5,000 miles towing with 2021 F-150 Platinum PowerBoost - review

[Whiskey]

Just curious what the payload sticker says for your truck. That is a very heavy trailer for a half ton if you consider tongue weight being 10% of trailer weight (minimum).

Payload at 1586, 10% tongue weight plus the wife and I are under that.

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[F-150 Prius]

My point was that the hybrid adds nothing during steady state towing. Yes, its helps getting up to speed. The small battery is maxxed out (full) pretty fast on highway runs, so the hybrid is just along for the ride on most towing trips, except the few start-ups. The engine, on the other hand, runs the turbos at more than 50% full time at 70 mph pulling my trailer. The biggest loss to me is range. I went from having huge range with 48 gallon tank and 11 mpg towing the same rig with my '17 F-350 powerstroke diesel, so over 500 mile range, to 150-160 miles range with the Powerboost at 5.5 miles mpg (some tankfills have been only 5 mpg, and for one section of mountain in upstate NY I saw under 3 mpg and it could barely sustain 8 mph). I suspect OP will do better with his slightly heavier rig because my boat is 13'4" tall and not aerodynamic at all.

I just noticed you wrote, "barely sustain 8 mph" … please elaborate … thanks.
p.s. just to be clear, I read your posts and I appreciate the experience you share here. : )

 

[renffurt]

6000 feet and wakesurfing sounds like Lake Tahoe.
If you see advantages in the 7.2kW onboard, the PowerBoost is a no-brainer.
If onboard power is just a "cool, nice to have" you at least have the option.
I think the difference between PowerStroke and PowerBoost is combination of:
1) what's the truck doing when it's not towing (miles per year of towing vs daily driving)?
2) daily driving (short trips, parking locations, acceleration all favor the F-150)
2) max load / max tow typical use
3) range of towing in a given day

For me, towing about 10,000lb in a triple axle race trailer, I'm towing long distance (greater than 200-300 miles) in a day less often than in previous years. So for the few days when the PowerBoost is towing at 10mpg or I'm being careful about tongue weight is not an inconvenience. My preference is to have a fast, fun to drive truck rather than the bigger, heavier Super Duty. I think if you're towing to the lake, the PowerBoost is perfectly suited to towing a boat up to about 10K. I have a 24 foot Sea Ray that's lighter than a wakesurfing boat. I haven't even towed it with the PowerBoost yet, but I'm sure it will make easy work of it, though the windage probably means 10-15 mpg.

You're asking the question on a PowerBoost forum, so the answers will be skewed, but I can't think of a reason to get the PowerStroke unless the primary role is towing heavy and long distance.

Thanks! I grew up outside the Lake Tahoe area but I live in Jackson Hole, WY now.
Most of the summer the boat stays on the lake. Pretty much only pull it off for service or special trip. My gut says buy a new powerboost but my ego says powerstroke ?.

 

[PungoteagueDave]

Do you miss your powerstroke? I’m on the fence between a powerboost and a new f250. I live at 6,000 ft and tow a 7k surf boat.

I still have one, a basic work truck at the Virginia farm, but do miss my ‘17 F-350. Contrary to what F150 Prius says, a Super Duty is not larger or more unwieldy to drive than an F-150 unless you get the 8-foot bed. Otherwise, they share the cab and front clip with the F-150, with only cosmetic differences, and the beds are identical. The super duties are about 1.5 inches taller due to beefier suspensions and frames, but the exterior width and lengths are identical for the same length beds. With that aside, it all depends on how you use the truck and the ratio of that use. If you tow a lot, that’s what a super duty is all about. Pricing is roughly the same as the F-150, and the latest super duties are just as comfortable as the half-tons, even with the heavy duty suspension options (the old buckboard rides found in the pre 2010 Superduty Fords are a thing of the past).

