Curious if the Ford F150 will tow 10,000+

[onechaddude]

Originally Posted by dustman_stx

I haven't personally towed with a Ram with coil springs- and I've only spoken with 2 that have. First was a good friends father that met up with us on a camping trip a couple of years ago. He was towing a TT that was around 28', probably in the 6K weight range. He was complaining about how "squishy and squirmy" the rear of the truck felt. The only real difference in this rig and what he had always used was- you guessed it- the coil springs on his new Ram 1500. Second person was an RV delivery driver. His DMax was in the shop and he had to rent a Ram 2500 to make a delivery to me. One of this first things he said to me was that he was really ready to get his Chevy back because this Ram was all over the place- rear end was just "squirmy". Exact same story as the other guy. I pointed to the coil springs on the Ram and told him that was his problem. He didn't even know it had coil springs, so no way was he biased about spring type!!! I just wonder why Ram still has leafs on the 3500 if coils are better in every way???

I could see a 1500 series being squirrelly with a long TT just like a Chevy or ford would be. That's a good size TT for a 1/2 ton. As far as the 2500 series I guess it's personal opinion. I can say I've towed all sorts of trailers for 25+ years and I can't tell the difference in my 2500 with coils over the leaf sprung gm and dodge trucks I've had over the years. As for the ride. My bother has a 2015 gmc denali 2500 diesel with air shocks that's supposed to ride so great. My 2500 ram with coils rides much better than it.

As for the 3500, I've heard they are eventually going to them but I guess it takes time to engineer them.

Chad

[runsdeep]

Originally Posted by onechaddude

I could see a 1500 series being squirrelly with a long TT just like a Chevy or ford would be. That's a good size TT for a 1/2 ton. As far as the 2500 series I guess it's personal opinion. I can say I've towed all sorts of trailers for 25+ years and I can't tell the difference in my 2500 with coils over the leaf sprung gm and dodge trucks I've had over the years. As for the ride. My bother has a 2015 gmc denali 2500 diesel with air shocks that's supposed to ride so great. My 2500 ram with coils rides much better than it.

As for the 3500, I've heard they are eventually going to them but I guess it takes time to engineer them.

Chad

^^sounds to me you have the perfect truck. This will only turn Into a pissing contest between brands.

[caissiel]

GM had coil springs in the 60's. What is on GM now.

[Santana]

I have a 2015 Ford F-150 Lariat with the 3.5 ecoboost with the 3.55 transmission 6.5 bed, crew cab, max tow package 4x4 and tow a Timber Ridge 240RKS about 8k and had no issues towing or stopping to this point ( 6 months)Yes the gas mileage is only 10 to 11 mpg 20 / 21 without the trailer but we rather have the ride of the 150 because we figured we would we be using the truck more without the trailer then we would towing the trailer. Power never been an issue here on the east coast and we plan on trying those mountains out west next fall.

[SmokeyWren]

Originally Posted by Santana

I have a 2015 Ford F-150 Lariat with the 3.5 ecoboost with the 3.55 transmission 6.5 bed, crew cab, max tow package 4x4 and tow a Timber Ridge 240RKS about 8k and had no issues towing or stopping to this point.

No issues that were obvious, perhaps. But you were overloaded over the GVWR of your F-150. A TT loaded to 8k has an average hitch weight of 1,000 pounds. If you haul a normal weight of a small family, tools, a jack and jack base to change a trailer tire in a muddy ditch, and any camping stuff such as campfire wood, then you'll be overloaded. Add a camper shell to keep stuff in the bed out of the weather and you'll be even more overloaded.

What does the CAT scale say in the middle of your RVing trips? Add the weight on the front and rear axles of the tow vehicle and compare that total to the GVWR of the tow vehicle.

Your 4x4 is heavier than my 4x2, but your aluminum body is lighter, so the net difference is about 300 pounds. When I tied onto a trailer that grossed 7,820, without my camper shell I had 7,980 pounds on my truck axles and grossed 14,780. 720 pounds over my payload capacity, and 780 pounds over my towing capacity. Or a lot more than 300 pounds.

The EcoBoost drivetrain didn't even know a trailer was back there. So I had "no issues" that were obvious, other than a slightly sagging rear end. If I didn't have that CAT scale ticket that proved I was overloaded, I would not have known it when towing during daylight hours.

Of course, with 1,000 pounds of hitch weight and no air bags or other patches to mask the effects of an overloaded F-150, I couldn't drive at night without oncoming traffic having a conniption fit. So I didn't tow that trailer at night.

[marcham]

Originally Posted by Santana

I have a 2015 Ford F-150 Lariat ... and we plan on trying those mountains out west next fall.

Do your family a favour and stay off everything over 6%, otherwise your tranny and brakes will overheat on the downhill.

