Anybody out there pulling a travel trailer with a F-150 EcoBoost? I am looking at a 2016 Tracer 3175 RSD that has a dry weight of 7,256. Just want to be sure that the EcoBoost will have no issues pulling. Chart rates this truck as having a 9,600 pound tow. Any help would be appreciated.
2013 F-150 EcoBoost towing question
- Thread starter tonylight
- Start date
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steveblonde
Well-known member
In a word NO NOT A CHANCE okay that was 4 words lol sorry not to be a jerk or burst your bubble but the first strong side wind you experience and you will get blown off the road . Its not the weight of the trailer that will get you, so much as the weight combined with the length. You have a trailer that is 35 ft long and 11 ft high thats one giant giant sail i wouldn't sorry with a 3/4 ton maybe be prepared to get alot of feedback on this need more info please where are you located
Cheers steve
Cheers steve
warsw
Well-known member
You will be over 8K going down the road. You will be wishing you had more motor.
grashley
Well-known member
Listen to Steve. He is a truck expert.
Nobody goes camping with an empty camper. Use the TT GVWR. Also remember that tow rating ASSUMES the truck contains nothing more than a driver and a full gas tank. Passengers and cargo in the truck reduce that tow weight pound for pound. While the numbers MAY work if the TT is lightly packed, note again Steve's comments about the sail effect and the tail wagging the dog.
Can you do it? Probably.
Will you like the result? NO WAY
Nobody goes camping with an empty camper. Use the TT GVWR. Also remember that tow rating ASSUMES the truck contains nothing more than a driver and a full gas tank. Passengers and cargo in the truck reduce that tow weight pound for pound. While the numbers MAY work if the TT is lightly packed, note again Steve's comments about the sail effect and the tail wagging the dog.
Can you do it? Probably.
Will you like the result? NO WAY
steveblonde
Well-known member
Tony may i ask where you are from the terrain where you travel and how many of you travel ie just you or wife looking at the floor plan your not with kids are you opposed to trading the truck etc
jboggess
Member
I have a 2013 ecoboost towing a 7200 dry weight sunset creek....just make sure you have a good Weight Distribution hitch..I never had a problem
steveblonde
Well-known member
Its not the weight - can he YES all day long if the load is a trailer of small bricks on a flat road with no wind no hills
Can he driving the hills of Colorado with the winds NO NOT A CHANCE i saw two 30 ft trailers pulled by half tons in the ditch last year within 30 mins of each other WHY? Wind blew them there
Can he? YES Should he ???????? Not only does he have the potential to put his life in danger but others as well, just cause you can doesnt mean you should. Read my signature " if your not ..." Thats why we/i would like a little more info before i pass judgement
I am one of the ultimate risk takers in life with the scars to prove it lol ( just had my 4th back surgery in 9 yrs) im in my 50's and still love to wake surf / x moto cross and car racer sorry not trying to preach but a 35 ft trailer on a 1/2 ton has the potential for a big issue under the right/wrong circumstances.
Cheers
Can he driving the hills of Colorado with the winds NO NOT A CHANCE i saw two 30 ft trailers pulled by half tons in the ditch last year within 30 mins of each other WHY? Wind blew them there
Can he? YES Should he ???????? Not only does he have the potential to put his life in danger but others as well, just cause you can doesnt mean you should. Read my signature " if your not ..." Thats why we/i would like a little more info before i pass judgement
I am one of the ultimate risk takers in life with the scars to prove it lol ( just had my 4th back surgery in 9 yrs) im in my 50's and still love to wake surf / x moto cross and car racer sorry not trying to preach but a 35 ft trailer on a 1/2 ton has the potential for a big issue under the right/wrong circumstances.
Cheers
Hossrod
Well-known member
And this is with a 1 ton duelly... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwOqARlw1EI
I appreciate the comments and videos. I live in Georgia and most camping trips will be to close by lakes within a 40 mile radius on generally flat terrain. We do not have winds in this area as seen in the earlier video, I would not be interested in towing with even light winds. The camper store installed the recommended weight distribution system and sway control.