I have nine trailers, yet only tow about 15% of the time, a few days per month, and then a full month of daily towing every year. I even have a small aluminum trailer that I use behind my BMW motorcycle to carry two road bicycles and other gear on long distance adventure trips (have motorcycled around the world twice, at the North Pole, and every continent including Antarctica). We have an oyster farm with commercial boats that need regular service, so are constantly towing them with the farm truck. But my personal truck choice would still be the King Ranch F-350 that I traded for the King Ranch PowerBoost last May. The technology is nowhere near as good because the current Superduties are one generation behind (Gen 13 vs Gen 14 for the half tons), as it takes Ford at least two years to update the Superduties after bringing their latest tech to the F-150. I can MAKE the F-150 pull my big stuff, but it isn’t really made for that. The Superduties ARE specifically MADE for that. So it comes out to lowest common denominator - do you tow a lot and is your load heavy (over 5,000 pounds)? If so, I would go powerstroke.

My situation is unique. We purchased a house in Florida on the ICW early in COVID hysteria to gain freedom from the tyranny in the North, intentionally choosing a gated community that would allow us to lock and leave it for six months at a time with little concern for security, with all landscaping and exterior/pool & pier maintenance handled by the HOA. The trade off was rules. Some were crazy, like submitting your dog’s poop for DNA analysis so you can be fined later for failure to pick up after them, to agreeing not to own a commercial vehicle, which is defined as any truck over half ton, or any vehicle with signage. I parked my F-350 KR in the driveway for two days before receiving a violation notice. When I pointed out that the replacement PowerBoost F-150 would appear identical (same color scheme) and be exactly the same exterior length and width (even the elephant-ear tow mirrors), it did not matter - they insisted on compliance - so this is the trade off box in which we chose to live, worth it to us, but I had to come up with a way to get the boat between places in upstate NY (Lake George), the Chesapeake Bay, and South Florida, rotating twice annually.

Solving for lowest common denominators produced this result - big compromises, but honestly, a 5 mpg PowerBoost is a high class “problem.” Comfortable, capable, good tech. It’s no Tesla in that respect, but when we want tech wizardry or silly 0-60 times, we drive the MX.

All-in-all, my preferred ride is one of three BMW R1250 GSAs. I store one in Heidelberg, Germany, one in Buenos Aires, Argentina and one at our Virginia farm. They get the big miles. Everything else is driving in a cage.

 

[Lippy]

like submitting your dog’s poop for DNA analysis so you can be fined later for failure to pick up after them

Gotta say, that is *awesome*. I have a dog myself and try to be considerate. But I have to say I feel like I'm the exception. I'm constantly picking up sh*t from my front lawn, not to mention the same people letting their dogs dig and do burnouts in my garden, and the constant barking, which the owners think is cute.

 

[PungoteagueDave]

I just noticed you wrote, "barely sustain 8 mph" … please elaborate … thanks.
p.s. just to be clear, I read your posts and I appreciate the experience you share here. : )

The truck has huge power most times. However, on our annual trek to Lake George, there is one section of two-lane, a switchbacks section of road over a very steep mountain into the town of Huletts Landing, NY on Lake George, where the truck wheezed and pulled, wheezed and pulled its little 6-cylinder heart out and simply could not get above 8 mph. This is a few-mile section of road that requires my granny gear when bicycling it - the truck soldiered over, but could NOT maintain the 30 mph speed limit, or even half or a third of that.

This had nothing to do with load size or windage, as we were moving so slow, and the trailer was 9,750 pounds with a fairly heavy boat fuel load at that time, well within specs. That was one time I wanted the Superduty and really sweated the F-150 decision (the truck was one month old, had 1,500 miles). It got worse after cresting the pass, as the downhill into Huletts is one of the steepest in the eastern U.S. - Only a couple miles, but the PowerBoost has almost zero engine braking for heavy loads, unlike the big powerstroke. I was trying to keep it below 10 mph to avoid smoking the truck or trailer brakes, but was unsuccessful - low gear was useless - the trailer pushed the truck to redline effortlessly - the engine is so small (relying on turbos for power rather than displacement) that it has no mass to resist the load, so no serious level of engine braking.

