Help me pick a tow vehicle

[DDNorCal]

@RC no, I did not pull the trigger on the Tremor, they were just coming out and I did not want to reduce the tow/cargo capacity. It's a 2020 F350 Lariat with the sport package.

It is a beast with massive torque. Interesting about the new interior coming out. I'll have to keep an eye out.

[Josh828]

@RC no, I did not pull the trigger on the Tremor, they were just coming out and I did not want to reduce the tow/cargo capacity. It's a 2020 F350 Lariat with the sport package.

It is a beast with massive torque. Interesting about the new interior coming out. I'll have to keep an eye out.

I built a new "work truck" the other day F350 swb lariat with the black out package and few other options.
Dang thing ended up being almost the same price as a king ranch

but if there is a new interior about to come out might have to hold out as well.

I also think its funny all these debate over which 1500 however it seems we are all on the same page about the new Powerstrokes

[larry_arizona]

I just can’t get around daily driving a 3/4ton +,

Equipped properly, the F150 EB tows a Supra fine. Heck Wake 9 towed an SL 4300 miles on an 18 F150 3.5EB 10 speed.

I pulled my Supra with the same truck and never felt underpowered, had no fear passing people and only occasionally felt the boat push back against the truck. 3000 total miles trailering.

The 21 F150 3.5EB is now 400hp/500ft lbs, you can get your payload in the low 2100 range, new semi floating axle is heavy duty, now that I figured out you can get a proper WD hitch for a boat trailer makes me happier, also you can get the bigger brakes on the F150.

1/2 ton is doable, is 3/4 ton better? Absolutely for towing, Daily Driver? I can only answer that for me, no thanks.


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[RC_Hinojosa]

@RC no, I did not pull the trigger on the Tremor, they were just coming out and I did not want to reduce the tow/cargo capacity. It's a 2020 F350 Lariat with the sport package.

It is a beast with massive torque. Interesting about the new interior coming out. I'll have to keep an eye out.

Looks good either way. I was zooming in on your bedside and thought I could make out Tremor...but it must be an FX4 decal.

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[DDNorCal]

Yes, FX4 decal.

@Larry agree it is not a great daily driver. I am fortunate enough that it is not. I agree that you can get by with a f150 in the right circumstances. I am not trying to get into the weeds about cargo capacity, lord knows I have exceeded it earlier in life, but with a 4x4 and not wanting to push the envelope when I am towing with 4-5 adults and a weeks worth of gear, I went with overkill so I would not have to ever worry about over weighting.

[eder10986]

Just my .2 worth but I've towed several different sized boats with several of the vehicles you are considering.

First set up I had was a 24ft I/O with a 454 big block.... This was a pretty good sized boat and I had a 2003 Z71 Tahoe at the time with 5.3. Power wise it towed that boat "decent". Suspension wise boat little much and I ended up trading it in on what Chevrolet called a 1500HD. This was essentially a 3/4 ton truck that had the 6.0 gas engine but a slight smaller frame than the 2500HD. This was a night and day difference and handled that boat with ease..... However it got 9mpg whether I was towing or not. Moral of this story is the Tahoe (Denali, or suburban) was enough to do the job but wouldn't be my first choice for you in this situation.

Fast forward I sold that boat and had a Corvette for a while and no longer need that 3/4 ton truck so I was back in a Newer body style Tahoe (2007) still with the 5.3 V8. I ended up picking the Mobius LSV which was much smaller than the old I/O i had before. The Tahoe handled this boat very well... It was a very good match boat in power and suspension for that small LSV (21ft and small overall compared to the newer wakeboats). You're Supra on the other hand is a far bigger and heavier boat than that was.... So another vote against the Tahoe/Suburban for your situation.

