Congrats on the F150. I believe you will be thrilled with it. We started out with a 179 towed by a 2016 Nissan Frontier 4.0 back in 2016. Towed many, many miles thinking that rig was just fine until we upgraded to an F150 3.5 EB when we purchased a new trailer. Looking back, we should have just bought the F150 to begin with. As they say, hindsight is 20/20.

Appreciate the feedback on the 2.7 vs 3.5!

Thanks for that info - I definitely plan to take a look at the 3.5 and see how it drives. 

Thanks, that makes sense. I can see where having the turbo kick in as needed would help. 

I worked for a company whose work trucks were all the 2.7L EcoBoost. The power was fantastic, but when we did off-road, I was surprised by the lack of compression braking; even in 4L. The 3.5L does not have the compression braking of a diesel, but it is way better than the 2.7L.

I'm not suggesting that the OP get a 2500 (unless he sees a bigger trailer in his future as we do), but note the weight of any prospective TV in light of my experience.

The down side of the small displacement engine is that you don't get much compression breaking and have to be careful to keep your speed down so you don't have to use your brakes too much.  A diesel engine has the same compression braking issue unless it is equipped with a compression brake system, such as a Jake Brake.  If I had it to do over again I would have test driven a 3.5 ecoboost to compare the difference.  

Re your need for hill climbing, be sure to separate horsepower from tow rating. They are related but not directly connected. If you didn't like the power output of the Ridgeline then it sounds to me like 5000lbs on the tow rating woukd be fine but you need something with high hp output at higher altitudes. That would suggest something with a turbo might be in order. 

Chevy Colorado:  7,000 with 3.6l V6; 7,600 with Duramax Crew Cab.

Nissan Frontier Crew Cab: 6,570 lbs; 6,460 lbs for Crew Cab Long Bed.

Toyota Tacoma Double Cab SR5 4WD: 6,400 lbs

I don't have anything against SUVs. The reason I really like my pickup is that there are things I will put in the bed of the truck that I won't put in the back of an SUV, such as gasoline, generator and such. A cap or even a tonneau cover keeps the contents of the bed dry and secure.

Offgrid - I hear you on E150 pricing - while browsing online to see whats out there, I saw a new/used one listed locally for $87K! 

OG's suggestion of a standard SUV is also a good choice.  My kids have Honda Pilots and are real happy with them.  They have the 7 passenger versions.  A friend of mine towed a trailer of rPod size with a Toyota 4Runner and was happy with its power and towing capacity.  As long as you have no plans to exceed the 5K pound towing capacity, an SUV would serve you well.

I wouldn't recommend a diesel these days. Most of the manufacturers are dropping them. With DEF and the high price of ultra low sulfur diesel, and recent efficiency improvements in gassers diesel is  not the cost effective option it used to be for light vehicles. 

These would likely work well for your "vertically challenged" wife better than a full-sized pickup.

We're towing a 179, nothing unusual in our load - no generator, no kids, just a lightweight dog and the usual stuff. So we've started the process of looking for a new (to us, anyway) TV. We don't need to drive it much outside of camping trips, but we'd like to find something that is very reliable, will tow well (ie, no lugging up hills), and is ok to drive in town for me and my vertically challenged (5 ft 1 inch) wife.

The conventional wisdom seems to lean towards a Ford F150 with an ecoboost engine, but I don't see many options beyond that. Would appreciate any suggestions from the Rpod Forum collective braintrust. My wife wishes that an EV truck was available but my sense is that its premature to go down that rabbit hole (and I don't want to spend $60K)

So my current thinking is a 150 ecoboost, maybe a 2015 or so with moderate miles (60-80K), but would appreciate any suggestions or ideas.