[gpscotty]

We have a 2013 F150 Suppercrew with the 6.5 box, tow package & 3.73 axle. Our trailer is a 1984 Avion p30, loaded weight of trailer is normally around 8000#, tongue weight 850#. Husky equalizer Hitch. Only suspension mode was a Helwig sway bar. We live in Texas (South of Ft Worth). We spend our Summers in N/W Montana. Our average mileage towing is 10mpg, the lowest gear it has ever gone down to pulling any grade is 4th. Very happy with my ecoboost, We pull the trailer out, unhook then 4 months later hook up and come back to Texas, the gas mileage not pulling is 17 to 21 mpg. I am a Happy Camper, this my story and I am sticking to it. gps

[smurfsofwar]

Originally Posted by caissiel

GM had coil springs in the 60's. What is on GM now.

Up until the 2014 model year? Rear drum brakes. So using GMs adoption or discard of certain technologies is hardly the example I'd use to set the bar. The coils in the Ram are not the coils of yesteryear.

[drittal]

Mfr's for the most part use leaf rear suspension because space isn't a problem, they are simple, effective, and cheap.

[cbramsey]

Originally Posted by 09 harley

The tow ratings of trucks are hype put out by the manufacturers. You could tow the weight suggested by the company but you would be overloaded and unsafe. Max comfortable weight for 150,1500 or whatever is about 7500. Do yourself a favor and get a F250 because they are much more capable. Don't look at the Ram because they don't have leaf springs. This was done for ride comfort not towing. Why do a lot of buyers add air bags? Because the coils can't handle the weight and you need to add a bandaid to solve the problem caused by a design not meant for towing.
Get a real truck and go with the Ford.

Point of order. Starting with the "Beer Can" generation F-150s, all truck manufacturers have started using the SAE J2807 "Performance Requirements for Determining Tow-Vehicle Gross Combination Weight Rating and Trailer Weight Rating"

There is no more "Magic Towing Dust" being sprinkled to yield unrealistic towing capabilities.

The OP mentioned using towing in the Colorado mountains. You might want to consider the 3.5L EcoBoost twin turbo version of the FX4. You have the twin turbos to help compensate for the decreased air density at elevation. According to the 2015 Ford F-150 Towing Guide, a 3.5L EcoBoost F-150 4x4 SuperCrew cab can tow an 11,500 lb trailer with a GCWR of 17,100 lbs.

You might want to check out The Fast Lane Truck Ike Gauntlet videos. These guys take various vehicles with trailers of varying payload in the Colorado mountains near the Eisenhower Tunnel. Interesting viewing.

[SmokeyWren]

Originally Posted by cbramsey

... a 3.5L EcoBoost F-150 4x4 SuperCrew cab can tow an 11,500 lb trailer with a GCWR of 17,100 lbs.

Take that with a huge grain of salt. The only time an F-150 with 17,100 pounds GCWR can tow a trailer that grosses 11,500 pounds without being overloaded is when the wet and loaded F-150, including hitch, driver and anything else in the pickup, weighs only 5,600 pounds, and the hitch weight of that wet and loaded trailer is not more than 1,600 pounds.

5,600 pounds truck plus 11,500 trailer =17,100 GCWR.

I would like to see a CAT scale ticket that shows the weights of an F-150 CrewCab 4x4 that grosses only 5,600 pounds when ready to tow with a family, WD hitch, tools and other stuff ready to go camping. Ain't gonna happen.

Also, that SAE J2807 standard is a joke. It is concerned with GCWR (and tow rating), which is rarely the limiter for a pickup. The GVWR (and payload rating) is the spec you need to be concerned with, and the GVWR has been accurate for dozens of years. If you exceed the GVWR of your tow vehicle, you're overloaded, regardless of what the SAE J2807 GCWR or any other weight rating says.

[cbramsey]

I agree with you on that. According to Ford, my F150 4x4 SuperCrew and 3.31 gearing would tow 9,100 lbs. I derated myself by another 20% or so. Had no issues going up a 6% grade with the trailer at the posted speed limit of 65 mph. I was just relating what Ford stated. Actually, my F150 with myself and wife, full tank of gas was 6,560 lbs according to the Cat scale.

[1bigmess]

Originally Posted by cbramsey

... my F150 with myself and wife, full tank of gas was 6,560 lbs according to the Cat scale.

What else do you ad to the cargo in the pickup when you go camping? That eats into your towing capability I'm not saying this for cbramsey, I'm saying it for others that are learning about this stuff.

Water?
Generators and fuel?
Firewood?
Tools?
Fishing gear?
Car top boat?
Guns and ammo?
Gold bars (just seeing if anyone is reading this)?

[smurfsofwar]

But... wouldn't some of that "stuff" find a better home IN the trailer? Tools in the storage, fishing gear, rifles in the trailer. Firewood is illegal to transport here. Generators and fuel I can see though, although I have never once used a generator camping. We use lanterns and candles and firelight. Nothing spoils a peaceful evening like those noisy things which is why they are either discouraged, only able to run during certain daytime hours, or outright banned in the parks here. That's just me though