F150 FX4 EcoBoost

SLOJET

SLOJET

Advanced Member
Joined
May 9, 2010
Messages
92
Location
San Luis Obispo, CA
Is anyone running one of the new F150 EcoBoost trucks with a FWC or similar? I'm in the process of looking at newer trucks to replace my 4wd 99 Dodge 2500 Diesel, with a 5spd manual which I love I've been back and forth between picking up a 07 5.9l Dodge 2500 CTD with low miles or going with one of the newer Fords. I love the way the Dodge handles the load of the camper and the fuel mileage, but with 210k miles I'm ready for something a little newer. The thing is that for the most part, I don't use the truck to haul the camper but maybe 2000 miles a year and the rest of the time I'm driving a tank for my daily driver. The interiors on the new Fords are light years ahead of the 3rd generation dodges in terms of creature comforts and as a daily driver it will be nicer, but I'm worried I'm going to hate it with the camper on. I know I'd need to install airbags for the load which is fine, but I'd like to hear from someone who's been down this road before.....

For my price point of around 32k I can get a 07-09 Dodge with 30-50k miles or a 2011 Ford with 15k miles. I'm torn...

I know the 1/2 ton 3/4 ton debate has been discussed in length, but I'm real curious to hear about the EcoBoost if anyone has experience with one.

Thanks,
Dave

This is the current rig...
IMG_0445.jpg

IMG_0474.jpg
 
Good questions and I look forward to hearing some answers. I haven't come across anyone here on WTW running one though. Through the grapevine I hear they are awesome haulers and much better on gas than the 5.4 I have. If the rumors are correct the engine will have no issue with a camper. I have definitely overloaded the truck before and the engine didn't care at all.

The trim in the new model Fords is really nice, everyone who gets in comments on it. They did a very nice job.
 
Wow..... Just did a little digging on some of the F150 forums and those guys are only seeing 9-12mpg when towing and 18mpg when unloaded. Seems the 22-23mpg that has been claimed by Ford is not really coming to fruition unless you have the 2wd model with the 3.15 or 3.55 gearing. I don't drive that much so doing the math it's really not an issue but that still stinks.... Guess I've been spoiled with with the 24valve dodge.
 
Maybe the 6 spends too much time spooled out with a load. My 5.4 is shitty all the time, so it makes no difference if its empty or carrying 5000 lbs :D Maybe 20% difference.
 
Maybe the 6 spends too much time spooled out with a load. My 5.4 is shitty all the time, so it makes no difference if its empty or carrying 5000 lbs :D Maybe 20% difference.


I think you're correct. It sounds like you need to stay out of the turbos to get good economy. Hard to tell how people drive that put up the posted numbers. They could have their foot up it's a** all the time....

That is the good thing about the diesels. I get 19-20 unloaded at 65mph and 17.5 loaded with the Hawk at the same speeds.
 
I think you're correct. It sounds like you need to stay out of the turbos to get good economy. Hard to tell how people drive that put up the posted numbers. They could have their foot up it's a** all the time....

That is the good thing about the diesels. I get 19-20 unloaded at 65mph and 17.5 loaded with the Hawk at the same speeds.


If I could re-buy a new truck I would a) not buy a new truck and :cool: buy a diesel.

The F150 is still a tank unloaded. The front end is soft, sure, but with 10 ply's it still knocks your fillings out and can't turn around in a parking lot or parallel park anywhere considered "urban".

Having said that, I have a single in dual out cat-back Magnaflow system on it and it sounds so nice I'm not sure I could ever get another truck. But that's just me.

Sorry for steering your thread so astray! I love talking trucks.
 
No derailment here, I appreciate your impressions of the truck. I think I have answered my own question. I'm just better off staying with the 3/4 ton. I found a decent private party deal on an 2011 ecoboost with 3,000 miles on it and it got my brain going....


I did the brand new truck thing once and I'll never do it again. It was a neat feeling driving it off the lot, but new smell faded fast and the payments stayed the same. Better to let someone else take the depreciation hit....

Anyone in the market for a dialed in 99 dodge!??



If I could re-buy a new truck I would a) not buy a new truck and :cool: buy a diesel.

The F150 is still a tank unloaded. The front end is soft, sure, but with 10 ply's it still knocks your fillings out and can't turn around in a parking lot or parallel park anywhere considered "urban".

