2.7 EcoBoost for towing? Anybody have one and can comment?

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Originally Posted by Martinjmpr

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So she drove the Suburban pulling the 3500lb camper and as soon as I got to the campsite she said "dude, you need a new truck! That one is a dog!" I think it was going up 285 from Morrison or maybe Kenosha Pass that did it for her - 30mph and straining in 1st gear!
This is on top of the transmission taking a dump in Utah in May, which cost us 2 extra days and nearly $4k for a new tranny. ...

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Wow, that must be a real dog. I had a '89 Suburban that I used to pull a 30' 5,700 lb cabin cruiser on a 3 axle trailer over Berthoud Pass to Lake Granby.
It was 2-wheel drive with oil and transmission coolers, but it pulled with no problem.

I like the protected storage of the Suburban, but you could do that with a "topper"

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Originally Posted by ray1970

Pretty sure there's a thread around here on keeping or tossing the boxes.

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This was 'by design'. You get a cookie.

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Originally Posted by Martinjmpr

I thought the tow/haul mode automatically stepped down the gears to slow you on a long decline? Do you have the 6 or the 10 speed?

WRT the cost/benefit of a bigger truck, I crunched the numbers there too. A 3/4 ton Ram would be more than I need and the thing about a bigger truck is that EVERYTHING about them is more expensive: Tires, maintenance parts, fuel, etc. If I pulled a big 5th wheel or something of course I'd have a bigger truck (funny story, though, last weekend we were camping near Jefferson and I saw an F-150 long-bed crew-cab pulling a 5th wheel. I don't think I've ever seen a half ton pull a 5th wheel before!)

Unfortunately, there's no "perfect" solution. If it was just me I'd still be driving a 4runner and sleeping in the back but I think we all know the saying "happy wife/happy life." Wife wants/needs the trailer to go camping so that's what we have.



As I said earlier in the thread, I did the "separate daily driver" thing for 6 years from 2011 to 2017. But with my short commute, it just didn't make sense. If I lived in CO Springs and had to commute to Denver every day, it would absolutely make sense but 20 miles round trip x 3 days a week (I work from home the other two) isn't enough driving to justify the "transactional costs" of a 2nd car (much as I'd love to have something with a manual transmission to zoom around in - I guess I'll have to be content with the motorcycles for my manual trans thrills.)

Still on the fence between Ram 1500 Hemi or Ford EcoBoost. The Ram seems to be the more conservative choice and I generally tend to be more conservative with my vehicle picks. That the Ram is cheaper is also a factor, though the flip side of that is whether it will "go the distance" for 10+ years.

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It is the 10 speed, and it does step down gears. On the steeper declines though I need to tap brakes more than I would like at times. Maybe I am just a sissy!

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Originally Posted by Trigger Time 23

It is the 10 speed, and it does step down gears. On the steeper declines though I need to tap brakes more than I would like at times. Maybe I am just a sissy!

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Can't you just manually shift down? That's what I do now. Drop it from 3rd to 2nd when descending a steep hill.

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Originally Posted by Martinjmpr

Can't you just manually shift down? That's what I do now. Drop it from 3rd to 2nd when descending a steep hill.

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As long as you remember that you did that. I was down shifting to slow when pulling my little trailer with my Amigo last month coming back from Wyoming. I got distracted and took off from a light and got up to about 60 mph before I realized I was still in second gear. I'm sure a newer vehicle is more user friendly though.

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Originally Posted by Martinjmpr

Can't you just manually shift down? That's what I do now. Drop it from 3rd to 2nd when descending a steep hill.

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Yes you can, but most people don't do it enough ahead of time to and the momentum is already rolling too much to get it slowed down without over-revving so you need to tap the brakes.

I have to manually downshift my company truck going uphill. I was going up highway 85 into a stiff headwind one morning last week and it wouldn?t hold the speed limit in fourth, fifth, or sixth gear. I stuck her in third and it kept it in the meaty part of the powerband at a steady 5500 rpm.

Martin, I wouldn’t hesitate to buy either the 2.7L EB or a new Ram 1500. The weight your pulling, this will not be an issue. A good friend of mine has two 2.7L EB trucks and really likes them for his lighter towing (5k or so).

A diesel for you would be a poor choice from the reasons you pointed out already.

Now if you pulled 10-15k miles and 9-14k lbs like I do all year long, I would have total different options listed out.

Resale will be better on the 3.5L as well.