HD F-150 or 3/4 ton truck?

[gladehound]

If the Eco-boost is as superior as some make it out to be, I wonder why it isn't offered in a 3/4 ton truck? Serious question. Seems as if they did diesels would soon be virtually obsolete.

I too wonder why??? It would be a nice option if the duty cycle didn't destroy it. As Sysop said, maybe it is that the heavier truck would keep it on boost and kill the MGP. I also wonder if it wouldn't be able to keep itself cool with the harder duty cycle. Not just water and oil cooling capacity but how hot might the actual cylinders get?

I think someone else may have mentioned that a larger displacement low boost engine (Ecoboost 5.0 Coyote?) might be a nice options for the HD pickups. Enough displacement that it wouldn't be on boost all the time, but the boost would be there when you want it.

 

[Sysop]

I wouldn't doubt we see boosted small displacement 8s for the heavy duty trucks eventually. Perhaps just a larger 6. In the gasoline market, there hasn't been anyone doing small turbos in the numbers Ford sells. The HD trucks are guaranteed to see any changes last; after they've learned all they can with the smaller engines in less critical platforms.

I don't think it would be a Coyote. Ford once touted the 3.5 Ecoboost has more main bearing surface area than the 5L Coyote. They've also said on many occasions the ecoboost line are not simply existing engines with turbos added. They were all designed from the ground up to be turbocharged. If they come out with an ecoboost v8, it would likely be an entirely new design, even if the displacement were the same as an existing engine.

 

[WilliamBos]

Payload along with towing would be the deciding factor. You get up towards the top towing limit with a 1/2 ton and you can't even put the wife and kids and gear in the pickup without being over gross. My Chevy 2500, I can hook up 13000 lb of trailer with 15% of it tongue weight (1950 lb) and still have 600 lb of payload left over on the pickup before reaching gross.

I got mine mostly because of hauling payload. Not so much for towing. So the gasser works great for my needs. I can load the pickup up to gross and barely tell anything is in the back. And it doesn't squat like it is taking a dump like a 1/2 ton will. And if you follow tire maker inflation tables and reduce the tire pressures when empty, the ride is pretty darn good for general driving use.

Brakes and everything else are substantially more beefed up with a 3/4 ton than a 1/2 ton. Barely any comparison. And considering that many good 3/4 ton pickups can be had for almost the same price as equivalent 1/2 ton pickups, it almost becomes a no brainer to move up. And drive moderately, and fuel economy is not that much worse than 1/2 ton. My 2015 2500 6.0 Z71 only averages about 1-2 mpg less than a 2013 1500 5.3L Z71 I had before.

Well said Copperhead. My thoughts exactlyl

 

[Diamondpilot]

When towing, especially at or near capacity, mileage is worse on an ecoboost versus a diesel. If you load an ecoboost down and run it through the mountains, expect 4ish MPG. It is well documented it can do eco, or it can do boost, but not both. Thing is, when less than 25% of your miles are towing, the extra few MPG it gets versus a 3/4 ton are a huge bonus. You're not going to make that difference up in a switch to diesel.

I have put about 30,000 miles on my Eco Boost towing between 7,000 and 10,400#. My worst mpg towing has been 7.8mpg hand calculated running 75mph with a 36 foot long trailer in tow pulling a 10,400# boat thats 31' long.

I dont see how its even possible to get 4 mpg? Only time i have seen those numbers was in a 05 V10 F350 with 4.30 gears pulling 24,000#.

 

[Sysop]

Big difference in the mountains of WV and IN.

 

[gladehound]

Big difference in the mountains of WV and IN.

Somehow I got better fuel mileage with the Jeep towing the TT in the Rocky Mts than I did in the Mountains (or hills from your perspective) of Pennsylvania. I think the thin air reduces my wind drag

 

[gladehound]

I have put about 30,000 miles on my Eco Boost towing between 7,000 and 10,400#. My worst mpg towing has been 7.8mpg hand calculated running 75mph with a 36 foot long trailer in tow pulling a 10,400# boat thats 31' long.

I dont see how its even possible to get 4 mpg? Only time i have seen those numbers was in a 05 V10 F350 with 4.30 gears pulling 24,000#.

From the Ike Gauntlet test, seems like it would be difficult to get 4mpg with a properly running EcoBoost.

MPG is total after going down and up and provided by the factory computer.

Year Make Model Up (sec) Up/Down (MPG) Load (lbs)
2013 Ford F-150 Crew 4ï¾—4 EcoBoost 7:50.3 11.3 8,000


But later when they ran the Ike gauntlet with 10,800 pound trailer the MPG going up only was 2.9 I don't know if the injectors turn off going down but if they did it could average ~6mpg for up and down with this weight. Big drop from the lighter load. Luckily my travel trailers has a GVW of 6,600 so hopefully it wont require too much boost (if I go with an Ecoboost). But a 2017/2018 F350 SRW PSD is my #1 choice now if I can find one for the right price. Unfortunately, I'm really cheap so that will be difficult.

 

[17 Oaks]

I have put about 30,000 miles on my Eco Boost towing between 7,000 and 10,400#. My worst mpg towing has been 7.8mpg hand calculated running 75mph with a 36 foot long trailer in tow pulling a 10,400# boat thats 31' long.

I dont see how its even possible to get 4 mpg? Only time i have seen those numbers was in a 05 V10 F350 with 4.30 gears pulling 24,000#.

BUY this truck!!

Time to trade in my 17 F350 on a Ecoboot...I can't do much better than that without a load...

 

[KennyG]

All this back and forth seems to reinforce what most of usl thought to begin with - if you buy a truck mostly for towing and heavy hauling and drive a lot, get a 3/4 or 1 ton with a diesel. If you are a more normal user and run the truck unloaded a lot (and a lot of business owned trucks seem to run around empty most of the time) you will come out ahead in the long run with a gas truck because of the lower initial cost and low gas prices. With 3K miles on my ecoboost, I have only recorded about 300 towing miles. I may be on the low side but I don't think I'm that much of an exception.

Also, for those who say their EB didn't get good mileage even unloaded, there must be something wrong. Mine recorded a hand calculated 21+ on the highway at over 75 mph with only 1000 miles on the clock. I expect better when its really broken in.

 

[cford36]

Payload along with towing would be the deciding factor. You get up towards the top towing limit with a 1/2 ton and you can't even put the wife and kids and gear in the pickup without being over gross. My Chevy 2500, I can hook up 13000 lb of trailer with 15% of it tongue weight (1950 lb) and still have 600 lb of payload left over on the pickup before reaching gross.

I got mine mostly because of hauling payload. Not so much for towing. So the gasser works great for my needs. I can load the pickup up to gross and barely tell anything is in the back. And it doesn't squat like it is taking a dump like a 1/2 ton will. And if you follow tire maker inflation tables and reduce the tire pressures when empty, the ride is pretty darn good for general driving use.

Brakes and everything else are substantially more beefed up with a 3/4 ton than a 1/2 ton. Barely any comparison. And considering that many good 3/4 ton pickups can be had for almost the same price as equivalent 1/2 ton pickups, it almost becomes a no brainer to move up. And drive moderately, and fuel economy is not that much worse than 1/2 ton. My 2015 2500 6.0 Z71 only averages about 1-2 mpg less than a 2013 1500 5.3L Z71 I had before.

This is exactly why I traded my F150 EB on a GMC 2500 6.0. Couldn't be happier.