Your Ecoboosts, and what you're pulling?

Robgrover · Dec 23, 2015

I had a 2012 fx4 ecoboost with the 3.73 max tow. Going from Minnesota to cooke city with a 4 place open aluminum trailer and 4 sleds at 80 miles an hour we averaged four and a half miles per gallon. It rode nice, was roomy and comfortable, and has good power. It swayed a lot when pulling heavy trailers anywhere near the max towing. I did install the add a leaf in the rear and e rated tires and it still had a hard time handling an 8000 pd trailer. Likes the truck a lot but ultimately went back to a diesel due to poor mpg. I only ever got around 14 mpg empty with the thing.

volcano buster · Dec 27, 2015

Robgrover said:
we averaged four and a half miles per gallon.

Jeepers, with that kind of power and mileage you must have been the first one to the pump.

Disappointing, I was curious if I wanted to go EB instead of a 5.0 next time.

lost · Dec 28, 2015

Bocephus said:
kanedog said:

i was thinking the same thing. i rode in the back seat of my uncle's ecoboost from ND to the WY big horns. pulling a 22' 4 place open trailer at 80 mph down the interstate, the dash was reading 6-7 mpg. i dont know how accurate the dash is, but thats what it said. 100% stock pickup, stock size tires, etc... it shifted more than i expected it to (after hearing reviews). the power was there though. cruise was set at 80 and we stayed at 80. we didnt drive past many gas stations!

Click to expand...

Robgrover said:

I had a 2012 fx4 ecoboost with the 3.73 max tow. Going from Minnesota to cooke city with a 4 place open aluminum trailer and 4 sleds at 80 miles an hour we averaged four and a half miles per gallon. It rode nice, was roomy and comfortable, and has good power. It swayed a lot when pulling heavy trailers anywhere near the max towing. I did install the add a leaf in the rear and e rated tires and it still had a hard time handling an 8000 pd trailer. Likes the truck a lot but ultimately went back to a diesel due to poor mpg. I only ever got around 14 mpg empty with the thing.

Click to expand...

Guess I'm getting old, but I can not see any reason to be traveling at these speeds pulling a trailer w/sleds, whether open or enclosed!

Bocephus · Dec 28, 2015

if a 80,000 lb loaded semi and can legally travel at 80 mph in MT, SD, and WY.....75 mph in ND, i see no problem with going 80-85 in a 1/2 ton or 3/4 ton pickup with and open or enclosed trailer behind it (given the road and weather conditions allow)

801 · Dec 28, 2015

Bocephus said:
if a 80,000 lb loaded semi and can legally travel at 80 mph in MT, SD, and WY.....75 mph in ND, i see no problem with going 80-85 in a 1/2 ton or 3/4 ton pickup with and open or enclosed trailer behind it (given the road and weather conditions allow)

Look at the rated mph of the tires on the trailer, most are only rated at 65 mph. This is from three of my local tire dealers.

Mafesto · Dec 28, 2015

801 said:
Look at the rated mph of the tires on the trailer, most are only rated at 65 mph. This is from three of my local tire dealers.

That could be possible, but we've logged tens of thousands of miles with trailers at speeds far north of 80 MPH
The only blowout was from striking a rock in the highway.

Coldfinger · Dec 28, 2015

When reading posts about eco abilities and mpg, I look for this info:
Gear ratio?
Stock size tires?
If truck is lifted
Trip miles
Est wind effect
Est avg speed
Was mpg manually calculated or the mpg on display

xc6rider · Dec 28, 2015

Coldfinger said:
When reading posts about eco abilities and mpg, I look for this info:
Gear ratio?
Stock size tires?
If truck is lifted
Trip miles
Est wind effect
Est avg speed
Was mpg manually calculated or the mpg on display

Mine:
3.55 ratio
Stock tires on 20" rims
Stock suspension w/rear helper bags
1400 miles roughly??
Steady headwind goin west 20+
10+ crosswind headed home
Long run, I'd bet our avg was 75
MPG was calculated on display, which I reset when I started (actually very accurate I find).

Wind KILLS the mileage on these it seems.

Bocephus · Dec 29, 2015

you guys struggle to find excuses to make these things look better than they are. it reminds me of guys trying to convince themselves and others that the polaris 800 engine from the last decade is not a pile of garbage (and will flat out make themselves look retarded doing so). moral of the story, the ecoboost under load guzzles gas worse than almost any other half ton of it's era (despite all the hype). so quite calculating wind speed and gear ratios, and realize you have an awesome towing half ton with a small v6 that sucks gas like a big block

xc6rider · Dec 29, 2015

Bocephus said:
you guys struggle to find excuses to make these things look better than they are. it reminds me of guys trying to convince themselves and others that the polaris 800 engine from the last decade is not a pile of garbage (and will flat out make themselves look retarded doing so). moral of the story, the ecoboost under load guzzles gas worse than almost any other half ton of it's era (despite all the hype). so quite calculating wind speed and gear ratios, and realize you have an awesome towing half ton with a small v6 that sucks gas like a big block

I'm not struggling for anything, I love it so far. Yes it's thirsty pulling, big deal. To date, not even 10% of my miles has been towing miles. I wanted something that is capable the few times a year I might pull with it. So far, for me, I'm driving the truck that suites me the best. I can always hop in the semi if I need to have towing bragging rights...

