kameronth

Okay, it's killing me. What does it feel like/do?

I bought a travel trailer and it's parked for winter but next spring I'm taking it out. I've never towed with my F150, only my F250 and it didn't have sway control.

Mysterman68

If I come to an intersection where I need the power of 2 rear wheels to get out, I turn the tracton control off. Once I'm in traffic I turn it back on.

RajunKajun59

Glad I didn't start this thread, LOL.

I found how bad/good TSC and RSC were last night messing around. I always go mess around dead roads/empty parking lots when they are wet and I have a new vehicle. You just have to know how the nannies feel and function, off and on. I have been doing this since high school. Officers find it funny, some one actually learns to control their vehicles here, got busted in a mall parking lot 4- years ago, City officer couldn't believe I was doing it, so he sat there and watched to make sure I wasn't just doing donuts on a wet lot. No tickets, just a chaperon and a 21 year old officer trying to give a 26 year old a talking too.

Anyway, last night decided to see how different this truck handle than my 07. Took me a while to get used to the throttle delay, but I finally got sideways with everything off, had it under control for about 2 seconds and the tires ran past 35, RSC kicks, kills the engine, upshifts to 3, keep in mind I was still trying to control the sideways walking myself, and it finally stops sliding and gets steady, well me being the genius I am keeps it floored, engine down shifts to 2 at WOT, and it swings the other, Rinse and repeat a few times and you could imaging the Yoyo I was on, fun stuff. Not as fun as doing it myself in that 96 Exploder from highschool though.

I have a love hate relationship with the nannies, I can see their usefullness, but if you can handle a vehicle yourself with 96 and 07 levels of TSC, it can get you in trouble if you are not expecting it to kick in. And as I found out, if you are thinking you are controlling it, it will force you to over correct, that is what I hate.

1994Vmax

This. It's why I can't drive with this stuff having it's functionality enabled. I guess if I was average Joe and just had a panic attack whenever I had something go awry it does what it needs too in an attempt to save you. For me..... all it does is attempt to counter what I know works and gets me out of trouble everytime. Couple that with how it reacts to snow covered or muddy backroads.... forget it. Plus as I mention before... on truly icy roads I find it dangerous.... what will pull you out of a skid in California on 80 degree pavement doesn't work when its -20 with a coefficient of friction of 0. Over 6 months of the year are conditions that go along the lines of the latter. They try their best but you can't always defy physics by simply killing all power and slamming on individual brakes. I have 20 years of driving and at least a million miles travelled now...... Some people do that and still can't drive worth a damn.... I know. I'm still an "average" driver but I figured out how to keep it between the lines I guess.

21RRF150

iTrader: (1)

Never heard of that before. The traction control system /abs "slamming on the brakes." Mine pumps the brakes just like I would do manually without it.

Tystevens

I haven't had much of a chance to try out the Ford system much yet (only had my truck since March), but if it is anything like GM's system, I don't know why anyone would have a problem with it. Works great.

But it does take some getting used to. I, like most of you all, learned to drive in the snow before ABS was a thing. I remember the first time driving my dad's '96 Suburban w/ ABS in the snow -- wheels started to slip, so I instinctively let up, and the ABS did as well, I pushed, ABS stopped me, etc., and I thought it was the worst thing ever. But once you get out of the habit of trying to manage the brakes and just push and hold steady on the pedal, I've found ABS to do a better job than I ever could.

Seems traction control is kinda the same way, at least in our Suburban. If I just hold steady pressure on the throttle, it does great. If I'm trying to manage it and stuff, I am just working against the system and it is less effective.

1994Vmax

Sliding in a straight line... yeah that's all it does. Abs has been doing that widespread for over 20 years and it works fine. Some situations dictate otherwise but for the masses its okay. This however, when it detects side to side movement, pulses individual wheel brakes... which is the last thing on this planet I want the truck to do on ice. I realize most Sheeple will just accept that " this is how it is" and move onward. I just cringe when those same people drive something without all this rubbish... and end up killed because they expect the vehicle to save them and not have any driving skills. I mean pumping the brakes is one thing... but just letting it ride and doing basically nothing while a safety system takes you out of a skid... wonderful. I guess really it's no surprise from the company that parallel parks for you... because most people are too unskilled to handle that basic task.... Why not just let the vehicles drive themselves already.... this transition stuff is aggravating. I ran the GM version of this too since it's across the board inception in 2007 for them... at least up until the 2014's it had an off switch that actually made it go "off"

cknowles63

I took my 2014 STX on a road trip to Gatlinburg last August. We found ourselves following a newer model F150 which was towing one of the scariest utility trailers I have ever seen. Typical utility trailer with 1' high sides, with fence wire wrapped around a load of random furniture, cushions, refrigerator etc. sticking up about 4' above the trailer rails.

This rig was so badly loaded it wanted to sway all over the road, I could see it start to go, then mysteriously stabilize then 10 to 20 seconds later it would start to sway again then stabilize. I was amazed at what the sway control was able to accomplish! Then when the first opportunity to get away from this person appeared, I took off never to see them again.

It's good and bad, it allowed them to tow an obviously unsafe load and probably got them to their destination without killing anyone on the way. Meanwhile they will never know how tragic their little project nearly became were it not for the truck saving their bacon!

hetman

am I correct that the trailer sway control will not function unless the trailer has Brakes?

BlackHD06

these trucks handle like **** in the rain. the crappy bridgestones don't help either.
for a crew cab with much better weight distribution than a reg cab short bed there is no reason for it to get out of shape turning and accelerating at a safe pace.


its days like today, rainy and slick out, that make me miss my Saab 9-7X very much. AWD and good tires in a short heavy SUV always made for a safe drive in bad weather.


I learned to drive w/ an early 80's GMC truck w/ no abs and no safety devices besides wiper blades and a rear view mirror and know how to handle a truck in bad weather but this truck is as bad if not worse than that old GMC.