The TFL Truck Toaster test is back and it’s a hot one! We are testing our long-term 2025 Ford F-150 Tremor V8 with a larger camping trailer in tow. Can it survive this very tough trailer towing challenge? Let’s dig in!
The TFL Truck Toaster is an 8-mile slow climb up the Sunshine Canyon from Boulder, Colorado up to Gold Hill. The average speed limit is around 25 MPH and the road is steep. The top section of this route is a winding dirt road. There is nearly 3,000 feet of elevation gain, with the top of the route at over 8,000 ft above sea level. We have tested a couple dozen of trucks on this route and several of them had overheating problems. It’s either the transmission fluid or the engine oil that cause overheating slow downs.
This F-150 is powered by a 5.0L V8 that is rated at 400 hp and 410 lb-ft of torque. It’s backed up by a 10-speed automatic transmission and a 3.73 to 1 rear axle ratio.
We only run this test in the summer when the ambient temperature is above 90 F. This day is way hotter. It’s about 102 F in Boulder, and 95 F near Gold Hill. This may just be the hottest day of the summer as we have not seen many such days after living in Boulder for over 30 years.
We are towing the MDC XT19 HRT off-road luxury camper. It weighs close to 7,500 lbs with our stuff in it.
The F-150 Tremor is a good match for this adventurous camper. The two about the same width, both have all-terrain tires and tough off-road suspension systems. This F-150 Tremor has around 1,600 lbs of payload capacity and 9,900 lbs of trailer towing capacity.
The F-150 starts out strong, but the transmission temperature keeps climbing to about 240 F, then 250 F, and 255 F at the very top. The engine coolant and engine oil temperature remain in check. The F-150 Tremor V8 passes the test because there are no error messages from the truck. It does not feel like the truck pulled power or went into a derate mode. There were a couple of slow shifts from 2nd down to 1st gear on a couple of the switch backs, but the speeds are so slow that this is not a big deal.
In the end, this F-150 gets a Pass on this very tough test. Please join the video below for all the details.
