Going power-boost over super duty here’s why

[AutonomousHybridF150]

I have a 21 FX4 F150 Powerboost coming, what do you think on towing either a 27 (7700gvw) or 30' (8800gvw) Airstream? Neither should be an issue, but just wondering if anyone has towed one or a trailer that weight? Keep in mind Airstreams tow super easy because of the aerodynamics

Unless you’ve never towed before, the 30’ would be a dream with your powerboost.

My friend pulled an airstream for a long time with a vehicle not made for towing, and he claims anyone and anything can pull an airstream. It was some older car, but the airstream exterior design hasn’t changed, well, ever. Lol.

Please post on this thread once you’ve towed so we can put a few trolls to rest. Lol!

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[Snakebitten]

Dang @Cobra427
That truck is gorgeous! I haven't seen one yet in that Ruby(?) color. Wow. Head turner.

 

[dannko58]

Real world towing experience from my 2 week old Limited: towed a 22’ ft box Haulmark trailer with vintage race car, pit motorcycle, some spares, tools and fuel at 8000 lbs /1200 lb tongue weight. 1000 mile round trip. Empty bed. Load equalizing hitch absolutely required. Lane centering unusable because of sway induced by automatic steering corrections. Added one anti sway rod to trailer and lane centering was useable with hand input to counter the induced sway from automatic steering corrections. Added a 2nd anti sway rod and lane centering worked well on straight highways, quite useable on mild curved roads. Overall mpg 8.9 mpg. 8.0 mpg at 65 mph. 9.6 mpg at 60 mph. Amazing amount of power. Could accelerate from 55 mph to 75 mph in seconds for safe passing on two lane roads. Just amazing acceleration. Carried an electric refrigerator instead of the normal ice chest. Just left it in generator mode the whole time. Turned off A/C, fan, headlights etc when I was away from the truck. Engine would start every couple of hours and run for a minute to charge battery pack. Lessons learned: looking for a V nose Featherlight or an Aerovault. If I was towing 100% of the time, a Super Duty would be a better choice.

Thanks for this write up. What WDH are you using?

So if I want to tow a fully loaded 27' Airstream at 7700# or a 30' at 8800# this truck should have no problems with the Airstreams aerodynamics being so good. Yet the tow experts hammer down on these combo's with a Powerboost (of which them probably never looked at the spec sheet once), which I assume they are computer nerds sitting at home "working" vs someone like me that lived on a farm/ranch and towed moving animals.

 

[dannko58]

And note, that 2018 BEAST cost him $43k +ttl after typical large XLT discounts before Covid days.

He (my brother) was a diehard 7.3 Ford Diesel guy. He stated many times over the years that he would never stop driving them even if he had to continue to rebuild motors/tyrannys.
After trying to keep up with me all summer as we crisscrossed the country pulling our condos-on-wheels, his wife finally said she wanted him to at least LISTEN to his little brother about what his options were.

That HDPP F150 is what we sat down and did a build sheet. He couldn't believe it has far more horsepower and basically the same torque as his beloved 2001 PowerStroke. And a lot more cargo capacity than he ever imagined possible with a "sissy truck". Lol

That truck was hooked to their RV almost non-stop for the first 2 years.

We had a 3/4 ton GMC probably about a 1980 something truck with the 6.2 diesel I think it was on the farm, we could barely pull anything with that diesel. I think most first getting exposed to diesels now don't realize that diesels of the past were worthless and good for mileage only, a 454 gas 3/4 ton back then would have smoked any diesel out there. These newer generation diesels (all of them) are crazy with torque. Until 20 or less years ago, gas was king by a long shot.

 

[dannko58]

Unless you’ve never towed before, the 30’ would be a dream with your powerboost.

My friend pulled an airstream for a long time with a vehicle not made for towing, and he claims anyone and anything can pull an airstream. It was some older car, but the airstream exterior design hasn’t changed, well, ever. Lol.

Please post on this thread once you’ve towed so we can put a few trolls to rest. Lol!

Thanks man, so many comment when they have not actually done what is being asked. Yes we towed a 28' old Airstream International with a 85'ish Chevy 1/2 ton DIESEL van, and that crummy GM diesel did not know that Airstream was there, 70mph was no problem. Airstreams are probably the best towing trailers of any kind.

 

[Snakebitten]

Thanks for this write up. What WDH are you using?

So if I want to tow a fully loaded 27' Airstream at 7700# or a 30' at 8800# this truck should have no problems with the Airstreams aerodynamics being so good. Yet the tow experts hammer down on these combo's with a Powerboost (of which them probably never looked at the spec sheet once), which I assume they are computer nerds sitting at home "working" vs someone like me that lived on a farm/ranch and towed moving animals.

I'm sure most people mean well, but the last place I would ask for towing advice is on an RV forum, as crazy as that sounds. It's like an oil thread on a car forum.

