Should I Upgrade to F250?

[bw-xplor]

Hello all! I'm new to the forum and fairly new to pulling a travel trailer.

I have a 2018 F150 5.0 V8 with 3.31 gears. My travel trailer is 6000# dry so I would guess maybe 6500# when pulling. Technically this falls well within the capabilities of my truck and the truck does fine in perfect conditions on a flat road. But when you add in wind, hills, overpasses, bridges, or needing to pass my truck feels underpowered. If I need to accelerate to go up a hill, I have to floor it, and it will hit over 5k RPM until the top of the hill still only making it to 60 MPH. I feel like the truck is struggling and I'm going to end up wearing it out stressing it this much.

We are part time RVers only going 5 - 8 times per year. I know the F250 will resolve my issue but just not sure I want to move to a larger truck for my daily driver. I was hoping to get some opinions on the F250 as a daily driver. I'm also curious to know if the 3.5 EcoBoost with 3.73 gears would solve my issue.

I appreciate any help you can provide.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

I understand that if you slow down some, the RPM also drops!

Torque is what you want, not hp, that depends of course on your real life needs whether or not you need to upgrade. Personally, I just slow down!

 

[GTS225]

Ummmm......a 5.0 in a 2018 F150? I'm thinking more like a 5.4 Triton 3-valve. And no....don't drop to a smaller engine.
I'm in the market for an F250 with the 6.2 gas, but I want a two-wheel drive. They're a little hard to find in Iowa.

Roger

 

[Rosy]

My trailer is a little lighter than yours empty but probably similar when loaded up. I don't ever want for power with my halfton but I'm concerned that I'll be over payload when my kids are bigger, if I'm not already.

 

[Rosy]

As to your question, for daily driving, you'll probably prefer a GM 2500 with IFS to the Super Duty's death wobble.

 

[Rosy]

Ummmm......a 5.0 in a 2018 F150? I'm thinking more like a 5.4 Triton 3-valve. And no....don't drop to a smaller engine.
I'm in the market for an F250 with the 6.2 gas, but I want a two-wheel drive. They're a little hard to find in Iowa.

Roger

They haven't offered the 5.4 in an F150 since 2010.

 

[GypsyR]

Son in law had a largish pull behind and a 3.5 EB F150. He changed out due to financial issues and downgraded. The camper he felt was just too big/heavy for the truck as far as handling a stability and he found it nerve wracking. 26 foot, I think? I know I helped him install two different anti-sway setups in pursuit of stability. But he did brag on the engine. He never felt lacking for power going through Blue Ridge. Turbos are indeed good for making torque, some 3.5's I believe make more torque than some 5.0's even. In his case, going with a less expensive older truck and a smaller camper turned out to be what made him more comfortable towing. And less in debt. He and family are incidentally at the beach in it now, having a great time.

Me, I bought a class A. Largely figuring into buying it is that the trailers I really wanted were too big for my daily driver F150 even though it has the full tow package. I did NOT want to trade up to a larger/different truck and didn't want another smallish camper. So...big gawky old class A I got a really good deal on was my happy solution. You have to find your compromise.

 

[GTS225]

They haven't offered the 5.4 in an F150 since 2010.

Didn't know that.
FWIW, my current '04 F150 with the 5.4 has towed a 24' standard trailer from Iowa to Arizona and back without problems, and my current 27' 5th wheel to western Iowa and into Michigan without problems. I do think the truck is marginal for for my needs, but it does do the job.
I suspect your difficulty is the engine/trans and gearing. It might be that the combo you have wasn't really intended to be towing as much as you want to with it.
Maybe I'm a bit conservative, but there's no way I'd let that engine spin at 5 grand for any length of time, let alone as long as you'd need to get over the summit of a hill. My 5.4 hit 3,000+ a few times, and I put a stop to that real quick. I'd rather sacrifice a little speed rather than risk my engine at those RPM's.

Roger

 

[Rosy]

Didn't know that.
FWIW, my current '04 F150 with the 5.4 has towed a 24' standard trailer from Iowa to Arizona and back without problems, and my current 27' 5th wheel to western Iowa and into Michigan without problems. I do think the truck is marginal for for my needs, but it does do the job.
I suspect your difficulty is the engine/trans and gearing. It might be that the combo you have wasn't really intended to be towing as much as you want to with it.
Maybe I'm a bit conservative, but there's no way I'd let that engine spin at 5 grand for any length of time, let alone as long as you'd need to get over the summit of a hill. My 5.4 hit 3,000+ a few times, and I put a stop to that real quick. I'd rather sacrifice a little speed rather than risk my engine at those RPM's.

Roger

My 5.7 will turn 4000+ RPM all day every day for a million miles with no complaints. Gas engines need to rev to make their power, especially when they're naturally aspirated.