Like almost all boat trailers, mine had surge brakes, which use the trailer’s weight to apply its brakes as the trailer pushes forward against the truck when the truck is braking. On a steep downhill, driving slow causes the trailer to “push” into the truck, applying its brakes. I helplessly watched the trailer brakes self-apply in my mirrors, smoke rolling off two of the four trailer wheels all the way down, with the rotors red-hot at the bottom. I waited an hour for them to cool before putting the boat in at the marina ramp.

All of this is the reason that I have since spent $9k to replace the trailer’s axles, brakes & hubs with new electric-over-hydraulic brakes. This involved all new brake lines, trailer wiring, tow ball engagement mechanism, brake cylinder/booster, and resulted in four braked wheels instead of the prior two. The new system acts like a regular travel trailer or box trailer now, allowing me to set brake gain and control the brakes from the driver’s seat, and provided the capability to the add trailer sway control/weight distributing hitch. This is unheard of in the boat trailering community - I have NEVER seen either electric brakes or weight distribution hitches at any boat ramp or on a boat trailer, no matter how big the trailer. My boat dealer thought I was crazy, but did the work on request anyway.

Again, dealing with a compromise situation that would not be necessary with my former Superduty, which had been doing that run over the mountain for the past 15 years with that same boat and trailer, not even knowing it was there. I have not made that trip since, but will do so this June, have confidence that the changes will enable the pull with more safety and without toasting the brake pads - BUT also know that the truck can barely power over that steep, twisty pass with this trailer.

 

[toyko joe]

The truck has huge power most times. However, on our annual trek to Lake George, there is one section of two-lane, a switchbacks section of road over a very steep mountain into the town of Huletts Landing, NY on Lake George, where the truck wheezed and pulled, wheezed and pulled its little 6-cylinder heart out and simply could not get above 8 mph. This is a few-mile section of road that requires my granny gear when bicycling it - the truck soldiered over, but could NOT maintain the 30 mph speed limit, or even half or a third of that.

This had nothing to do with load size or windage, as we were moving so slow, and the trailer was 9,750 pounds with a fairly heavy boat fuel load at that time, well within specs. That was one time I wanted the Superduty and really sweated the F-150 decision (the truck was one month old, had 1,500 miles). It got worse after cresting the pass, as the downhill into Huletts is one of the steepest in the eastern U.S. - Only a couple miles, but the PowerBoost has almost zero engine braking for heavy loads, unlike the big powerstroke. I was trying to keep it below 10 mph to avoid smoking the truck or trailer brakes, but was unsuccessful - low gear was useless - the trailer pushed the truck to redline effortlessly - the engine is so small (relying on turbos for power rather than displacement) that it has no mass to resist the load, so no serious level of engine braking.

Like almost all boat trailers, mine had surge brakes, which use the trailer’s weight to apply its brakes as the trailer pushes forward against the truck when the truck is braking. On a steep downhill, driving slow causes the trailer to “push” into the truck, applying its brakes. I helplessly watched the trailer brakes self-apply in my mirrors, smoke rolling off two of the four trailer wheels all the way down, with the rotors red-hot at the bottom. I waited an hour for them to cool before putting the boat in at the marina ramp.

All of this is the reason that I have since spent $9k to replace the trailer’s axles, brakes & hubs with new electric-over-hydraulic brakes. This involved all new brake lines, trailer wiring, tow ball engagement mechanism, brake cylinder/booster, and resulted in four braked wheels instead of the prior two. The new system acts like a regular travel trailer or box trailer now, allowing me to set brake gain and control the brakes from the driver’s seat, and provided the capability to the add trailer sway control/weight distributing hitch. This is unheard of in the boat trailering community - I have NEVER seen either electric brakes or weight distribution hitches at any boat ramp or on a boat trailer, no matter how big the trailer. My boat dealer thought I was crazy, but did the work on request anyway.