I am 100% convinced that the Powerboost would pull both RV's you describe just fine*, but that's a misleading claim if you don't read the fine print. (*)

*Fine print:
It's NOT the published "towing capacity" of the Powerboost that you will be up against. 430HP/570TQ is not going to cry or whimper with those weights. But you will absolutely be up against the specific "Cargo Capacity" of the truck you own. Powerboost trucks can vary many hundreds of pounds of Cargo Capacity based on the trim level and options.
So having said all that, if you can hook up those described RV's and after a proper Weight Distribution has been obtained, and THEN you verify that you haven't exceeded the Cargo Capacity, you can ignore the naysayers.
I do personally feel that these trucks are not very confidence inspiring once you reach some arbitrary figure about 70-75% cargo capacity. Especially with a long~ish wind-catching RV. In that case there's a towing arsenal of upgrades that can dramatically increase the confidence-feel from the driver's seat.

 

[maecomotorsport]

Thanks for this write up. What WDH are you using?

So if I want to tow a fully loaded 27' Airstream at 7700# or a 30' at 8800# this truck should have no problems with the Airstreams aerodynamics being so good. Yet the tow experts hammer down on these combo's with a Powerboost (of which them probably never looked at the spec sheet once), which I assume they are computer nerds sitting at home "working" vs someone like me that lived on a farm/ranch and towed moving animals.

Curt 17063 WDH hitch. This is rated 10,000 lbs to 14,000 pounds. But more importantly, it’s rated 1000 pound to 1400 pound tongue weight. It also includes one anti-sway rod. I added another anti-sway rod Curt 17200. FYI the WDH hitch for 8000-10000 trailers is 17052 with no anti sway rod or 17062 with one anti sway rod. But the tongue weight rating is only 800-1000 pounds.

 

[dannko58]

I'm sure most people mean well, but the last place I would ask for towing advice is on an RV forum, as crazy as that sounds. It's like an oil thread on a car forum.

I am 100% convinced that the Powerboost would pull both RV's you describe just fine*, but that's a misleading claim if you don't read the fine print. (*)

*Fine print:
It's NOT the published "towing capacity" of the Powerboost that you will be up against. 430HP/570TQ is not going to cry or whimper with those weights. But you will absolutely be up against the specific "Cargo Capacity" of the truck you own. Powerboost trucks can vary many hundreds of pounds of Cargo Capacity based on the trim level and options.
So having said all that, if you can hook up those described RV's and after a proper Weight Distribution has been obtained, and THEN you verify that you haven't exceeded the Cargo Capacity, you can ignore the naysayers.
I do personally feel that these trucks are not very confidence inspiring once you reach some arbitrary figure about 70-75% cargo capacity. Especially with a long~ish wind-catching RV. In that case there's a towing arsenal of upgrades that can dramatically increase the confidence-feel from the driver's seat.

YES, thanks, 30 years ago there was no payload concern, as there was no payload. Insurance companies trying to get out of claims is why there is all this absolute insane focus on payload. Most of these trucks can do way more than that sticker says, it's just a world of lawyers putting everyone in protect me mode.

 

[dannko58]

Thanks man, so many comment when they have not actually done what is being asked. Yes we towed a 28' old Airstream International with a 85'ish Chevy 1/2 ton DIESEL van, and that crummy GM diesel did not know that Airstream was there, 70mph was no problem. Airstreams are probably the best towing trailers of any kind.

I know this truck can pull it fine, but now it's all the payload garbage, and everyone afraid to go over the payload (instigated by insurance companies who rule the country) and getting in trouble for going over the payload. These trucks are way more capable than the payload sticker but Ford and all are more concerned with protecting their liability by putting a lower rating than what the truck could do.

 

[Snakebitten]

YES, thanks, 30 years ago there was no payload concern, as there was no payload. Insurance companies trying to get out of claims is why there is all this absolute insane focus on payload. Most of these trucks can do way more than that sticker says, it's just a world of lawyers putting everyone in protect me mode.

I have no doubt that there's some headroom left in the gvw formula for our trucks. Afterall, an axle wouldn't be designed to break with 100 more pounds on it than it's rating.
Having said all that, I am far more concerned with my own experience from behind the wheel, especially when pulling a condominium on wheels behind me. So I WILL acknowledge the Cargo Capacity rating for the truck, but it's just one consideration. I aim for confident handling and feeling like I can manage the typical surprises that on-the-road is likely to present.

I don't scimp on proper damping (oem shocks on 1/2 ton trucks are for test drives in an empty truck. I feel they are way under-damped for a loaded truck), rear sway bar (huge immediate improvement in stability) , and tires with the necessary sidewall strength. If I still want more towing prowess, there's things that address the factory spring rate shortcomings as well.

When I set out on an adventure, I might be gone 60-90 days and cover many thousands of miles. So not all this would apply if I was just heading to the lake for a weekend away.

 

[dannko58]

I have no doubt that there's some headroom left in the gvw formula for our trucks. Afterall, an axle wouldn't be designed to break with 100 more pounds on it than it's rating.
Having said all that, I am far more concerned with my own experience from behind the wheel, especially when pulling a condominium on wheels behind me. So I WILL acknowledge the Cargo Capacity rating for the truck, but it's just one consideration. I aim for confident handling and feeling like I can manage the typical surprises that on-the-road is likely to present.

