Truck - Boat Towing Opinions
 

I have a pretty heavy boat (say 4300lbs on trailer) and am pulling it with a 4X4 Titan. Truck gets terrible gas mileage to begin with but pulling the boat kills it,along with my transmission, unless I am using the tow mode.

I am looking to get a new truck but my question for all of you SC's is should I get a diesel (F-250) or a F-150, and why (if you answer). Those are the only two trucks I am considering, so no chevy die hards pls.

I cant answer that for you.... My dad and eveyone else around my house that has a power stroke HATES them.. Awesome ride, pissy power!...

I know its not the answer your looking for, but I would go with a Cummings!!

If I could, and could afford it, I would have a ford body, cummings engine, and an Alloson Tranny!.... That would be a badazz truck!

http://theaudis4.com/forbes-says-for...-worst-trucks/


And they ain't the only ones. I know somebody that's got a 2010 for sale. :eek:

thanks cat - looking at the 2011 F-250. Only think holding me back is the wonderful price tag, but just trying to see if I can get by with the F150 or if i'll have the same problems as with my truck.

Yea... Beautifull trucks, and awesome interior... Fords are awesome trucks except for the lack of power!

When I first bought my camper, I went get it with my dads truck because I didnt have a 5th wheel hookup in my truck yet. My Dad has an F250 and its like everytime I went to take off, The truck sounded like it was straining so bad, it was gonna burn up... After I got my hookup in my truck, and hooked the camper up to the Dodge 2500 W/ 5.9 cummings.... I almost yanked the front og the camper off... Now I have the 6.7 cummings, and its a BEAST.... and I payed 32,000 out the door... But I will admit that the ride is not near that of a Chevy or Ford!
I will pull my camper and my boat wherever I go camping now!

Well considering that 4300 total is less than half of what a F150 is rated to pull, I dont see why not.

Get the 5.4 with the 6 speed auto, with 3.73 gears. The 6.2 and the new 5.0 are supposed to be available soon but who knows.

U couldnt give me a new 250 not for a couple years there is a reason they keep changing motors so fast. all the gas burners are gonna suck when pulling but most of them get 18 to 20 when not so no more than i pull my boat ill pay 10 more dollars to pull my boat and save the rest of the time. also dont forget about the 100 dollar oil changes, fuel filters, ruff as hell, injector problems. my advice is dont step up to the diesel til u have 2

Before i got my 08' Chevy Duramax 4x4, I had a 2004 Z71 Avalanche and a 2003 Chevy Z71, both 1/2 tons. They couldnt pull a boat worth a crap, or anything heavy for that matter. Burned a buttload of fuel and u could never set the cruise cause as soon as u got to the slightest incline the truck was screaming!

My Duramax is a beast. I dont even feel my boat back there, and my boston whaler is a tank! I could literally go 80mph, which i dont, if i wanted to. Only downfall is the new Chevy 3/4 tons only come with about a 25 gallon tank, even the diesels. So it takes me almost a tank from Lafayette to BL and back. But if I had a bigger tank it wouldn't be bad. My dad's partner has one just like mine and put a fuel tank/tool box in the back and fixed it to where it bleeds straight into his fuel tank, so he has about 75 gallons.

I never had a F-250. They were just always so plain compared to a GM vehicle IMO. But the 2011 Fords are pretty sweet. Im just a Chevy man. I will never go back to a 1/2 ton as long as I live.

He kindly asked you not to post. :p:):rolleyes:

Get a diesel you wont regret it. Listen to me I have a 23 ft Hydra-sports and its heavy *** hell. I had a 2001 chevy 6.0 4x4 gas I used to pull my boat and got 8.5 mpg. Bought a brand new chevy diesel 4x4 and get 14mpgs now. Cruise set at 70 or 75 and no looking back baby that thing pulls T

LOL, my bad. I didn't even read that. Well u got my .02 whether u liked it or not! :grinpimp:

Heavy load on a gas burner is exactly what's going to happen burn fuel & lots of it no matter what make.

No worries - just didn't want a ford vs. thread popping up. Seems like a ton of issues with the previous fords, which is why i don't want a 2010 or earlier. Just stuck on the fence cause half the people i talk to say diesel and the other half gas. my only real issue is towing the boat back forth to houston from BL and I have the same problem as someone else mentioned about the truck screaming on inclines.

just don't see that going away with buying an f150 but i could be wrong.

I get about 13 mph towing my big rig around. And mine is a diesel. They say once u break a diesel in, 25,000 miles, it is supposed to get better. Mine has almost 55,000 miles and I havent noticed much.

Yeh I would def go with a 3/4 ton for a good sized bay boat. It is a miserable ride in a 1/2 ton. Only prob is my buddy bought a 2011 King Ranch F-250 4x4 the other day, said he paid $57k. Yikes! :eek:

I got mine for $40k, but thats when they were basically giving diesels away when diesel prices were through the roof.

I know off subject, but i wanna see that new 2500 Denali!

You will not get rid of that issue. I tried programmers,mufflers & cold air intake systems the only thing that solved the problem was a diesel. I promise you,if you dont buy a diesel you gunna wish you did.

The same buddy that bought that King Ranch says there is a chip u can put in a diesel and get like 150 more horsepower and like 26 mpg!

why not drag the boat to the dealership and hook em up! If I was dropping that kinda coin I would.

i just can't see a new f150 set up right having trouble with that load, even in overdrive.

I put the chip in mine, cold air induction & 5" magna flow & get 24-25mpg w/o a load on interstate, Pulling my boat 24' Skeeter (don't know the weight other than it's HEAVY) I get around 19mpg interstate. That's on a cummins, Plus with chip turned all the way up with the cold air & exhaust dyno'd at 497 hp!:D Like driving a 6000lb sports car! When you romp on it & that turbo whistles, ya better hang on cause that big beoootch is leaving!

judging from the way your truck is sagging with the camper hooked up, you are;
1. improperly loaded gear in the trailer, or
2. simply over-loaded.

