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Old 07-09-2015, 12:46 PM   #1
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2015 F-150 review (1st long tow)

Just returned from a 4000 mile trip from Minnesota to Kansas City, Durango Co., Williams Az.,Moab Ut., Denver Co., and back home.
It was the first big trip for the new F-150 and I wanted to give a quick review. I traded off my 6 liter Chevy 1500HD with 4:10 tow gears, etc on a brand new Ford F-150 3.5 ecoboost that I ordered back earlier in the year. The truck is a mid level lariat with the 3.5 as mentioned. With the max tow package, and power tow (mickey mouse) mirrors.
I ordered it after spending a year + talking with owners of the ecoboost and getting feedback. Every owner told me I would be surprised with the low end torque and power of the ford. Well,,,,,they were all correct.
I was very impressed with the power curve this truck has. Very easy to get it up to speed and maintain any speed I would choose. I am towing a relatively light sunset trails, ST22BH. Dry weight is just under 5k lbs.
I could easily hold it at 70-75 mph, (no lectures on my tow speed please, save it for another thread).
What really impressed me was the comfort the Ford gave us. The seats are great. All the controls are easy to use and the trailer tow set up and monitoring were beyond expectations.
One great feature is while in tow haul mode, ford has installed a tranny brake similar to a "jake brake" of big trucks. I used this a lot on the steep downgrades of the rockies. Just take your foot off the gas, and the truck takes over holding your decent. At the same time, you can access the tranny temp on the dash so both the tranny and engine temp can be watched. As well as the tach and speedo. Quite the set up.
In summary, anyone thinking of the truck should really consider it.
Any question?
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Old 07-09-2015, 02:08 PM   #2
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Thanks for posting the write up. I was hoping you would.
I have to say---I'm not one bit surprised with it. Kinda what I expected.

Question-- what did you see for mileage? If it was like mine when we went out to CO. it was probably all over the board depending on the wind.
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Old 07-09-2015, 02:24 PM   #3
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Mileage: My low was 7.5. Running 70-75 into a strong head wind.
My high was around 10-10.5. I averaged over the entire trip just under 9.5. Nothing great but I could handle it. Please don't compare to a diesel. Without the trailer I am starting to see 19 on the hwy. That being said. I have a real heavy foot!. I think if I nursed it a bit, I could see dramatic changes in mileage. Not really when towing but at other times for sure. Also, as these ecoboost engines get some miles, they are suppose to get better mileage. We will see since when I left I only had 3000 on the truck. Just got past the recommended break in period before towing.
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Old 07-09-2015, 03:01 PM   #4
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What road did you take to Durango? We took 160 from the east and there is one particularly high place to get through - Wolf Creek Pass - and I have to say our GMC 2500 complained a LOT about that one!

I am sure our new truck (F250 diesel) would do a much better job. We also like the part about the truck slowing down on a down grade. Very cool. Our mileage is all over the map right now, we do not have a lot of miles on her yet.
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Old 07-09-2015, 07:22 PM   #5
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yup came in on 160 from the east. Truck handled the grade much better than the old 6 liter did in the past. Stopped at the great sand dunes on the way past....kinda neat.
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Old 07-09-2015, 07:24 PM   #6
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Hey Loneoak, why no color on the Minnesota portion of your signature?????What, don't like us? May I suggest you try and make it to our North Shore area. The lake superior region is absolutely beautiful...
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Old 07-09-2015, 07:24 PM   #7
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That is just about the same mileage I got. Except--coming back home thru NB, SD, and southern MN. We had a side wind that was really bad. I seen 6.5 a few times there.
21--22 mpg on the freeway empty, IF, the wind isn't a factor.

It's nice to hear you are satisfied with the truck.
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Old 07-10-2015, 04:21 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mnsunset View Post
Hey Loneoak, why no color on the Minnesota portion of your signature?????What, don't like us? May I suggest you try and make it to our North Shore area. The lake superior region is absolutely beautiful...
Hey! We've been to more states than most Americans! There are a few places we have not been, but we still have some time left! Next year's trip may cover the mid-north.

Louisiana is on our agenda for on our way home from Florida next spring. DC may wait until the construction on the Capitol building is complete.
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Old 07-10-2015, 05:47 AM   #9
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The performance of your ecoboost is very similar to what I experienced on my recent trip out west (over 5000 miles). I got close to 10 mpg overall, but I usually kept my speed to around 64-65 on the highway. I was very pleased with the performance, up and down several pretty steep grades. I never really used the tow/haul mode, but maybe should have. For mpg, I have gotten as high as 13 towing the trailer back from Florida, but usually I get around 11 here in the southeast. Pretty happy with that overall, and certainly no regrets on purchasing the F150 ecoboost.
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Old 07-10-2015, 11:51 PM   #10
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How does the rear suspension handle the load? A lot of squat?

