Towing Opinions

[blwn]

I was about to post a new thread and then found this one. I towed my two snowmobiles to the UP and back (800 miles total) in a two place enclosed inline v-nose Neo this past week for the first time with my Gen 2. My thoughts:

Suspension sagged a little bit. No big deal. Trailer, sleds and gear weighed approximately 3,600 pounds. Weigh Safe hitch indicated I had 400 pounds of tongue weight.

Issue was coolant temp. I had never seen numbers appearing above the coolant gauge (hard to even call it that since it doesn’t indicate true current temps and whether they are high or low….). Numbers above the gauge ranged from 226 to 234. I always let off the gas when I would see the numbers appear.

I don’t get it. I was never traveling faster than 70-75. Turbos always seemed to be working somewhat hard (middle of the gauge), I’m sure producing plenty of heat. But shouldn’t I be able to tow this amount of weight without a problem or worrying I’m somehow hurting the engine (why would numbers be appearing if everything was truly normal)?

If I can’t tow this amount of weight somewhat effortlessly, then Ford shouldn’t be advertising that my truck can tow approximately 8,000 pounds. I slowed down to 65 mph for the duration of the trip in an effort to not see numbers appearing above the coolant gauge and it was ridiculous. Constantly being passed by other trucks pulling similar or larger trailers traveling 75-80 mph. Some were 1/2 ton, some were 3/4.

Is there something wrong with my truck? FordTechOne and others, could you give me your thoughts as to whether I should be looking for a 3/4 ton truck since I plan on towing this set up on a fairly regular basis during the winter?

Thanks in advance.

This is the Gen3 thread so you may not get a ton of replies but there are many in the Gen2 forum. Are you locking out gears when you are towing? I typically lock out 9th and 10th if I'm towing and have never seen my coolant temp climb that high. If you're constantly using that much boost you are going to run hotter and typically burn more fuel

 

[bvlaw]

Thank you very much RamseyF and blwn for the responses. I’m going to try locking out the gears as the truck was definitely hunting a lot and the turbos were always working hard. I don’t understand why Ford lets these trucks run so hot (closing shutters until temps get really hot…..). It seems like Ford is gambling with the longevity of the engines in an effort to eke out slight fuel economy gains but I’m not an engineer and maybe the high temps are just fine.

 

[Ryno8551]

This is scary to hear and almost hurts..I have a 2015 platinum and have a 2022 raptor on order. I was just in the UP and I get some sag with my current truck with leaf springs and bilsteins installed. I’m scared that once I get the raptor it’s going to just sag like crazy. Can’t do WDH on aluminum trailers…am I screwed? I’m towing a 4place in-line. 2600 lb trailer with 3 sleds. So figure 2600+1800=4500ish lbs.

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[JCU Delt Ox]

It ultimately depends on how much tongue weight you have. Anything over 400lbs and it's going to have quite a bit of squat.

 

[GordoJay]

I’m going to try locking out the gears as the truck was definitely hunting a lot and the turbos were always working hard.

Someone has to ask the dumb question … you were using tow/haul mode, right? Lot less hunting and trying to run at low rpm’s.

 

[Hemmy]

This is scary to hear and almost hurts..I have a 2015 platinum and have a 2022 raptor on order. I was just in the UP and I get some sag with my current truck with leaf springs and bilsteins installed. I’m scared that once I get the raptor it’s going to just sag like crazy. Can’t do WDH on aluminum trailers…am I screwed? I’m towing a 4place in-line. 2600 lb trailer with 3 sleds. So figure 2600+1800=4500ish lbs.

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You will be fine. Go back to my post #3 and look at the picture. My total was about 6,000lbs. If your tongue weight is too much, hopefully you have some room to adjust where your sleds sit on the trailer. If they are centered over the axle, you should be fine. Worst case, take your loaded trailer to a weigh station and see what your weights are.

 

[bvlaw]

Someone has to ask the dumb question … you were using tow/haul mode, right? Lot less hunting and trying to run at low rpm’s.

Yes, I was using tow/haul mode the entire time. When I see coolant temps rising to 230 and I'm only going 70 mph, towing no more than 3600 pounds in 18 degree weather, it makes me question how much our Raptors were really designed for towing, as well as the decisions of the Ford engineers letting these things run so hot all of the time.

Personally, I think the original poster would be much better off with an F250 Tremor powerstroke, considering it sounds like he's towing a pretty significant load significant distances.

 

[bvlaw]

Something else the original poster should consider is the low GVWR of the Raptor. If he has the truck loaded up with four good size guys and 400 pounds of tongue weight, the Raptor is probably overloaded.

Don't get me wrong- I love my Raptor but I think Ford is being very optimistic with the tow ratings. Can it tow the OP's trailer short distances? Yes. A few hundred miles each way to the Michigan Upper Peninsula, with four guys and their snowmobile gear? Not so much, or at least not very well. Just my opinions, which are what he's asking for.

 

[marine5804]

2018 and I towed a 24 ft enclosed with Can Am Maverick, grills, 2 ATV's, tents, kayaks, etc. to the UP and back this past summer. No clue what the weight was but same setup on my 2016 2.7L F150 was fine. Same exact situation as what you describe. Used WD hitch so it didnt squat too bad and it handled fine. I have also hauled a smaller trailer to Colorado and back in Dec with much less in it. It did fine but similar behavior. Seems like 65mph or so is about the preferred speed when towing. If I get up to about 75 or 80 mph and then back it down a bit it seems to do ok but setting the cruise at the speed you want it seems to run high rpm and then you get the trans temps to appear on dash. I have since added a COBB tuner with ECU and TCM programming and I did a full trans / diff service. Have not towed anything since doing these.

 

[marine5804]

I am looking into getting helper springs or something similar in the near future.