My dad has two F350 crew cabs and I don't think the seats are any better than my F150.....but that's just me. I don't have a wide *** so I guess seat width isn't that important to me. I wouldn't be using the cab size as the determining factor. I don't know if you have been in an '09 F150 but the interior is huge. I couldn't justify spending thousands of dollars more for a superduty to only pull a 5000lb trailer. Either way as long as it's a Ford you can't go wrong.

 

I have had my 2010 Screw 4x4 with max trailer tow since August 2nd and I have pulled my 7k camper several times since then. I can tell you that the truck feels much more stable and happy pulling the camper than my 04 did. The six speed with the towhaul button on does seem to stay in the lower gears for a little bit longer than I would think necessary, but if you get out of the fuel and then back into it, the tranny seems to get the hint that you want to upshift and it does. I dont use this truck as my daily driver, because I work inside a plant and dont want it nasty, but I would not have any problem at all driving my truck everyday, even with the trailer hooked up. You will be really impressed with the ride quality difference between the 04-08 and the 09-10's. I am going camping this weekend and I will snap a couple of pics to show you what I have... Hope this helps.....

 

Thanks for the input... very valuable from an actual user. All of my Superduties run in tow/haul the same way. Sometimes they seem to hold out of overdrive for such a long time and at a speed over 60mph that it seems unrealistic. But, then, it shifts out and all is well. I am used to the shifting of the T/H mode, and love it for towing. I am sure the F-150 is the same. My current 6.4L Stroke seems less likely to run high rpm's before shifting into the final overdrive (than mu 6.0L's), but each gear is pushed to a higher rpm a bit before shifting as it should be. I love it. The best is the engine braking. Thanks again.

 

hi all What is an "AAL"? I'm very interested in your experience ab46501. I have an '05 King Ranch and a family of four and am currently pulling a TT with a UVW of 4270 lbs and my GCW is 13,000. I'm thinking of going to a larger trailer along the lines of what you have but up until I found this thread I was thinking I was over reaching the limits of my truck. Any advice for the new kid on the block?

 

Air assited leveling would be my guess. Trucking Tom, I have an 05 Lariat 4x4 3.73 gears and pull a 27' TT at 8000lbs loaded down.

 

AAL means add a leaf as in add an additional leaf spring to the rear. I have seen some trucks with 3 leaf springs from the factory and some like my FX4 having 4 leaf springs. Hope this helps you some

 

So based on what I read here, I'm having a difficult time deciding here! Today I sold my 2000 F-250 V-10. I used it to tow the 6000 lb 23 ft Hybrid trailer. I really liked that truck, but felt it was time to change it. It only had 35k miles since I just used it for towing. It was beginning to look like a ten year old truck though.

But now I'm looking at a new F-150. Platinum or Lariat. Max tow 6 1/2 bed 4X4. The stated tow figures from Ford seem to keep me in the range I need, but now I keep thinking once you go superduty you can't go back!

My big concern is the load range of the tires. The Platinum comes with those 20 inch wheels. Not a whole lot of sidewall to cope with. Even the 18's dont have a whole lot of sidewall. Some of the places we camped at required some off-road travel with the trailer on some not too good roads. I went to the local tire store with the factory tire specs, and they are apparently adequate for the stated towing capacity, but just barely. There is no margin on them. My F-250 had 16 inch wheels and almost 8 inches of sidewall on the tires.

Too bad I can't form a coherent question here. My mind is on overload trying to figure this stuff out!

 

The amount of sidewall has little to do with the load rating. The 20" tires have a higher load rating than the half the rear axle as well as the truck's GVWR. Towing 6000 pounds with even 900 pounds on the tongue should keep just about any 2010 max tow package equipped F-150 under all it's ratings. With any truck you buy, you could always change the tires is you do not like them. I arranged to replace my brand new truck's tires (~250 miles) in 2003 when I got mine. Tire dealer gave me a $300 credit towards new ones. Just make sure to do this as soon as possible as the used tire value drops quickly with even 1000 miles.

 

Can some explain E fans to me or why you would want them

 

I did not phrase my thoughts at all clearly. Why does the Raptor come with such small wheels? Probably to cope with impact.

 

Electric fans for extra cooling due to extra heat on the motor and trans. while towing.

 

Raptor is not a towing machine. Generally, the smallest wheels that clear the brakes will yield the best performance.

The OEM fan runs off the accessory belt, which takes away power from the engine all the time. Electric fans are more efficient so, when running use less power which comes from the alternator which is also uses the accessory belt for power. Electric fans help with engine power even more because they don't always run, only when needed. Ford's decision to use what they use is because it is more reliable.

 

Oh yea. Now I understand. That's why the Raptor comes with the towing package, and you'll never hit a pothole with 20 inch wheels and 55 series tires.

 

Just because a vehicle comes with a "towing package" does not mean it is configured to tow the max for the platform. Raptor is designed for off roading, at high speeds first, not towing.

 

Slow down a little. There are several guys on here who have done this on a daily basis year after year and they know what they are talking about.