F150 FX4 EcoBoost

[bsharp007]

Btw congrats, nice looking rig! Here's to many trouble free miles of camping



I second that. My limited experience has been the same. Great truck combo with the Hawk.

 

[SLOJET]

Thanks for both of those reports. The Ford will likely be my next truck if Dodge doesn't do something phenomenal with their new 1/2 ton diesel due out in 2014. We shall see....

 

[lundexplorer]

Hopefully the F-150,Hawk combo works for me. 2012 Ford F-150 heavy payload ecoboost, and on order is a new Hawk,should have it in a couple of months. Can hardly wait.

 

[gbail]

If you can live without having the room of the extra cab, Ford this year lists the payload for a regular cab, long bed F-150, 4x4 with the ecoboost engine, at a whooping 2800 lbs.!

This is the unit I am thinking about buying, after having 3/4 ton trucks in the past for hauling a big hard sided camper.

 

[SLOJET]

Anyone care to post a picture of a Hawk on the 5 1/2' bed F150? I measured and it sticks out about a foot. I'm curious to see how it looks.


It's very hard to find the 6' bed trucks where I am. I was out in Nebraska recently for work and there were quite a few on the dealer lots. Not so much here in CA.... The other thing is the wheelbase. It would be nearly 17" longer wheelbase than a Dodge 2500 crew cab.

 

[sourdough]

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...

FYI http://www.f150ecoboost.net/forum/31-f150-ecoboost-problems

 

[SLOJET]

FYI http://www.f150ecoboost.net/forum/31-f150-ecoboost-problems


Haha! Thanks for the link. They all have their issues. I've been researching these for a good six months now and I would say that most owners are happy. I have a neighbor that uses them as fleet vehicles and he said they have had great luck with them, so I think most of the bugs have been worked out by now. I really like the 09 dodge I bought, but they have their issues too. The forums are where people come with their problems, so that has to be kept in mind. All the trucks look like grenades when you start digging around on the internet! I need a smaller, more professional looking truck for a daily driver and the ford solves that issues at least...

 

[photohc]

Anyone care to post a picture of a Hawk on the 5 1/2' bed F150? I measured and it sticks out about a foot. I'm curious to see how it looks.


It's very hard to find the 6' bed trucks where I am. I was out in Nebraska recently for work and there were quite a few on the dealer lots. Not so much here in CA.... The other thing is the wheelbase. It would be nearly 17" longer wheelbase than a Dodge 2500 crew cab.


Here's a shot of my 2013 FX4 and 13 Hawk from this weeks outing to Joshua Tree NP.

 

[SLOJET]

Here's a shot of my 2013 FX4 and 13 Hawk from this weeks outing to Joshua Tree NP.
View attachment 16487


Thank you, Photohc! Very nice camper and truck, congrats. Have you put airbags on yet, or is it stock?

 

[photohc]

Thank you, Photohc! Very nice camper and truck, congrats. Have you put airbags on yet, or is it stock?


Firestone airbags. About 30#s. Rides nicely with no issues. Lots of power.

 

[SLOJET]

Firestone airbags. About 30#s. Rides nicely with no issues. Lots of power.


Good to hear! I'm debating on a loaded XLT with eco, or the base FX4 with a 5.0 right now. Need to pull the trigger while the sale is happening this weekend. It's about 1500 more to buy new, with the discounts, than 2-3yr old used trucks with 30k miles on them. Strange. Swore I'd never buy off the lot again, but...

 

[Coblue]

Slojet- did you pull the trigger?
I had a 2005 F150 super cab (suicide doors) with the 5 1/2 foot bed. Worthless bed size for camper or carrying stuff.
The length from the front of the bed to the rear axle was very short so you could not get the camper COG very far forward.
And with no camper and the tailgate down you could maybe fit a atv or motorcycle, but it hung off the back.

I now have a Ram 2500 Quad cab with real doors and the 6 1/2 foot bed, much happier on both accounts.

 

[SLOJET]

Nope, but I was about to write the check last weekend. Even test drove one for 24hrs. I really like the trucks, but it was literally a case of the 5.5ft bed being to short for the camper and my other uses and the 6.5 being too long overall. It was the need for a hitch mounted motorcycle rack that killed the 5.5' bed. I was prepared to live with the camper hanging out, but that killed it. The 6.5 ft bed with the super crew has a 157" wheelbase and a 49' turning radius and is 20.5' long. Also the breakover angle was around 15 degrees I think. Just too long and low for some of the driving I do. It just wasn't a good fit overall. Still love the fit, finish, and power of the trucks, it just wasn't the right choice overall. If I didn't have the camper I would own one though. Looks like I'm back to loving the dodge 2500 again.... Not a bad thing.

 

[Coblue]

That's one of things I like about the Dodge quad cab short bed vs the Ford- the cab is 'big enough' with four real doors, and the 6 1/2 foot bed is "big enough" for a shorter camper and something off the hitch.

 

[brianjwilson]

I wish ford would have kept the cab size from 04-08. In 09 they stretch the cab 6" on the crew cab and it really didnt need it. I always felt like my 06 crew cab with 5.5' bed turned great, but would have been happy to have a 6.5' bed. But I think the new longer crew can and 6.5' bed is a bit much for a half ton.

 

[Marshfly]

Nope, but I was about to write the check last weekend. Even test drove one for 24hrs. I really like the trucks, but it was literally a case of the 5.5ft bed being to short for the camper and my other uses and the 6.5 being too long overall. It was the need for a hitch mounted motorcycle rack that killed the 5.5' bed. I was prepared to live with the camper hanging out, but that killed it. The 6.5 ft bed with the super crew has a 157" wheelbase and a 49' turning radius and is 20.5' long. Also the breakover angle was around 15 degrees I think. Just too long and low for some of the driving I do. It just wasn't a good fit overall. Still love the fit, finish, and power of the trucks, it just wasn't the right choice overall. If I didn't have the camper I would own one though. Looks like I'm back to loving the dodge 2500 again.... Not a bad thing.

I have an 09 F150 Screw 5.5' bed that I put an ATC Couger on. It hangs just slightly behind the open tailgate. I occasionally want to pull my poling skiff when I have the camper in. The skiff on the trailer weighs about 1500# with a correspondingly low tongue weight. I had a local fabrication shop build a custom extended hitch that fits in the receiver that's about 28" long. Maybe you could do the same. I pulled the boat with this setup ~1000 miles from Miami to South Louisiana a couple of months ago without a single problem and perfect road manners on the interstate.

For those interested, the truck has a Helwig rear sway bar and air springs that I inflate to 30#. No load range E tires yet but the tires installed are about 400# more rating than stock. I figure that there are Tacos that inflate bags to 60# and run 1000s of miles so my much more capable half ton is fine.