F150 or F250?
 

Vehicle needed to tow a Cigarette Mystique. I've read the weight's 7800lbs + trailer + gear + fuel = ???

Regards,
Mike

I have towed a 22 Avanti and a 250 nova behind an f150. You want the f250.

Legally... F250!

Just towed my 33 outlaw back 1000 miles. Dry weight of 7500# plus trailer and 7.29 / gallon of fuel.

While the new 13' 5.0 did great, the fx4 is only rated at 8400#!

F250 diesel. Thats a lot of weight to tow with a 150. F250 diesel will do it no problem and get much better gas mileage while doing it.

F250 stopping is more important

New F150 Supercab with EcoBoost and 4:10 gears rated to pull 11, 300. F250 diesel rated at 15,000, probably more than you need.

Backing down a normal decline launch anything faster than a crawl will drag the front when braking.

Trust me.. not a good feeling..

F250.. if you have a f150 now.. it will do OK for now.. upgrade as i am doing as soon as possible..

Appreciate the responses, I asked because I wasn't sure about the total boat and trailer weight. Read the max trailer tow package on the F150 eco-boost was 11300lbs and figured it would be cutting it close. Going to the dealership on Monday to take advantage of the Memorial Day sales, I'll be looking for an F250, thanks for the insight.

-Morris

How often do you tow?

I'll be towing every time I want to take the boat out, with the occasional longer haul to other bodies of water.

-Morris

These manufactures are going to get alot of people killed over rating the towing capacity of their vehicles. The stupid tv commercials about the ability to pull a hugh load on a flat surface say nothing to the stopping capacity let alone the PANIC stopping ability. MORE IS BETTER!

I agree man. I towed my dads Wellcraft coastal 270 to the ramp today. Probably about 12k all-in with my f350 dually - I can't fathom how an f150 could do that safely.

I believe the lowest gear ratio you can get in an F150 is 3:73. I special ordered one last fall with the max tow. There wasn't anything lower at that time.

Buck

I have both and the 150 sucks towing!

think when they rate towing must be flat road and NO panic stops !!!!! do not even consider 1/2 ton...no matter what they say !!!

No problem towing that with the f150 with max tow, u need good brakes on your trailer also

If your looking for an 06 F-250 diesel XLT with leather & a sun roof crew cab FX4 were getting one in tomorrow with 78k mi

That is quite simply awful advice.....

would never tell anybody to under tow something. I tow a 29 fountain 7k dry with an eco boost, no problems, good trailer brakes on it now stops pretty good. In an oh poop moment its important to have the right truck and functional trailer brakes, but in some instances it aint going to matter dont matter what truck is underneath you. Depends on what you do, I tow from memorial to labor day so max about 12 times a summer out on the boat, one place is 25 miles the other is 40, and yes most accidents happen within miles of your home. But I will admit if I was towing across state or cross country I would be back in the diesel no doubt. But I feel quite safe and feel the truck is adequate for the job, I had a F250 6.4l before and dont see the night and day difference to be honest. Not saying what the OP should do or not go, but go with your gut and what you can handle. But these newer half tons specially the eco is a lot of truck and more than what 1/2 tons used to be.

I couldn't agree more. I worked as a service manager for years and I have seen plenty of 1/2 ton pick ups from GM and Ford that come in with the signs of abuse, IE over weight towing. One 2010 Chevy 1500 comes to mind, I told the guy he needed to be in a 2500 before he bought this truck. He tows a travel trailer. He brought the truck in the for the first oil change, he ran it so hard that it melted all the paint off the rear diff cover. Amazing!!!! YOU CAN'T FIX STUPID!!!!!!!!!

I tow my 30' with my F150 EB, but it's at least 1000 lbs lighter than that Cigarette. Mine is around 6500 dry, and with a load of fuel, gear and an aluminum trailer, I'd say I'm in the 9000-9500 range. I've been extremely pleased with how it tows my boat, but I don't know that I'd want to go any bigger with it. I'm also in Florida, so my towing distances are typically no more than 100 miles and on flat ground.

I knew when I bought the truck I was in the upper limits of the towing capacity but I also drive this truck every day and did not want nor had the room for a 250...

Watercraft examples a F150 should tow

17FT bayliner Capri

19FT Caravelle Interceptor

18FT Lund Aluminum

18FT Hondo Jet boat

21FT VIP Vindicator

2 place jet ski trailer

Canoe

2 Kayaks

Inflatable Dinghy

Agreed !!!

They struggle with a 26' Chaparral (no, not the 100 MPH variety).