While still owning the LSV I traded the Tahoe in on a 2013 F150 FX4 with the 3.5 Ecoboost. The ecoboost was PHENOMENAL compared to the 5.3 GM motor and I absolutely loved the power it had. In fact I loved everything about that truck.... At first. The Fx4 package during those years was killer.... heated and cooled seats, no chrome (fully paint matched bumpers), HID headlights, Navigation... Basically all the bells and whistles. It was an awesome overall truck.... EXCEPT the ecoboost is notorious for having MANY mechanical and expensive issues. When I first was looking for one I was sold on the Ecoboost and found a few. Of the 5 I looked at 3 had had previous work done that including timing chain replacement at around 60,000 miles based on carfax history. The one I ended up buying threw a code for turbo issues before I even got delivery and a turbo was replaced by the dealer to the tune of nearly $4,000. This was covered by them thankfully and I thought all issues were squared away..... I had the truck for about 2 years and all hell broke loose again. It started having misc. turbo underboost conditions that resulted in loss of nearly all power.(Not good when towing). I had in the meantime upgraded the LSV to a brand new MOJO and the ecoboost when working correctly towed it very well.... however it got to the point that everytime I would tow the Mojo I would get a CEL and loose all boost. Ultimately this ended up being a stretched timing chain and was nearly $6,000 dollars worth of work to replace. Sadly I ended up trading this truck in and leased a 2020 Silverado Trail Boss Custom.

Moral of this story... As much as I LOVED my Fx4 Ecoboost I would NEVER own another ecoboost that wasn't under warranty!!! I soooooo wished I would have went with the V8 non-turbo optioned FX4 instead.

I do love my Trail Boss Silverado and it does a good job of towing the Mojo but it lacks all the bell's and whistles the FX4 had. And power from the twin turbo was night and day off the line than the Silverado. However, I never feel like I don't have enough to get the job done with the Silverado.

Just my experiences with the above.
In your situation I would look very hard at:
Silverado 3/4 ton #1
Fx4 F150 V8 only #2
Silverado 1/2 ton #3

I would avoid any of the SUV's

Awesome info. Thanks so much!


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[rdlangston13]

While still owning the LSV I traded the Tahoe in on a 2013 F150 FX4 with the 3.5 Ecoboost. The ecoboost was PHENOMENAL compared to the 5.3 GM motor and I absolutely loved the power it had. In fact I loved everything about that truck.... At first. The Fx4 package during those years was killer.... heated and cooled seats, no chrome (fully paint matched bumpers), HID headlights, Navigation... Basically all the bells and whistles. It was an awesome overall truck.... EXCEPT the ecoboost is notorious for having MANY mechanical and expensive issues. When I first was looking for one I was sold on the Ecoboost and found a few. Of the 5 I looked at 3 had had previous work done that including timing chain replacement at around 60,000 miles based on carfax history. The one I ended up buying threw a code for turbo issues before I even got delivery and a turbo was replaced by the dealer to the tune of nearly $4,000. This was covered by them thankfully and I thought all issues were squared away..... I had the truck for about 2 years and all hell broke loose again. It started having misc. turbo underboost conditions that resulted in loss of nearly all power.(Not good when towing). I had in the meantime upgraded the LSV to a brand new MOJO and the ecoboost when working correctly towed it very well.... however it got to the point that everytime I would tow the Mojo I would get a CEL and loose all boost. Ultimately this ended up being a stretched timing chain and was nearly $6,000 dollars worth of work to replace. Sadly I ended up trading this truck in and leased a 2020 Silverado Trail Boss Custom.

Moral of this story... As much as I LOVED my Fx4 Ecoboost I would NEVER own another ecoboost that wasn't under warranty!!! I soooooo wished I would have went with the V8 non-turbo optioned FX4 instead.