Having said that, I have a single in dual out cat-back Magnaflow system on it and it sounds so nice I'm not sure I could ever get another truck. But that's just me.

Sorry for steering your thread so astray! I love talking trucks.
 
This guy does, haven't seen any updates from him lately:
http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/index.php?/topic/4881/page__p__53789&#entry53789

My test mileage before the camper was around 18 MPG and went down to about 14 (freeway). I'm not sure how often the turbo on the ecoboost engine is kicking in, but if sound is any indicator, it would seem to be just from a cold standstill up a steep hill.



Also here is a good 2100 mile road test review of the truck side by side with one unloaded and one pulling 9000lb. http://news.pickuptrucks.com/2011/04/road-test-review-2011-ford-f-150-fx2-35-liter-ecoboost-v-6-part-1.html


To appreciate this motor you have to think about the market it was designed for. Many full size truck owners want to be able to tow their weekend toys but in reality that's only 5% of the driving they do in their rig. So for the bulk of the time the motor throws out pretty respectful MPG numbers. When you start loading it up it drops down to where a regular gas engine would be. That's just a fact of the energy available in gasoline, turbos just allow you do harvest more of it in a smaller engine size but you still require the same energy when loaded up, however unloaded there isn't as much wasted in the smaller motor.

So we know what it can do unloaded and also loaded the question really is where does a FWC land in the equation. Above it looks like it dropped from 18 to 14 but I've read these motors improve as they break in and also driving habits can be tweaked to capitalize on the motors strengths and minimize the weaknesses. I do like the fact this motor has peak torque around 2000rpm and holds 90% through the rpm band. This motor will definitely perform when needed to climb grades, esp. at elevation.

Last night I actually got a chance to check out under the hood of one of these trucks my buddy just bought, interest to say the least. There is a good foot between the radiator and front of the engine, in this zone is a cluster of ducting. Air filter output splits into two lines to the turbos mounted on each exhaust manifold, two turbo outputs combine back together for the intercooler mounted in front of the radiator lower down, then out of the intercooler to the engine intake. The factory computer looks like it'll display quite a bit of information too which is nice, including trans temp. He's only got 200mi on it but said normal driving but not getting on the throttle hard he's getting about 19mpg and if he's gradual on the throttle on the freeway can get up to 23mph. This is a 4x4 supercab shortbox.


A diesel will obviously always do better due to the energy per gal difference in the fuels but you pay for that premium right now in terms of vehicle cost and more expensive fuel currently. Lots to debate on whether it's worth while in our settings. If you tow big loads often its a no brainer.
 
Great article, thanks! It sounds like it would be no problem powerwise for the truck, even in the mountains which is where I gravitate to. I'm real curious to hear how the newer trucks handle with the camper. I notice it's on the Dodge but only cause I can't see out the back windown anymore. Otherwise, you'd never know it's there and I even have one of the Thuren suspension kits on it which softens the ride with a lighter spring rate in the rear.

It's interesting when you run the math what little difference a few miles per gallon makes. I drive around 10k miles a year.

Dodge CTD - 10k miles at a conservative 17mpg = 588 gal a year. At $4.35 a gallon for Diesel that's $2558.82 a year in fuel.

Ford EcoBoost - 10k miles @ an optimistic 20mpg = 500 gal a year. At $3.90 a gallon for gas, that's 1950.00 a year. (I'm being generous to the Ford here...)

So $600 a year to have the capacity of the diesel is a pretty fair trade in my opinion. Of course for those that drive two or three times that amount it starts to become more compelling.




This guy does, haven't seen any updates from him lately:
http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/index.php?/topic/4881/page__p__53789&#entry53789




Also here is a good 2100 mile road test review of the truck side by side with one unloaded and one pulling 9000lb. http://news.pickuptrucks.com/2011/04/road-test-review-2011-ford-f-150-fx2-35-liter-ecoboost-v-6-part-1.html
 
I went from a 1/2 ton platform to a 3/4 ton platform. I would NEVER go back down to a 1/2 ton platform....just speaking from the safety perspective.
 
I went from a 1/2 ton platform to a 3/4 ton platform. I would NEVER go back down to a 1/2 ton platform....just speaking from the safety perspective.


