New Truck for Hawk: F-150 or Tundra?

[PackRat]

If you visit a local set of SCALES and weigh front, rear and both axles.....you will know what you have to start with. If you then simply look at the VIN tag on the vehicle it will tell you the maximum for each axle and both axles. If you then do the math, you will know what the maximum load for each axle can be. Just looking at the GVWR won't tell you if you are overloading the rear axel or not.

VIN tag readings minus what your empty truck readings = what you can SAFELY carry. The only problem is trying to find out what your mfger of choice ESTIMATES the weight of your camper is, plus all your "stuff" and passengers, adjusted for the center of gravity, based on the length of the cab vs the length of the truck bed is.

When in doubt, especially if you plan to keep the camper mounted year-round, opt to buy "more truck". nobody ever complained their rig was "UNDER loaded"!

 

[Machinebuilder]

I would try to find an F150 with the payload package option.

As the owner of a 2011 F150 with the heavy payload Package i would suggest getting a superduty,

then you don’t have an oddball truck that has little to no aftermarket support

 

[iowahiker]

Ford advertises an extended cab F-150 with a hardside camper without the payload package and I have seen the rental versions of this setup. The F-150 comes with several different rear axles so checking door stickers is worthwhile though folks have reported putting the Hawk on the smallest rear axle without any problems.

The F-150 with a Hawk will brake better than an F-250/350 because of the lower weight based on actual tests reported in Trucktrend magazine. I would rate my F-150 brakes as better than F-250/350.

My opinion is the F-250/350 are better choices for "rough" country and making modifications.

 

[EM4]

Howdy Wanderers,

I'm looking for folks who have real world experience (good and bad) with an F-150 or a Tundra (or both!)

I'm looking for a used truck, in the 2014-2018 range, and have narrowed it down to one of these two vehicles. ( I think)

Our Hawk is currently on a 2008 F150, with the 5.4, and it has almost 190k miles (pictured). The allowable cargo on the current truck is~1700 pounds. I have only added Firestone airbags to the rear end, and they've been great so far. Our current F150 gets 10-12 mpg.

Summed up simply: I'd like a well-priced newer truck that gets better mileage and has a touch more cargo allowance than the current 150.

What do folks think? Any constructive criticism of either of these trucks? Should I consider a GM or....a Dodge or...a...Nissan? [emoji12]

20181006_131112.jpeg

Hi there, I have a 2007 5.7 Tundra. Gas wise at 60 mph I can get 20 mpg unloaded highway driving. with 120,000 miles on it I have never had any trouble with it. Presently I have a 1300 lb Sun lite camper on it. Fully loaded I get 13 to 14 mpg highway. Love this truck and would recommend it .

 

[yovik]

Hi there, I have a 2007 5.7 Tundra. Gas wise at 60 mph I can get 20 mpg unloaded highway driving. with 120,000 miles on it I have never had any trouble with it. Presently I have a 1300 lb Sun lite camper on it. Fully loaded I get 13 to 14 mpg highway. Love this truck and would recommend it .

Finally, one vote for the Tundra! Thanks!

 

[klahanie]

^

The allowable cargo on the current truck is~1700 pounds.

Summed up simply: I'd like a well-priced newer truck that gets better mileage and has a touch more cargo allowance than the current 150.

I figured the Tundra was out because it doesn't appear to meet the payload cut ( but might be different in your market).

The F150 payload varies with options but can be >1700 lbs for a 4x4 SC 6.5ft (like your current truck ?) but I think you might have more luck looking for a Supercrew 6.5' box. As that config had engine choices with higher available GWVR, RAWR and payload.

 

[klahanie]

As the owner of a 2011 F150 with the heavy payload Package i would suggest getting a superduty,

then you don’t have an oddball truck that has little to no aftermarket support

My opinion is the F-250/350 are better choices for "rough" country and making modifications.

Interesting about aftermarket. I see a lot of F150s, and 1/2 tons generally, that have been "done up" with aftermarket parts. Sometimes I wonder why not just get the 3/4 ton, but then I think many folks have a strong desire to modify and customize. Even on these pages it's common to see threads about swapping to E ply tires and suspension upgrades. With their higher capacities, modding a 3/4 or 1 ton might be less satisfying to the folks I've seen driving around, IDK.

