looking at trucks

TJ in KY · Dec 10, 2016

I am going to look at a 2013 Ford EcoBoost truck later today. It has a XTR 4X4 logo on the side of the truck bed, I assume that is some type of package but I haven't been able to find out what is in the package. Also any good or bad on the 3.5l EcoBoost engine
I am looking to haul my Ford 8n to a few shows next year and maybe get a camper in the 5000 pound range I may also want to haul a Massey Ferguson 230 a few places.

Briar Hill Brittanys · Dec 10, 2016

Can't say about the engine. It appears that XTR is a Canadian option, adding to the XLT level. Google is your friend. HTH

"If you are looking for a truck which can outperform other trucks in the industry and look good while doing it; the 2013 F-150 XLT/XTR is the truck for you. The XTR options comes with a chrome billet-style grille, 18-inch chrome-clad aluminum wheels, chrome front tow hooks (4×4 only), 5-inch chrome tubular running boards, and a chrome exhaust tip, plus fog lamps, SecuriCode™ keyless-entry keypad, heated sideview mirrors, self-dimming rear view mirror and a leather-wrapped steering wheel."

From a Ford brochure:

"On XLT, you can add the XTR Package1
to enhance the exterior of your truck
with PowerScope® trailer tow mirrors, 18" chrome-clad aluminum wheels, 6" chrome angular step
bars and many other chrome accents. With the XTR Plus Package,1
you’ll enjoy the LCD productivity
screen, power-adjustable pedals, Reverse Sensing System, Advanced Security Group and more.
Build the Super Duty you want, just the way you want it."

Lumbersawyer · Dec 10, 2016

I purchased a 2013 F150 FX4 last year, Best vehicle I've ever had! The ride is excellent, the 3.5 Eco Boost is awsome. My truck came with the heavy trailer tow package 11,700lbs tow capacity, 7700 lbs gross weight, so it has a lower gear ratio, navigation, heated /cooled leather seats, extra big powered mirrors that extend and fold in like a F250 would have, electric trailer break control,rear posit traction and 4x4, hill desent breaking, power rear window, It has just about every option except a sun roof. I get about 17 mpg back and forth to work, and 21 hwy with my lower gearing. Thats better than my old ford ranger with the 3.0 V6. If you get the normal gear ratio you will get better milage running empty than I do. I believe they have 365HP which is more than most V8's except the 6 liter raptor. Keep in mind when pulling, it will be less milage. I pull a 4 place enclosed V nose snowmobile trailer, and still get 14-15mpg. Heavy hauling I use my 2000 F250 7.3 powerstroke with 6 speed manual tranny and a tanden dully gooseneck.

ASEguy · Dec 10, 2016

The only issues I have heard with them is build up of carbon on the back sides of the intake valves. The aftermarket is trying to address this issue and I hear now Ford will add another injector to the intake to help with fueling requirements. According to a Ford rep. it's not to clean the backside of the intake valve as he was grinning. I hear they are have a lot of torque. Good luck with your purchase.
I waited and looked for over a year to find what I wanted. I too will pull a 5-7,000 pound trailer and, at times, tractors to shows. I decided to get a lower mileage Dodge 2500. It has all the good stuff, Cummins which gets 22 mpg, Dana 60 front, Dana 80 with limited slip rear and a 6 speed manual. It only had 178,00 when I bought it. It pulls very well.

hd6gtom · Dec 10, 2016

Tj I cant tell you anything about then except we have had 8 or 9 of them traded to us in the last couple of months. The guys picked up older Dodge and Chevys. We did not keep them they went straight to an auction. Good luck with your choice

Blackhole49 · Dec 10, 2016

My neighbor bought a 2012 4 door 6.5' bed with that engine new. It has 70,000 miles on it now and he loves it. I pulls his 28' fifth wheel with no problems.

Mike M · Dec 10, 2016

Not sure what years the rocker panels rotting out recall effects ? Guy at work has one and it was in the shop 6 months because they cut the old ones off and did not have the new ones.

