Some questions on F-150 Power Boost

[Creepin_D]

I currently own a 2017 Ram 1500, and I'm thinking about ordering a 2022 F-150 PB when I am able to. I have a couple questions about the PB that I'm hoping can be answered.
1. I live in an area where salt is used on the roads in the winter time, and I always get my truck rust checked (under sprayed) every fall. Should I be concerned of spraying the hybrid battery, electrical components, and engine bay?
2. Will the cold weather affect the hybrid battery? It can get to -15C where I live.
3. I work away from home, and there will be times when the truck will not be started or moved for 3 weeks at a time. Would this be an issue with the hybrid system?
4. Is the Max Tow trailer required for me? I mostly tow a seadoo or snowmobile, and sometimes a boat which is about 7000lbs.

I think that's all I got, thanks again for your help

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[bertom87]

So for question 3) I had a hybrid Honda back then and the owners manual said to not let the vehicle sit for longer than 3 months. I am sure that is similar to the Ford.
For question 4) on 4x4 trucks, Max tow package is 12.4k lbs. None Max tow is 11k lbs. So you may not need the Max tow package depending on how loaded your truck would be.
Question 2) cold weather will definitely lower the battery output and efficiency, but not reliability.
Question 1) I don't know.

 

[F-150 Prius]

I currently own a 2017 Ram 1500, and I'm thinking about ordering a 2022 F-150 PB when I am able to. I have a couple questions about the PB that I'm hoping can be answered.
1. I live in an area where salt is used on the roads in the winter time, and I always get my truck rust checked (under sprayed) every fall. Should I be concerned of spraying the hybrid battery, electrical components, and engine bay?
2. Will the cold weather affect the hybrid battery? It can get to -15C where I live.
3. I work away from home, and there will be times when the truck will not be started or moved for 3 weeks at a time. Would this be an issue with the hybrid system?
4. Is the Max Tow trailer required for me? I mostly tow a seadoo or snowmobile, and sometimes a boat which is about 7000lbs.

I think that's all I got, thanks again for your help

1. road salt and corrosion is definitely an issue, but not a deal breaker and we'll see what happens in a year or three. The battery and electrics are sealed against submersion, but that doesn't mean some hardware won't suffer and cause problems – whether or not those problems are a cost or inconvenience to the owner is the next step in the discovery. I'll take basic precautions and protect the resale value.
2. I was in zero degree blizzards and took a night to sleep in the cabin (fold flat seats) in a blizzard (not because I had to, but it was a "well, let's see how this goes") and in the morning, everything was normal. It's not an electric vehicle, it's a hybrid with basically a small electric outboard motor instead of a starter motor … : ) … the v6 gas donk does all the work and the little 1 kWh battery isn't doing a lot of work … the only concern would be a cold start … I keep jump starter (from another vehicle) with me when I'm driving in "this better start" weather.
3. I don't know about 3 weeks. My F-150 Hybrid has sat for about 10 days. I checked it with the FordPass app just because I could. There's no "data" on the app (battery volts, cabin temp, outside temp) but it seems to me Ford could/should put all "dashboard" data through to the app so we can know the exact state of the vehicle (lights on, windows open, doors open, tailgate, seats, hvac, battery volts, engine rpm, etc. etc.)
4. I have a 6.5 bed F-150 Prius with max tow. It adds larger rear brakes. I don't know what else. I assume better cooling and a helper leaf in the rear spring pack. I also have FX-4 which adds ride height and maybe (maybe) softer rated sway bars or longer travel springs for off-road articulation. I don't know. Towing a race car trailer – maybe 6000-7000lbs plus 1000lbs+ of spares and tools – the F-150 feels like it could tow a post office up the north face of Everest. But for a watercraft and snowmobile, you don't need any upgrades.
With a 7000lb boat full of gas and cabin full of people and bed full of gear, it's going to cruise along no problem (but expect mpg to reflect the work) and 4x4 with 360º cameras makes it easy to move a trailer with no drama (e.g. on a boat ramp.)

I think you'll know a lot more in the next few months about '22 models from Ford, GM and RAM. So, whatever advice you get now is too early. GM or RAM could come out with something better than the F-150 Hybrid for some buyers (e.g. air suspension in a RAM or mpg in the GM) but I don't see Ford doing much to upgrade the F-150 Hybrid because it's already too good compared to the F-150 Lightning and that's where Ford wants to make a mark – the full size commercial and fleet pickup where fleet buyers see the "math" of operating costs and they're buying dozens, hundreds or thousands of vehicles.

I think it will be '23 before Ford does "obvious" things like add larger batteries and bigger motors. We'll probably see all this happen in the Bronco before it happens in the Ford pickups (the Maverick could be a plug-in hybrid before the Ranger or F-150.)

 

[Lippy]

I currently own a 2017 Ram 1500, and I'm thinking about ordering a 2022 F-150 PB when I am able to. I have a couple questions about the PB that I'm hoping can be answered.
1. I live in an area where salt is used on the roads in the winter time, and I always get my truck rust checked (under sprayed) every fall. Should I be concerned of spraying the hybrid battery, electrical components, and engine bay?
2. Will the cold weather affect the hybrid battery? It can get to -15C where I live.
3. I work away from home, and there will be times when the truck will not be started or moved for 3 weeks at a time. Would this be an issue with the hybrid system?
4. Is the Max Tow trailer required for me? I mostly tow a seadoo or snowmobile, and sometimes a boat which is about 7000lbs.

