Anyone using the new F150 2.7L with a camper?

C

CALIcamperdad

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I'm curious about it. We just bought our first new Ford in over a decade Ford Fusion Energi for the wife its an impressive machine. A neighbor just bought the new F150 2.7L and he has been pretty impressed with it he replaced a mid 90's F150 with the new one. Curious if anyone is running a FWC or other pop up type camper on the new F150 with the 2.7L and what sort of mileage they are seeing.

Neighbor has a standard bed cap on his and so far is seeing 20mpg around town averages and the trips north to his cabin he's seen as high as 26mpg trip average but his typical trip so far has been in the 24-25mpg range. That type of real world mileage is starting to peak my interest some. That and the last long trip we did the wife was not happy about the lacking lumbar support on the passenger side of our Toyota Sequoia.
 
I have a 2015 F150 3.5L with a Hawk. I had the camper installed on June 10 at the factory and spent about a month traveling the Pacific Coast highway, Crater Lake, Macgruder Road on the ID/MT border etc. My experience is as follows. I drove the truck 6000 miles before the camper was installed, I now have 13800miles. I bought the truck in Feb. After the camper was installed the mileage varies as usual depending on driving conditions. Driving 80mph on a hilly interstate in windy conditions it gets 13-14 mpg easily handles this with very little throttle. 60-65 mph it gets 17-18 mpg, 45 mph long distance (driving through Yellowstone) it gets 20-21 mpg. Driving the Macgruder Road for three days it got 9-10 mpg. Macguder road is four wheel drive only and speeds are 5-20 mph on steep narrow road. The truck easily handles the camper and has no sway or roll at all. The engine never strains and stays below 2000 rpm under almost all conditions. Drivability seems the same as before the camper was installed although physics dictates that it has changed somewhat most notably that the above mileage figures are about 2 mpg less than without the camper. My view is that the 3.5L is far in excess of the power needed for this rig and the 2.7L specs indicate that it would easily handle the camper. More info: My camper weighed 1240 at the factory. My truck is a 2015 F150 Supercrew FX4,6.5 bed ,3.5L 4WD , 3.73 diff, Torklift stableloads,36 gal tank, Cooper AT3 tires E rated. As far as suspension I put the stableloads on before the camper was installed so you may not need them at all but with them as I am setup up it drives and corners as well as without the camper. We really like our FWC Hawk and looking forward to more trips.
 
Thanks for Sharing Cooter! From what I've read about the 2.7 it does seem to be able to get heavy work done without any drama which makes me think it would be fine with a FWC also. Our 07 Sequoia 4.7L no roof gear or trailer typically returns 17mpg on trips. Our recent trip just before July 4th was over in the SKI's stomping grounds actually followed their suggestion that trip with the little 4x6 trailer and 5 people we had tank averages of 14mpg though going over the pass on 108 had allot to do with that 14% and 26% grades between 8000-9000ft can't be kind on mileage. LOL Had the 4.7 breathing a little hard granted its not turbo either.
 
Cooter, you have the truck I've been looking at. Did you get the heavy duty payload or towing package. What is the payload on your vehicle sticker. I am so happy the truck handles the Hawk with no problem. Pic? How was the install with the aluminum bed? I'm so happy someone has done this so I can feel better about getting this truck:)
Thanks!
 
No I did not get the heavy duty payload package. I have the basic tow package which is transmission and oil cooler with receiver hitch and wiring. Payload is listed at 1780 with factory tires but with E rated tires it is listed at 2040. The install took 2 hours in Woodland with no problem. I think it may have been one of the first aluminum beds they had installed a camper on but you could ask them. They did nothing special to install on my truck. We were camping at Yosemite and I drove to the factory in about three hours it took two hours for install and one hour for a walk through. I hit the road and was back at Yosemite before dark. The FWC factory was very impressive and well organized. I am not sure how to post a pic on this site if someone could tell me how I will post one. I plan on leaving the camper installed all the time. I ordered jack brackets but no jacks for the camper.
 
IMG_0743.jpg

See if this works. It was taken at Big Sur.
 
Cooter said:
attachicon.gif
IMG_0743.jpg

See if this works. It was taken at Big Sur.
Click to expand...
Nice pic. That is a nice area. I went through there on my motorcycle about 15 years ago (and had to sleep in the public bathroom at the info centre to avoid hypothermia... long story ).