I think thats why my buddy bought a F450 to tow 4 snowmobiles he was worried about over loading a F150, lol.

I have a mystique and i had it on the scale . It wieghed 11300 pounds with more than 1/2 tank of fuel and light on gear. I do tow it with f150 1996 5.8 and it is tough on it. Blew a torque converter once. I dont tow far and drive like a snail. It doesnt do the job safely. I just ordered a f350 diesel so im pretty excited there. ( 4 more weeks to go). In my opinion i believe the f 150 is not up to the task unless you live next to the ramp. I got pulled over for the reason of towing the boat with a 150. I have a tripple axle trailer with brakes all the way around electric. It tows the boat but doesnt feel nice.

That's too much weight for a half ton anything! I've towed a Baja 302 and a single 29 Fountain with an Expedition. A Baja 29 OL with a Chrysler Aspen Hemi, but I would not have gone any more. You're talking 1000# more than what I did. I only towed a couple times a year with those setups. My 342 (not much heavier than what you're talking about) would drag my F350 cew cab, long bed dually down the ramp before I put electric brakes on my trailer.

I've haven't heard such a truck-chest-thumper like you since CATMANDO got banned. In his defense, I don't think it was for touting RAM all the time.

Almost as bad as the Douche Pickle on here that tows his 38 Fountain with his Tundra.....well I guess if it can tow the shuttle...

hey man if its more than a utility trailer you better be in a semi, wouldnt want the cops or insurance agents after your right

touche

Really you have to be smart and ensure your truck can tow your vehicle. I would agree towing a 38foot with a 1/2 ton is probably risky at best, but if that guys feels as if he can handle it more power to him I guess. I just think there are more truck applications these days that work than your standard answer of buy a F450 dually thats the only thing that can do it. Take for example a semi weighs 20k, and they tow 80k, the weight ratio is actually a lot better on that 1/2 ton to that 10k boat than the semi, now granted you have to factor in brakes on the semi, axles etc. These days every has to pinch the penny and a lot of guys drive their truck every day as well, and a diesel sucks money right out the wallet. But with that said you should not compromise safety either, if you cant afford to tow it with the right truck then you cant do it. But most modern half tons are very capable of towing into the 9-10k range these, they are a lot of different than 10-15 years ago and actually are besides the engines have alot of the same characteristics that old 3/4 tons did 10-15 years ago. To each his own I guess, more than one way to tow a boat, I have been in and out of diesels and 1/2 tons towing my boat, and the 1/2 ton application I use now, works great and really not much different than my old diesel did.

I think the point it here is not weather they may or not have the power..it's the suspension, tires, brakes...thats the killer point...litterly...and with a most of the boat trailer brakes being surge...no slapping the brake controller to help get you out of trouble...

agreed and one most know the limits of his truck. But with that said there is no one and done way to tow anything or some standard answer.

for towing , bigger is better. enuff said

So the purchase was supposed to have happened, what was the result?

BTW, my vote is 250 no question if it will be asked to tow more than to the storage shed twice a year.

Ford is the lone holdout of the manufacturers to not adopt the new SAE tow standards because they know their trucks are over rated :whistle:

I know the 9,700 lb. or whatever rating it is on my F-150 is a joke.

I towed my 272 last week with a friends EcoBoost to the pump and back a couple of times, on his Aluminum trailer with EOH brakes. I have to say it was much more capable than my 1/2 ton Avalanche which I only use to tow from the boat barn to the ramp (1/2 mile). I use the CC long box Duramax on the road. Wouldn't even think about either of the 1/2 tons for the 650 mile trip to the beach.

F250 for sure! Just asking for problems that you just don't need to deal with when your going to play.....
Your stopping power and stability will not even compare to the F250.
Not to mention how much extra strain it's going to put on the Trans , chassis , breaks..
Almost certain the F150 will be all over the road with your 38 going down the freeway!
OSO members and myself tend to poll often with your kind of weight your polling and there is a reason most of us use a 3/4 ton and up for towing !
And one more thing around here on the west coast if you happen to pass a DOT cop that knows what he's looking at he's bound to get ya for something.....
Just my two cents

I am a Ford dealer and I would say go with the F250...LMK if you need a quote...I will fly you in and you can drive your new truck home from Hilton Head...Chip

no dog in this fight as I tow with a 1996 GMC 3500 but it seems most people like to make the argument that it will pull the load and the trailer has great brakes so it works. personally I want a truck I can stop if and or when the trailer brakes fail. I have had surge brakes and EOH fail on me on well maintained trailers and I want to know I can stop if I need to. also the 3/4 ton trucks will have better coolers, etc to help keep it alive.