I love the F-150. But I would avoid the Ecoboost engine. The numbers in the brochure look good. But reports from the field don't reflect that. Especially the fuel mileage.

The 5.3L doesn't perform as well as I would like it to. I'v not towed with it. But just driving down the highway didn't impress me. It would do the job, but you'd get almost the same performance and mileage as what you have now.

The Duramax diesel will tow your trailer with ease at 2,200 rpm's, last 150K miles, and get good mileage while doing it. What more could you ask for? Once you use a diesel to tow your trailer, you'll never want to go back to a gas truck.

 

Exactly what he said about the diesel Colorado.

I pull a 24' enclosed car hauler with my '16 CCSB Colorado diesel. It's around 4k empty and right up against the truck's max rating full (it's rare that I tow it fully loaded with this truck). Engage tow/haul mode, set the cruise at 65 and let her eat. I've been all over MI camping out of the trailer and the truck pulls it beautifully. It pretty much sits in 5th gear with the converter locked and uses the turbo to flatten out the hills. I saw fuel mileage between 13 and 16mpg on the DIC, or about TWICE what I was getting with the same trailer hooked to the back of my old Suburban 2500 with the 8.1.

I'm running LT265/70R17 BFG ATs (Load C) and usually air them up to about 45lbs for a bit better stability. I also run a good WD hitch with sway control. The Colorado holds its own with this trailer, and doesn't owe a single apology for its performance.

Good luck with your decision!

Tom

 

My cousin hated towing with the ecoboost engine said it felt like it had no power and was towing a small trailer with a side by side trailer.

 

Did you try running on the highway in M5? I found it helps quite a bit with the constant up/down shifting.

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I've had none of the issues you speak of and I tow a heartland wilderness 2750rl. I use manual mode lock it to 5th and turn on the tow haul mode. I cruised to Florida and back to northern Virginia between 65 and 75. I will say I have the trifecta tune for that trip. That makes a world of difference.

To some others. Who worries about mileage when towing?

How often are you gonna be getting in and out of the back seat of your pickup?

If you are going to upgrade then upgrade. I myself would go with the ford with the 3.5 ecoboost. Power when you need it mileage when you want it. Can't beat that. Plus it has more torque than either the 5.0 or gms 5.3

If your happy with your truck and have $6-7k handy top that 3.6 with a supercharger.



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Not to take over the OP's thread here, but I worry about mileage when I'm towing. I was getting 6-8 MPG in my Suburban. I buy literally half the fuel to tow the same trailer with my Colorado. Even if money is no object, who wants to have to stop to buy 30 gallons of fuel every 3-4 hours?

 

With regards to the 5.3... gearing makes a huge difference. My dad has 3.08 gears and my brother has 3.42s. You definitely want the 3.42 if you end up looking at those. Never towed with one though.

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To paraphrase those immortal words from Jaws, sometimes you just "need a bigger truck."

I haven't towed with the new 5.3L, my 2001 Tahoe with the 5.3L was great, though I never pushed the limits on towing with it. I wouldn't want to trust the Ecoboost, especially if towing was a large % of the drive time.

I also think the are probably going to be looking at a 2018 mid-size diesel, I would guess by Labor Day 2017 Diesels will be hard to find. I think there will still be plenty of 2017 half tons with 5.3L engines with healthy discounts, so you may find that the price difference justifies the half ton.

 

If your biggest complain are high RPM, and too much shifting, and fuel consumption, it sounds like the 2.8 Duramax is your answer.

 

I was in the same boat as the op, but I like my truck too much to get rid of it. Since I only tow 6 months of the year, I couldn't justify a bigger truck. Plus I love the size of my truck for my daily driving.

That is why I installed the RIPP Supercharger. This was really a game changer for my truck. Now I am confident with my trucks towing power and having the extra power on tap while not towing keeps a smile on my face.

The cost of a Supercharger is easily offset by realizing you would take the same $4k to $5k loss on trade in.

 

I just owed 1200 miles with the v6 north jersey to Michigan and back with a 5k travel trailer in tow. Mainly 3k rpm's at 68 to 70 mph and 4k+ up the steeper hills. I noticed that when I dove on another trip 150 miles each way. that when I put joe's country bunker gas in cause it was the only thing around and i was on e it towed like crap and revved at 4k 2/3 of the time towing back. So i started thinking and realized that with crappy gas in these high compression motors the knock sensor is probably kicking in and backing off the timing a little which is also reducing power. So on this last trip I used 93 gas and and it towed much better, not because the higher octane makes more power cause it doesn't you just don't loose as much. I think a tune like someone else mentioned is the final ticket to improve the towing experience with these gas trucks. 20 pounds of torque and the curve starting earlier.I'm just a hair away from running 5th gear at 2300 rpms. Just currious which is the best tune for towing? My bumper to bumper is up in 6 months so I might go ahead and risk a tune since I know if the dealer catches it I can be denied warranty.

 

I bought the trifecta tune seen on here. It did worlds for towing. Put it in performance mode and it gets up to speed much easier. They other mod I would recommend is buying the clearview tow mirrors. Them things are the bees knees.


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