Ford F-150 versus Dodge Ram 1500

[Dinky]

My sample set is super small. Only Ford I've owned is a 2001 Ranger I bought in 2002. Was a good truck. And I've owned a 05, 06, and currently 2017 Ram, along with an 06 Dakota.

But my neighbor who always tells me how great his ecoboost is and how much better it is than my Ram, is the only one of the two of us who has had a tow truck come to his house to get his truck

Was a proud day seeing it on the back of the tow.

I had a 99 ranger drove it forever. However it was made pretty much by mazda lol. Every part had mazda stamped on it.

 

[Random_Walk]

Found these pics on the interweb. I wouldn't buy a Ford just because of the aluminum foil they use for the body.

To be fair, I believe that was from Ford's earliest forays into using aluminum, where they (stupidly!) built a bed with an inner and outer layer, bound along the edges with a stupid plastic cap as the rail. Came apart at the slightest provocation, if memory serves. There's a couple of Fords in town nearby that has similar-but-not-nearly-as-massive damage (a suddenly shifting load of Douglas Fir rounds on a twisty road is no joke, y'all...)

I **think** Ford has fixed that particular issue, and that they did so awhile back.

 

[Random_Walk]

I had a 99 ranger drove it forever. However it was made pretty much by mazda lol. Every part had mazda stamped on it.

Had an old '79 Courier (same-same - Mazda engine, interior, etc) and a '79 F-250 SuperCab I'd rebuilt from the ground up. Both were indestructible, but a far cry from the power and build of today's stuff (for good and ill, unfortunately.)

 

[NOV87]

But my neighbor who always tells me how great his ecoboost is and how much better it is than my Ram, is the only one of the two of us who has had a tow truck come to his house to get his truck

Was a proud day seeing it on the back of the tow.

You should've have grabbed a beer and a chair to enjoy the show and compliment your neighbor on how much easier it is to tow his Ford, due to fact that it's an aluminum truck.

 

[Pines19]

Go 3/4 ton period. My 1500 w 392 rear will pull my 7000lb TT, but I hate it. I have air bags also which help. But 1/2 tons are not made to pull heavy TT. Hell anything will pull 7000lb but not safely if you plan on pulling any distance.

 

[Dinky]

To be fair, I believe that was from Ford's earliest forays into using aluminum, where they (stupidly!) built a bed with an inner and outer layer, bound along the edges with a stupid plastic cap as the rail. Came apart at the slightest provocation, if memory serves. There's a couple of Fords in town nearby that has similar-but-not-nearly-as-massive damage (a suddenly shifting load of Douglas Fir rounds on a twisty road is no joke, y'all...)

I **think** Ford has fixed that particular issue, and that they did so awhile back.

So did they just glue some extra support in? Lmao aluminum is nice and light but has down falls just like everything else. If you dent or bent it you now have fractures in the material and rips or breaks apart really easy. Then the fact aluminum and salt water do not like to mix and when the corrosion starts its worse then rust. Give it another 5 years and all the people in the salt belt will have their trucks falling apart.

 

[Brent L]

For what it is worth...I had a 2012 F150 w/ 3.5 eco before my 2018 Ram. I have not towed with the Ram, but it seems sluggish until you get her wound up to about 4k, then she goes (3.21s, may contribute). I towed a few times with the F150. With a 5k lbs trailer she would go up and down hills and mountains at 70 MPH and hardly ever downshift much less break a sweat. It had 3.55 gears. I had 120k on it and never went to the shop once for repairs, maintenance only. I like the Ram interior much better though. If I were picking strictly for towing I would go ecoboost, for daily driver, the Ram. They did get about the same mileage.

Ram guys, please don’t hate on me too much, I do love my Ram.


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[Random_Walk]

For what it is worth...I had a 2012 F150 w/ 3.5 eco before my 2018 Ram. I have not towed with the Ram, but it seems sluggish until you get her wound up to about 4k, then she goes (3.21s, may contribute). I towed a few times with the F150. With a 5k lbs trailer she would go up and down hills and mountains at 70 MPH and hardly ever downshift much less break a sweat. It had 3.55 gears. I had 120k on it and never went to the shop once for repairs, maintenance only. I like the Ram interior much better though. If I were picking strictly for towing I would go ecoboost, for daily driver, the Ram. They did get about the same mileage.

Ram guys, please don’t hate on me too much, I do love my Ram.


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It's the gear ratio... I only have 3.21; I carry more often than I tow, but I do know that gear ratio affects ease of towing, big-time.

 

[dhay13]

I have also been told that the brine they use on icy roads tears up that aluminum body. A friend owns a body shop and said it's bad.

 

[indept]

I have also been told that the brine they use on icy roads tears up that aluminum body. A friend owns a body shop and said it's bad.

