Towing info.

[chasetshaw44]

Hello everyone. I am looking into getting a new ram 1500. Havent decided on the ecodiesel or the V8 gas just yet, however I wanted to hear how everyone is doing when it comes to towing. Currently I have a 2017 Ford F150 ecoboost 3.5l and I am going to sell it because it overheats when I tow. Long story short, ive replaced just about everything towards cooling and beefed some stuff up (aftermarket radiator with bigger inner core than stock, cooler thermostat, etc.) and ford is stumped as well. Ford is basically saying that there is nothing wrong with the truck mechanically, but there is something wrong with it. They wont do anything for me because I am at 65000 miles (5K out of warranty). I tow about 5500lbs (thats boat and trailer combined) here in Vegas. Temps are hot in the middle of the summer, around 110 and I need something that will always perform and stay cool while I am towing. Please let me know if anyone has had experience or issues with towing in extreme temps with these newer ram 1500's i would really appreciate it.

 

[hunter1234]

Wish I could help, I tow that type of weight with my 1500 Diesel but never in that type of temperature - the highs are unusually in the 70s and 80s and I have not seen a big impact on the temperature of the coolant, transmission, oil. I do not get the towing package so not sure if that adds and extra cooling potential.

 

[Willwork4truck]

Typical Ford response... documented service issues prior to expiration of warranty then a denial. Guess you’ll want an extended warranty on anything you buy next.

Basically, (I lived in Phoenix for 10 years), if you have a tow package with h.d. cooling, you’ve verified that the fans are working properly and the thermostat is correct, there’s no blockages in the radiator and the hoses are not collapsing, then you’d want to look at transmission cooling. If you have the cooling in the bottom of the radiator, that could be adding a bit too much (but really this has been the way its done for years...). Did you have an aftermarket trans cooler?

Hard to believe/understand that Ford couldn’t figure it out and I know just how active the F150 forums are, having spent years on them. I did see this post on
RV.net under 3.5 ecoboost-towing:

Posted: 06/14/12 10:17pm​

Link | Print | Notify Moderator​

wow, 8 Ecoboost owners posting in here. Odly enough, not a single post about the bogus overheating problem I keep reading so much about, well, at least on RV.net.
end of copied post

So somebody’s are saying something about it. Keep reading the various forums. The FordF150.net has an older thread from 2016 that pretty well matches your issue of overheating in Az:

2014 Ford F150 3.5L EcoBoost Overheating - Ford F150 Forum

I’ve not had a RAM but for 14 months and don’t tow however I read the forums and haven’t really seen this as an issue. There’s always the “one-off” lemon vehicle but that’s a different problem. Hope you figure it out.