EcoDiesel, A Maiden Voyage

[MinnesotaEric]

I thought that the reason about 95% of crew cab F150's have the 5.5' bed is so it can fit in a standard garage. With a detached building I don't have to worry about that.

That's what my dealer shared with me as well.

I just hauled 12' 2x6s unexpectedly 50 miles last Tuesday, and while they popped up and out the back of the bed, I would not have been able to do it with a 5.5'

This sort of thing happens in my life all of the time and I'm super happy I needn't do as much planning to accommodate the unexpected.

 

[jejeosborne]

An 8' bed wasn't offered in 2011 with a crew cab. The max payload option wasn't available in the 157" WB in 2011 or I would have gotten it in heartbeat. I do have the max tow option. Remember in 2011, that was the first year of the EB engine and we were just happy to get an engine that didn't weigh a million pounds and made good torque numbers for towing.

I am very familiar with the 2011 ecoboost because I own one too. You could have gotten the 163" WB supercab 8' bed with max payload. Starting in 2012 they started the max payload for the 157" WB supercrew.

Are you certain you have the max tow option? Your photo (hard to zoom on) doesn't look like your have the towing mirrors like mine and your stated towing capacity of 9800 lbs doesn't jive with that option. It would be 11,200 with the 4wd supercrew. Mine is 11,300 2wd and 1835 payload.

 

[jejeosborne]

Everybody has different needs but I would never own the 5.5' bed. I haul too much lumber and other things that require a longer bed. My F250 now is 80" and I can make it work for just about everything. When I get the F150 (looking at getting a 2015) the 6.5' (or 78") will be the bare minimum. Since a crew cab is a must, the 6.5' will be it.

I thought that the reason about 95% of crew cab F150's have the 5.5' bed is so it can fit in a standard garage. With a detached building I don't have to worry about that.

Yep you would be a good fit for the 6.5 bed and it will be interesting to see if they continue the max payload for that configuration in 2015.

I have a deep enough garage and a pole barn and still decided that the 5.5 would be a better fit for me so I guess I am just an odd duck then. Already I have to take two stabs at many parking spots and spend a lot of time in the city. It also helps when backing my trailers as it has quicker and shorter turning radius. The few times a year I personally need to haul long lumber, I grab the trailer which is much easier to load and secure the load. If I lived in the sticks and didn't spend time in the city, I would have spent the extra $200 and gotten the 6.5 bed for the heck of it but so far hadn't wished I had it. Even the 5.5 bed truck is longer than most marked parking spots. In fact, the rear of my truck was involved in a hit and run on the back while parked and sticking out.

 

[kevinwak]

I am very familiar with the 2011 ecoboost because I own one too. You could have gotten the 163" WB supercab 8' bed with max payload. Starting in 2012 they started the max payload for the 157" WB supercrew.

Are you certain you have the max tow option? Your photo (hard to zoom on) doesn't look like your have the towing mirrors like mine and your stated towing capacity of 9800 lbs doesn't jive with that option. It would be 11,200 with the 4wd supercrew. Mine is 11,300 2wd and 1835 payload.

I have driven a max tow without the big mirrors. I also regularly drive our new work trucks that have the big mirrors and the wimpiest payload option available. They are Screw 5.0L 4X4 6.5' bed, e locking diff and the yellow door frame sticker says 1311 pounds.
We have work SCrews with 5.5' and 6.5' beds. There are about twenty of us and the trucks we drive are completely random, usually if you are first out the door you take the one closest to the door. Probably only three of the twenty people that regularly drive these actually noticed that there were two different lengths of trucks.

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[jejeosborne]

I have driven a max tow without the big mirrors. I also regularly drive our new work trucks that have the big mirrors and the wimpiest payload option available. They are Screw 5.0L 4X4 6.5' bed, e locking diff and the yellow door frame sticker says 1311 pounds.
We have work SCrews with 5.5' and 6.5' beds. There are about twenty of us and the trucks we drive are completely random, usually if you are first out the door you take the one closest to the door. Probably only three of the twenty people that regularly drive these actually noticed that there were two different lengths of trucks.

Sent from my iPhone using TractorByNet

I believe you are correct for those sold in Canada. I have seen that before up there. I was directing my comments to Eric who lives in MN, USA. Big mirrors only come standard on the max tow option here. Now getting the big mirrors without max tow is new to me.