The sales pitch for F150's is that they don't rust which is true, but they will still oxidize which means they will rot through. Now if Ford wants to create a better body they should us stainless steel which, at least, will travel through time if you go faster than 88mph, assuming they are properly equipped with the Flux Capacitor option...

Marty, get the F150 Delorian

 

[markusaf81]

Go to an F150 forum and ask the same question.

if you are buying a tow vehicle, you need to do test drive where they let you hook up the trailer and drive.

my guess would be you’d end up with a 3.5 eco boost with a 10spd. And there are plenty of guys pulling heavy loads through all sorts of terrain for long distances with that engine...it’s kind of the point of it.

 

[Fieldoc]

For what it is worth...I had a 2012 F150 w/ 3.5 eco before my 2018 Ram. I have not towed with the Ram, but it seems sluggish until you get her wound up to about 4k, then she goes (3.21s, may contribute). I towed a few times with the F150. With a 5k lbs trailer she would go up and down hills and mountains at 70 MPH and hardly ever downshift much less break a sweat. It had 3.55 gears. I had 120k on it and never went to the shop once for repairs, maintenance only. I like the Ram interior much better though. If I were picking strictly for towing I would go ecoboost, for daily driver, the Ram. They did get about the same mileage.

Ram guys, please don’t hate on me too much, I do love my Ram.


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This. Had the same setup.

 

[jackham]

I enjoy threads like this. I drove one of the first 2011 ecoboosts, supercab, long box, 1/2 ton heavy duty, 3:73, 4X4. This is a very rare combination and by all indications mine was nearly the first out, at least I never saw another one on any of the forums for over 6 mths.

I am pretty sure nothing could beat it 0 -60, at least nobody I came up against could. The combo of the eco with the 3:73 makes it extremely quick. I have test drove the new eco with ten speed and 3:55, it is much smoother and quite good.

Now I have a Laramie Longhorn loaded to the hilt (only one box unchecked...22 inch). I have trailered same trailers and loads. 16' with 11,000 lbs of small bales, 12 foot cargo with two big motorcycles.

Here is the thing. A very few of us will tow at the limits and I agree with previous. Get a 2500 Hemi, or at least a half ton heavy duty Ford. However if you are like the vast majority of us that do use their truck for work but also do a lot of auto driving, especially in highly variable conditions like in Montana, it comes down to ease of use, comfort, how well automatic things auto, and of course personal taste. I think the LED lighting is out of this world on the Longhorn and the automatic lights are exceptional. I think the tranny is smoother and the AWD option in Montana is a godsend. My mileage with the etorque hemi is easily 4 mpg in all conditions better than the eco with 6 speed I had. Towing is smoother by a lot even though on paper the eco looks better, maybe the 10 speed would help a lot with that.

Point is these trucks are so over built and so over speced any one of them ordered properly are really superb. My truck can so out perform an old 3/4 Ford with 460, the Ford couldn't even sit in the same arena. So after a point I think the expectations become silly and maybe you should just get a Freightliner.

By the way I put 225,000 trouble free miles on the eco and kept it as a ranch truck. And I adore my Hemi.

 

[tfeni52355]

As they say “ You can have ECO or you can have BOOST” but you can’t have both at the same time....


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[AFMoulton]

EcoBoost works great if you keep your foot out of it! Lol


2018 Ram 2500 6.4L 4x4
Amsoil SS 0W-40

 

[Random_Walk]

Point is these trucks are so over built and so over speced any one of them ordered properly are really superb. My truck can so out perform an old 3/4 Ford with 460, the Ford couldn't even sit in the same arena.

Agreed. I used to have an old Ford F-250 w/ a 460, and my current Pentastar-powered QuadCab can not only outpull it, but has more hp (mid-1970s 460 engine had 212hp, my little v6 has 305hp).

You cannot possibly compare the old trucks of Yesteryear to today's stuff... it doesn't hold up.

(OTOH, I'd positively kill to have the dual fuel tanks and dual battery setup that my old F-250 Supercab had...)

 

[indept]

Agreed. I used to have an old Ford F-250 w/ a 460, and my current Pentastar-powered QuadCab can not only outpull it, but has more hp (mid-1970s 460 engine had 212hp, my little v6 has 305hp).

You cannot possibly compare the old trucks of Yesteryear to today's stuff... it doesn't hold up.

(OTOH, I'd positively kill to have the dual fuel tanks and dual battery setup that my old F-250 Supercab had...)

You needed the dual fuel tanks with that thirsty 460.....

