acdii

Bull. Properly setup and sized to the vehicle, P rated tow just as well as LT. Once I got the correct sized bars for my Blue Ox, my Plat tows my trailer just fine, on 20" P-rated tires. I towed with LT tires on the 16 and it made no difference in how it handled, no matter how much air they had, it is all in the setup and having a good hitch. 20" tires have stiffer sidewalls than 18", in which case, yes, you will get sidewall flex with 18" tires, maybe that is the reason Ford gives the highest towing rating on trucks equipped with 20" wheels and not 18" with LT.

MikeD134

[QUOTE=acdii;6340423]Bull. Properly setup and sized to the vehicle, P rated tow just as well as LT. Once I got the correct sized bars for my Blue Ox, my Plat tows my trailer just fine, on 20" P-rated tires. I towed with LT tires on the 16 and it made no difference in how it handled, no matter how much air they had, it is all in the setup and having a good hitch. 20" tires have stiffer sidewalls than 18", in which case, yes, you will get sidewall flex with 18" tires, maybe that is the reason Ford gives the highest towing rating on trucks equipped with 20" wheels and not 18" with LT.[/QUOTE

Yep good setup on a properly equipped 150 will allow you to tow 13,000 Lbs Just like a group of SAE Ford engineers have given the 150

Run415

I too have a 2020 F150 with just the XL package and the 3.5 TT, 10 speed, 3.55 rear end. I tow a 6200 lb 5th wheel with a small fishing boat (800 lbs) behind that. I'm in Michigan so not any mountains. I have electric brakes on 5er. When we travel, I keep the tranny on "tow" and cruise at 65mph. We do have some decent hills up north. When we get to these, the tranny drops to 5 or 6 at 63mph. Vehicle accelerates to 65 and stays there, in 5 or 6 till I get to crest. I have noticed the hill assist kicks in going downhill at about 70. It will drop as low as 5th gear then. Before I bought the truck, I checked with Ford to get suggestions on what engine tranny combo I should go with. It was said to go with 3.5TT coupled with 10 speed tranny and a 3.55 rear end. The manual says with the 4x4, my tow rating is 12, 400 lbs. I love it. I get driving down the road and sometimes forget I have a load behind me. I used to have a 2008 F150 but it struggled going up the hills. I've driven many big vehicles in my construction days so this length and weight doesn't bother me. I think it all comes down to feeling comfortable with yourself. That and the fact I have had a very safety demanding woman beside me on all trips!!
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Flamingtaco

Hill assist has to be turned on, and is for lower speeds only, maintains a consistent speed while descending trails via the brakes.

Tow mode keeps the engine at higher rpms' by it delaying upshifts and moving up downshifts. It will also downshift if it knows the truck is descending, you touch the brake pedal, and the engine rpm is below some point. On light grades, with speed control set, being at higher rpms provides enough drag for speed to drop while not on the pedal, so it's just speed control maintaining the speed.

On real mountain grades, tow mode will not maintain speed as it's just an assist and does not engage the brakes.

acdii

Also if you have Adaptive Cruise, it too will maintain speed using the brakes, while standard cruise wont.

henfield

RV manufacturers understate the weight of their products.
My own bias for half ton trucks says under 7k is in the green zone (ok). Above 7k, to 9k, its yellow (be careful), above that, its red zone (don't go there). That's simply a matter of payload of the truck, payload transferred to the truck from trailer, what you have in or on the truck, the parachute effect of the trailer and its weight.

Every trailer, load and weather condition teaches something about how well a set up works for my truck.

And I'm getting a new aluminum car trailer this week...... about 800 less than the steel one I've been using.

Flamingtaco

True, just remember, not to be used while towing as it does not engage trailer brakes.

acdii

oh it will in a panic situation, My trip down to Texas earlier this year, the traffic backed up rather quickly and the cruise slowed the entire rig down and I did feel trailer braking, but haven't gone down any steep roads to say if they came on or not under ACC. This is on an F-450 though, so might be a little different than the F-150.

Flamingtaco

For the F150, Ford specifically states to not use Adaptive Cruise while towing as it will not engage the trailer brakes.

The super duties tend to be live test platforms for new towing tech, so if they're engaging trailer brakes with Adaptive, it probably will make it's way to the F150 within a few years. I presume your trailer did not have surge brakes, BTW.

If a descent will heavily tax the tow vehicle brakes, best not to use Adaptive as it will just keep the brakes engaged to maintain speed rather than braking well below target speed to give them a cool off period. To get there, they will need to add thermal sensors to the rotors, a torque sensor on the hitch to measure trailer push during braking, and a road gradient mapping system. This is very well within the realm of current capability, I expect to see it before EV trucks become easily capable of towing large trailers long distances.

Bullfighter

I have a 2021 Powerboost. I could have sworn my trailer brakes apply with adaptive cruise control. I also thought that my trailer brakes will apply anytime the truck brakes lights come on. I will check this next time I tow my RV. And if you are correct, I will hack the system with a signal from the brake lights. It doesn’t make sense at all that ford would go to thru the trouble to disconnect the trailer brake signal when in adaptive mode. What would be the purpose?