Towing with F150.

[swatski]

View attachment 50520
That is strange. I have a 2016 F-150. 3.5 Ecoboost that pulls my 242LSE with no problems. I did add 2000# air bags that took the sway out of the light truck. It's a towing beast and I gave up a 13' Powerstroke F-350 since I don't tow heavy any more.

Love your trailer hitch! Looks great -- is it SS or aluminum?

--

 

[Fozzy]

Aluminum, expensive but worth it when you think about a $70K boat hooked to a $60K truck. Why skimp on the piece in between?
https://www.weigh-safe.com/

 

[McMark]

I have an 09 with the 5.4. We pull our ar240 from Pittsburgh to Daytona beach twice a year. 15 hrs and the trans temp is never higher than unloaded. It's dead on in the same spot. Even through the mountains of WV and VA. I don't use the cruise control until I get to GA though.

 

[FloJet]

If I was in the market for an F150, the 3.0 diesel is finally coming. And this time - it is for real.

Well, its a Power Stroke, 3.0 turbo diesel, which like all awesome diesels these days comes form Europe. Ford tries to pass it as a domestic product which is just silly. It is an old Citroen/peugeot V6 they have been using in Range Rovers for years.
Should be very competitive with EcoDiesel and TDI, all w/over 400 ft lbs of torque. Now, those will tow a boat!

--

I've been holding out for a new truck until the diesel F150s come next year. Was going to trade in my truck this year until I heard of them. I might wait 2 years tho to make sure everything is in working order for folks lol.

 

[SeanPC]

View attachment 50255 I had a 2015 F-150 3.5 eco boost and it had issues pulling my 242x. I traded it in for a Ram 2500 6.7 diesel and its flawless.....

I've also towed by 2016 242 Limited S with my 2014 F150 3.5L EcoBoost without issue so far. On the way back from the dealership was doing 75 - 80 mph without feeling stressed. It did drop down to 4th gear going up a couple of the steeper grades but was fighting a 20 mph headwind as well. Gas mileage wasn't great but that's to be expected. Curious also about what kind of issues you ran into towing with your F150.

 

[malibu Dan]

Hoping Toyota pulls the trigger on diesel... I know f150 forum... sorry...

 

[Speedling]

Don't really understand the desire for diesel. Am i wrong in that you always need to add that exhaust fluid?
Diesel is slightly harder to find sometimes? Oil changes can be more expensive?
The benefit is more power with the same mpg?
I laugh when people tell me how fast their diesel truck is. If i had a v8 with over 6 liters and a bunch of boost on gas i know it would be a ton of power.
And up here when it gets super cold i gotta worry about gelling fuel and plugging in the truck. If i plug it in i want a Tesla ok?
If you tow a LOT i totally see it but unless i got a great deal i can't see it being a benefit. Perhaps the 3 liter turbo diesel would make more sense because you get plenty of power and don't need the big v8 mileage. But then i would compare to the ecoboost 3.5 or 2.7 motors again.
Just my 2 cents and my personal usage of course.
Vehicles i drive:
F150 with 5.4
Expedition with 5.4
Gmc 3500 stake bed with 6.0 gas.
Gmc 6500 22' bed with straight 6 diesel

Only have issues in the winter with the diesel.

 

[FloJet]

Ya but with the diesel plus eco boost you could get around 20 mph while towing. Rams can get 28 mph on highway not towing and anywhere from 18-20 mph while towing. That's a big deal for me. Currently I get about 9-12 mph towing. That would double my towing range going with diesel. Diesels are just way better for long tows at this time.

 

[swatski]

Don't really understand the desire for diesel. Am i wrong in that you always need to add that exhaust fluid?
Diesel is slightly harder to find sometimes? Oil changes can be more expensive?
The benefit is more power with the same mpg?
I laugh when people tell me how fast their diesel truck is. If i had a v8 with over 6 liters and a bunch of boost on gas i know it would be a ton of power.
And up here when it gets super cold i gotta worry about gelling fuel and plugging in the truck. If i plug it in i want a Tesla ok?
If you tow a LOT i totally see it but unless i got a great deal i can't see it being a benefit. Perhaps the 3 liter turbo diesel would make more sense because you get plenty of power and don't need the big v8 mileage. But then i would compare to the ecoboost 3.5 or 2.7 motors again.
Just my 2 cents and my personal usage of course.
Vehicles i drive:
F150 with 5.4
Expedition with 5.4
Gmc 3500 stake bed with 6.0 gas.
Gmc 6500 22' bed with straight 6 diesel

Only have issues in the winter with the diesel.

