A few comments on this towing comparison thing.

The maximum rating for the F150 as stated at 11,300 lbs. is for an F150 3.5 Ecoboost engine, 2WD regular cab with 3.73 rear axle ratio.

This compares to the Rams maximum at 10,450 lbs, 5.7 Hemi 2WD regular cab with 3.92 rear axle ratio.

The difference is 850 pounds tow rating in favor of the F150, but only if you have the optional Heavy Duty Payload Package. Without the package the maximum is 5,000 lbs.

The Ram maximum tow rating does not require the optional Trailer Towing package, which adds heavy duty cooling and the auxilary transmission cooler (among other things). In other words, without any optional tow equpment the maximum rating is still 10,450 lbs. Even in standard form the Ram comes with larger brakes.

But this could be a moot point always. I know this is a big issue with a lot of people. From my experience the vast majority of half-ton trucks owners never tow anything close to the vehicles maximum rating. Those that generally need the capability to tow things over 5-6,000 lbs. regularly usually opt for a 3/4 ton anyways.

My 2010 Quad is rated to tow 10,400. So far I've towed 9100 lbs. and I was very surprised how well it handled it, especially since it has the coil spring rear suspension. In my opinion it did as well as any leaf spring truck I've ever driven.

But in all honesty, other than the few ATV trips during the summer, all I need 99.9% of the time is something that can handle 5,000 pounds. Ninety-eight percent of the time I'm running around empty.

Now if Ram trucks disappeared tomorrow, I'd probably be driving an F150. That being said, a lot of people consider Ford to have a serious reputation for exagerating payload and towing capabilities. This year all truck manufacturers were required to conform to a standardized SAE method of computing towing and hauling capabilities. Under the new method you will notice that Ford's claim of 14,000 pounds plus of just two years ago has greatly diminished for the F150. Personally if I knew I had to tow 11,000 pounds I'd want a 3/4 ton. I do not believe that have a higher manufacturer's rating automatically equates to having a safety margin, either.

Now this should be considered anecdotal, but on the 3.5 Ecoboost motor I do have one real life report. A co-worker traded his 2006 F150 for a 2011 3.5 Ecoboost. According to him, towing his 8000+ boat and trailer he got worse gas mileage on the Ecoboost than he did on his old 5.4. Around town seems to be the same. He also said that unless you wide open throttle, the Ecoboost doesn't seem to have the same pull as his 5.4 on grades and hills.

As far as performance:

F150 Supercrew 3.5 Ecoboost Twin Turbo, 3.55 axle, 6-speed auto = 0-60 @ 7.4 secs. (Motor Trend 10/2011)

Ram 1500 Crew 5.7 Hemi with 3.55 axle, 5-speed auto = 0-60 @ 7.4 (Car & Driver 7/2010)

When comparing the two different magazines, the F150 does have a better 1/4 mile time by .9 seconds.

Regards,
Dusty

 

Id rather have a kenworth!!

 

I started tio price our the Ford and GM trucks, and I'm freaking surprised that the Ford is by for the more expensive in Calgary Alberta, Gm are so cheap right now, for a nevda edition crew cab is pissing my pants crazy.

45 grand for a loaded up xlt Ford, dodge sxt 1500 rams with the 4.7 can be had for 25 grand, so Ford aint going to happen.

as per the norm Ford dealers have a take it or leave it perception thier crap is really the best, I did drive the 5.0, and yikes, Ford may be back into the program!

Im gonig to enterprise and renting a hemi just to see If I can adjsut to the concept of a lighter 1500 frame, To be blunt Dodge dealers are screwing me over on the potential trade of my 06 2500,I kinda expected this, buts thiers really no extra incentive with my trade to stay with dodge, even thow loyality wants to keep me into a dodge.

I was really close to buying a Titan back in 2006, but my 3/4 Ram was cheaper, so I wnt with dodge.

The nissan and toyota are really out priced for my needs, Im so tempted to dump my ram and buy a old rusty pos and invest the differance into a RRSP.

 

I think you'll find that an F150 with the 5.0 motor has slower 0-60 times and the maximum trailer tow rating is 9,400 pounds in 4x4 form.

Ford likes to imply...but they do not flatly state... their F150 frame is stronger than Ram or GM because the frame rail height is significantly taller. And it is. But there's more to strength than just size or weight.

If you look closely at the frames you'll notice that it is not a true hydroformed frame. Ford states it is a "Hydroformed Frame Rail Design." The F150 frame rails are actually two hydroformed C-channels, overlapped and electro-welded together (note the seam on top and bottom of the rails). While welding is generally stronger than the steel it's applied to, the uniformity of full lateral low-current electro welding has not been proven over time. Neither does welding have any real positive influence on beam or torsional ridgidity, since its the side of the rail that distributes most of the stress.

When compared to GM and Ford, the Ram is the smallest dimensionally. But the frame section steel is thicker, by about 0.016 inch, and uses 85,000 PSI steel. None of the other half-ton truck builders advertise the frame steel pressure rating of their frames for a reason: because it's less.