I'm glad this thread is taking place. There is another thread debating the 6.7L Cummins Diesel vs. the 6.4L Hemi and in my opinion people are all over the board as to what to get.

If you travel light, you can easily be within your payload with a 1/2 ton and it sounds like you have plenty of power to meet your needs, even with a small displacement engine.

Thumbs up!!!!
 
Looks great! So glad it is working for you. I hope you have many wonderful trips and maybe next year after I make up my mind..... We'll run into each other :)
 
Is that an AC unit in the back? Have you used it and do you feel it is worth having? I don't mind heat until it's bedtime and then I like it to be cooler.... Love your setup!
 
They are doing some amazing things these days with engine managment and turbo's. But a 2.7 is a small motor. I think the role Ford had planned for this is the typical 1/2 ton owner who rarely hauls stuff and uses the truck as a personal car. For full time hauling over the long haul I'd want a bigger beast under the hood in a full sized.

If you've followed my "Moon Truck" build that 4 cylinder is a 2.6 L. Big for a 4 cylinder. Small for a truck V6. I can easily buy a turbo kits that would make 300hp from that motor. But I don't think hauling heavy loads all day with a turbo is the way I'd go. Turbo's add a lot of stress to engine components and cooling becomes an issue. Not saying the factory hasn't got these worked out. But for me that engine is a lot of complexity and stressed parts to act up in the back country. I'd personally want more motor + less gizmo's on a truck this size with a camper this size.
 
Yes that is a factory A/C unit. It cools down very fast. You need shore power or a generator to run the A/C. We used in 98 degree heat at one stop and it kept it very cool, probably the small space helps that out. I also have the arctic pak insulation. The rest of the rig runs off 12V. I have an ARB 12V fridge running full time. I have two batts and a solar panel that seems to keep up very well besides the batts charge while engine is running. I got the portable solar panel as well but have not needed to use it yet. I also got a kit from Camera Source and installed a rear view camera to replace the one I lost when I removed the tailgate.
 
Ahhh the tailgate camera... very aggravating to have that placed where you lose it if you lower the tailgate or remove it. I made a comment about that when I called Ford for more info on the HD payload package. (They never got back to me on it, another aggravation)
It would not take a very large AC unit to cool down that space. I guess it never hurts to have a generator in case.....

I agree with Squatch above that 2.7 is not a big enough engine for towing a camper. I test drove the 3.5 and liked it. It has been suggested to me that the 8 cylinder might be a better match but I think either one of those would be fine. The 8 might be better in mountainous regions as I have felt the strain on an engine on a steep mountain.

So many things to choose to get the right fit. Glad I have this awesome resource to help me out :)
 
I ordered the truck to fit the Hawk camper I had already ordered. For my setup it works great. I had looked at other campers fifth wheels etc. For those towing applications I probably would have got a F250 or F350 diesel. I had looked at the four major 1/2 tons and did not think I could wrong with any of them as long as I specd it out right. The attraction for me to the FWC Hawk is that it can be hauled by my F150 very easily and anywhere the truck can go the camper can go. So I guess my perspective would be to pick out the type of camper that meets your requirements and order the truck that has the capability to easily handle that rig. My only concern about the 2.7 would be that it is the first production year for that engine. The 3.5 and the 5.0 engines are both proven in the F150.
 
Just curious, how many BTUs is the factory unit? My hawk has a 6k BTU unit that was installed by the previous owner(same location), it does well but will only get inside down to about 76 when outside temps get into the mid to upper 90s. With a small fan running it is comfortable even in the high temps.
 
Happyjax said:
Is that an AC unit in the back? Have you used it and do you feel it is worth having? I don't mind heat until it's bedtime and then I like it to be cooler.... Love your setup!
Click to expand...
I hope your AC works better than mine. Mine crapped out. And to replace it is going to be a PITA I would prefer to fill the hole if possible.
 
Not sure of the unit size but the manual is for 5000-6500 BTU models. Might be a question for FWC. Mine looks pretty straightforward to replace if needed. When set on 7 the highest setting and low fan speed or high it cools down to the mid 60's (according to the wall thermostat for the heater) pretty quickly and starts to cycle the compressor on and off to maintain that temp.
 
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