I don't scimp on proper damping (oem shocks on 1/2 ton trucks are for test drives in an empty truck. I feel they are way under-damped for a loaded truck), rear sway bar (huge immediate improvement in stability) , and tires with the necessary sidewall strength. If I still want more towing prowess, there's things that address the factory spring rate shortcomings as well.

When I set out on an adventure, I might be gone 60-90 days and cover many thousands of miles. So not all this would apply if I was just heading to the lake for a weekend away.

need to start building them like my mom's Lexus GX, has hydraulic damping/leveling all the way around. The undercarriage is a work of beauty.

 

[KemahGT]

Be sure to keep an eye on that dipstick. My Powerboost is on its 5th week at the dealer for MASSIVE oil consumption. Don’t think it can’t happen to you. Oh, and good luck on getting a loaner. My dealer has sold every single one. Ford sucks!

https://www.f150gen14.com/forum/threads/new-engine-needed-for-f150-powerboost-hybrid.4750/

 

[Jack in Prescott]

Good thread, well worth reading - my thanks to the group. I'm on the lighter end of the scale (24' 6000# TT with a 'lighter' Anderson hitch) so a PB isn't a debatable choice for me. FWIW to Jon (the OP), a couple of thoughts:

I haven't found lane centering to be a problem while towing yet, tho' that's not with lots of miles . I'll be curious to learn more about when it's suitable and when not. I do notice there's not a lot of emphasis here on the ProPower benefits, which one post noted is a game-changer when RV'ing. It doesn't justify running an unsafe rig but it surely is an important purchase persuader otherwise. Another such example: During that last heat dome episode (I'm in AZ), I had to work on the trailer at the storage yard. No sweat, literally: Park PB, run cable, flip on A/C and work in comfort. I suspect that, as long as I'm RV'ing, I'll refuse to consider a TV that doesn't have this type of feature. We mostly boondock and have been using solar and a Honda...but this is sooo much easier.

When buying this trailer, we had zero towing experience. FWIW I spoke with farmers, ranchers, RV delivery drivers and other RV'ers (the most clueless group, it seemed) to gather all the advice I could find on 'real world' towing weight. The uniform advice from the experienced: tow no more than 2/3 to 3/4 of what your TV is rated for, and don't plan to use your max payload because, over time, what you carry in the truck will grow. For my Lariat PB, that suggests a max TT weight ~9,000# and I could handle a 1,000# hitch weight comfortably. As noted above, not every PB has a large payload.

Jack

 

[Snakebitten]

Great post. And yes, I don't know if it was me but I purchased the Powerboost ABSOLUTELY because of the 72KW RV marriage made in boondocking heaven. Anything else awesome about the truck is just icing on an amazing cake.

 

[PungoteagueDave]

I'm sure most people mean well, but the last place I would ask for towing advice is on an RV forum, as crazy as that sounds. It's like an oil thread on a car forum.

I am 100% convinced that the Powerboost would pull both RV's you describe just fine*, but that's a misleading claim if you don't read the fine print. (*)

*Fine print:
It's NOT the published "towing capacity" of the Powerboost that you will be up against. 430HP/570TQ is not going to cry or whimper with those weights. But you will absolutely be up against the specific "Cargo Capacity" of the truck you own. Powerboost trucks can vary many hundreds of pounds of Cargo Capacity based on the trim level and options.
So having said all that, if you can hook up those described RV's and after a proper Weight Distribution has been obtained, and THEN you verify that you haven't exceeded the Cargo Capacity, you can ignore the naysayers.
I do personally feel that these trucks are not very confidence inspiring once you reach some arbitrary figure about 70-75% cargo capacity. Especially with a long~ish wind-catching RV. In that case there's a towing arsenal of upgrades that can dramatically increase the confidence-feel from the driver's seat.

So correct. I was 'forced' down from my prior F-350 to a PowerBoost due to buying a COVID-house in an HOA-limited Florida community (still have a Superduty at our Virginia farm) and discovered that payload limits make the towing capacity a marketing lie. I still love my new PB, but having a 12,700-pound towing rating on a truck with a 1,140-pound payload limit is pure marketing - a 10% tongue weight of 1,270 pounds exceeds the truck's maximum payload without even counting the driver. So the truck's towing capacities as sold to me are a virtual impossibility - internally conflicted.

I'm working around some of this issue with my 9,750-pound boat & trailer rig, but it has been quite a job, with increased tire ratings (no F-150 comes with actual truck tires, which severely limits their axle weight ratings), shifting payload into the rear of the trailer and carrying nothing in the truck, removing the rear seat and bed cover, putting the truck's spare tire on the trailer, etc. I'm ultimately solving some of the issue by spending $12k on a new custom aluminum trailer with the ability to use weight equalizing (rare on a boat trailer) to replace the old galvanized one that is much heavier. It may eventually show closer to 7 mpg than the 5.5 mpg that we have been getting, far less than the 10-ish that I got with the diesel superduty, but I knew that could happen when making the switch. Just be aware that it would be the rare PowerBoost that can actually tow anywhere close to its pull rating due to limited payload - that battery ain't light.

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