Ford ecoboost

rufus80 · Sep 6, 2018

Looking for opinions on the f-150 3.5 eco for pulling wagons to town at harvest. Does anyone have first hand knowledge? I am pulling two wagons totaling 530-550 bushels right now with a 07 Chevy 1500 z71, does fine. Town elevator is only 6-7 miles from farm.

jon f mn · Sep 6, 2018

The Ford will do better than the Chevy.

P I Pete · Sep 6, 2018

State laws might limit you to one wagon behind a pickup.

Pete

IA Roy · Sep 6, 2018

Not an answer to your question, do the wagons have brakes?

ss55 · Sep 6, 2018

Over 30,000 pounds of grain plus the weight of two wagons behind a half ton pickup?

rufus80 · Sep 6, 2018

Surge brakes

rufus80 · Sep 6, 2018

Wagons have brakes, this is Indiana flat land.

David G · Sep 6, 2018

That is just flat out abuse on a 1500 truck.

rufus80 · Sep 6, 2018

These wagons have been pulled for years with 1/2 and 3/4 ton trucks. No problems with trucks. Now, back to the original question, does anybody have any actual first hand experience with the ecoboost?

4020 electrician · Sep 6, 2018

We have them and are having problems with the timing.

Hobo,NC · Sep 6, 2018

What I have worked on no problems are once they start to give problems they trade them in on a chebby... You can bet the farm when the turbos start to give trouble and they will its gonna cost big money to repair...

Unless I wanted a new truck are needed the tax break I would keep the chebby running...

grizz02 · Sep 6, 2018

better to buy and old semi with air brakes and the running gear to handle the load around here you could get a rig under 10k that would last a life time at those distances

UncleTom · Sep 6, 2018

Toyota Tundra maybe?

dahlin · Sep 6, 2018

I have a 2017 3.5 Ecoboost I put a 10.000 LB camper and have had 0 problems with it running empty get 22-23 mpg its a nice truck. don't know how it would handle that much weight.

newhollandnut · Sep 6, 2018

My wife has had 2 with the 3.5 a 2015 and now a 2018. I have really liked both of them. The new one has sport mode and it will flat blow away a diesel truck off the line and down the highway. Everyone is going to tell it?s too much weight and they are probably right but I would about bet a years wages you?re not running highway speed with it. If you are doing it with a half ton Chevy now I don?t think you will be disappointed with the Ford.

jm. · Sep 6, 2018

Well you ask for first hand experience. At this point I am on my third 3.5 f150 eco boost. The first two put about 75,000 miles and now have 32,000 on the 2017 model. Pulling trailers that heavy I have not , some where around 3,500 loaded on a car hauler a lot of miles. The thing that I might be concerned about is the 10 speed transmission but you could manually down to 7 or 8 and think things would be ok. Engine wise do not think you would hurt the engine. I have a hill of 2800 feet that rises about 530 ft in that distance and when I com in the drive I lock it down in one of the lower gears and when I hit the top heat is never an issue but does turn on the fan. . ON a side note FORD ask me to come test drive the new F150 with the v 6 diesel a while back. Ran a 34 mile course to simulate city and interstate driving then took it back and hooked a trailer with 3500 lb on it and ran the same course, then did the same with the 3.5 EB. The eco boost from 50 mph to 80 will eat the diesel lunch. Pulling the trailer the diesel MIGHT be a tad longer winded in a hill but not much. My take no real reason the spend the extra mone for the diesel.

rufus80 · Sep 6, 2018

Thanks for the input. I am looking at a '14-15 model year.

rufus80 · Sep 6, 2018

Yea, not going hignway speeds. Only 6-7 miles at 25-30 mph. Thanks for input.

docmirror · Sep 7, 2018

The eco will tow flat pretty much anything you want. My brother works for Ford, and they are very happy with the ecoboost. I've had a 2015 with 22k miles in addition to my big Dodge truck. My towing is up and down hills.

One piece of advice. If you are towing short distance, when you get to the destination, leave the engine run for a while to cool the oil in the turbos. If you use full synthetic coking the oil won't be an issue, but still better to let them cool down for a few min after a hard tow.

As for the 10sp trans, put it in tow/haul and let it decide which gear and when to shift. The shift program will be a bit firm, but don't mess with the shifter. Just let the trans do the job it was setup for.

BTW, I think the new Ford is actually the 2.7L ecoboost. Still won't have a problem.

When you aren't towing a billion pounds, it gets pretty good economy, and decent interior fit and finish.

T in NE · Sep 7, 2018

Might not hurt to put a little weight in the bed to help hold it down.

What I've found with the 6.7 diesels (both brands of 6.7) is that at low speed they try to lug a lot. I click down the top gear it'll go into to keep the rpm up a little.

dhermesc · Sep 7, 2018

The new Ford diesel in the F150 is set up for fuel mileage - not heavy towing. Power wise its better than the 3.3 base V6 but even the little 2.7 Ecoboost out runs and pulls it. But its also a LOT better than the 3.0 diesel V6 in the Fiat designed Dodge - in both power and claimed reliability.

Unless its a fleet purchase you have to buy a WELL EQUIPPED F150 to even get the box to check off the V6 diesel option - I think the cheapest truck its available in is about $55,000. If you have a fleet account you can buy a cheap XL truck and get the diesel - but I doubt many fleet buyers will. Motor Trend drove it and figured you had to drive the diesel 200K miles before it paid for itself over the 2.7 Turbo option - that's not including any repairs.

dhermesc · Sep 7, 2018

Agreed. People like to talk about the old 460s and 7.3s but the 3.5 Ecoboost puts both of them to shame in both power and torque.

RJKeith · Sep 7, 2018

Hopefully getting my second F-150 eco-boost this afternoon. Put 220,000 miles on the one I am trading in. Towed a trailer with a 4000# tractor along I-64 east of Beckley WVA with eco-boost number 1. 5 miles of 7.5% grade. Dropped under 70 mph one, and that was to negotiate a turn. The down side, you will not do much service yourself, that engine compartment is packed full. Also, expect new plugs and a tune-up every 50,000 miles.

jddrawbar · Sep 7, 2018

Modern day turbos are way different than in years past. They are about a trouble free as the
radio. All the auto makers are going to the dual turbo setup and down sizing the engine
size. They have gone from V8's, to V6's, to 4cyl. dual turbos. Much better fuel mileage and
outstanding performance. The 3.5 eco at 375hp & 470#s of torque will blow the 5.3 GM & even
the 6.2 AWAY! They will also outperform the 5.7 Hemi & at the same time get mpg in the 20's.
Do your own research....spend YOUR money wisely.
PS...with the load your pulling & only gong 6-7 miles, flat ground, I'd pull the wagons with
a tractor.

Texasmark1 · Sep 7, 2018

Does Farm usage require a Class A and Fed DOT registration? If so, you can kiss $500 or so goodby annually plus the Class A requirements these days on health.

Ford ecoboost

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