Again, dealing with a compromise situation that would not be necessary with my former Superduty, which had been doing that run over the mountain for the past 15 years with that same boat and trailer, not even knowing it was there. I have not made that trip since, but will do so this June, have confidence that the changes will enable the pull with more safety and without toasting the brake pads - BUT also know that the truck can barely power over that steep, twisty pass with this trailer.

All the things you describe makes me think the 5.0L v8 would be a good choice for you, what is the advantage of the PowerBoost to you if for lack of power when you need it? There is a reason I assume that Ford has the MaxTowing on the 3.5EB and 5.0L only not the PowerBoost; even give that the PB has higher "numbers" for HP and Torque.

 

[precab]

It is a Rockwood GeoPro 20BHS, that comes with an off-road kit. Includes the 190w solar panel and you can see the tires are a little bit nobbier for off-road. I am pretty happy with it so far, we have taken it out on 5 trips now, including some fairly remote spots. Overall it's a nice setup for us, not too large where we can easily take it to a lot of different spots, including all National Parks. Many National Parks require trailers 23ft or smaller.

https://forestriverinc.com/rvs/travel-trailers/rockwood-geo-pro/G20BHS/5139

Which Thule holder handles the double kayak on top?

 

[PungoteagueDave]

All the things you describe makes me think the 5.0L v8 would be a good choice for you, what is the advantage of the PowerBoost to you if for lack of power when you need it? There is a reason I assume that Ford has the MaxTowing on the 3.5EB and 5.0L only not the PowerBoost; even give that the PB has higher "numbers" for HP and Torque.

Water over the dam, but I did install a switch in the Florida house to use the PB generator - and I do enjoy the tech, did not consider the engine brake weakness counterpart to the small displacement, high horsepower ecoboost approach that Ford is taking these days. I should really use the Super Duty and be done with it, pay for truck storage, as I must do anyway with the trailer when in Florida. Instead I'm going in for more pain with a Lightning experiment. Life's an adventure. I repeat three sayings regularly, proven often:

1) Incompetence reigns supreme (I prove this every day)
2) You can't have nice things
3) No good deed goes unpunished

 

[TBondu]

Sorry, just got a big kick out of the statement saying you moved to Florida to escape the "tyranny" of the North only to have to live in a place where you submit your dog's DNA for poop patrol and can't drive the truck you want. "Out of the frying pan and into the fire" I guess.

Love my Powerboost and it works great (towing a 5k pound camper around Colorado) but can definitely see the appeal of a SD if you tow more (weight and frequency) than what I do.

 

[F-150 Prius]

The truck has huge power most times. However, on our annual trek to Lake George, there is one section of two-lane, a switchbacks section of road over a very steep mountain into the town of Huletts Landing, NY on Lake George, where the truck wheezed and pulled, wheezed and pulled its little 6-cylinder heart out and simply could not get above 8 mph. This is a few-mile section of road that requires my granny gear when bicycling it - the truck soldiered over, but could NOT maintain the 30 mph speed limit, or even half or a third of that.

This had nothing to do with load size or windage, as we were moving so slow, and the trailer was 9,750 pounds with a fairly heavy boat fuel load at that time, well within specs. That was one time I wanted the Superduty and really sweated the F-150 decision (the truck was one month old, had 1,500 miles). It got worse after cresting the pass, as the downhill into Huletts is one of the steepest in the eastern U.S. - Only a couple miles, but the PowerBoost has almost zero engine braking for heavy loads, unlike the big powerstroke. I was trying to keep it below 10 mph to avoid smoking the truck or trailer brakes, but was unsuccessful - low gear was useless - the trailer pushed the truck to redline effortlessly - the engine is so small (relying on turbos for power rather than displacement) that it has no mass to resist the load, so no serious level of engine braking.

Like almost all boat trailers, mine had surge brakes, which use the trailer’s weight to apply its brakes as the trailer pushes forward against the truck when the truck is braking. On a steep downhill, driving slow causes the trailer to “push” into the truck, applying its brakes. I helplessly watched the trailer brakes self-apply in my mirrors, smoke rolling off two of the four trailer wheels all the way down, with the rotors red-hot at the bottom. I waited an hour for them to cool before putting the boat in at the marina ramp.