@Speedling,
This:
max torque at 1,750RPM

--

 

[FloJet]

Ecodiesel is a big time game changer now days. Look at the new Dodge Rams with those engines. Now with ford incorporating their 10 speed transmissions into Ecodiesels, Wow I get excited just thinking about it. Like @swatski stated big torque at low RPMs. I think these will be able to get 22-24 while towing. Add a programmer and shoot I have MPH close towhat most economy cars get while towing lol. In theory I suppose.

 

[swatski]

As @Speedling pointed out, maintenance in those clean diesels IS a hassle, no doubt! And it is critical, (IMO) has to be done more frequently than the scheduled changes. Those exhausts run something like 1,400 degree hot to incinerate pollutants, imagine what it does to engine oil... And you HAVE TO use those low ash/additive oil formulations to protect the DPF -- those are intrinsically shitty and expensive. But, if you are willing to do it yourself, the whole deal still makes sense.
That stupid Q7 TDI I use now just feels like it is light years ahead of anything I drove before, no kidding. Ton of torque, very low to the ground, unbelievable handling and traction control. Unbelievable. And still fits 7 comfortably. Just saying.

--

 

[malibu Dan]

My thinking ... and I do very little of it... is my V-8 pulls fine... but as mentioned the mpg is a killer.. this has always limited me to local trips... would love to venture out on much longer drives to new lakes (over mtn passes) and not have to stare at the gas gauge...

 

[MattFX4]

Ya but with the diesel plus eco boost you could get around 20 mph while towing. Rams can get 28 mph on highway not towing and anywhere from 18-20 mph while towing. That's a big deal for me. Currently I get about 9-12 mph towing. That would double my towing range going with diesel. Diesels are just way better for long tows at this time.

Do an analysis between gas and diesel and it may not sound so great. The diesel option is thousands of dollars more up front, then additional cost associated with diesel. It takes a lot of miles driven to break even.

 

[blacksapphirez]

you buy diesel because you want a diesel, not because you're saving money on fuel.

I love the torque, low RPMs on the hwy, quiet, No DEF(tuned...so I put in distilled water) driving experience is 10x better than gas IMO

 

[mrmeaniemeateaterman]

I know this is a F150 discussion but since the talk of diesel vs gas always comes up I will share a simple analysis I made in excel when I was trying to decide between the Ram Hemi and Ram Ecodiesel. I modified the numbers to current local fuel prices for me. Like @MattFX4 mentioned I think if you sat down and did the math the diesel is an expensive option, unless you tow A LOT then it pays for itself......eventually. But it takes A LOT of towing miles to pay for the $5000 up charge on the diesel motor. And if you were towing everyday then you probably wouldn't have a 1/2 ton truck anyway. Keep in mind that analysis below is just for cost of fuel. The diesel still has DEF fluid (not free) and from what I have read Ram's ecodiesel gets real thirsty for DEF when you start towing. And this is for a 200 mile trip...4 hours. Most of us don't tow anywhere near that very often. Here's the numbers, you guys decided if it's worth it to you.

 

[FloJet]

I agree on the front end Diesel is more expensive. On the back end, I would disagree majorly. Let's take the $5k upfront charge out for this discussion as that's all subjective from dealer to dealer. Most of the figures you have up shows a difference of 10 mph gain in a diesel. I drive 40 mins to work every day. Comes out to be 250 miles a week or 13,000 approx. miles a year.

13,000 alone for commuting without even factoring in towing in the spring and summer times will eat way more gas money with regular gas than diesel. Basically for every dollar spent on gas, I am getting double the miles with diesel. In the long run this is way more easy on the pockets than going gas route.

My current ford cost me roughly $100 to go 375 miles or so. Diesel you are looking at around $60 for same mileage. Sure my math is off but not really trying to compute just trying to show after the initial upfront cost of diesel, gas don't even compare when it comes to saving $s.

But I do agree, is it worth the upfront cost? For me ABSOLUTELY! Others, I just don't know.

