Towing with 3.5 eco boost

[270quest]

First off - no, not looking at buying one. However, a buddy showed up to Hunting Camp last week in a new 2025 F150 CC LB 4X4 with the 3.5 and the Max Tow package and 36 gallon fuel tank. He said his truck was rated to tow 13k pounds!?

He had pulled up a 5k travel trailer and so it wasn't much of a test - said he couldn't even feel it back there.

How are those 3.5's towing when having to pull say 7-9k pounds? 13k seems like a lot of weight behind a 5500-6k pound truck? Cant imagine the breaking to stop that much weight is great?

 

[Yellowknife]

A 5k travel trailer will be nearly invisible behind a current gen 3.5L. The torque is impressive, and they will pull hills at a very low RPM. 7k+ isn't a problem either, although you will want a weight distributing hitch at that point.

You will usually run out of payload (tongue weight) long before hitting the theoretical max tow capacity. And you don't want to go anywhere near 13,000 lbs with something boxy like a travel trailer or the tail WILL wag the dog. Braking is handled by the trailer, so that isn't so much of an issue.

 

[BuckSmasher]

The only brand new vehicle I ever bought is a 2015 3.5 ecoboost that I know have 190k miles on and have towed very heavy since the beginning. Truck is amazing and has been a good truck with a few hiccups.

Power is not the issue with the 3.5 in my experience heating it up is. Up here in Idaho I can fly up a mountain pass pulling 4 horses and hunting gear on my way to the trailhead...until it starts to get hot. Despite the fact that Texas is much hotter than here I hardly ever ran into that when I lived down there because it is so much flatter.

Braking isn't an issue. I have properly setup and maintained trailer brakes.

 

[roadrunner]

The 10 speed transmission does a lot for the towing.

 

[Beendare]

FWIW, towing with a 1/2 ton truck depends a lot on whether the Trailer has good brakes and what the trailer config is. My 1/2 ton tows a small flat trailer fine. I have towed a 5500# toyhauler fine....until it's really windy. Then the fact that the trailer weighs as much as the truck matters. Ask anyone that drives a one ton ...or even a HD 3/4 ton about towing.

Weight distribution hitch makes a big difference with a 1/2 ton [everywhere on FB marketplace for $200]

My 1/2 ton is rated to pull 10,000#...and I have no doubt that it can.....but it won't stop without good TB's. I've towed my Bobcat track machine and it's well under 10,000# and I would never do it again, that was dangerous with the trailer controlling the truck.

 

[prm]

Most I towed was a horse trailer with one good size horse. Certainly well below max. Pretty effortless to stop and go. Completely comfortable. It has good brakes, trans cooler, and that engine is very torquey.

 

[Sacrvrrat72]

Only complaint I have towing with my 3.5 near 10k is the fuel mileage. Went from 550 miles per tank with no trailer to 175 miles per tank with the trailer. You get a little better if you keep it under 70.

 

[Goose10]

I tow an 8,000 Airstream behind a F-150 with the 3.5. Has more power than you need and I just pulled it up and over to Yellowstone and back. The Airstream groupie people seem to think that the only truck safe enough to pull their Airstreams are 1 ton trucks but most of them have never even pulled a little red wagon.

The torque the Ecoboost has along with the 10 speed transmission is really great for towing.

 

[Blurry1]

I towed my sisters tiny house several times with a 2014. It’s right at 10k lb. Towing was fine but the one time the trailer breaks went on the fritz was pretty spicy.

 

[ThorM465]

Don't do it. I've got a buddy that's pretty well known in the Raptor community for his built 1st gen. He bought a ~22 and used it to tow his 1st gen cross country. The ~22 currently has a broken crankshaft. If you're going to tow over 8klbm regularly, get a super duty. The question isn't whether it has the power to get it off the line and up to speed, that's the easy part.

 

[SDHNTR]

When it comes to half ton towing, my rule of thumb for a pleasant experience is to cut the factory tow rating in half.

 

[lak2004]

I towed a dump trailer full of rock that was pushing 13k pounds with my 2013 f150 Ecoboost. Pulled it well. Wouldn't do it often by any means though.

Also towed a skid steer with the same dump trailer and didn't have my ball low enough and that absolutely sucked!