 

[leeroy300]

Based on the specs for a 2019 the Ford 3.5 Ecoboost beats the RAM 5.7L. See link below. They do say that the RAM does have the bigger brake system, which is more important in the bigger picture (IMO).
Also with a boosted motor the advantage is the torque curve peaks much sooner, around 2500 vs just over 4000 for the 5.7L and gives it a better 0-60 time, but it also has a 100 more FT/Lbs then the 5.7L Hemi so in real world driving the engine will struggle when speeds are low and RPMS are high. Also the rear gear will affect its driveability with respect to weight being towed. IMO the 5.7L is a great motor and will pull well thru its torque band and will have a better all around manners. Does the ECO tow nice, yes at a lower RPM, but once you have to start dropping gears and increasing RPM the Hemi's gonna be nicer, less shifting, less RPM jumps, etc. Also depending on the rear gear the Eco boost will have about the same torque as the 5.7L when turning about 4000 RPMs when looking at the torque graphs.

Also add there is a weight difference between the F150 and the RAM across all 3 cab styles and it makes a difference in the performance numbers, but adds to its drive ability. More TV (Tow Vehicle) weight more stable the combo, again IMO.

Also, the Ford may be rated to tow more, but as we all are aware your trailer weight is directly related to your payload, and 1500 lb payload is a 1500 lb payload regardless of your trailer weight. So your average 30ft camper with a 12% tongue weight (TTs tend to range from 11 to 13% tongue weight) from the factory and a 7000lb GVWR is gonna take up 840lbs of your 1500 lb payload regardless of being Ford, Chevy, or RAM.
In the end it really is all about payload. Find what you like with the Payload to support your needs.


2019 Ford F-150 Limited 2019 Chevy Silverado High Country 2019 Ram 1500 Limited
0-60 MPH 5.1 Seconds 5.4 Seconds 6.2 Seconds
0-60 MPH (towing) 10.0 Seconds 10.6 Seconds 11.9 Seconds
Braking 70-0 MPH 168 ft 175 ft 184 ft
https://www.fordf150blog.com/2019-f-150-3-5-ecoboost-vs-6-2-silverado-vs-5-7-hemi/

want to pull big weight buy a 1 ton and keep my family safe ONLY an idiot will use a truck to its max on a regular basis AND thise numbers are propaganda a 5500 lb truck cant resist real world forces ie wind potholes poorly banked highways etc as well as an 8800 lb truck can that was built and designed for that purpose!!

 

[Random_Walk]

You needed the dual fuel tanks with that thirsty 460.....

Yes Sir, I did. Pulling a hunting trailer-camper up into Central Utah to go hunting meant the mileage would sometimes drop to maybe 3-4mpg. I did mitigate that a little with a 4bbl carb (decent Holley 4bbl carbs are actually more efficient than the bog-standard 2bbl ones as long you tune it right), but yeah, dragging a 4k lb trailer up mountain roads above 9000' ASL was beastly.

 

[ram1500rsm]

I believe this is one area where the Ford F150 3.5 Eco with 10 speed trans will outpower the 4th Gen Hemi 1500 with the 8 speed. On paper, 475ft/lbs torque vs 405, especially cause the 3.5 Eco engine makes all that torque down low, i think max tq in that engine is achieved between 3-4k rpm whereas the Hemi with all its V8 glory will need a little more rpm to make max tq between 4-5krpm, plus the Eco truck is rated for 12200lbs (when equipped) vs 10650lbs (when equipped) for the 4th gen RAM 1500. Don't know what equipped entitles in the Fords, For the 4th gen RAM 1500 that seems to be STD cab, 4x2, 3.92, 65rfe trans (funny isn't it ?) A crew cab 4x4 pull rating is 10370lbs, again 3.92 and 65rfe trans. Can you pull a little more with the RAM, i'd think you so can but if you get caught doing something that stupid i'd guess it'll be on you.

This is another area that Mopar has finally addressed with the 5th gen RAM 1500 rating it for 12750lbs max towing capacity (when equipped), quad cab, 4x2, 3.92 gearing, 8 speed, etorque etc. Ford still have 475flt/tq , and i'm sure the etorque thing gets badmouth in the Ford forums as we bash the 3.5 Turbo around here


RAM Towing sources
https://iimediaevents.com/2019ram15...Releases/PDFs/2019_Ram_1500_Towing_Charts.pdf

https://www.ramtrucks.com/assets/towing_guide/pdf/2015_ram_1500_towing_charts.pdf

Again both trucks will pull 7k lbs of weight, the F150 will seem to work easier pulling that weight. The RAM will feel more planted on the road with or withough weight, we complaint a lot about the mushiness of our suspension, but there is a much better comfort feeling when you drive a RAM 1500 compared to Chevy Silverado 1500 and F150. Those coil springs in the back might rob us from max payload as well but you can't beat the superior handling in that regards compared to the other 2 trucks.