Mafesto · Dec 29, 2015

Bocephus said:
moral of the story, the ecoboost under load guzzles gas worse than almost any other half ton of it's era
you have an awesome towing half ton with a small v6 that sucks gas like a big block

Yep, under load that engine loves fuel.
When not under load, I would say fuel consumption is avg for a half ton.
If you bought the eco to get better mileage than any other pickup, you will be very disappointed.
(took mine on a 2000 mile trip this fall, mostly 75 mph, and got between 17 & 18 mpg, nothing to brag about)
But I would put it up against ANY other half ton as far as performance goes.

tadder52 · Dec 29, 2015

Mafesto said:
Yep, under load that engine loves fuel.
When not under load, I would say fuel consumption is avg for a half ton.
If you bought the eco to get better mileage than any other pickup, you will be very disappointed.
(took mine on a 2000 mile trip this fall, mostly 75 mph, and got between 17 & 18 mpg, nothing to brag about)
But I would put it up against ANY other half ton as far as performance goes.

I didn't buy a Eco for the hype of the mileage. Haven't bought any truck for mileage, but I do pay attention to it. I bought after I hooked to my trailer and did a test drive and was happy with how it performed loaded.

2012 SuperCrew, 6.5ft box, Max payload/tow package.
3.73s
Stock tires. 275/65/R18
Stock suspension
1000 mile trip for Christmas
Single sled on a two place.
Trip average 60-65, plus some driving around town.
Wind wasn't a huge issue on any of the three drive days.

13.6 on display, 13.7 hand calc.

I agree wind plays a huge part in ANY half ton towing. What I really notice: the instant the gas station turns to winter blend. Lose 1-2 mpg instantly.

Drewd · Dec 29, 2015

I didn't by mine for fuel economy either. Heck, if the 5.0 was turbo'd I would have gotten it instead.

None of my vehicles are normally aspirated. NA vehicles suck in Colorado and forced air induction is the only way to go here.

The ecoboob's twin turbo's assure me I don't lose much, if any horsepower, when I'm towing a rig over 12,000 feet ASL.

So far, my F150 appears to be a perfect compromise of ride, power, and towing capability. It does all 3 well enough to satisfy my needs. I was going to get a 3/4 ton when I purchased my 29' fifth wheel camper but Ford's 3/4 and 1 ton trucks don't have the same auto 4x4 capability that the F150 does and that is important to me when I tow sleds in the winter.

Bocephus · Dec 29, 2015

the new nissan titan with 5.0 cummins has my attention. i dont "need" a 3/4 ton pickup, but its hard to get away from the torque. setting the cruise at 80 from ND out to western MT and only seeing a hand full of down shifts really spoils a guy. i would love to hook on to 4000-6000 lbs and hit the highway with the nissan to see what it can do.

the dodge eco diesel has totally turned me off so far. the mileage is not bad (empty), but the towing power is not there like youd think a diesel would be. its just too small of a displacement. its made more for economy than getting the job done.

xc6rider · Dec 29, 2015

The Titan had my attention when I was getting ready to buy but I hadn't seen prices or anything on them. Still haven't looked, are they on lots yet? I just figured they'd be up there in price with a 3/4 ton diesel. Didn't necessarily like the looks of em, but the idea behind it.

Bocephus · Dec 29, 2015

i agree with you, and dont know anything more than you :juggle:

Mafesto · Dec 29, 2015

That Titan Cummins looks like it will be a torque monster.
Looks like the kind of vehicle that you better not test drive because wanting one will drive you crazy!

summ8rmk · Dec 29, 2015

Toyota also gets the same 5.0 cummins.

GS6

iroc1132 · Dec 29, 2015

2012 3.55 gears 89000 Miles. I tow a 28' triton aluminum trailer usually with 3 sleds. Loaded ready to ride trailer weighs 5000 lbs. 65 on freeway gets me 10 as long as there is no wind. 75 on freeway gets me 6-8 depending on how many hills and wind. No trailer with cruise set at 82 going from Boise to Pocatello gets me about 12. The best I have ever seen was last week driving to Missoula in a snow storm. Never got over 50 mph and was sitting at 19.4 in Missoula. No trailer. Truck is comfortable, quiet, and has great power. But its all boost and no eco! My biggest gripe is all the hype about how great the mileage is. Ford should tone down their commercials and try to not be so misleading. You don't get the power of a v-8 with the economy of a v-6. You do get the power of a v-8 with the mileage of a big v-8. The mileage sucks, empty and loaded. But especially loaded. My truck is all stock, not lifted, doesn't have wicked monster mudder tires. It's just your average everyday f-150. I'm also not thrilled with having to put airbags on the rear when hauling anything heavier than a bag of marshmallows. The payload is over a 1000lbs. Put 500lbs in the back and you feel like you're in the shuttle waiting for liftoff. Great view of the sky, the road, not so much.

Drewd · Dec 29, 2015

IROC,
You don't need airbags...too much of a pain. My current and my last F150 Ecoboosts both got roadmaster active suspensions installed. Towing a fifth wheel with about 1200 lb pin weight, I get about 3/4 inch squat which ain't bad cuz I gained an inch in height when I maxxed out the spring torsion setting on the RAAS during install.

Also makes the vehicle ride MUCH better empty and under load.

Installation is about a 2 beer job https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiSW5BAjSoU

As for the Titan, I had high hopes for it. A decently loaded with 4x4 doesn't have that great cargo carrying capacity that many were anticipating. 2000 lbs max minus 4x4 and other options and we are looking at around 1600 lbs CCC. Perhaps Toyota will do more by putting the block into a Tundra. I think Nissan missed the boat as did Yamaha with their YXZ100R.

Your Ecoboosts, and what you're pulling?

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