You really should not pull a 5th wheel with a short bed truck. The 8' bed trucks give you a better weight distribution.

I've only been selling trucks for 19 years, and watching people buy the wrong truck and overload it for 19 years.

I just need airbags huh?

Sorry fella. The reason Ford (and every other mfgr) keeps changing engines and fuel/exhaust systems is new EPA rules every couple years.

We could debate all day long.

If anyone wishes to talk seriously about Ford trucks and different towing issues, etc, I am always available. Just let me know. We can converse in the open, via email, pm, or phone, pick one. I'll be glad to help.

So far, all the 2011 Superduty owners I have are 100% happy.

6.7L Powerstroke, 390 hp, 735 lb/ft torque, 6 speed trans.

I have the F150. It pulls my 22 bay boat without even really knowing it is behind me.

JUST what i did.

Bruce can back me on this one......my gas truck gets 10.5 in town, 17 hwy empty........with boat, 9 on hwy.......my dads diesel gets 20 in town and 23 on hwy empty or with boat.......both Dodge........from Lafayette with 5 guys, all gear, boat with 95 gallons on gas and 120lbs of ice to freshwater city and back to Lafayette on 1/8 of a 30 gal tank........

my supervisor just got rid of his f250 because he only got 14mpg w/out a load, he really hated it, by the way it was an 08' with the 6.4 L however he didnt complain about a lack of power when towing

Oh, and you can't really tell boat is back there.......and its one heavy bastard!!!!!! 3500 lbs empty boat and motor........

i got an f150 , an 06 w 100,000 miles on it i its safe to say that 85,000 have been pulling construction trailers or boats ive had no problems , if you get a f150 get the 4x4. i have a friend who pulls a 29 ft proline cuddycabin w no probs in a f150

should have started a poll instead mike....lol

Must be one helluva "big rig". :rolleyes:

:cool:

If you want gas powered go with Tundra 5.7 , If you want diesel go duramax,both are fine trucks...

Seeing you have a 4x4 I bet you have larger than stock tires. I did this and power and fuel economy were greatly reduced. Might want to try putting tires closer to the original diameter on the truck you have first.

;)Or just get a lighter boat?!???:D

I second the Tundra, pulls my families 40hp kubota 4x4 with front end loader and 5 ft tiller like its not back there and gets 12mpg while doing it, 18-19mpg without a load, it has a 6 speed tranny and a 4.13 rearend, just wish i would have gotten the 4wd that front end is heavy :cry:

In a nut shell.....gas, crappy mileage while towing. But will tow it just like your Titan. Diesel, better mileage towing. The rest is history. You already knows my thoughts though.

Yep. It can pull that tractor just fine...But it doesn't like pulling that Southfork out of that boat launch in JB guys!

.

This thread has made me dumber - lol :D:help::help:

I have a Ford 6.0 and love it so much I'm willing to sale it to you at a good discount!!!! It does pull my 5th wheel and 45 horse tractor with no problems. Never complained about lack of power. It does only get about 14 MPG on the road and 12 MPG pulling any trailer. It doesn't matter if its the 4 wheeler or camper.

Pulling up hills
 

How often would you use this truck to actually pull something up a hill?
How often will you using this truck to pull anything at all?
An f-150 will pull it just fine, an f 250 Diesel will pull it better if you use it more often to pull things.

BTW, what kind of warranty are they offering and do you normally have a high turnover on your vehicles?

I'm not talking about a hill. I'm talking about just an incline like an overpass. 1/2 ton will ****!

Whatever u get make sure the engine runs.... Sorry :( had to say it!

What he said!

Swamp Snorkler, to answer your question, my current truck is 6 years old, so whatever I buy I plan on keeping for the same amount of time, if not longer. Boat is a 220LTS triton with a 250 and yes, it's heavy. Just trying to get an honest opinion if the F150 would suffice without burning up tranny driving from H-Town to Big Lake with boat in tow.

My triton has the tow package (only 55K miles) but like I said it doesn't like pulling that triton. Pulled my 18 nauticstar no problem.

Truck would be used to pull boat and an occasional trailer, but nothing outrageous.

F150 would save me a ton of money but I don't want to regret my decision... Purebay2200's F150 couldn't pull a hotwheel down a greased track - took 20 minutes to pull his 22' purebay outta the water :shaking:

go f250 u gonna be kickin yaself in the arse if u dont!

I would make the dealer let me take the two for a couple hours and pull the boat around to see which one you really want. You can spend money now, or later, either way you going to spend.

***** ouch!! ( very proud of ya chris did'nt know u knew how 2 b a ****)

Purebay2200's F150 couldn't pull a hotwheel down a greased track - took 20 minutes to pull his 22' purebay outta the water .


That's bc Josh had the damn emergency break on!! Lol!
I got 35"s on my truck with a 3" lift.
Bad mph, slow, but looks great and runs thru the mud well:)
My next truck will b the f-250.
I've driven the duramax & cummins..... Powerstroke is not as powerful.
But the look, ride, style & accessories of the ford put it above the rest for me.
If I was towing for a living I wouldn't look at a ford... I just tow for fun.

Re
 

Haha... U taught me well pox!!

I have a '99 Ford F-250, 7.3L diesel extended cab with over 200K break down free
miles on her. She has a 3.73 rear end.
She still gets 20 mpg at 70 to 75 mph on the highway.
My trip to work is ~600 miles round trip. I can do it on one tank of diesel.
I was lucky enough to get it new for $27K. Not gonna get another one like that for
that price ever again.