Northguy
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Comparing trip pulling 7000 lb trailer (6200lbs unload) this year with new 2022 max tow 3.5 EB vs last year with my 2010 F150 5.4L. Both with 3.55 gear ratio.
Conclusion
No comparison. While I loved the 5.4l for most things I hated towing with it. It was a real screamer - high rpm to get the torque required. The 3.5 EB was a real pleasure particularly in the PA "mountains". The torque vs rpm curve vs 5.4l (or the 5.0l coyote) is amazing - big fan of the turbos No issue in speeding up to pass even on the hills.
Details
Setup (Picture below)
- 27ft Jayco - 30ft overall length
- setup truck per WDH instructions (same WDH on both trips)
- trailer I-beam had 1/2" tilt forward and truck was completely flat
- increased pressure of truck tires by 10psi (5 psi below max rating)
Speed
- 100-105 k/hr (~65 mph)
- locked out 9 and 10 gears
- used tow mode mostly
Payload - 1843 lbs
- spent a lot of time ensuring good payload as was constantly at or over on my old truck. Use information gained from this forum to estimate payload of build when ordering. Was within 7lbs of actual payload
- really wanted the 20" sport wheels and the extra items from max tow (insurance vs absolute need). Those cost ~ 80lbs but ok with that. Also being in Canada 4 wheel drive was a requirement
- biggest regret (really really regret) was not getting copilot assist. The add-ons for an XLT are crazy and big miss on my part. Know from this forum people have added it and man I would pay to have it done to my truck!
Sway
- no issues with either truck. Was a bit worried with the lighter wt 2022 (both were short box) but didn't seem an issue
- we were lucky though no real wind except in hills of PA which we handled fine
Gas Mileage ESTIMATE
Going - 26.0 l/100km or 9 mpg
Back - 22.7 l/100km or 10.3 mpg
This is from truck meter. As an engineer with OCD I am careful not starting things (slide rulers and spreadsheets) that will send me down the rabbit hole
- only 5k miles on truck so not fully conditioned yet - that might have helped a bit on way back
- wind and speed differences would easily be the key factors here. The 3.5l was such a joy that i likely ran a bit fast particularly on way down vs last year due to the joy of towing with the 3.5l
My general observations is that on the flat and cruising at 65mph with 10 and 9 locked out to minimize the turbos, the gas mileage was significantly better than the 5.4l but in the hills due to the capabilities of the 3.5l to maintain speed thru them, it really sucked the gas and likely much worse than the 5.4. Observation based only.
Oh and I used the trailer backup assist quite frequently. While I have backed this trailer up frequently on old truck I loved the assist. Man it made it really easy getting trailer into spaces and kept my wife and I out of arguments.
Conclusion
No comparison. While I loved the 5.4l for most things I hated towing with it. It was a real screamer - high rpm to get the torque required. The 3.5 EB was a real pleasure particularly in the PA "mountains". The torque vs rpm curve vs 5.4l (or the 5.0l coyote) is amazing - big fan of the turbos No issue in speeding up to pass even on the hills.
Details
Setup (Picture below)
- 27ft Jayco - 30ft overall length
- setup truck per WDH instructions (same WDH on both trips)
- trailer I-beam had 1/2" tilt forward and truck was completely flat
- increased pressure of truck tires by 10psi (5 psi below max rating)
Speed
- 100-105 k/hr (~65 mph)
- locked out 9 and 10 gears
- used tow mode mostly
Payload - 1843 lbs
- spent a lot of time ensuring good payload as was constantly at or over on my old truck. Use information gained from this forum to estimate payload of build when ordering. Was within 7lbs of actual payload
- really wanted the 20" sport wheels and the extra items from max tow (insurance vs absolute need). Those cost ~ 80lbs but ok with that. Also being in Canada 4 wheel drive was a requirement
- biggest regret (really really regret) was not getting copilot assist. The add-ons for an XLT are crazy and big miss on my part. Know from this forum people have added it and man I would pay to have it done to my truck!
Sway
- no issues with either truck. Was a bit worried with the lighter wt 2022 (both were short box) but didn't seem an issue
- we were lucky though no real wind except in hills of PA which we handled fine
Gas Mileage ESTIMATE
Going - 26.0 l/100km or 9 mpg
Back - 22.7 l/100km or 10.3 mpg
This is from truck meter. As an engineer with OCD I am careful not starting things (slide rulers and spreadsheets) that will send me down the rabbit hole
- only 5k miles on truck so not fully conditioned yet - that might have helped a bit on way back
- wind and speed differences would easily be the key factors here. The 3.5l was such a joy that i likely ran a bit fast particularly on way down vs last year due to the joy of towing with the 3.5l
My general observations is that on the flat and cruising at 65mph with 10 and 9 locked out to minimize the turbos, the gas mileage was significantly better than the 5.4l but in the hills due to the capabilities of the 3.5l to maintain speed thru them, it really sucked the gas and likely much worse than the 5.4. Observation based only.
Oh and I used the trailer backup assist quite frequently. While I have backed this trailer up frequently on old truck I loved the assist. Man it made it really easy getting trailer into spaces and kept my wife and I out of arguments.
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