Truck advice
 

Might be looking at a new truck. I have a 2002 Moomba Mobius LSV right now (4000 lbs boat & trailer), though might want to keep in mind upgrading boats in a bit.

Looking at Ford F-150 EcoBoost, the 6.2L V8, and maybe the GMC Sierra 6.2L V8. Anyone had any advice?

Essentially debating between the EcoBoost engine and the 6.2L V8.

Thanks

I have a Tundra with the 5.7L so I don't have first hand experience with the EcoBoost, but my friend has one and it blows my Tundra's mileage out of the water...dry and towing. He manages 12mpg when pulling his 5th wheel that's about 6k lbs. A lot better than my 8mpg... I've only heard good things so far about that engine.

Did you consider the new Dodge Ram?

Went through a similar situation about two months ago. I looked at the Dodge, Ford, Tundra and GMC.

I had a Yukon Denali with the 6.2L so I knew what kind of HP and mileage to expect. I've never been a fan of the 5.3 for heavy towing. All of my friends with the 5.3 either hate them or put a superchager on them to make up for the lack luster of the 5.3. Another complaint I've had of the GM's in particular is with the late model transmission and the Torque reduction that they use with to save the transmission. It quickly makes the 400HP motor feel like 200HP at times. A simple tuner can turn it off however it also voids your warranty. Also with the new 2014, 1500's you cant get a full 4 door with a 6.5ft bed.

The Ram would have been my choice if it came with a full 4d and 6.5FT bed. You can only get a 5.5ft bed with the full four door. The new 2013 ram is very plush inside and with the Auto Leveling and 8 Speed transmission it would have been a no brainier besides the short bed.

I ended up with a 2013 FX4 ecoboost with the 3:73 max tow package. It's the only half ton truck that you can get with a full four door and a 6.5 foot bed. I'm very happy with the choice I made. I can put my dirtbikes in and close the truck gate, and 4 adults have plenty of room for long trips. The Ecoboost motor is a perfect tow motor, i pull 22ft boats new Axis, Nautiques etc with no problem. It also has electronic lockers for the front and rear axles so going up a slippery boat launch ramp with a full boat is no sweat.

The one thing I am disappointing with is the gas mileage. With a loaded boat I get about 10MPG and unloaded around 14MPG however its mostly city driving. I read on f150 forums of guys getting mid 20's and I always call bull s***, they must be recording it going down a hill.

I also have a 13 fx4 EB and its far and away the best truck I have ever owned. Pulls like a freight train. I do however agree that the mileage is a little over rated. Im averaging about 13 for the life of the truck. I drive probly 80% in town. I did notice that as many people had told me that the mileage improves after about 5k on the truck.

Quite surprised that Nate is not getting good mileage with the ecoboost. A buddy of mine has one and he swears by it and said he is getting 20mpg - 22mpg on the highway.

I ended up with a 5.7 Tundra myself and pretty happy with it so far. Sure it does not have the diesel power but good enough for my daily driving (14-15mpg) and recently averaged 10mpg towing my boat (loaded just shy of 6000lbs) over the mountain passes.

What gears does he have? I'm not getting near that but I have the 3:73 gears which explains my mpg. I have read claims of 20+ but its always with the standard rear end.

Yeah, probably standard rear end.

I had the limited with 6.2 and traded it for a Eco after 4 sets of tires in 18 months. The millage was fine 15mpg vs 16 with my new Eco but I love the Eco. I pulled the boat with no issues up a very step mountain this last weekend. Great truck. The 6.2 was bad news in my book. I would nevernadvise anyone to buy that truck. The mpg on the Eco is not as goog as the say. On the highway I am at 17 max. I drive 75 most of the time. :confused:

The new rams can be ordered in a 1500 full crew cab and the 6.5 foot bed now. I also noticed that they pretty much discontinued the 8 foot bed in the 1500. The only way you can get one is on basic trim levels like the ST and SLT in a regular cab. They used to have them on the quad cabs.

Jordan you're correct! At the time when I was looking it was not an option. The dodge was a great looking truck and value in my opinion. It also boils down to aesthetics, the fiancee loved the way the FX4 looked.

I just went though this two weeks ago. I looked at the ecoboost and the 6.2 F150's as well. I have two friends with eco's and they like them, both under 5000 miles, but I've read that many folks are having shudder problem ect. A friends company quit buying the eco's due to shudder and shifting problems with them and started buying the 5.0. I didn't want a 5.0 and researched the 6.2. Great engine from what I've read but the fuel mileage sucks.

I have another buddy with a 2013 crew cab Hemi Ram 1500 that he loves as well. Nice truck, rides good and has good power.

I eneded up with a 2500HD 6.0 gasser. Its more truck than the F150 for the same price as the 6.2 with the same fuel economy. I came from a 5.4 3v F150 crew. So far i just cracked 960 miles and i'm happy with my purchase.

