f-150/1500 vs. 2500

[Duff]

It's great to have some boat questions to post once again... :D

Y'all see what I'm pulling with now - Jeep Cherokee...

So anything is gonna be better than what I have. My question is - will an F-150 or the equivelent do the job plenty good enough with a ~4.7L V8 or do I need to step up to something bigger? I really don't like these gas prices, and these F-150's with little v8's in 'em are claiming 20 mpg. This will be my primary vehicle which gets driven about 30 to 50 miles in a day easily. I'll be towing the boat anywhere from 50 to 100 miles away and once or twice a year to the keys - about 7 hours from here.

http://www.greengrouper.com/duff/april2008_fishing/boat_day1.jpg

[JD]

The F-150 should tow that boat with no problem Duff. Just make sure it has a heavy duty tranny cooler.

What's the weight of the boat/motor/trailer? It is probably well within Ford's specs.

[Mont]

Stacy had a 150 with the small V-8. The downside of pulling her horse trailer with it was really bad mileage. Right at 7 to 8. As long as you don't get in a big hurry, you should be fine.

[Joe/GA]

Duff, I have a 2005 Lariet with the 5.4 liter engine. I had a '93 F-150 4X4 with the 5.0 liter engine before this one. THe 5.0 liter had no guts and got poor gas mileage. I got about 10 or 11 MPG with the 93 in town. I get 13 to 14 MPG with the 2005 in town. On the interstate, the 1993 got about 16 MPG at 75 MPH. The 2005 gets 19 MPG at the same speed! I don't have towing specs, but I believe you will get better MPG towing with the bigger engine. BTW, I didn't get 4 wheel drive with the 2005, but I did get the limited slip differential. The only time I ever used 4 wheel drive on my old truck was to help other people that were stuck. With the limited slip differential, you shouldn't have much of a need for a 4 X 4.
The bad part about this is that a full size pickup makes a very non-economical commuting vehicle. :(
Good luck!

[Duff]

I found a 2004 5.4L, towing package with 36k miles on it for $15k. The dodge with similar specs goes for around $13k right now.

As for commuting... do they make a moped in XXL big&tall sizes??