Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire New Ford Truck Questions?

Looking at new truck for camping, travel and every day only vehicle.

So those who have the ecobust with the six speed automatic how do you like them.

Then there is the possibility of a light weight pickup camper so would be better going with the F350 with a diesel?

I have owned four Ford trucks and all have them been great; however, I have 2011 that has developed a transmission problem and it is going to cost 600 to repair. I guess that is not too bad after four trucks but it still makes me mad.

I have the Ecoboost. It is very quick and very quiet. It does not get the gas mileage I expected. It will get 20mpg on the highway if I drive 60, but it if drive 70 or over it gets about 16.

I think that overall Ford is building a very good truck.

Thanks, I head heard rumours about transition problems but nothing about poor mileage issues.

I'd pay attention to what stxhunter and others are doing with diesels right now, my friend.

A diesel that is a few years old, with the modifications they are doing, would be cheaper up front and in the long run, and give you a lot more performance.

I've never wanted a smaller motorcycle, truck, or stereo. Go with the biggest most powerful unit one can afford. My issue with today's rigs is that manual trannies have become a thing of the past. That being, I'll run my manual 6-speed long bed crew cab 350 diesel until it dies.

I've always been a firm believer in a trans cooler and a drain plug, and drop the trans fluid every 20K or less is a cheap investment compared to being at the mercy of a transmission shop...

If it doesn't have a drain plug in the pan, then tap one into there....

Good luck with whatever you get their Scott...

I get an average of 18.5 MPG Interstate from my '14 F-150 super crew 4x4 with a 5.0 under the hood and that's pulling my quad trailer with additional cargo. Around town driving averages about 16 or a tad more most of the time.

How are the valve cover gaskets on those EcoBoost engines?

FC

you know they either have come out or are coming out with diesel trucks in the light truck arena?

I am glad i have my 12value 98 dodge cummings. I just think it is slightly obscene that you have to add cow pee to the new diesels for smog control.
I doubt it would or will happen, but i have wanted a toyota tundra 4x4 for a long time. Other than the cost, the one thing sticking on me is the lousy fuel economy.
Few years ago i dragged a m38military jeep on a flat bed trailer from detroit to arizona facing headwinds it seemed both ways. ran about 18.5mpg on that trip.
I have not had much of anything go wrong other than self inflicted battle damage.

The valve cover gaskets on Fords do not require regular service.

2014 Eco - 4x4 w. 3.73 axles. I've put about 34k on it. I've had the trans serviced once (it's a pain) and change the oil & filter every 4-5000 miles, which I do myself.



On Labor Day weekend I drove back from West Texas to Houston, averaged 15.7 mpg. That was running 82-83 mph most of the way, however, with variable winds. Drive it 65-70 and you might see 18-19 mpg, so as near as I can tell the mileage claims are pretty accurate - but 21 mpg is based on 55-60 mph.

It gets 1-2 mpg better than my 2004 4x4 F150 with a V8, and has a bunch more power. So it does what I expected. The 36 gallon fuel tank is a nice deal, too, when you are out in remote country. It's a fairly competent vehicle off-road, given its size and weight. The locking rear diff is a nice feature, which I have used a couple times.

The 3.5L V6 turbo is rated at 365hp, but the real kicker is max torque is 420 ft-lbs, at only 2500 rpm, so the engine has excellent mid-range pulling power. Which probably hurts the economy, as you enjoy the pickup It will climb significant hills without downshifting out of 6th. It's rated to pull something like 9000 lbs, but I doubt if I will ever pull more than 3-4000 with it.

A 2wd with 3.31 or 3.55 axle would do better on economy, at a slight trade-off of power.

As far as Scott's question - I looked hard at the Super Duty trucks, but just could not justify the added cost. Now, the new Ram Diesels look pretty interesting.

But I'd also like to acquire a mid-90's 7.3 Ford, myself.

Looked at the Tundra. They are sold as fast or faster than they can hit the lot. Take the one they have or get out of the way attitude and the cost here is bad and mileage is worse.

My 2012 f350 crew cab averages 18 mpg mixed and 24 mpg on cruise at 65mph. At 75mpg it only drops to 19mpg. Not bad for a 1 ton

When I was looking at costs 'n' stuff last year I didn't think, given the miles I drive, a truck would last long enough for the very slight fuel savings on the ecoboost to offset the additional purchase and maintenance cost compared to the 5.0L. I'd go V8 all the way.

Unless you absolutely have to have a full size, I think the Toyota Tacoma and Nissan Frontier manual transmission options put them ahead of the full sized trucks.

