by how much power these v6s make. The 2nd gen 3.5 does seem to have a bit more power overall than gen 1 and the 10-speed utilizes it very well. Towing and unloaded fuel economy is also 1-2mpg higher.

That being said, neither truck struggled to handle the weight at any point, even on 6-7% grades at 60mph. 1st gen 3.5s with the 6-speed definitely have the power needed to do what you want to do. The powerband is so wide in the ecoboosts that the 6-speed is still plenty adequate for towing. My biggest recommendation is to get a 157" wheelbase f150 for better stability. My 157" wheelbase truck was noticeably more planted in crosswinds and passing big rigs than my dad's 145" wheelbase f150 was, which was his biggest complaint. Last year, he traded his 2015 145" wheelbase f150 for a higher trim 157" wheelbase. He was looking at either a 2016 king ranch 3.5 or a 2018 lariat 3.5 with similar price and miles. He went with the 2016 and doesn't regret it. He says he likes his king ranch f150 more than any vehicle he's ever owned.

For what you're wanting to do, I think a properly equipped f150 would suit your goals and needs very well. The overall cost and difficulty of ownership of an f150 is substantially lower than any modern diesel 3/4 ton. It boils down to what makes the most sense for your driving preference and your finances. If I were truck shopping, I'd personally be willing to spend a few grand more for a 2nd gen than a comparable 1st gen. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another 157"wb max tow 3.5 ecoboost f150 if I had to replace mine.

 

So I've changed my search now to 17+ to get the 10 speed.

I'm searching Cars.com and Autotrader.com and so many of the trucks I'm finding are from Canada. Like the majority of them. I'm surprised by this. I did some searching and there was some debate about whether or not buying one from Canada is a bad idea.

Couple things I saw was Sirius radio not working 100% and whether any warranty/recall items would be taken care of.

Depending on response I get here, I might end up starting a new thread.