The different experiences of people with ecoboosts amaze me. I have a 2015 Ford Expedition we bought brand new with the first generation 3.5 ecoboost with over 100,000 miles that was used as our primary tow vehicle for at first out LSV and later on our Mojo and the only issue we have had was a water pump leak. Other than that it has been rock solid. Oil changed every 5,000 miles with mostly Mobil 1 and a couple of times Penzoil Platinum and always with a motorcraft filter. A little over a year ago we added a 2018 F150 with the 2nd generation ecoboost and it was our primary tow vehicle all last summer with the Mojo and so far it has had 0 engine issues. It does do something funky with the memory mirrors ever once in a while but power train has been solid. It only has like 48,000 miles on it though so like I said small sample size.

My dad has a 2013 F150 ecoboost with around 100,000 miles and he did have a low boost code a couple weeks ago. Took it to the dealer in Nevada as he was there for work and they quoted him $2,000+ to replace turbos! He declined and brought it home and we found a small tear in the blow off valve diaphragm. $35 for the part and $25 over night shipping and he was back on the road for $60 bucks problem free.

[Tylerrnemt]

The different experiences of people with ecoboosts amaze me. I have a 2015 Ford Expedition we bought brand new with the first generation 3.5 ecoboost with over 100,000 miles that was used as our primary tow vehicle for at first out LSV and later on our Mojo and the only issue we have had was a water pump leak. Other than that it has been rock solid. Oil changed every 5,000 miles with mostly Mobil 1 and a couple of times Penzoil Platinum and always with a motorcraft filter. A little over a year ago we added a 2018 F150 with the 2nd generation ecoboost and it was our primary tow vehicle all last summer with the Mojo and so far it has had 0 engine issues. It does do something funky with the memory mirrors ever once in a while but power train has been solid. It only has like 48,000 miles on it though so like I said small sample size.

My dad has a 2013 F150 ecoboost with around 100,000 miles and he did have a low boost code a couple weeks ago. Took it to the dealer in Nevada as he was there for work and they quoted him $2,000+ to replace turbos! He declined and brought it home and we found a small tear in the blow off valve diaphragm. $35 for the part and $25 over night shipping and he was back on the road for $60 bucks problem free.

That is good info for sure!

I truly wish that was the case for me though!!! I really loved my Ecoboost.... I had read all the horror stories before buying it and like you just kind of assumed they were way overrated and I wouldn't actually have any of the issues people described. So much so that I was still only seeking out Ecoboost optioned trucks.

Come to find out after a couple years of ownership I had nearly ALL of the issues I had read horror stories about.... The previous owner had drilled the hole in the IC, I installed a oil catch can (another miracle cure supposedly) I did have a rip on the BOV and replaced this just as you had mentioned with a new $25 dollar part.... Didn't fix my issues..... Also I regapped and replaced spark plugs as another miracle "fix" for all the problems listed on the forums. Still not fixed. Then after ALL of those other issues that became real life problems were addressed I still ended up with the "dreaded timing chain issue". So ultimately every single one of the "problems" you read about on the forums happened to my EB.

When the truck was running good it was absolutely my favorite vehicle I've ever owned... And the EB is fantastic at towing!!!
Maybe buying a new one and doing all the maintenance yourself and knowing the history is the only way to go EB? But my experience on the other hand has soured me to the idea of ever buying another.

[larry_arizona]

Going to say many issues were resolved on the Gen2 3.5EB.

The 2.7EB is also fast as F!!! 325/400 is a fun ride. 0-60 and 1/4 mile is within .1sec of the 3.5EB.

I drive one of each and the 2.7 feels snappier due to the hotvee configuration. Zero turbo lag.


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[Tylerrnemt]

That trailboss is gorgeous Tyler...

Is it a 6.2 or 5.3? I bet the 6.2L in the Silverado/Sierra would give you close to the power and pull of the Ford EcoBoost. I've also heard fabulous things about the baby duramax. Of course it doesn't have the highest tow ratings and once again we are running into payload issues with the half ton (hence my other thread).

Thanks!!

It's only a 5.3..... You're right this one is only a lease, but I'm thinking about buying a new one when the lease is up with the 6.2.... The 6.0 I had in my old 1500HD had a ton of power.