Long story guys, so bear with me.
I'm looking to pick up a 2011 or 2012 EB F150 Supercrew real soon, but I'm not sure whether to go with one that has the 9600lb tow package or the Max Tow with 11,100lb rating. I have a 28' Aruba travel trailer with a dry weight of 5100lbs. I am currently towing it with an '03 Hemi Ram. When we head up north for 2 weeks we are loaded up pretty good. 12' aluminum boat on a rack over the bed, 75lb boat motor in the bed, 2 weeks worth of gear in the bed and camper. My guess is that camper and gear combined get me around 6000 to 6500lbs total. The Ram is tow rated at about 7500lbs, and it does well on that flat roads, but when I'm going up the big hills in the U.P., it has to work real hard to get up them, sometimes downshifting twice and slowing to about 50 to 60 miles an hour, depending on the incline angle.
The problems I am having is that there seems to be hardly any used trucks out there with the max tow package on them. It's hard to tell, because when the dealerships advertise them they aren't specifying. Some just say "tow package", but never say the tow rating. Best info they give usually is the axle ratio. So I guess my question is: since the 11,100lb rated trucks look kinda scarce, would a 9600lb rated truck, which looks to be easier to find, be good enough? A bigger camper is definitely NOT in our future; if anything a smaller one eventually since the kids may not camp with us as much now that they are older. My 1970's Detroit Public Schools math tells me that an EB F150 with a 9600lb rating should easily pull my estimated 6500lbs that the Ram is pulling with it's 7500lb rating.
Also not sure if I should get one with 3.73's or the 3.55's. 3.55's seem to be on most of the used trucks I'm seeing. This chart http://www.f150ecoboost.net/forum/17-f150-ecoboost-towing/13-faq-f150-ecoboost-towing-specs.html is pretty confusing, since there are a lot of blanks to try to guess what weight numbers apply.
Would be a lot easier if the dealers would just state in their ads what the tow rating is on the trucks. Wish I could just order a new one with exactly what I want on it, but the new ones go for $$$$, and I'm only able to spring for $$.
You guys know better than me, so any thoughts?
I'm looking to pick up a 2011 or 2012 EB F150 Supercrew real soon, but I'm not sure whether to go with one that has the 9600lb tow package or the Max Tow with 11,100lb rating. I have a 28' Aruba travel trailer with a dry weight of 5100lbs. I am currently towing it with an '03 Hemi Ram. When we head up north for 2 weeks we are loaded up pretty good. 12' aluminum boat on a rack over the bed, 75lb boat motor in the bed, 2 weeks worth of gear in the bed and camper. My guess is that camper and gear combined get me around 6000 to 6500lbs total. The Ram is tow rated at about 7500lbs, and it does well on that flat roads, but when I'm going up the big hills in the U.P., it has to work real hard to get up them, sometimes downshifting twice and slowing to about 50 to 60 miles an hour, depending on the incline angle.
The problems I am having is that there seems to be hardly any used trucks out there with the max tow package on them. It's hard to tell, because when the dealerships advertise them they aren't specifying. Some just say "tow package", but never say the tow rating. Best info they give usually is the axle ratio. So I guess my question is: since the 11,100lb rated trucks look kinda scarce, would a 9600lb rated truck, which looks to be easier to find, be good enough? A bigger camper is definitely NOT in our future; if anything a smaller one eventually since the kids may not camp with us as much now that they are older. My 1970's Detroit Public Schools math tells me that an EB F150 with a 9600lb rating should easily pull my estimated 6500lbs that the Ram is pulling with it's 7500lb rating.
Also not sure if I should get one with 3.73's or the 3.55's. 3.55's seem to be on most of the used trucks I'm seeing. This chart http://www.f150ecoboost.net/forum/17-f150-ecoboost-towing/13-faq-f150-ecoboost-towing-specs.html is pretty confusing, since there are a lot of blanks to try to guess what weight numbers apply.
Would be a lot easier if the dealers would just state in their ads what the tow rating is on the trucks. Wish I could just order a new one with exactly what I want on it, but the new ones go for $$$$, and I'm only able to spring for $$.
You guys know better than me, so any thoughts?