Anyone have any personal knowledge regarding the new Ford F150 Ecoboost trucks. I was considering trading my Cummins in for one. I know everyone loves Cummins and so do I, but with diesel so much more and I only tow 4500lbs and under, I almost cant see having a 3/4 ton truck. My registration is a lot more than a half ton and I only tow on weekends throughout the yr. I have a 2 place snowmobile trailer, a 6x12 landscape trailer I use for hauling firewood and a 18' Four Winns boat that maybe weighs 3500lbs. It looks like the Ecoboost will handle this well and the MPG's are around 10-15 towing and on the highway unloaded they are getting 20+. Ford says that 90% of the 420lbs of torque is available from 1700 rpms up to 5000 rpms and the HP is 365 !!! What does everyone think? I can get a new one for around $3000 plus my truck in my Sig. Pete

 

Furd is just whispering sweet nothings in your ear. That engine is too new to say it can handle towing and last as long as a Hemi. If you like your Dodge with a Cummins engine, IMHO you should give the Dodge dealer a chance and test drive a 1500 Hemi with trailer tow.

 

After 2 diesels I swore I would never own a gas truck again !!!! The ecoboost is the closest to a diesel in a gas truck. I will either get an ecoboost or stay with the cummins !

 

I say get the ECOBOOST, we need a guinapig. This will save all us a severe embarsement.

 

Then sell that cummins to someone over on this side of the state. im the only one in town with a truck like mine. i have no one to talk trucks to lol. To help with ur question you'll prob find better answers on a ford forum.

 

I'm extremely partial to my CTD, but seeing any HD diesel towing something is always more practical than seeing a 1/2 ton whatchamacallit all squatted down trying to pull a camper or something of the sort . I see it all the time here at local gas stations.....1/2 ton trucks with 5'vrs attached filling up. I almost want to ask them "Didn't I just see you fillling up 97 miles back the other way?"


In all honesty, it's your choice what you decide to purchase......just get ready for the "ribbing" you're gonna take from your diesel friends if you buy a gasser .


One more thought......Is your truck paid for? If so, the price of fuel, being what it is, would greatly offset the cost of a new monthly pmt.

 

[QUOTE It looks like the Ecoboost will handle this well and the MPG's are around 10-15 towing and on the highway unloaded they are getting 20+. [/QUOTE]


That's advertised fuel milage, we all know in the real world solid numbers are less. My CTD already gets this kind of mpg. IMHO I would keep your 3/4. Just my.02

 

Research the Ecoboost forums. I think you'll see a pattern of much lower fuel economy under load or with oversized tires.

I would much rather sit in an EC over my '07 SLT though. The model I sat in at the Auto Show here was the most comfortable ever in a truck. Nice fit and finish also.

 

I poked around yesterday at this out of curiosity (I felt dirty afterwards and had to clean the cache & history on my computer). I noticed that all like to use their on board fuel economy gauge and not many hand calc. How accurate is that? If its like our lie-o-meter...

I see a lot of owners compare their ecoboost to previous Ford gassers - they love the mpg and power. If that's the case, their previous trucks didn't get that great a mileage. They're really excited about meager gain. It is a V6 afterall.

Also what I've been reading, they have to drive with the same considerations us CTD drivers do in order to have "great mileage". Cruise, low speed <65 or 70; slower when towing; babying it, etc. If they've got to baby that V6 to get what a CTD does...




I don't know Pete. Obviously it is your choice to drive any truck you please. I have no intention of ever driving any F*rd so I'm very biased and not afraid to show it My CTD is paid off w/57k on the ticker. My concern now is keeping her maintained and on the road.

My bro-in-law just got an ecoboost around Thanksgiving last year and he loves it. They have always been a F*rd family. He had been driving an old Explorer for the longest time and drove some unmarked Caprices for work (Fed. treasury justice dept.). The other family vehicle is a minivan (can't remember which). Got to ride in his truck one afternoon we ran around town for a wedding but didn't ask to drive. I'll send BIL a message and get an update on his truck.

 

It's a good question to ask, Pete.

Gas mileage means little compared to fixed costs of finance, depreciation, etc. Outside of a front end/steering that wears too fast, the DODGE 4WD isn't that hard on fuel if you return it to stock spec and drive it like a man.