I haven't had a 1/2 ton in over ten years so I have forgotten how soft they can be. Good to get some perspective....

Just got a call from the guy saying he sold the truck so I'm back on the hunt. 2011 EcoBoost QuadCab FX4 Lariat with every option and only 3k miles and he dumped it for 31k. Somebody got a good deal.
 
I have a 2011 super crew F150 ecoboost. I had my new Hawk installed 2 weeks ago. I have the Firestone airbags and BFG AT with the E rating.

My experience is limited but the 125 mile drive home had me average around 18 mpg's and that was with a extremely heavy head/cross wind that was gusting to 35-40 mph. Around town I am at 15 mpg with tons of stop and go. Took the camper off the other day - today did a 300 mile round trip cleaning out my 3 season cabin and towed a trailer that was loaded and the bed of the truck with a mattress sticking up out of the bed - 18 mpg's. Towing a 16 1/2 foot fishing boat on the same trip I saw 17 mpg's. Unloaded trips at 65-70 mph's see 18-20 mpg's and 55 -60 sees the mileage creep up into the 21-22 range.

The truck seemed to handle the camper very well. The truck gets varied mileage depending on the weight of your foot. The truck has serious power and the interior is beautiful. I think that the bigger selling feature is that the truck is a powerhouse that will give you great mileage if you baby it, and you have to pay but it will make you smile if you want to get on it. Ford may have screwed up by calling it "eco". I think they were more concerned about making the truck palatable in an unsure economy and gas futures. They could have called it powerboost or something and marketed it that way and people would be impressed maybe to a higher degree?

Nice truck and for me to have gone to a 3/4 ton for maybe 20% of the lifetime miles of the truck hauling the FWC would have been overkill to me. I understand the 3/4 ton argument and it surely has merit....
 
Hey thanks for the real world report. That was a pretty good pitch for the truck....you're not helping my decision making process! :LOL: Ford has really kicked it up a notch, they have super nice interiors these day. Don't forget to post some numbers when you get a longer trip under your belt with the camper.

And congrats, that's a sweet setup.




I have a 2011 super crew F150 ecoboost. I had my new Hawk installed 2 weeks ago. I have the Firestone airbags and BFG AT with the E rating.

My experience is limited but the 125 mile drive home had me average around 18 mpg's and that was with a extremely heavy head/cross wind that was gusting to 35-40 mph. Around town I am at 15 mpg with tons of stop and go. Took the camper off the other day - today did a 300 mile round trip cleaning out my 3 season cabin and towed a trailer that was loaded and the bed of the truck with a mattress sticking up out of the bed - 18 mpg's. Towing a 16 1/2 foot fishing boat on the same trip I saw 17 mpg's. Unloaded trips at 65-70 mph's see 18-20 mpg's and 55 -60 sees the mileage creep up into the 21-22 range.

The truck seemed to handle the camper very well. The truck gets varied mileage depending on the weight of your foot. The truck has serious power and the interior is beautiful. I think that the bigger selling feature is that the truck is a powerhouse that will give you great mileage if you baby it, and you have to pay but it will make you smile if you want to get on it. Ford may have screwed up by calling it "eco". I think they were more concerned about making the truck palatable in an unsure economy and gas futures. They could have called it powerboost or something and marketed it that way and people would be impressed maybe to a higher degree?

Nice truck and for me to have gone to a 3/4 ton for maybe 20% of the lifetime miles of the truck hauling the FWC would have been overkill to me. I understand the 3/4 ton argument and it surely has merit....
 
Nice looking 99 - but I have a thing for white 99 Ram diesels.

I am actually looking at the same dilemma and have the same issue - truck is great for hauling the camper but less so for driving around town the rest of the year and parking at work.

For 32k you can come close (by a couple of grand) to a new 2500 Ram 6.7 Diesel 4x4 at one fo the high volume dealers. Or for 32k you could really refresh your 99 and get a nice daily driver and still be money ahead. That is kind of where I am leaning right now with mine.

-Vic
 
Glad to know I'm not the only one! It's hard to part with these old 24 valves, they have their Achilles heel but once they are dialed in, they are hard to beat. It's of course, much cheaper to keep it, but I figured out that over the past few years I've spent nearly as much on maintenance as I would have on payments. Trans rebuild, VP44 Pump, all the big ticket items. That's the killer. I've even debated parting it out....I would get way more out of it. Whoever gets it will get a dialed in 2gen though, with alot of new parts. Thanks for the info on the dealers, I may have to make a few phone calls, the 4th gen trucks are nice.