 

[Machinebuilder]

Interesting about aftermarket. I see a lot of F150s, and 1/2 tons generally, that have been "done up" with aftermarket parts. Sometimes I wonder why not just get the 3/4 ton, but then I think many folks have a strong desire to modify and customize. Even on these pages it's common to see threads about swapping to E ply tires and suspension upgrades. With their higher capacities, modding a 3/4 or 1 ton might be less satisfying to the folks I've seen driving around, IDK.

There seems to be a tremendous amount of aftermarket for the Superdutys. Much less for the F150’s. Even less for the heavy payload version.
When I was trying to get better shocks and struts there just isn’t any support. The damping should be different for the much higher spring rate.
7 lug wheels are just not available and it’s hard and expensive to find the factory steel wheels.

If your going to end up with a F150 that’s rated the same as a F250 just get the F250.
YMMV

 

[overtheborder]

I have a 2016 F150 SuperCrew 4WD with the 3.5L V6 EcoBoost engine. I added rear Bilstein 5100 shocks and Timbrens. It handles my front dinette Hawk with no problems. Lots of power and good mileage (~20 mpg empty and ~18 mpg loaded).

One consideration with the EcoBoost engine; you can get power or mileage but not both. The mileage drops significantly if you are into the turbos a lot. But if you drive moderately (as I do loaded) it is not a problem.

Very happy with this truck.

 

[yovik]

I have a 2016 F150 SuperCrew 4WD with the 3.5L V6 EcoBoost engine. I added rear Bilstein 5100 shocks and Timbrens. It handles my front dinette Hawk with no problems. Lots of power and good mileage (~20 mpg empty and ~18 mpg loaded).

One consideration with the EcoBoost engine; you can get power or mileage but not both. The mileage drops significantly if you are into the turbos a lot. But if you drive moderately (as I do loaded) it is not a problem.

Very happy with this truck.

Thank you! Do you know the cargo allowed in your truck? And have you weighed your truck loaded up? Thanks again!

 

[JHanson]

Keep in mind something important: There's a huge amount of marketing that goes into the load rating. If you buy a truck with, say, a 2,000-pound load capacity, and put a 1,500-pound camper on it, it will not drive and handle correctly. The camper will still compress the springs, affecting the balance, headlamp orientation, fuel economy, and a bunch of other things. You'll still need to augment the suspension to ensure the truck maintains the ride stance it does without the camper.

 

[overtheborder]

Thank you! Do you know the cargo allowed in your truck? And have you weighed your truck loaded up? Thanks again!

The payload for my truck is 2060-lb. I've not had it weighed loaded. But JHanson is correct that it needed some suspension aids. As I said I put new shocks and Timbrens. I was surprised how much affect the shocks made.

 

[Ronin]

I had a '03 Tundra that never had any mechanical issues the whole time I owned it. However, the brakes on it were horrible with any load. The rear sagged 2-3 inches with my Hawk on it so I added helper springs which leveled it out. Because the '03 was so dependable I purchased my current '14 Tundra and added Firestone ride rite bags which I probably didn't need for the Hawk but definitely helps whenever I'm hauling a yard of road base or similar material. I live in the foothills and most of my trips involve going over the summit to Nevada and handling or power has never been an issue on mountain roads. I've owned at least 6 Chevy trucks from 1/2 to 1 ton and it seemed like mechanical breakdowns and repair shops came hand in hand with owning a (any)truck. After moving to the foothills 15 years ago and commuting 100 miles per day for 8 years I really needed dependability. Knock on wood - my '14 Tundra has only been in the shop for an airbag recall and oil changes.
I'm not saying Tundra's are the best - everybody will have their opinions on what they prefer, especially if they've just chunked down $50-60K I would hope that they are loving their rig. Good luck on your decision!!

 

[yovik]

The payload for my truck is 2060-lb. I've not had it weighed loaded. But JHanson is correct that it needed some suspension aids. As I said I put new shocks and Timbrens. I was surprised how much affect the shocks made.

This is super helpful, thanks.

 

[kgree3]

Looking for feedback on an F150 that i am interested in. The truck wont be my daily driver, so i dont want to trade in what i drive now for new truck. i have my eye on a 2014 4x4 with fx4 package in very good shape. Milage is 68k and they are asking $27,400. For the milage, is that high $. They do not seem interested in ANY kind of negotian on the price of the truck? Thoughts????? thanks

 

[yovik]

Milage is 68k and they are asking $27,400. For the milage, is that high $. They do not seem interested in ANY kind of negotian on the price of the truck? Thoughts????? thanks

My thoughts: unless the vehicle is in stellar shape, with more than the FX4 package (like the full XLT plus the Cargo options, bigger gas tank, etc) this seems a bit high. Not by much, but a bit.

