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We are nearing the end of a 4,000-mile towing trip. Midland to Denver to Ogden to the eastern border of Oregon to Salt Lake City to Phoenix to El Paso now, and then Monday we'll go on home to Midland County. 2012 F-150 EcoBoost with SelectShift 6-speed automagic tranny with tow-haul mode. Crossed the Rockies on I-80 going to Oregon, and on I-10 coming home.
Using nothing but 91-octane premium gas, MPG has been a bit over 10 MPG, cruising at 64 or 65 MPH and dragging a TT that is less than 5,000 pounds. Tow-haul works great for coming down the grades. One time we got to test the brakes. Ford IBCS and brakes, and the trailer brakes, all worked great. When I first realized that traffic ahead was at a standstill because of an overturned 18-wheeler, I thought I was probably not going to be able to stop in time. But the rig stopped great. Whew!
The F-150 with 6-speed SelectShift tranny is a lot smarter than I am. So I select D and cruise control and allow the computer to figure it all out. On relatively level roads, it never downshifts out of 6th. But on grades it will select 5th or 4th or even 3rd to keep up the 65 MPH cruise control speed. Coming down the mountain with tow/haul turned on, it will downshift to 2nd if necessary to prevent exceeding 65 MPH.
Yeah, I know I could save a bit of gas by killing the cruise and going up grades at a lower speed, but I'll do that when I can't afford to allow the truck to do its thing.
No regrets so far for choosing the 3.15 axle ratio or 4x2. The EcoBoost engine has plenty of power to drag that trailer up 8% grades without breathing hard. In Devil's Canyon on the Snake River, I locked the E-locker rear diff and pulled Nephew's motor boat up a slick ramp with no problem.
So I'm a happy camper.
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Grumpy ole man with over 60 years towing experience. Now my heaviest trailer is a 7'x16' 5,000-pound flatbed utility trailer, my tow vehicle is a 2019 F-150 Lariat 3.5L EcoBoost SuperCab with Max Tow (1,904 pounds payload capacity). 
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