I pulled a trailer with similar specs loaded to about 8200 # under similar conditions with a 2013 Ram 1500 and had no issues. I'm not sure, but I think that Ecoboost has more available payload than my old Ram. I was about 150/200# over on payload depending on how you do the math, but fine on axle weights.
steveblonde
Well-known member
Tony - yes you can given your circumstances you are within you limits for sure , i wouldn't venture too far out of your area , you may want to consider a bigger truck some time down the road but i wouldn't panic - where i live no way would i pull that length trailer with a 1/2 ton. we have 2 trucks a 1/2 ton and a 1 ton so am very aware of each of their capabilities in all sorts of conditions and terrains. Good luck and enjoy your trailer
Gary RV_Wizard
Site Team
I think the above negative comments apply to any half ton truck - not specific to the Ecoboost F150. Experienced trailer towers nearly all recommend at least a 3/4 ton truck for even a medium size trailer. Half ton pick-ups have a more car-like suspension and don't handle an unruly trailer anywhere near as well as their brawnier 3/4 & 1-ton brethren.
That said, the trailer cited in the original post is going to push his truck to near max. A dry weight of 7256 means the actual loaded weight is going to be upwards of 8000 lbs, probably around 8500. And the truck surely won't be empty either.
That said, the trailer cited in the original post is going to push his truck to near max. A dry weight of 7256 means the actual loaded weight is going to be upwards of 8000 lbs, probably around 8500. And the truck surely won't be empty either.
steveblonde
Well-known member
Gary is correct i wasn't picking on the Ecoboost i wouldn't pull that trailer with my half ton either unless i had too.
No 1/2 ton is really designed for the length of some of these lightweights - yes capabilities and pulling power has increased but when they say MY XXXXXXX can pull 1million pounds and blah blah blah they are not "lying" what they fail to say is, its pulling a trailer loaded with a weight that's in a controlled environment ,
on a flat surface, with no wind, at the right temperature, etc, etc, etc, they are not real world conditions and if for some reason that long long trailer gets out of control its like a giant pendulum effect, and it can and will wag the dog as Grassy says - i drive upwards of 60,000 miles a year (I'm an Area Sales Manager for the largest aftermarket auto parts distributor in Canada) and I've seen a lot of wagging
cheers
No 1/2 ton is really designed for the length of some of these lightweights - yes capabilities and pulling power has increased but when they say MY XXXXXXX can pull 1million pounds and blah blah blah they are not "lying" what they fail to say is, its pulling a trailer loaded with a weight that's in a controlled environment ,
on a flat surface, with no wind, at the right temperature, etc, etc, etc, they are not real world conditions and if for some reason that long long trailer gets out of control its like a giant pendulum effect, and it can and will wag the dog as Grassy says - i drive upwards of 60,000 miles a year (I'm an Area Sales Manager for the largest aftermarket auto parts distributor in Canada) and I've seen a lot of wagging
cheers
jje1960
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 11, 2007
- Posts
- 1,556
I'm not advocating this at all, just posting a setup we were camped next to at Blugreen in Virginia this past Fall. This unit was being pulled by an F150 EcoBoost (I think it was a 2012 or 2013 model). The owner has made multiple pulls to Disney down in Florida without problem, within weight specs. This trailer is like 35' long, what a nice unit, DW and I went inside, it's really gorgeous. I personally would prefer at least a F250 with this pull, however they seemed very happy. Anyway, it was a great long weekend and they whipped out some nice red vino and cheese! Ford certainly pulled a bunch of power out of a six cylinder that's for sure.
Attachments
I had a 2013 F150 Ecoboost.
The truck definitely had the power to pull the trailer but the vehicle was not enough to safely handle the trailer. Even with the proper weight distribution and sway control.
The slightest wind would try to push me all over. I dreaded any 18 wheeler passing me.
I now have an F20 and you hardly know that the trailer is back there.
It is now a much more pleasant and relaxing experience going down the road.
The truck definitely had the power to pull the trailer but the vehicle was not enough to safely handle the trailer. Even with the proper weight distribution and sway control.
The slightest wind would try to push me all over. I dreaded any 18 wheeler passing me.
I now have an F20 and you hardly know that the trailer is back there.
It is now a much more pleasant and relaxing experience going down the road.
