Ford F150 Lariat with EcoBoost (V6 w/turbo) - ok for towing?

We are in the market for a truck to pull our horse trailer. We have found a used, fully loaded 2011 Ford F150 Lariat in our price range. All the stats say this truck can tow our trailer, but I was hoping to find someone who has actually done it and can give me a review.

Our trailer is a 2012 CM Dakota two horse slant load with tack room. It's steel, weighs around 7,000. We normally just haul our QH (between 900-1,100 lbs), but sometimes we add a second horse of similar size. We have trailer brakes and intend to add a second set once we purchase our truck.

We currently borrow my father in laws '97 F250 and it does fine...but we don't want to borrow a truck and hate the gas mileage on the 250.

Thoughts, opinions?
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The F150 with V-6 ecoboost has a towing capacity of 6,100 lbs.

Not or mention stopping is more important that towing and with live animals you can de-rate the published specs by 20%.


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I don't have any first hand experience with them. A close friend has one, so i'll relay what he's told me. Overall, he really likes the truck. It rides nice and has decent power. He bought the truck because of the fuel mileage its supposed to get. If he'd known he was only going to get around 16ish mpg, he would have rather bought a used diesel for the money.

The specs on the specific engine we're looking at range from 8,400 to 9,800 depending on the axel ratio. So the weight shouldn't be an issue when most of the time we're pulling around 8,000. A little over 9,000 if we add a second horse.
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they exaggerated those numbers. It will pull it, but it will be working pretty hard to do it. Theyre impressive for what they are. But for the money, theres better trucks out there

We only haul around once a month (to shows) and no further than 100 miles. However, I like the idea of having a truck on hand (instead of an hour away) in case of emergency. Otherwise, my husband will be driving it back and forth to work, so fuel economy is important too.

If it makes a difference, we're looking at a super crew with a 3.5L GTDI V6.
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I guess Consumer reports had the wrong info.

An F-150 with a V-6 just does not weight enough to safely handle a 7k lb trailer with a horse or two horse in it.

I love Fords and that is the only brand I will probably ever own, but IMO you will wear the truck out pushing it too its limits, besides the safety issues with live animals. Towing dead weight verses live animals is always different, so if you reduce the 9,800 maximum published rating that is 7,840 lbs....

If you are towing 5-10 miles on flat ground a few time a year, then maybe you are ok... just an opinion from someone that has had a F-150 with a more powerful engine in it than the ecoboost, was not happy and did not feel safe towing, jmo


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Whats the price on it? Have you considered a diesel? Im not sayin the f150 wont work. Just make sure ya consider all your options. If you do go with it, I wouldnt touch a 7k lb load without trailer brakes

Could not agree more with southerntrails. Not a knock on ford at all, its just more than what should be asked out of a half ton

I don't like diesel due to the price of gas. It's twice as much right now. I'm already looking at doubling my gas bill with a truck... DH will be the primary driver (his choice) and he commutes 55 miles round trip daily.

We're pretty set on Ford, due to all the research we've done.

The trailer already has one set of brakes. The plan is to have the dealership put a second set on next month when we take it in for its annual maintenance (check tires, brakes and repackage the bearings).

Consumer Reports probably only lists the base model towing capacity. What DH and I have learned is that towing capacity varies with Fords based on lots of criteria. There are matrixes that you have to consult and you need to know your engine specs and axel ratio to get accurate numbers.

We've been researching this for around 6 months now. We just haven't found good information on towing horses with the V6 EcoBoost. My DH is leaning toward a V8 instead...but I wanted to see if any experienced horse haulers had done it and could offer opinions.

For those who asked, we're looking at used trucks. Must have 4 doors (super crew), power folding mirrors (to fit in the garage), leather (due to a child with dirty boots climbing in/out and putting her feet on the seats), a back up camera would be wonderful for when I have to hook up the trailer by myself, and DH wants a bed liner and cover. We already have financing and have found trucks in our price range with all the feature I listed...so I know they are out there. :)
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