Quote:
Originally Posted by DannyH
Thanks for taking the time to post the images and findings. Being that I'm looking at the 21 & 25 Bigfoot trailers, this helps with figuring real world loads and which way we may go. This is pushing us to the 21. How does your Ford 150 do for towing? Does it have the V8 or V6 Ecoboost? What kind of mileage do you get towing and not?
|
Hi Danny, This truck is a 2010 model with the 5.4 L V-8 six speed automatic transmission and 3.73 axle ratio. It has plenty of power for this trailer and load. I tow from Missouri to the west coast two or three times a year. I have towed a lot in the Rocky mountains and the Sierras. Never any problem with power. My previous tow vehicle was a 2007 Ford F350 with a 6 speed manual transmission, the 5.4 v-8 and also a 3.73 rear axle ratio. Ford derates the horse power on the heavier trucks. I was pulling a 21' Bigfoot with it and it was under powered. It was unable to maintain highway speed in overdrive on a strait level road. This F150 will maintain highway speed in overdrive on a strait level road.
Fuel mileage towing depends on wind direction. Tail wind = 14 mpg. Head wind = 9 mpg. No wind 10.5 to 12 mpg. Slow down to 60 mph and bump that up 1/2 to 1 mpg. I generally drive from 64 to 68 mph when on the open highway.
I will confess to one instance in 2010 where I was west bound on I-80 in Utah west of Salt Lake City one evening. That road is very level and the traffic was
light. I got distracted by my cell phone and looked down to discover that I was traveling 85 mph while just feathering the throttle.
The 21' Bigfoots are hard to pull and not balanced as well as the 25'. If you want to pull either one of these trailers with a Ford F150 it is critical that the truck be equipped with the "max trailer tow" package and it helps if it has the max payload package. Those trucks are very hard to find. I had to order mine.
Ford went to a different engine lineup in 2011. The old 5.4 L engine is not being manufactured now. I am very interested in the Ecoboost engine but I have never driven one. I am pleased with my truck with the exception that I now need a crew cab with 4 doors and a back seat. (because I have several new grandsons who will need to go places with grandpa in the future).
I visited my Ford dealer this week. They have seventy 2012 model F150 crew cabs on the lot. Not a one of them has the max trailer tow package. None of the surrounding dealerships have one either. In fact they all have the shorter 5 1/2 foot bed which an ATV will not fit in. When I ask about the possibility of ordering one set up like I need they advised that production of the 2012s has ceased and Ford is now taking orders for 2013 models. They would not give me a price to order one so I will be driving my old one for a while longer. I am trying to avoid the alternative of going back to a larger "Super Duty" 3/4 ton because they are very expensive and the only two engines available in those are a large gasoline engine which only gets 12 mpg (without a trailer) or a diesel that would get great fuel mileage but costs an additional $7800 dollars.