Love the EcoBoost in my SHO. Wish I had it in my F-250.
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Old 07-11-2015, 03:41 AM   #11
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How does the rear suspension handle the load? A lot of squat?
Don't know about the OP, but I have the stock suspension and very little squat. I have the Equilizer WD hitch, with which I am very happy. On the other hand, my trailer is pretty light, less than 5k dry weight, but once I got the WD hitch set up within specs, it looks fine.
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Old 07-11-2015, 04:29 PM   #12
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Originally Posted by dlwilliams48 View Post
Don't know about the OP, but I have the stock suspension and very little squat. I have the Equilizer WD hitch, with which I am very happy. On the other hand, my trailer is pretty light, less than 5k dry weight, but once I got the WD hitch set up within specs, it looks fine.
That reply is the exact same as I would have said. Even the weight of our units is the same.....
Thanks for doing my work.
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Old 07-12-2015, 08:59 PM   #13
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I towed ours this weekend with my Ecoboost, I got around 12.1 going and about 9.5 back, but I was really happy. Our trailer in the sig was about 7600 lbs and pulled it fine, was merging on the highway, huge hill and so I pinned it, had to let off cause I was speeding.

Truck squats about 2" with the weight of the trailer, I have a Equalizer WHD with 1k bars.

Still might look at a 250 for my next truck I case we go bigger with the next one.

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How does the rear suspension handle the load? A lot of squat?

Love the EcoBoost in my SHO. Wish I had it in my F-250.
They are going to in the new 2017 f250 450 hp / 500 lbs of torq.
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Old 07-13-2015, 06:43 AM   #14
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Excited to hear that things went great for you! Your new truck sounds like a beast on the road! We can't wait to hear about more of your adventures!

Journey on!
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Old 07-14-2015, 12:51 PM   #15
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Hi I just completed a trip from Southern Ontario to Regina Saskatchewan. Pulling a Zinger 270-RL with a 2013 Ford F150 Ecoboost. Ran into to pretty good headwinds, rain, and north of Superior some pretty rugged terrain along Highway 17 (TransCanada Hwy). Lots of 6% and 7% grade warnings. I used the trucks tow/haul option for the entire trip. I no problem with the steep climbs or downgrades. Truck did most of the work for me and had power in reserve. This was my first long trip as a new RVer and I am so glad the truck performed so well. I tracked my mileage and came in at 9.8 mpg. I may have improved my mpg's if I only used the tow/haul when really needed but my confidence level was higher while using it.

I never used the cruise control when the terrain flattened out. Not sure it was a good idea to use it when towing. I pretty much stick to the speed limit, rarely doing more than 100 to 110 km/hr (about 60 to 65mph).

Just wanted to share my comments and enthusiasm for the F150 Ecoboost with heavy duty tow package.
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Old 07-24-2015, 02:01 PM   #16
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Hi I just completed a trip from Southern Ontario to Regina Saskatchewan. Pulling a Zinger 270-RL with a 2013 Ford F150 Ecoboost. Ran into to pretty good headwinds, rain, and north of Superior some pretty rugged terrain along Highway 17 (TransCanada Hwy). Lots of 6% and 7% grade warnings. I used the trucks tow/haul option for the entire trip. I no problem with the steep climbs or downgrades. Truck did most of the work for me and had power in reserve. This was my first long trip as a new RVer and I am so glad the truck performed so well. I tracked my mileage and came in at 9.8 mpg. I may have improved my mpg's if I only used the tow/haul when really needed but my confidence level was higher while using it.

I never used the cruise control when the terrain flattened out. Not sure it was a good idea to use it when towing. I pretty much stick to the speed limit, rarely doing more than 100 to 110 km/hr (about 60 to 65mph).

Just wanted to share my comments and enthusiasm for the F150 Ecoboost with heavy duty tow package.
Highly recommend the Upper Peninsula of MI for your next trip between Sask and Ont!
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Old 07-24-2015, 04:12 PM   #17
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Thanks for the reply. Funny ... my wife just said the same thing. She has been researching the route and wants to make stops at Frankenmuth and also spend a couple of days at Makinac area and visit the Island. Looks like we are Michigan bound next trip out west.
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Old 07-24-2015, 09:27 PM   #18
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Frankenmuth is quite a hike south, but its a spectacle to be seen once in your life for sure. The Mackinac area is really cool too. You can hit up the south shore of Superior, then head south to Escanaba and hit the north shore of Michigan - both very cool. I've done both the Canada and US routes going between Edmonton and Ottawa and now live in the lower peninsula of Michigan, so can vouch that you're in for a treat in the UP. Happy travels!
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