LittleD · Dec 10, 2016

I have a 2014 F150 Larriot package 3.5 Eco Boost and love it. The ride and handling is great. The engine has very good power in the low RPM range. I get 15 ~ 16 MPG empty and much lower when pulling my enclosed trailer with combined weight of 5500 lbs.

LittleD · Dec 10, 2016

A production 3.5L EcoBoost V6 engine, #448AA, was randomly selected from the assembly line at Ford's Cleveland engine plant. This engine had no idea it was in store for 163k miles of brutal endurance testing.
#448AA was Shipped to dynamometer cell 36B in Ford's Dearborn, MI engine lab and run for 300 hours, this engine's first experience was a rapid simulation of 150,000 customer miles, including thermal-shock runs in which the engine was cooled to -20F and then heated to +235F, repeatedly.
The engine was shipped to Ford's Kansas City truck plant where it was installed in an F-150 4X4 Super-Crew. After assembly the truck was driven to Nygaard Timber in Astoria, Oregon, where it dragged a total of 110,000 pounds of logs across the ground (requiring all 420 ft-lb TQ)
Next they drove the truck to Miami Speedway, and hooked it up to a 2-car open trailer carrying two NASCAR Ford Fusions (a total of 11,300 pounds) and run continuously around the oval track for 24 hours (average speed: 82 mph, distance covered: 1,607 miles)
After this they took the truck to Davis Dam in Arizona, where it beat out the 5.3-liter Chevy Silverado V-8 AND the Ram 5.7-liter Hemi V-8 each pulling 9,000 pounds up a 6 percent grade in an uphill towing contest.
The 3.5-liter twin-turbo EcoBoost engine was removed and then installed in a 7,100-pound F-150 Baja race truck. After 1,200 miles of practice they raced the truck 1060 miles in the SCORE Baja 1000, the toughest off-road race in North America, finishing 1st overall in the Stock Engine class. The truck's owner said the engine's fuel economy was so good compared with his previous V8 he skipped 2 planned fuel stops during the grueling trip from Ensenada to La Paz. After winning in Baja they sent the engine back to dynamometer cell 36B and dyno-tested one final time. It generated 364HP and 420ft-lb TQ, only one horsepower less than its HP rating and exactly Ford's given torque rating.
Lastly, for the final episode of the F-150 EcoBoost torture test, Ford Motor Co did a complete engine tear-down and inspection of engine #448AA (never been serviced or previously inspected) in front of thousands at the 2011 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan. The engine parts were laid out on three huge tables so that when the tear-down was complete, the engineers and the audience could take a closer look.

rustyfarmall · Dec 10, 2016

(quoted from post at 07:57:01 12/10/16) A production 3.5L EcoBoost V6 engine, #448AA, was randomly selected from the assembly line at Ford's Cleveland engine plant. This engine had no idea it was in store for 163k miles of brutal endurance testing.
#448AA was Shipped to dynamometer cell 36B in Ford's Dearborn, MI engine lab and run for 300 hours, this engine's first experience was a rapid simulation of 150,000 customer miles, including thermal-shock runs in which the engine was cooled to -20F and then heated to +235F, repeatedly.
The engine was shipped to Ford's Kansas City truck plant where it was installed in an F-150 4X4 Super-Crew. After assembly the truck was driven to Nygaard Timber in Astoria, Oregon, where it dragged a total of 110,000 pounds of logs across the ground (requiring all 420 ft-lb TQ)
Next they drove the truck to Miami Speedway, and hooked it up to a 2-car open trailer carrying two NASCAR Ford Fusions (a total of 11,300 pounds) and run continuously around the oval track for 24 hours (average speed: 82 mph, distance covered: 1,607 miles)
After this they took the truck to Davis Dam in Arizona, where it beat out the 5.3-liter Chevy Silverado V-8 AND the Ram 5.7-liter Hemi V-8 each pulling 9,000 pounds up a 6 percent grade in an uphill towing contest.
The 3.5-liter twin-turbo EcoBoost engine was removed and then installed in a 7,100-pound F-150 Baja race truck. After 1,200 miles of practice they raced the truck 1060 miles in the SCORE Baja 1000, the toughest off-road race in North America, finishing 1st overall in the Stock Engine class. The truck's owner said the engine's fuel economy was so good compared with his previous V8 he skipped 2 planned fuel stops during the grueling trip from Ensenada to La Paz. After winning in Baja they sent the engine back to dynamometer cell 36B and dyno-tested one final time. It generated 364HP and 420ft-lb TQ, only one horsepower less than its HP rating and exactly Ford's given torque rating.
Lastly, for the final episode of the F-150 EcoBoost torture test, Ford Motor Co did a complete engine tear-down and inspection of engine #448AA (never been serviced or previously inspected) in front of thousands at the 2011 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan. The engine parts were laid out on three huge tables so that when the tear-down was complete, the engineers and the audience could take a closer look.