I think that's all I got, thanks again for your help

1. I don't think this is a problem for an F-150. They test for these things

2. Maybe a bit, but it shouldn't matter. The truck can run on gas, and the battery heats up pretty quickly anyway.

3. This is not an issue. I just had mine parked for 3 weeks. It goes into "deep sleep" mode. Alternatively, you can start it every few days remotely using the Ford Pass app on your phone

4. I don't think you'll need it for 7000 lbs, but you may want it.

 

[imnuts]

With regards to the tow package, from everything I've been able to read/find, the Max Tow package on a PB is not worth it. You only get upgraded rear/parking brakes and rear bumper. With the standard Tow Package, you'll get the higher trailer rating. With standard setup or the Tow Tech package, is rated for up to 7,000 lbs, though it can likely tow more even though Ford doesn't rate it to do so.

 

[F-150 Prius]

With regards to the tow package, from everything I've been able to read/find, the Max Tow package on a PB is not worth it. You only get upgraded rear/parking brakes and rear bumper. With the standard Tow Package, you'll get the higher trailer rating. With standard setup or the Tow Tech package, is rated for up to 7,000 lbs, though it can likely tow more even though Ford doesn't rate it to do so.

What?
Only get upgraded brakes and bumper … isn't that what is needed to increase hitch towing rating?
Max tow upgrades the things that increase towing capacity.
Max Tow is a thousand pounds heavier than standard and Tow Tech (which is the backup steering and trailer sensor …)
I think the question in original post is "max tow is expensive and the Hybrid is not a great mpg tow vehicle … if I don't tow heavy and don't tow often, should I pay for max tow?"

I don't know where or how to get information on the comparison in terms of ride quality or handling or what changes in an FX-4 spec truck, or whether it's simply value for money to pay for Max Tow.

 

[imnuts]

On non-PB trims, you also get upgraded cooling, upgraded rear axle, upgraded leaf springs, and a larger fuel tank, along with the stuff mentioned above. You can't get a 36 gal tank in a Powerboost due to the battery & inverter. The other stuff (cooling, axle, springs) seems to be already included with the power train.

 

[Creepin_D]

Thanks everyone for your replies, it's been very helpful. I should have mentioned that I plan on getting the Lariat. Just a couple quick follow up questions.

1. If I do decide not to get the max tow package, and only the trailer tow package will I still have Pro Trailer Backup Assist? I do not care for the sensor that has to be installed on the trailer, but using the knob for steering in reverse would be really nice. The website isn't clear to me if the option will work with just the regular tow package.

2. Is there any benefit for optioning the FX-4 package? I do very little off-roading, but I was wondering if there was an other benefit with this package?

Thanks again,

 

[jrhoops]

1. pro trailer backup assist is stand alone and available in other towing packages

2. idk, i have it but I didn't order, I could take or leave since I don't offroad and was also planning to level with bilstein or fox. I couldn't be picky about what they had, I wanted rapid red, lariat 502a, sport, 360 cam.

if ordering it specifically, I wouldn't add things you know you will replace (wheels, struts, etc). At 7500lbs or less any F-150 will roll off the line prepared for that task

 

[bertom87]

For the FX4 question, you get the hill descent control, electronic rear diff, rock crawl drive mode off road shocks, and skid plates. Maybe the best benefits for you would be the e-locker and skid plates.

 

[joejamesatou]

No one has mentioned it yet but the Max Trailer Tow Pkg also comes with the 9.75 inch rear end and 3.73 gears. Highly recommend because trying to upgrade that alone later on is double the cost.

 

[xtraman122]

No one has mentioned it yet but the Max Trailer Tow Pkg also comes with the 9.75 inch rear end and 3.73 gears. Highly recommend because trying to upgrade that alone later on is double the cost.

The PowerBoost comes standard with (And is only available with) the 9.75" 3.73 e-locking rear end, which is why someone was mentioning earlier that you're not getting as much added with the package over stock as you would on a non-PowerBoost.

 

[AutonomousHybridF150]

I have 23,919 miles on a Hybrid truck and I can assure you the the cold affects the battery. When in the 20’s the hybrid power was noticeably less. Cold affects all hybrids and battery cars.

With regard to not running it for long periods, You can set auto cranks for certain days if the week and it will run for 15 minutes.

4x4 truck will get the 24 and 24 MPG, and sitting in the truck working saves $$$ compared to my last f150. I might average 12mph after a couple thousand miles because of my working in the truck between jobs.

you can order a power boost truck in an XL trim, which saves $$$. The gas savings alone is a no brained for me. The pro power is another one. It runs a camper great! Probably 125 hours running a 30 amp RV.

FYI: on picture of trip 2, the total miles count has the 1 is cut off on the left side. It should be 13,353.5 miles. So the truck gets 18.8, but it goes 100 MPH fast, so I think 19MPG average over the lifetime of the truck is wonderful.

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