For reference, check out Carvana.com, Cars.com or Autotrader.com.

I'm still in the process of finding a truck myself, and there are a number of 2015-2017 F150 with fewer miles that are about that price, some of which still have factory warranty remaining.

Another consideration (for better or worse): Ford began building the F150 with aluminum in ~2015 (word is the switch doesn't include all 2015s, but most are aluminum). The good news with aluminum is that it saves ~500# per truck. Some bad news is...it's not as tough (maybe) and there's worry about corrosion issues between the bed and hardware used to mount some campers (the eye-bolts used for FWCs for example). Both of these seem like minor concerns, so I'm focused on the 2015-2018 range. Folks love the 36-gallon tank, 10-speed transmission, and seem to like both the V8 and the two EcoBoost motors (there are a few non-Ecoboost 6 cylinders that I don't know much about.) The responses above are all really helpful.

Hope this helps!

alex

 

[kgree3]

Thank you Alex!

Very helpful! Im thinking this one isn't the one. I like the idea of the lighter bed in the 2015 and beyond. Where are you seeing the 2015-2017 F150 with fewer miles that are about that price, some of which still have factory warranty remaining. Are these 4x4 with the fx4 package?

Good luck with your search alex and thank you again.

karen

 

[yovik]

I'm looking for a 6.5' bed, 4x4 with the xlt package, in the 2015-2018 range. I'm seeing a fair number via cars.com and autotrader.com. If you can get away with the 5.5' bed, there are even more. I should say this as well: the actual prices might nudge closer to $30k, but with lower miles and better features than the 2014 you mentioned. The fx4 package isn't super common, but the xlt package has some of what the fx4 has, such as the locking rear differential. Many folks on here have upgraded shocks and added leaf springs, and that might be a better route than the fx4 options. Also note that the allowable cargo ratings vary greatly with these trucks. As others have mentioned, the longer trucks (supercrew with 6.5' bed) might be best for higher cargo numbers, if that's a concern for you. Good luck searching!

 

[natetripsus]

To echo what everyone else said...get the F150.

I just sold my 2017 Tacoma with 52,000 miles and bought a new 2018 Ford XL Regular Cab 8 Foot Bed and 4x4 with the 3.3 motor for $26k.

On the drive down to pick up my Grandby I was getting 23-24mpg, and I’m getting 17-18 now with the camper on it (better than an unloaded Tundra!) and I couldn’t be happier.

I would have loved to get another Toyota but the Tundra is such a turd it doesn’t make any sense. More expensive than an F150, less payload, older, substantially worse MPG, less customization from factory, etc.

Danneskjold,

I've been wanting to hear from someone who went for the base F150 XL with the 3.3L motor and a Grandby. I posted a topic on this but most replies were that I needed more truck, bigger engines. You seem to be the only person on this forum I can find with this rig. So, hows it working out? Do you feel you need more truck, more power? Mountains and hills? Hows the payload matching? I'd feel better if I could spend less on the truck and the prices for the XL 3.3s are attractive and the brochure payloads seem adequate. I want to hear from someone who has done this. I hope you get this post.

 

[WjColdWater]

These F-150 posts have been robust and informative. I have one season with our 2017 F-150 standard cab/3.5/10 speed, optional locking 3.55 differential. Payload 2150 with Helwig bags and BFG/E tires. Custom ordered truck with tow package and 36 gal tank. Grandby dry 1500 lbs. Handling, acceleration, braking excellent. MPH 14-15 keeping at or slightly below highway speed limits. I purchased for Midwest fishing trips and camping. Trips towing a 3500 lb Ranger with the Grandby no problem plenty of truck. One trip to the Ozarks with hills and curves again no problem driving the combo. MPH towing the combo 10.3-10.7. As far as the 3.3 base XL with a lite Grandby with bags and E tires you should be fine. The ideal F-150 would include the HDP package. That will be my next truck down the line.
​

Lots of different opinions on the right truck for lite weight campers. With the low profile of a FWC the F-150 is a sweet match. Pick a truck/camper combo that fits your needs and don’t look back.