Don't forget too when gas prices eventually go up, gas will be higher than diesel in many scenarios. We all know that's bout to happen in the near future. At that time, Diesel really blows away the competition. Until manufactures start rolling out power house natural gas vehicles, I do believe diesel is the big winner, plus the engines last longer in theory. Diesel technology is just way better than they were even 5 years ago.

Getting 10mph towing is just not feasible for me! 17mph on highway not towing sucks too, especially when you hear of rams getting double of those figures.

 

[mrmeaniemeateaterman]

Let's for argument sake not look at the 2 extremes (highway and towing) of a truck's mpg as neither happens very often for most of us. A better analysis looks at average mpg with mixed driving since that is what we do in reality. I went to fuelly.com and got average mpg of both the Hemi (15.4mpg) and ecodiesel (22.5mpg). Then I applied this over 100,000 miles. Now you may keep your truck longer or shorter, but most of us starting itching for a new one around 100,000 miles. If you do this math, over 100,000 miles, at today's fuel prices the diesel saves you $3072.15 in fuel costs. Again I'm not considering maintenance, def fluid, resale, speculations regarding the worlds gas supply, your own personal satisfaction of driving, nor your need for costly blood pressure medicine while waiting on the ONLY diesel pump while some ass clown goes into the store for 20 minutes and leaves his 1986 Honda Civic parked in your way (been there, done that), in this math. And in case you are curious you have to get to 163,000 miles before you breakeven on the $5000 diesel motor upgrade. Hard to ignore the $5000 when truck buying. I post all this to perhaps show people that maybe are not as "analysis inclined" as me to sit down and do the math.





But I will say this: if driving the diesel makes you happy then go for it. It's just money. Can't take it with you. And we have to remember we are on a boating forum. If we only made sound financial decisions, then none of us would be here.

 

[swatski]

Let's for argument sake not look at the 2 extremes (highway and towing) of a truck's mpg as neither happens very often for most of us. A better analysis looks at average mpg with mixed driving since that is what we do in reality. I went to fuelly.com and got average mpg of both the Hemi (15.4mpg) and ecodiesel (22.5mpg). Then I applied this over 100,000 miles. Now you may keep your truck longer or shorter, but most of us starting itching for a new one around 100,000 miles. If you do this math, over 100,000 miles, at today's fuel prices the diesel saves you $3072.15 in fuel costs. Again I'm not considering maintenance, def fluid, resale, speculations regarding the worlds gas supply, your own personal satisfaction of driving, nor your need for costly blood pressure medicine while waiting on the ONLY diesel pump while some ass clown goes into the store for 20 minutes and leaves his 1986 Honda Civic parked in your way (been there, done that), in this math. And in case you are curious you have to get to 163,000 miles before you breakeven on the $5000 diesel motor upgrade. Hard to ignore the $5000 when truck buying. I post all this to perhaps show people that maybe are not as "analysis inclined" as me to sit down and do the math.

View attachment 50977

View attachment 50978

But I will say this: if driving the diesel makes you happy then go for it. It's just money. Can't take it with you. And we have to remember we are on a boating forum. If we only made sound financial decisions, then none of us would be here.

Man, I love your approach. I agree on your cost analysis, albeit with some caveats: a Hemi returning 15.4mpg is a very good Hemi. And gas prices are likely to go up.

There is just one more thing to this discussion: the range.
YMMV, but I routinely get over 600 miles between fill-ups in mixed driving with my TDIs. I could easily push it over 700+ if I had better road manners.

--

 

[Speedling]

Man, I love your approach. I agree on your cost analysis, albeit with some caveats: a Hemi returning 15.4mpg is a very good Hemi. And gas prices are likely to go up.

There is just one more thing to this discussion: the range.
YMMV, but I routinely get over 600 miles between fill-ups in mixed driving with my TDIs. I could easily push it over 700+ if I had better road manners.

--

I get 250 miles with my 5.4 f150. But i use and abuse more than most.

 

[SeanPC]

For what it's worth, filled the tank on my F150 3.5L EcoBoost on a road trip from Belton, TX to Oconomowoc, WI last year about half way up and DTE read 630 miles which comes to about 17.5 mph (36 gallon tank). Didn't verify the actual mileage but sure put a smile on my face for a bit.