All of this is the reason that I have since spent $9k to replace the trailer’s axles, brakes & hubs with new electric-over-hydraulic brakes. This involved all new brake lines, trailer wiring, tow ball engagement mechanism, brake cylinder/booster, and resulted in four braked wheels instead of the prior two. The new system acts like a regular travel trailer or box trailer now, allowing me to set brake gain and control the brakes from the driver’s seat, and provided the capability to the add trailer sway control/weight distributing hitch. This is unheard of in the boat trailering community - I have NEVER seen either electric brakes or weight distribution hitches at any boat ramp or on a boat trailer, no matter how big the trailer. My boat dealer thought I was crazy, but did the work on request anyway.

Again, dealing with a compromise situation that would not be necessary with my former Superduty, which had been doing that run over the mountain for the past 15 years with that same boat and trailer, not even knowing it was there. I have not made that trip since, but will do so this June, have confidence that the changes will enable the pull with more safety and without toasting the brake pads - BUT also know that the truck can barely power over that steep, twisty pass with this trailer.

Reminds me of going over the "grapevine" in California with a 454 (15 mph at 1 mpg-ish) towing a race trailer, years later, same trip (several times per race season) with an '05 6.0 turbodiesel (15 mph at maybe 5 mpg.) Between transmission temp, EGT and "mechanical sympathy" I was ok with being in the truck lane with the hazards on. Once. Then we got a used 2015 Super Duty. : )
I still can't fathom how a PowerBoost would not just build boost and either over-rotate the rear tires or accelerate to any desired speed (except for altitude or ambient air temp.)
As for electric trailer brakes on a boat, yes, "electric" and "submerged" aren't cheap.

 

[Oxford_Powerboost]

All the things you describe makes me think the 5.0L v8 would be a good choice for you, what is the advantage of the PowerBoost to you if for lack of power when you need it? There is a reason I assume that Ford has the MaxTowing on the 3.5EB and 5.0L only not the PowerBoost; even give that the PB has higher "numbers" for HP and Torque.

The 5.0 would have him struggling to climb even more…though I really find it hard to believe he wasn’t able to crest 8mph. Wonder what the altitude is there…Could be over the weight limit if it’s high altitude

 

[Whiskey]

Payload at 1586, 10% tongue weight plus the wife and I are under that.

One other comments…. I would not pull the trailer without the WD Anderson hitch. My buddy, with an EcoBoost couldn’t believe the difference and he has a lighter trailer.

 

[desertlivin]

Which Thule holder handles the double kayak on top?

Here is the info on my setup. https://www.f150gen14.com/forum/thr...50-platinum-powerboost-review.4555/post-76204

 

[GregBC]

I have a Thule setup.

Thule Evo Clamp Fit Kit 145177
Thule Evo Clamp Foot Pack
Thule WingBar Evo Load Bars 60 inch
Thule Compass 4 in 1 Kayak/SUP kit
Thule DockGlide Kayak Rack

I carry 3 kayaks(10ft, 13ft, 14ft) + tow the camper which is why I bought the 4 in 1 compass first. I strongly prefer the Dock Glide over the 4 in 1. If you just need to put 2 kayaks on the roof I would put two DockGlide next to each other and not buy the Compass.


As far as battery on the trailer, it's two 12v batteries that came stock with it, but I am not sure of the actual amp hours. I know it takes a 30amp/110 service but not sure of the actual amp hours.

thanks for sharing all the info on this! What made you choose a roof rack over a bed rack? Researching all these options, I’m interested to hear what others have found from experience. I’ll have a 14’ SUP as well as 2-4 mtn bikes (if I’m not towing, I have a rack I can use for the bikes, but if I ever trailer someday, need to consider how I’d carry it all!). I don’t believe any system I’ve found yet would allow 4 mtn bikes + SUP + trailer (unless a couple bikes were IN the trailer, which I’m surprised more people don’t do??)

Thanks again!

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