schmism
Super Member
So the time finally came. Time to update the ol 2001 1ton van. First on the list of reasons - the wife was tired of getting stuck in the winter trying to get hay out of fields in the 2wd van.
The new ride is a 2013 F150 3.5l ecoboost Fx4. The above is 32 sq's and two 6' rounds
I've been daily driving the truck for over a month now and the above pics are the first haul from today. Here are a few notes.
1- the backup camera with zoom for hooking up the trailer was awesome.
2- the integrated brake controller is nice, tracking how many miles ive towed with this trailer is great, however for the first 15 min of the first drive it was constantly thinking the trailer was disconnected, then it would reconnect to it. This flip flopped half a dozen times before it straightened out. Time will tell if this was a "the system is getting ot know the trailer" or something else that will come back.
3 - plenty of power however even in tow/haul mode it still wanted to dog the engine in 6th gear at 1800 rpm almost all the time. I preferred to run it 2200 and 2800 rpm dropped to 4th on any kind of hill and 5th was comfortable between 55 and 65mph. 70 and above 6th was back to being an option IMHO however the computer and I disagree on this point.
How does this compare to the 5.4L in the Van. Its no V8 that's for sure. Ive driven the van for 8 years, towed with it hundreds of times, I know what to expect and how it feels. It was predictable getting on the interstate etc. The 3.4 doesn't have the same *** but makes up for it in gears, least when its in the right one at the right time. Otherwise there is a noticeable pregnant pause as the computer decides you need to drop 2 gears to give you something that puts the V6 back in the proper power range.
Computer put towing at 8mpg or so which is inline with the old 5.4L. I will give marks to the 3.4 around town as it does manage 18mpg when the van never did better than 14-16.
Last but not least, the rear suspensions. Holy cow is there a world of difference between the 2 trucks. The new F150 is SOOOOOOOOOO soft compared to the 1ton van. EVERY pebble and road expansion joint you feel with the trailer on. The van, you couldn't tell the empty trailer was back there. Any kind of trailer bounce you feel on the soft pickup springs.
Conversely without towing or hauling the ride is a lot better.
TLDR - If you towing makes up 25% or more of the miles you put on your truck, buy a 250 or 350. Ford has certainly built the F150 for 90% daily driver crowd. IMHO it is not an all-around truck, its a daily driver first and a distant second work truck.
The new ride is a 2013 F150 3.5l ecoboost Fx4. The above is 32 sq's and two 6' rounds
I've been daily driving the truck for over a month now and the above pics are the first haul from today. Here are a few notes.
1- the backup camera with zoom for hooking up the trailer was awesome.
2- the integrated brake controller is nice, tracking how many miles ive towed with this trailer is great, however for the first 15 min of the first drive it was constantly thinking the trailer was disconnected, then it would reconnect to it. This flip flopped half a dozen times before it straightened out. Time will tell if this was a "the system is getting ot know the trailer" or something else that will come back.
3 - plenty of power however even in tow/haul mode it still wanted to dog the engine in 6th gear at 1800 rpm almost all the time. I preferred to run it 2200 and 2800 rpm dropped to 4th on any kind of hill and 5th was comfortable between 55 and 65mph. 70 and above 6th was back to being an option IMHO however the computer and I disagree on this point.
How does this compare to the 5.4L in the Van. Its no V8 that's for sure. Ive driven the van for 8 years, towed with it hundreds of times, I know what to expect and how it feels. It was predictable getting on the interstate etc. The 3.4 doesn't have the same *** but makes up for it in gears, least when its in the right one at the right time. Otherwise there is a noticeable pregnant pause as the computer decides you need to drop 2 gears to give you something that puts the V6 back in the proper power range.
Computer put towing at 8mpg or so which is inline with the old 5.4L. I will give marks to the 3.4 around town as it does manage 18mpg when the van never did better than 14-16.
Last but not least, the rear suspensions. Holy cow is there a world of difference between the 2 trucks. The new F150 is SOOOOOOOOOO soft compared to the 1ton van. EVERY pebble and road expansion joint you feel with the trailer on. The van, you couldn't tell the empty trailer was back there. Any kind of trailer bounce you feel on the soft pickup springs.
Conversely without towing or hauling the ride is a lot better.
TLDR - If you towing makes up 25% or more of the miles you put on your truck, buy a 250 or 350. Ford has certainly built the F150 for 90% daily driver crowd. IMHO it is not an all-around truck, its a daily driver first and a distant second work truck.