Goldstar225
Member
- Joined
- Feb 11, 2013
- Posts
- 9
After reading the above comments I'll post this at the risk of being slammed.
I own a 2014 F-150 Supercrew ecoboost 4X4 and tow an Outback 277RL (35 feet hitch to bumper) that weights +/- 9,000 pounds ready for a trip (I don't pay attention to dry weights, they're meaningless and often inaccurate). I use an equal-I-zer hitch with a typical tongue weight of 1100 pounds. Unlike the OP's truck mine has the max tow option giving me a tow rating of 11,100 pounds. I keep my max cargo capacity of 1840 in mind and don't exceed it.
I've driven in storms with gusting crosswinds of 35-45 MPH with no sway or significant push. Semi trucks meeting or passing me give just a slight push, just enough to know that they're there, no more. The ecoboost engine does just fine. on level ground at 55 I'm turning 1500 RPM in 6th gear. A 5 percent grade will drop me to 3rd gear running at 60 MPH.
In short I'm very pleased with the performance of my F-150. Where I tow it does an excellent job. I'll admit in a heartbeat that if I were driving in the true mountains out west I would opt for an F-250 with a diesel.
I own a 2014 F-150 Supercrew ecoboost 4X4 and tow an Outback 277RL (35 feet hitch to bumper) that weights +/- 9,000 pounds ready for a trip (I don't pay attention to dry weights, they're meaningless and often inaccurate). I use an equal-I-zer hitch with a typical tongue weight of 1100 pounds. Unlike the OP's truck mine has the max tow option giving me a tow rating of 11,100 pounds. I keep my max cargo capacity of 1840 in mind and don't exceed it.
I've driven in storms with gusting crosswinds of 35-45 MPH with no sway or significant push. Semi trucks meeting or passing me give just a slight push, just enough to know that they're there, no more. The ecoboost engine does just fine. on level ground at 55 I'm turning 1500 RPM in 6th gear. A 5 percent grade will drop me to 3rd gear running at 60 MPH.
In short I'm very pleased with the performance of my F-150. Where I tow it does an excellent job. I'll admit in a heartbeat that if I were driving in the true mountains out west I would opt for an F-250 with a diesel.
steveblonde
Well-known member
Goldstar i wont slam you as that wouldnt be fair, nobody has as issue with it, nobody at all, UNTIL there is the inevitable accident and then we all point fingers sit on the sofa drink our beer and say I TOLD YOU SO. Because it does inevitably happen, either that or people get smart and fix the issue before the BIG ONE LOL. Please dont take it personal because the irony of the situation is we have almost all been there done that ( myself included) which truth be told makes me ( not speaking for anyone else) slightly hypocritical. Lol .they say with age comes wisdom, wait they also say with age come wrinkles 
keep it safe
keep it safeGyrogearloose
New member
- Joined
- Dec 15, 2015
- Posts
- 2
I've not had any problem towing our 29.5 ft Ultralite (6000lbs dry) with my 2015 F-150 Ecoboost Supercrew and Equalizer hitch.
I can easily forget that it's behind me.
We live in Colorado and our trips so far have been entirely in the mountains.
I can easily forget that it's behind me.
We live in Colorado and our trips so far have been entirely in the mountains.
donuts
Well-known member
Hossrod said:
Reading all of the posts and then watching the youtube disaster, you wonder why RVers put themselves in harms way pushing the limits of their equipment.
We traveled 10,500 miles on our Alaskan trip this summer and I saw numerous combinations of 5th wheel and travel trailer units. Many were over the limits of the tow vehicle. No different than what I see where we live in Northern California. 3/4 ton trucks pulling heavy 5th wheels well over the rear axle limit of the truck.
As much as we travel, thank God, I have never seen a trailer accident of any kind.............however, how in the heck can the driver in the video continue to travel down the road when the wind is pushing that hard on the side of his trailer? Why didn't they just slow down and pull over when possible?
I really believe in having about 20% more truck than I need, but I also think that the driver of the tow vehicle has more to do with safety down the road than pushing the limits of the truck.
Steve, Radium Hot Springs was beautiful. We stayed at the nicest campground on our entire trip in Radium. Thanks!
Stan
steveblonde
Well-known member
Hey Stan glad you enjoyed your trip and it was incident free