I just went through this also! I went with the F150 Lariat 4x4, max tow package (3:73), and the 5.0 V8! I'm just under 1k and averaging around 14 mpg around town and 13.5 towing, but I'd expect this gets better with time. It pulls my Sanger V230 just fine! The oh gripe...My trailer safety hooks don't fit the beefy hitch, so I had to get some D rings/bolts.

Ive never owned a diesel but I want to, just can't afford it. I have a new body style 5.3 vortec gmc sierra 4dr
4*4 upgrade from my 02 silverado 5.3 z71 and it tows just fine. real big long hills are a little tough. I average 11mpg with lift and 33s. Before lift and big tires I was gettting 19-26 mpg not towing with afm. (Dropping to 4 cyl) best was 28

I have heard awesome things about the eco boost. Dont even consider the Ram unless you are going to get a cummins...those trucks are ugly, the hemi is stupid, and the interior is very low quality in comparison to chevy and ford.

hands down I would go with the F150.

I worked with a guy who had a chevy 2500 6.0 Vortec and got tired of having diesels fly past him going up hill so he got a gear splitter which made his truck into a 8 speed and I can tell you first hand it tows like a BEAST. His MPG was near diesel levels, the splitter took the stress off his tranny and he now haves nearly 250,000 miles on his original transmission.

If I didnt tow a 16k lb horse trailer that was going to be my next purchase.

I'm a gm fanatic :) so I gotta vote gm. Even though I own a mopar car. Just wouldn't ever have a ford.

I had a 2007 Z71 with a 5.3/ Sold it and bought a 6.6 duramax thaty i couldnt keep out of the shop. Now i went and bought a new truck.

Pulled the boat to the dealer and hook up a new ram 1500 sport 4x4 LOADED every option. It pulled the boat good and was strong. Was very impressed with the fit and finish on the new dodge interior.

Same dealer:
Hooked up to a Fx4 LOADED Ecoboost and there was a HUGE difference in pulling. The ecoboost makes its torque at around 1600 rpm's, and pulled my boat like it was nothing. Im glad i got the ford. It definately does the job with ease. I pull a 2013 Moomba MOJO loaded. I also drove the raptor, had crazy power, fun to drive but the fuel milage was crap. I get great milage out of this new ecoboost . Hook up and pull with both trucks. I think you will be suprised at how the eco pulls.


I will say that i have 4k on the clock and now im averaging:
18-19 on the hwy @ 65-68
15-16 in the city
9-12 pulling the boat


Those claiming 21-18 mpg in a 1/2 ton are crazy. Put a pencil to it rather than the lie-o-meter. That thing is not correct at all.

I get 20+ in my dodge highway. think its like 18.2 overall

that sounds about right

Stock height with stock 20" wheels my 4x4 4dr Sierra 5.3 afm got 20-26 "penciled" mileage between city and highway. As good as 28 highway. I didnt have a boat back then. Now that I've lifted got bigger tires I average 14-18 avg without towing. 10-12 towing my boat. Hills or flats

I have a tundra with the 5.7 in it that I was worried about when I bought a 7000 pound camper . All the guys at work said I need a Diesel but I was thinking I would be ok for short Distances. Well I went to dealer to pick up camper all Nervous about pulling it Because also did not have brake control so I had someone follow me. Needless to say I pulled out in traffic with that camper in the tundra didn't skip a beat hold it like nothing and it didn't do a bad job of stopping it without break control Needless say I was impressed

Anyone who thinks the Ford and Chevy interiors are superior to Dodge are mentally handicapped. I had a 2011 F-350 FX4 powerstroke and that truck was absolute garbage. The interior was cheap and plasticy, the motor was worthless, and the DEF/DPF system was an absolute nightmare. I put that truck in the shop 7 times to have the exhaust system worked on in 55,000 miles before I finally got rid of it. And the driveshafts that Ford uses can't handle the power of the 6.2 and are always breaking. Don't believe me? Go look out behind the service bay at your dealership and I'd be willing to bet that you'll see a bunch of Raptor's with the shafts hanging down. I've seen close to a dozen like that.

My wife's Chevy isn't much better, considering the dash in her 2010 completely split in half from front to back above the binnacle, and cost a small fortune to replace, and the 5.3 is a terrible motor to tow with. My 05 couldn't hardly pull my old boat that came in at 3,000lbs wet on the trailer, and the ride with it was a nightmare.

My 2012 Dodge has a far superior interior to any truck I've ridden in recently, and the Hemi is a great motor. Have a buddy that gets 22 on the highway @ 65 mph consistently. And the new bed is 6'7" if I remember correctly. My vote would go to the Dodge, and if you can afford it, get the Cummins. Just don't get a 2013 since they have now started putting in the DEF systems on them.