Can they do it, sure. I wouldn't make a habit of it. But TT's under 7k, no sweat. My 2022 f150 powerboost hauls our 4k travel trailer like it's not there.

 

[Atc70r]

I'd say most modern engines don't have a problem pulling it, but you really feel it trying to stop. Managing tongue weight is crucial for sure. My lease 2.7 Chevy pulled 8-9k no issue, sure it was felt, but the tongue weight it didn't care for, and it was on a trailer (horse) I can't control much of that with.

 

[TSAMP]

Only one post commenting on the fuel economy while towing.. My 2023 goes from 16 mpg to 12mpg pulling my 3k lb boat. I hauled a Harley on a 12 ft trailer with a mesh beavertail and I got 9 mpg. I can only imagine hauling a 10k camper id probably be at 4mpg.

 

[nobody]

I had a 2015 that was lifted 2 inches on 35’s. I only had it for about 9 months and 4k miles, as it was riddled with issues. But I bought it used on a whim and it had obviously been abused.

Anyways, HP and torque weren’t the issues with that pickup. My issues, 100%, were fuel economy. The truck did fine empty, about 20. But I vividly remember loading the bed with coolers and my personal gear and hooking onto a 14 foot flatbed to tow a side by side to an elk hunt. The hunting unit in question is about 20 miles outside the nearest town, and that town sits 102 miles from my driveway. It was mixed city, highway, and freeway miles, and I burned 18 gallons driving to that town. 102 miles on 18 gallons is 5.6 MPG, absolutely abysmal. I had no problems doing 80 on the freeway, and it never got hot or struggled for one second. To be fair, the trailer also had a fold down ramp on the back that was basically a wind sail, but it still guzzled fuel.

That truck was a mechanical nightmare, and I was happy to be rid of it a few short months later. But I’m on V8 number 2 since owning that truck, and my next one will be an ecoboost again (honestly it’ll be a 2.7, research that bad Larry). It’s all the truck that 95% of recreationists will ever need, and I’m in that 95%. It’ll tow my popup or a couple ATV’s and just not care.

 

[ben h]

Only complaint I have towing with my 3.5 near 10k is the fuel mileage. Went from 550 miles per tank with no trailer to 175 miles per tank with the trailer. You get a little better if you keep it under 70.

This is no joke, the range is that bad when towing an RV. I've been told the eco-boost has two modes, eco or boost. I don't have 1st hand expierience with the eco in the 2 years I had mine, but it uses a ton of fuel on boost!

 

[180ls1]

That's the perfect amount of truck for that situation. No way I'd get close to 13k.

 

[wapitibob]

I pulled a (4500lb loaded) travel trailer from OR to AZ last year, got 9-10 mpg depending on speed. I get 15ish pulling my 17' smokercraft boat, and 20 (if I'm running the 4ply factory tires). I lose 2 1/2 mpg switching to 10 plys.

 

[jonesn3]

My 2018 F150 3.5 Ecoboost is very similar specs as what OP listed, obviously a gen or two older. Usually I tow in manual shift mode, the motor and transmission are certainly capable. I’ve hauled gravel in a dump trailer several times and it did fine, but wouldn’t tow anything that heavy long distance. We have light weight travel trailer that it does well towing on the interstate. Unless ambient temperatures are 90s or higher in the summer, then it seems to have trouble staying cool while towing even modest loads if there’s a decent grade. Gas mileage is also a downside. Before I did tires I could get nearly 23 mpg hwy, but with larger tires, camper shell, and decked drawers, I’m down to sub-19 mpg hwy, usually closer to 16-17mpg combined, towing that goes down to 12 mpg under good conditions, and often around 9mpg towing.

 

[Thinkingman]

Only one post commenting on the fuel economy while towing.. My 2023 goes from 16 mpg to 12mpg pulling my 3k lb boat. I hauled a Harley on a 12 ft trailer with a mesh beavertail and I got 9 mpg. I can only imagine hauling a 10k camper id probably be at 4mpg.

I have a 2015 3.5Eco on 33" Falken 10-plys.
With a canopy and modest load, I get around 16mpg.
Same configuration towing a UTV trailer with my son's raft and the beavertail gate up, it drops to 13.
Drive it at 80mph, and it gets worse.
Re tow ratings, only Toyota drivers believe their cars are capable of using all of the tow rating.