In all of the critical reviews of the 4th generation Ram 1500, I do not recount any criticism of frame stiffness. If you think the F150 will meet your needs in this regard, the Ram will most certainly surpass your expectations.

Good luck in your quest whatever your decision.

Best regards,
Dusty

2010 Ram Big Horn 1500 Quad Cab 2WD, 5.7 Hemi, 545RFE, 3.92 LSD, dual exhaust, 20” wheels

 

429, Ford products are very expensive here in the U.S. I still not have really understood the hype on F-150's. They are way over priced and I have argued that fact for years. I stumbled upon an F150 regular cab last night online at a dealer in the region and the sticker was $39,100 and it had hardly any options compared to my $35,000 Ram, it didn't even have remote start and carpeting for crying out loud and all it offered was a pathetic 300 hp 3.7 V6. Take your hard earned money and at least purchase a product that will give you options for your money.

 

I'm a Chevy/GM guy (I race Chevy's, and own 4 GM Sports cars in addition to a jeep and my ram) and like the Fords more for a WT, but not for the price. Plus the ride qualities a lot better in the ram, and the dodge dealerships are a LOT better than the Ford one- the ford one is shady if I ever saw one.

But if I could have gotten an F150 with the same options at the same price as I got my ram, I probably would have bitten... although now that i'm driving it I'm really enjoying the ride quality... Much more comfortable than my Ford.

I've owned newer style Fords, GMCs, and Dodges. GMC is the same as chevy, so you could say I've owned them all. I don't really "get" the chevys. They seem to be dominated by either ford or Dodge in every category, and they are overpriced. I'd only pick up a chevy if I got a heck of a deal on it.

My personal recommendation would come to this:
If its a personal car/truck and you drive it at least 20% of the time for non-hauling related purposes, get the dodge, and take advantage of the rear suspension, storage, fit and finish, and features. If its a 100% work truck for towing/hauling all the time, go Ford. If you get at least 15k off of MSRP, then Chevy's may be worth looking at.

 

Just like all the hype on the ecoboost on here. Has anyone priced out the ecoboost? after all available discounts, I found the equally optioned ecoboost was OVER 10k more than the dodge ram 5.7. Thats a whole lot of gas and aftermarket mods...

 

The F-series is the most popular truck in the United States with a high return owner rate which translates to demand. Those two factors can allow a manufacturer to command higher prices. Keep in mind that Ford leveraged their entire company to avoid the same dismal financial fate as Chrysler and GM, so the price tag on those interest rates are requiring Ford to keep prices and margins high.

Regards,
Dusty
2010 Ram Big Horn 1500 Quad Cab 2WD, 5.7 Hemi, 545RFE, 3.92 LSD, dual exhaust, 20” wheels

 

I priced an ecoboost this week it was an XLT Super Crew cab 4x4 for $32K it was a brand new 2011 though. I think that is a very comparable price to a Dodge 1500 4x4 Crew cab with a Hemi.

http://davelittletonford.com/detail/...ity_ford_f_150

They have a lot of these 2011. You can get a super cab for $27K something as well. This was just one place I looked to see what they were selling for.

 

I can't refute this or not, but two things to notice:

1. You have to be careful with the online posted prices, as very very often they have a lot of requirements on them. I complained about this on the forum a while back- dodge dealers for example offering trucks at XXX amount, only to later find out that you HAD to buy $3000 in add-ons. Ford dealer had a similar thing- you had to do a financing package that was 16% financing, no joke! in todays economy??? crazy!

That looks like a bit too low to be true, and I'd imagine at that price, the dealer is going to lose money. Even look at the dealership... its tiny, which means its not even a high-volume dealer to get significantly increased factory kickbacks. The Ford dealers are not being offered as much factory money as the dodge dealers, and they have lower holdback. In fact, if I thought I could really get that car for that price, I'd probably drive out to Missouri to buy it.... OK maybe not quite, because for a lower price I got a lot more on my dodge, but I'm guessing theres a catch. If it was a high volume dealer I MIGHT barely believe it.

2.

haha, even if it is accurate, the price is still a bit higher than the dodges. I got a red dodge ram 1500 crew cab loaded with Nav, alpine, rear cam, LSD, Hemi, trailer controller, tow, big horn, even sidesteps and a bedliner priced to just under 33k from one of the highest volume dealers in the area. The only dealbreaker for me was the center console MSRP was 46k. plus 3k in "add ins" thats 16k under "list", 13k under MSRP under MSRP. I consider that a tad bit better than that F150 as listed.

As I said before, I'm not calling a bluff, I'm just advising anyone looking at that truck (or any other online price) to make sure the i's are dotted and t's are crossed before jumping to believe it, and based on my knowledge (I work for a consulting agency for the auto industry), Dodge is offering more kickback to it's dealers than ford is, so the rams are significantly cheaper than the fords at the dealer level (cheaper to start with plus bigger kickbacks) which means the dodges over all are cheaper to the end consumer, although you never know what some random dealer is going to do!