I've owned both, both with 6 speeds and 4.0L engines. Current truck is a Tacoma. Frankly, the Nissan pulled stronger and got better gas mileage. If I were doing it again, I'd go back to a Frontier. Not to say the Tacoma is bad, it just doesn't have quite the torque or horsepower.

I helped a friend move ... dragged a U Haul about an hour each way on the Interstate with the Nissan. The trailer was rated for 5000 pounds and I'm sure we had every ounce of it. It'd tow at 70, barely, but it'd do it. A year later with the Tacoma I dragged the same friend's 2700 pound camp trailer. It felt a lot heavier than the U Haul. (Of course, neither handled a trailer like the F250 I had for a short while. If that SOB had a manual transmission you could not have pried it out of my cold dead fingers. It was a towing **beast**.)

Tom

my current plan (have a 2005 3/4 ton Chevy with 105K):

keep it and use it for plowing/towing/ big game hunting.

for everything else, use the CRV

gas money saved > new car payment

Pulling my loads at 70 MPH while turning only 1600 is why I chose the 5.0 over the 6.

I also have a '14 ecoboost. its been an awesome truck. previously I had an '02, '06 dodges with cummins. then a 2011 ford powerstroke, all trucks were new. the ecoboost is the first truck I have owned that has made it out of the warranty period with no issues. I would steer far away from the 3:73 gears its not needed for one my truck has 3:55's and I have towed 12k with it, that is 2k over the rated limit. power was no issue. before I bought my truck I did a test pull my 5500 # cargo trailer over parleys summit, starts out at 4500 feet then climbs to over 7k in a matter of 7 or 8 miles. I have pulled this summit with every truck I have owned. all the dodges, one of which was modified, and the ford. I arranged a test drive and hooked up to my cargo trailer which was parked at a parking lot around the corner from the dealership. I pulled the canyon with a brand new ecoboost off the lot. what I witnessed astonished me. I slowed at the bottom of the final ascent, then floored it. the ecoboost accelerated to over 80 mph. that is faster than all the other trucks except for the modded dodge. even that truck I would have to let off a bit because EGT;s would get hot. the ecoboost hit limp mode as I was running flat out but still crested the grade at 72 mph, which is about equal to the other trucks that were stock I owned, They were diesels BTW.

now days since its my truck (not the dealerships) I pull that same grade all the time and just run about 70 mph and have no issues with over heating or anything. the ecoboost is 2k less in weight than a superduty that makes up for the lesser torque amount over the diesel. so unless you know your towing over 10k a diesel is a waste.

I rode with a buddy on a fishing trip in his tundra, we were pulling a small boat. I noticed the tundra was constantly down shifting at every slight grade and reving to 3500 rpm or more. I was thinking my ecoboost would just torque its way over all those hills with that load. The ecoboost is a break through engine, the other makes have no answer for it. on paper they look similar however, they don't belt out the torque at diesel like low RPM like the ecoboost does.

Engine? Trans? Rear?

What he said!
I've got nearly the exact same F-150 as his. Mine is a 2014 F-150 Super Crew 4x4 Eco-Boost. V-6 Platinum Model. Only difference is mine has the 3.31 rear axle. Reason I bought the Platinum Model, was because only the F-150 Platinum or King Ranch Version's have the 36 gallon fuel tank. All the other F-150 Models have the little 23 gallon gas tank.

I just got back on a trip from Colorado Springs to Dallas, almost 800 miles, and got 20 to 21 mpg going 75 to 80 mph all the way. So yes, the 3.31 rear end gets better mileage than the 3.73 or 3.55 rear axle. When I was headed up to Colorado, I had my cruise control set on 65 mph going up Raton Pass in the mountains. My 6- speed auto tranny never downshifted once on the climb. And it's a pretty damn steep incline on the way up.

I might add that I usually buy a new Ford pickup every 2 years. All my others in the last 20 years have been Ford Diesels. So I'm pretty dad gum pleased with my first gasser EcoBoost V-6, and highly reccomend it.

We want this truck because we plan on travelling and a lot of camping. We will be putting a 2000 pound camper on the back. We want something we can just park and go to bed or set up and stay a while. I can still drive some days but my wife will be doing most of the driving and she will not tow anything.

I am 66 and we have never owned a new vehicle. I think it may be time. As far as doing what Roger is doing I have no place to work on a truck and no longer have the ability even if I had a well equipped shop. So it will have to be something two old people can deal with and something we can afford and still travel and eat once in a while.


Thanks for the input. Right now it looks like the super cab F150 with a 6 1/2 foot bed meats our need the best.

The F150 SuperCrew rides and drives so amazingly well you won't believe it. The F250 is almost as good, with more performance on towing.