New owners 179 with questions - Event Date: 20 May 2016

Originally posted by Craneman      Quote For you the Ram or F150 would be great. I'm a Ford man, but still on the fence Ecoboost vs 5.0L. Ecoboost is Ford's attempt to meet Government MPG mandates and still retain performance. The cost is more complexity and shorter engine life. In that respect the Ram may have an advantage. When towing there's no substitute for cubic inches. The F250 would be way overkill for a Pod.      Charlie, I agree on the complexity, but shorter engine life,I can't find any thing that supports that. At 110,000 mile and not a problem engine wise,also owners with the same but newer have had the same experience. I have friends with the f150 with a v/8 getting the same mileage as I do. The dealer I bought mine from let me test drive with my rpod on hills and that sold me on the eco boost.       Moe

Like I said, I'm really on the fence here. I like the idea of the turboboost and the engine certainly does have impressive specs. That said I still believe getting more HP out of a smaller displacement must require more revolutions and/or more force, leading to more cylinder and bearing wear. It may be too soon to really see the long term longevity effects, but I'm open to arguments. Overall I see and industry trend to higher and higher RPM ratings for smaller and smaller engines. Some are now being rated at 6000+ RPM. That can't be good for longevity. Look at where the Diesels run. BUT, I'm keeping an open mind, what's left of it. I'd still like to own a 150 someday.

I have a name and phone number at home for a man that sells a window for the R-Pod door. Frank told me he is selling about 10 Windows a day for R-Pods. The total cost is $129.50. As soon as I return home, I will send it to you.

Charlie, Long time owner of a F-150.  A 1994 model, standard cab, long box 4-speed stick w/OD to boot.  As of today the 5.0 L V-8 has 302,000 miles and still kicking.  Not pretty to look at with all the rust (salt) and dents from all the deer kills (31 so far) but is still dependable.

That is an excellent question.  I know people that have the Ecoboost but the only one that has significant miles is my Toro rep. who drives a F-250 V-8 and that has 175,000 on it so far.

The jury is still out on the Ecoboost twin turbo technology as it's only been in the F150 since 2011. My 2014 F150 3.5 Ecoboost has been powerful, quiet and smooth except for a solenoid replacement for the trans at 19k miles. It has the perfect tow rating, power delivery and payload to haul the GrimPod (as were calling her now) The mileage is exaggerated as mine has a lifetime average of 15.6 (empty) over about 15k miles. The mileage plumments to 11 ish when towing but that's fine with me as I am never "that guy" who holds up traffic when crossing the Cascade Mtns here in Oregon. The smaller displacement 2.7 Eco which has been available since 2015 with it's higher MPG may even be a better choice for pulling our sized trailers!