Drax782

Gents,

I'll be towing with my truck for the first time and had some questions using the Tow/Haul feature. I'll be towing a car on a Uhaul car transporter, overall weight is just below 5000lbs. During my trip i'll be traveling through the hills of West Virginia/Virginia on I77, if anyone has traveled that before.

1. Does that feature actually help or hurt performance while driving? (I understand using it might cause loss in fuel economy, not to worried about that)
2. Do you turn on the feature at the start and throughout the duration of the trip or can you turn it on and off while driving as needed?
3. If you do turn it on and off as needed while driving, when do you actually use it?

Any other tips would help, thanks!

PawPaw

Turn it on and leave it on towing 5K pounds in the hill and mountain areas you're heading to. Sure you'll get a little decrease in fuel mileage but better braking and rpm's will be in the engines power zone. I've got the 3.31 gears in my truck and use the Tow/Haul mode in heavy traffic for better braking and acceleration even when not towing. Make sure your tires are aired up and keep speeds limited to the 60-65 mph range for safety. Have a great and safe trip!

Norotso

Using it is far less costly then not using it and increasing the wear & tear on your tranny...

ecobeest

I use it whenever I am hauling in hilly terrain, heavy traffic of stiff winds.

Mattwrotethis

Turn Tow/Haul on and leave it on when pulling a trailer with these trucks.

On my 2014, it upshifts later, meaning it doesn't fall on it's *** on an onramp with 5000lbs of trailer and Mustang behind it. It also downshifts sooner, meaning I actually have the power to pass with a naturally-aspirated 3.7L V6 under the hood. Best of all, at lower speeds if I brake aggressively, it downshifts, on the spot, letting the engine help slow things down with engine braking.

There are a LOT of things I don't like about my F150. Tow/Haul mode is NOT one of them, Ford got THAT damned-near perfect. SO USE IT!

Trailbreak74

IIRC the manual says you should not use tow/haul on flat terrain if you are satisfied with the towing performance. Performance will improve, fuel efficiency will be degraded. Many people use tow/haul all the time, even unloaded (tow/haulass mode). For what it's worth I always use it when towing, unless I forget. The few times I have forgotten to engage it while towing I didn't notice until I got going down a hill. Downhill when towing is when t/h makes a HUGE difference. Basically, it's up to you the driver to decide when to use it. The only time it's kind of a must is towing over hills, other than that it is optional.

jcb206

I always use when towing. As far as switching it off while towing, I feel as though it could hurt something.

Not the fact that the truck cannot tow with it off but more because how the tow/haul and sport is the same button.

If you are towing in tow/haul, you must go to sport mode first to get back to normal.

I use it anytime I'm connected. Some say they turn it off to save gas. Does it really help? Even if you gain .5 mpg over 200 miles, is that really that big of a deal. If I am towing on flat terrain and have to make an emergency stop, I want the engine to downshift to help me. That's more important than saving $10 on my trip.

JMO and YMMV.

Drax782

Thanks for everyone's input. I will definitely use it while towing. I was going to use it anyways but didn't really understand all the features it provides until now. Loose a little gas mileage but gain more confidence while driving as well as saving the life of my transmission. Bigger win in the long run!

jcb206

Enjoy.

redcelica

I loaded the ecoboost down with 800 lbs of pea gravel and immediately noticed that I forgot to turn on tow/haul. It was sluggish and unresponsive. Turned it on and it was like driving the truck unloaded again. I am now convinced that anything beyond a few passengers would constitute a good use case for tow/haul.