Many people seem to be concerned with towing an RV or other heavy loads with their F-150 trucks.  I recently towed for the first time with my 2010 Dark Blue Pearl 4x4 lariat F150 and figured I would provide some opinions to hopefully help people out that are riding the fence. 

So I finally towed with my new truck this weekend. My 2010 Supercrew only had 1250 miles but I got tired of waiting. I towed my 25ft RV which weights around 5000 empty 30mi to a campground. It was a great chance to see how the new rig towed and also a great chance to take our 6mo old Yellow Lab camping for the first time.

Let me start by saying I had a 2007 F150 Supercab Lariat 4x4 with 3.73s that I previously towed this trailer with. Everyone swore the 3.55s with the 6 speed would tow at least as good as my 2007 with the 3.73s.  I was anxious to see for myself.

Tow Stability/Control

Absolutely night and day difference between this truck and that 2007 F-150. This truck handles at least three times better than the 2007 did while towing this load. Whether it's because this is a supercrew instead of a supercab, that this has all the new features for towing for the 2009 F150s and up, whatever but it's amazing. With my 2007 a large van passing would cause sway and a big truck passing would cause the front end to seem very light and counter-steering was essential. When I'd tow with the 2007 it would take 30-40 miles before I became comfortable.  With this 2010 F-150 I was comfortable almost immediately.  The 2007 would also set the ass-end of the truck down significantly lower than the front.

This 2010 is a HUGE improvement. Not only did it not set the back down as far as the 2007 but it absolutely controlled the load better. I felt no side affects of being passed by anything short of a big truck (semi). When a tractor trailer would pass I would feel sway but 100% manageable and not a huge problem. With the 2007 I had to drive with my mirrors because an unexpected passing by a big truck would cause heavy counter steering so I couldn't afford to be caught off guard. This truck towing was relatively painless. I can't explain it, I was flat out blown away. Coming back was all interstate (intentionally) and I sincerely don't have a single complaint.

Since the 2007 sat lower with the trailer attached I did have to change the chain link setting on my weight distribution setup (Reese Straight Line) but impressive, 100%

Towing Power/Shifting

I am a bit undecided here still. Towing on the way there I stuck to predominantly back roads and never got above 55 and there were not real grades to speak of. I was completely impressed with the power train and experienced no hunting that I'd feared I would.  It's important to note I left the truck in tow/haul mode the entire time.  With the trailer weighing just over 5k by itself plus cargo I never considered turning it off.  Since tow/haul still uses the full gear range there really isn't a reason to turn it off when hauling a heavy load.

Coming back I took all interstate as stated above. I started out at 65 without cruise and frankly had a bit of a hard time maintaining speed because the variance in ground elevation made it hard to find a comfort zone.

I tried cruise ON at 67 MPH and it kept dropping into 6th and around 1700 RPM or so which caused a good deal of downshifting. The problem was it wouldn't grab a gear until it dropped a good bit below 67 so it would drop into 3rd and around 3800 RPM. This seemed excessive to me.

I set the cruise at 70 MPH and it seemed to be the sweet spot. It never seemed to go into 6th unless I was on a downgrade or excessively flat surface and typically stayed in 5th gear around 2700 RPM. I found this to be completely acceptable and even when the rare downshift was required it only grabbed 4th.

The important thing to note is that NEVER did the tranny temp get on the high side or even much past midline. At the same time I found myself wishing it would have locked out 6th at the lower speeds.

This is a 6 speed and therefore I fully expect it to shift a bit more and I never did have a temp problem or what I feel to be EXCESSIVE shifting, but still more than I'd prefer when at lower speeds on the interstate.  When I increased the speed to 70 I was very pleased.  I would prefer to tow at the 65MPH range but time will tell.  Once I get more experience under my belt with this setup I'll be able to better tell the nuances with this rig and will update thiis page.

Integrated Trailer Brake Controller (TBC)

I have this and loved it.  On an aftermarket you have to set both power and gain.  On the TBC you only have to set gain.  Basically to set the gain you just tow at around 20MPH and hit the brakes.  Increase the gain until the trailer brakes lock up and then back it down one notch.  I found mine to operate best at 8.5 gain setting.  There is no extra box to get in the way, the readout for setting it up is right in the instrument cluster, the manual slide is right within reach, it was great.  At $230 (factory price) it is more expensive than most afermarket controllers but it's added convenience if you're going to do a good deal of towing was worth it to me.

Final Opinion

All in all I have to say I'm happy. It took an at times white knuckle towing experience with the 2007 and made a very comfortable tow with hugely better control. I have a long tow coming up in August (Bristol, TN for the NASCAR Race) which will be a better indicator but for now I am not disappointed. If anything I'm impressed.

Everyone's opinion will very but this is mine. I posted this only because towing performance is always a huge topic on line. For the record I do have the 5.4L with the 6-speed and 3.55 rear end.

Any questions feel free to ask or feedback is welcome as well.  Contact my by CLICKING HERE or the Contact Me link on the left hand column.

Below are a few pictures of my setup.  Thanks!