I compared my truck to another who had the exact same truck, but with a Hemi. Even had the same trailer type. We got some very interesting numbers aligned for spec, climate and terrain. A close match.

What I found was that -- so long as diesel was no more than 50-cents/gl higher than gasoline -- that the difference between his fuel mileage and mine was a wash.

The question came down to: how long will it last? The CTD has a far better chance of being like new at 250k than the gas motor (even though those are far better than in the past). So, longevity wins out. (And this assumes no new injectors or auto trans rebuild by that point; otherwise the gasser looks better as those two equal "about" the cost of gasser re-man longblock maybe. Do the figures, IOW).

First, if the duties you note are all that the truck is used for, then there are TV's better suited to your situation than a DD pickup truck. Second, somehow I don't think you track every gallon against every mile. So I believe your "analysis" lacks a solid basis. Average mpg is what counts, and the EB may not be a lot better, not enough anyway.

If you paid a decent price for that truck, haven't abused it like the kiddies in deezul world on the different boards like this one, then trading it for another won't ever pay back the fuel cost "bonus" (as it is not as real as you might think) since all the fixed costs will be so high.

You'll note that the American pattern of car ownership is abuse it and move on. But in less than 25-years they could have had a very nice brand-new vehicle for what they throw away by trading every seven. Less than 20-years for those who trade more often.

I'd rather use that $35-45k elsewhere.

Now, with all that said, the EB truck, on paper, fits your needs better. But "real world" is how much you'll throw away to own it. You'll lose, is my bet. It's time (especially if you are a family man) to keep accurate records and make any decision based on real numbers.

Your truck ought to be good through the year 2021 (15-years). You ain't even halfway. This decision isn't any more important now than next year. Be careful. Your money: use it or burn it.

So I'll ask you a favor and to go to EDMUNDS True Cost to Own and run the analysis on both vehicles. And, to AAA for cents-per-mile costs of ownership. The favor is then to report back to us about the ballpark range of what it is, what it will cost upfront, to go from a 2007 CTD to a new[er] EB F-150.

I'd like to know, and, as fuel prices stay high, so will others (your efforts blazing a path).

Remember, telling us you'll take better care of the new truck is like saying you'll start your diet on Monday. ("Now or never" is easier to live with as motivation.)

.

 

Rednax, is there a resource that is a good standard for Cost of Ownership(/ml, /day?) for our trucks? Or is there no standard to compare?

 

My friend has a 2011 ecoboost that he picked up last summer. Its fast, as in REALLY fast, but fuel economy is not that good. Towing the same dump trailer I have, he gets 7 mpg hand calculated. I get 14.4 hand calculated. This last winter, he got 11.9 mpg in town empty and I was getting 14. Yes the cost of diesel is higher (up here its actually cheaper by about 20 cents a gallon) and maintenance costs are higher too, but the unknown of that motor has me nervous. How well the direct injection will handle crappy fuel 4 years down the road is an unknown and how well the turbos will take the repeated abuse of heat soaking has yet to be seen.

Is it a nice, quiet, fast truck? Yes. Will it beat me in a drag race. Yes (unless I take out the RC8 then its a different class of fast). I have my truck for work and towing and for that the Cummins in the dodge wrapper wins hands down.

 

BINGO

Been waiting for someone with some hand calculated numbers. Fits right in along with what I've been hearing.
Besides, it's a "V" design. Don't matter how many direct injectors or turbos it has, it'll never last when towing. That said, few people keep a truck for more than 8 or 10 years these days.

EcoBoost doesn't compare to the L6 Cummins at all, but I guess they're pretty good for what they are.

 

I total agree and the more I hear this the more I just think I should keep my paid of truck !!!! I drove an Ecoboost the last couple days and it is nice and is getting 15mpg in town and it isn't broke in yet !!! But, I haven't towed with it yet. Thinking I will just keep mine for now !!! Pete PS I could see that the ecoboost would work well for guys that tow a couple times a month. And that is the category that I fall into !!!!!

 

If I were you I would wait a little, Ram and GMC are talking about bringing out 1/2 ton v6 and small v8 diesels, they say ford is going to stay with the ecoboost to compete with these. it was a small write up in Diesel power. My 2x4 Cummin`s gets better mileage than any "that " ive seen ecoboost fords so Im sticking with my Ram