Nice looking 99 - but I have a thing for white 99 Ram diesels.

I am actually looking at the same dilemma and have the same issue - truck is great for hauling the camper but less so for driving around town the rest of the year and parking at work.

For 32k you can come close (by a couple of grand) to a new 2500 Ram 6.7 Diesel 4x4 at one fo the high volume dealers. Or for 32k you could really refresh your 99 and get a nice daily driver and still be money ahead. That is kind of where I am leaning right now with mine.

-Vic
 
Thanks for the info on the dealers, I may have to make a few phone calls, the 4th gen trucks are nice.


I haven't tried it personally since I haven't been in the new truck market but I'd try giving trucar.com a try. You pick the year model and also can dial in all the options you want and it tells you what some local dealers would offer the truck for. Then I believe if you enter your contact information they'll pass it onto these dealers who will contact you in regards to this price/deal. Not sure how well it works but seems okay at face value and would knock out a bunch of the initial haggling.
 
I'll give it a shot. I'm stuck in Knoxville, TN for work right now so I went and test drove a Dodge 1500 with the hemi. Nice rig, ride, and great power and going out the door for 26,900. They didn't have any gas 2500's but I may give that a try.


I haven't tried it personally since I haven't been in the new truck market but I'd try giving trucar.com a try. You pick the year model and also can dial in all the options you want and it tells you what some local dealers would offer the truck for. Then I believe if you enter your contact information they'll pass it onto these dealers who will contact you in regards to this price/deal. Not sure how well it works but seems okay at face value and would knock out a bunch of the initial haggling.
 
I think those are pretty accurate figures regarding the difference in gas costs between the two trucks but there is also a big difference in the base price between the trucks which adds a lot to that $600 difference. If the difference between the 2 trucks is 10k (and I think I'm being conservative) then for the next 10 years the difference would be $1600 a year.





Great article, thanks! It sounds like it would be no problem powerwise for the truck, even in the mountains which is where I gravitate to. I'm real curious to hear how the newer trucks handle with the camper. I notice it's on the Dodge but only cause I can't see out the back windown anymore. Otherwise, you'd never know it's there and I even have one of the Thuren suspension kits on it which softens the ride with a lighter spring rate in the rear.

It's interesting when you run the math what little difference a few miles per gallon makes. I drive around 10k miles a year.

Dodge CTD - 10k miles at a conservative 17mpg = 588 gal a year. At $4.35 a gallon for Diesel that's $2558.82 a year in fuel.

Ford EcoBoost - 10k miles @ an optimistic 20mpg = 500 gal a year. At $3.90 a gallon for gas, that's 1950.00 a year. (I'm being generous to the Ford here...)

So $600 a year to have the capacity of the diesel is a pretty fair trade in my opinion. Of course for those that drive two or three times that amount it starts to become more compelling.
 
I think those are pretty accurate figures regarding the difference in gas costs between the two trucks but there is also a big difference in the base price between the trucks which adds a lot to that $600 difference. If the difference between the 2 trucks is 10k (and I think I'm being conservative) then for the next 10 years the difference would be $1600 a year.


Devils advocate though is the diesel holds a higher resale so it knocks down that aspect some.

That said I bought a gasser still.
 
The newer F150s are plenty stout to haul 1500lb campers around. I cannot comment on the ecoboost. Do you research and compare the tow/haul capabilities of a new half ton truck to the 3/4 ton and 1 tons from the mid-nineties that had similar payloads with rear drum breaks and weak automatic transmissions. I don't think anyone would tell you that the 3/4 ton trucks in the mid-nineties were not adequate to haul 1500lb campers. I give credit to the manufactures of marketing the need for 400+hp and 500+lbs of torque.

What truck you should buy boils down to how often you are hauling your camper. If you are leaving it on full-time and/or plan on pulling a heavy trailer or boat in conjunction with your camper then buy a 3/4 ton. If the truck is your daily driver and you won't be pulling heavy loads, then buy a half-ton with the correct gearing and you can actually enjoy driving your truck.
 
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