F150 turbo V-6 vs V8

[Bige21566]

Considering an F150 to pull my smaller travel trailer....have read about both of these available engines on the F150...interested in feedback...thanks!

[GypsyR]

My advice is to step around to the service department where the mechanics and yell asking whether to get the V6 F150 or the 5.0. And when they all yell back "the 5.0" then that should be about all you need to know, right?

[shootist]

A thread I read on the 3.5 turbos a man with a dozen or so Transit vans had motor failures in most of them. Commercial use , probably heavy, but his drivers were long time employees and he didn't have prior problems.

[Gammel]

Had a '16 F150 with the big Ecoboost. Awesome engine but neither it nor the F150 were up to pulling our ORV so away it went to a happy new owner. I woulda kept it if I had the space.

[YC1]

The F150 is plain fun to drive. In sport mode it will haul bass. Plenty of pulling power and good mileage on average.

With all the goodies it is an amazing cowboy cadillac. Parallel parking is a hoot and backing a trailer with the option is scary but fun. The steering wheel can go a bit wild.

With dual turbos it has a tremendous and fun power range.

Nothing like a throbbing stump pulling V8 for hard work but for average weekend pulling and fun, the V6 just astonishes me.

[Keith55]

Compare any of today's modern trucks from the one's 10 years ago and the improvement in HP and torque is just amazing. What's the point? They got around just fine 10-20 years ago too.

It is a marketing race to the highest HP and Torque. Really you only use that power to get the load moving in most cases and up some gnarly grades. Overall though either engine will work great for you.

I would be surprised if you were disappointed or regretted either choice. there just isn't room on the market for junk anymore. Recalls are too expensive!

[boomersooner]

Had a 2010 4.6 liter V8 and the 3.5 Ecoboost V6 in a 2016 F150. TT was about 6,000lbs loaded. The 2010 you knew the TT was back their but it did the job. The 3.5 liter pulled the TT effortlessly, did not even know it was there. The V8 got about 10-11 MPG, while the V6 got about 9.5 MPG. I now pull my 2020 F150 3.5 liter behind my DP, but know I can pull something big if I had to. Have read many posts on longevity of the V6 when towing, so might want to do some more research on that issue.

[Duster73]

If you are not towing all the time everyday, the V6 turbo is a good daily driver. But the reliability of the 5.0L V8 is hard to beat. My personal thoughts are...if you are keeping it more then 5 years or 75k miles, get the V8.

The 5.0 and 3.5 get the exact same gas mileage..and the "high output" 3.5 gets 1 mpg less then the 5.0L.

The only thing I dont know is the cost difference between a 3.5 vs 5.0L


I will tell you after my Sierra starts to rust out, I will be in the market for an aluminum body f150 with the Coyote engine. MI winters/ salt kill any steel body. Its unfortunate.

[RVtravelz]

Originally Posted by GypsyR

My advice is to step around to the service department where the mechanics and yell asking whether to get the V6 F150 or the 5.0. And when they all yell back "the 5.0" then that should be about all you need to know, right?

That tells me that those techs would rather work on something easier and maybe aren’t up to speed on the latest and greatest. Ask those same techs if they would choose gas or diesel SuperDuty and see what they have to say.
I find it odd how some people are reluctant over a turbo gas engine but tout the reliability of a turbo diesel.
There are many ecoboost F150s out there with over 300k miles on their clocks.

[530ktm]

I have a 17 F150 with the large V-6 and 10 speed auto. I love it and as mentioned above it has power to spare and gets good mileage. I have pulled trailers loaded with gravel and it doesn't phase it. I have a friend with same truck and he pulls his small travel trailer and can't tell it is there except for the drop in fuel mileage from 19 plus to 12 plus. I bet the V8 can't compare to that.

[GypsyR]

Originally Posted by RVtravelz

That tells me that those techs would rather work on something easier and maybe aren’t up to speed on the latest and greatest.

Basically saying Ford dealership techs are lazy and ignorant?
Umm, OK. Experiences vary.

[Nohurry]

I love my V6 ecoboost, and I think the longevity issue has long ago been de-bunked. For 2021 trucks, the horsepower numbers are 400 for the 5.0,and EcoBoost, and 430 for the PowerBoost. The torque numbers are 410 lb ft for the 5.0, 500 for the EcoBoost, and a whopping 570 for the PowerBoost.

I know people like to debate horsepower vs Torque for pulling, but no matter where you are on that, those torque numbers where diesel territory not that many years ago.

Be sure you get the max tow package whatever you decide. Good luck.

[RVtravelz]

Originally Posted by GypsyR

Basically saying Ford dealership techs are lazy and ignorant?
Umm, OK. Experiences vary.

If that’s their current opinion based on reliability, then yes.
There’s a YouTube video that you may be referring to that shows this exact scenario but keep in mind that video is pretty old.

[Theturboman]

If I were to tow with a 1/2 ton I would buy a GMC or Chevy with the 6.2