Impressive? Yes, but it says nothing about the chassis, body, or the electronics. The engines in just about any car or truck built today will still have life in them long after the electronics have failed, or the bodies rust off.

Brendon-KS · Dec 10, 2016

I've got a 2012 4-door, 6.5-ft bed, 4x4 with the EcoBoost engine and really like it. I traded a
2001 F-250 7.3 4-door 2WD for it and don't regret it at all. In the 1.5 years and 25,000 miles
I've had it so far it has averaged just over 18 mpg overall - 20 mpg on two-lane highway trips
with no trailer (75 mph on the interstate pulls the mileage down a few mpg's), 18-19 back and
forth to work, and 11-14 when pulling trailers. It has the max tow package with the 3.73 gears
but unless you're planning on pulling heavy trailers I'd consider numerically lower gears like
3.42. The engine has plenty of power so for 5000 lb trailers you won't need the 3.73's and would
probably pick up a bit of mileage over what I get. The very nice thing about turbocharged
engines, gas or diesel, is that they make big power down low in the rpm range where you can
actually use it - even when pulling heavy trailers it is rare to have to rev this engine faster
than 3000-3500 rpm when accelerating. A normally aspirated gas engine, like Ford's 5.0 V8, can
make similar power but will need to rev very high to produce it and will feel sluggish by
comparison at low engine speeds.

The heaviest load I've pulled is my 10k tandem axle trailer with loader-equipped, ballasted
Farmall 350 with a total combined weight of around 9000 lbs which is a little under the truck's
rating of 10,300. Power is no problem at all but there is more chassis movement than I had with
the F-250 when pulling the same load. I've only ever pulled this load is when hauling my tractor
to our club grounds 6 miles away via county roads. For longer trips or at higher speeds on the
highway with loads like this I would consider a weight distributing hitch to be mandatory.
(Technically it is any time with this truck when pulling trailers over 5000 lbs.)

TJ in KY · Dec 10, 2016

Thanks for all the replies, I looked at the 2013 XTR today and was impressed with the EcoBoost engine, Also looked at a 2014 LTX with EcoBoost short bed and it
seemed to have a smother ride. I am amazed at the information you guys have and your willingness to share it. Thanks again I will post back when i make a
decision

jm. · Dec 10, 2016

TJ Since the eco boost has come out . I have had one ever year. I usually put about 65,000 miles in 12 months. Very little trailer pulling but some light loads. Never had a minutes trouble and am just about finished with my third one, think the new one is supposed to be here next week. You will like the truck. I run 4x4 long cab short bed Lariat. 18/19 running around local and 22+ on long highway.

looking at trucks

TJ in KY

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Briar Hill Brittanys

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Lumbersawyer

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ASEguy

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hd6gtom

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Blackhole49

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Mike M

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LittleD

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LittleD

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rustyfarmall

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Brendon-KS

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TJ in KY

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jm.

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