 

[mo1]

Remember in 2011, that was the first year of the EB engine and we were just happy to get an engine that didn't weigh a million pounds and made good torque numbers for towing.

The 5.0 also offered that year is an all-aluminum engine which weighs about the same as the EcoBoost once you add in the weight of the turbos and intercooler. It makes pretty much the same amount of torque (380-390 ft-lb vs 420) as well, just a little higher in the rev range.

I think the engines you were happy to get rid of were the old 2-valve iron-block Mod engines from the late '90s and early 2000s. My dad had a '98 F-150 with the two-valve iron-block 4.6 and that was a real dog.

 

[94BULLITT]

The 5.0 also offered that year is an all-aluminum engine which weighs about the same as the EcoBoost once you add in the weight of the turbos and intercooler. It makes pretty much the same amount of torque (380-390 ft-lb vs 420) as well, just a little higher in the rev range.

I think the engines you were happy to get rid of were the old 2-valve iron-block Mod engines from the late '90s and early 2000s. My dad had a '98 F-150 with the two-valve iron-block 4.6 and that was a real dog.

The problem with the old 2v Mods in the trucks was most were geared too high and the 4 speed trans also hurt performance. The 05-09 3v Mods did not run a whole a lot better. I don't know how the 3v runs with the 6 speed.

 

[mo1]

The problem with the old 2v Mods in the trucks was most were geared too high and the 4 speed trans also hurt performance. The 05-09 3v Mods did not run a whole a lot better. I don't know how the 3v runs with the 6 speed.

I've only driven a 3V Mod in an '10 F-250 where a 3V 5.4 sat in front of a 5R110 and 3.73s. Unloaded it felt a lot like the 4.6 2V but loaded it pulled a heck of a lot better. I haven't pulled anything very heavy yet with my 5.0/6R80 F-150 so I can't compare loaded performance, but unloaded or lightly loaded (<3000#) it runs circles around the Mod-engined pickups.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

I am very familiar with the 2011 ecoboost because I own one too. You could have gotten the 163" WB supercab 8' bed with max payload. Starting in 2012 they started the max payload for the 157" WB supercrew.

Are you certain you have the max tow option? Your photo (hard to zoom on) doesn't look like your have the towing mirrors like mine and your stated towing capacity of 9800 lbs doesn't jive with that option. It would be 11,200 with the 4wd supercrew. Mine is 11,300 2wd and 1835 payload.

The 163" WB wouldn't have been able to haul my dogs and tools in the back seat because it was a super-cab only. At the time the heaviest thing I had to tow was 8,000 pounds. You're right: I don't have the max tow, I have the trailer brake. I had to go look up my door sticker. I've added helper springs, taken off the useless running boards and installed Powersteps for the benefit of old dogs and old people.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

The 5.0 also offered that year is an all-aluminum engine which weighs about the same as the EcoBoost once you add in the weight of the turbos and intercooler. It makes pretty much the same amount of torque (380-390 ft-lb vs 420) as well, just a little higher in the rev range.

I think the engines you were happy to get rid of were the old 2-valve iron-block Mod engines from the late '90s and early 2000s. My dad had a '98 F-150 with the two-valve iron-block 4.6 and that was a real dog.

At the time I ordered my truck on March 11th, 2011 (sadly, an easy date to remember thanks to the Japan disaster), the reason for my doing so was that my '05 cam chain had begun rattling and I still hadn't swapped out my spark plugs at 33,000 miles and i was out of warranty. I didn't want to mess with the cam phaser issue of the 5.4L and I wanted to move from a super cab to a crew cab so my dogs would have more room (dogs go everywhere with me). That said, the 5.4 towed pretty good.

I took a hard, long look at the Dodge when I ordered and it came down to four things: The dodge cab was noisier in the parking lot as well as on the highway, the bed wasn't as long or as high as Ford's, the rear seat wasn't as big or flat, and the Navi wasn't nearly as nice. Nowadays, I think that Dodge has a better Navi, but the other three issues continue. For me that is a problem because I'm still winging back and forth from the city to my lake home, and to what will become my new development. Sadly, I nearly always seem to have my trailers in the wrong locations and so my truck is packed up like vagabonds moving.