Will a Ford F150 with a 3.5L EcoBoost V6 engine confidently tow a trailer that weighs 11,100 lbs? TFLtruck recently received this question from Cody N.
Would A correctly equipped F150 properly tow a travel trailer with 8,800 LBS dry weight, max cargo 2,300 LBs, and tongue weight of 1,136 lbs? We are wanting to update the 2008 Silverado 2500 HD duramax with a gas truck with better mpg.
The quick answer is – Yes, you can configure a new Ford F-150 3.5L EcoBoost crew cab at a rating of 11,100 lbs of maximum towing, and it will tow that trailer. The longer answer is – a lighter half-ton ton truck simply cannot match the towing confidence of a heavier 3/4-ton truck.
We use a 9,000 – 9,500 lbs trailer for the annual Gold Hitch towing competition on the Ike Gauntlet™. This is because – it’s a trailer that all the half-ton trucks are rated to tow, and it’s a trailer that we can tow without too much sway or squat.
A half-ton truck will typically squat more than an HD truck. If the suspension of a half-ton truck is compressed near the limit by the trailer’s tongue weight and the additional load in the truck – the rear suspension will not be able to control sway as well as when hauling a lighter load.
Which truck will get better fuel economy: a 2008 Chevy Silverado 2500 Duramax diesel or a new Ford F-150 EcoBoost V6? Under heavy load the two trucks may return approximately equal MPG. Please take a look at TFLtruck’s Highway Towing MPG loop results for a variety of trucks.
Here is a very specific example of what we are talking about. We towed about 11,000 lbs with a Ford F-150 EcoBoost and a Nissan Titan XD. While both trucks completed the Ike Gauntlet™ – world’s toughest towing test, the heavier Nissan XD chassis did it with more confidence. This is not to say that the Ford F-150 cannot tow heavy, but this is an illustration that you should find the correct truck to the job.
