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Reading about the wind reminded me about the time I drove though Utah with my rig. Going up I-70 through that 120 mile no service stretch, encountered the steep climb in triple digit temps and overheated. It wasn't very far from the overlook area, so after stopping on the side for a few minutes to let the engine cool, I drove up to the lookout and parked for a while so the truck can cool and be topped off. While we were up there enjoying the view, the winds were blowing pretty good. At time rocking the trailer to the point I thought it would go over. Funny thing, I never felt the wind while driving. Had just a simple Husky round bar and single sway bar.
That was on a 2014 Screw SB RWD. With the 2016 and a Blue Ox though, I can feel the wind pretty good when it is really windy.
I felt the wind on the 2012 just as bad as on the 2016.
If you are in a head or tail wind, even if pretty severe, it doesn't feel bad. Now with a side wind, that can be totally different story.
Also strong winds were often not the problem, it was the gusts that caused the problems.
Would love to put an aftermarket intercooler on but my name ain't Rockafeller LOL. Anyway, thanks for all rhe comments everyone. Hope my first visit to the dealership's sve dept on Monday goes well.
I picked mine up used on the Ecoboost forum for $500 if that makes any difference. You dont have to spend $900-1200 that the new ones seem to cost.
They arent neccesarily a LOT bigger, but they are usually thicker and have much more efficient cores with lower pressure drop. I picked up a used AFE intercooler for my 2014 and this is what it looks like compared to stock:
So its a little bigger width and height, but its quite a bit thicker. I have not towed with mine yet but it has made a noticeable difference just driving around. When you nail the throttle the IAT doesnt just shoot up like it did before, it sits around 70F and may slowly start climbing after an extended run. Before, my IAT would be at 120F in the blink of an eye and up to 170F on a 50 degree day towing.
Partially posted this in the 2015-18 Forum for wider readership. Anyway, took the truck to the dealership service dept. today and after checking it out, here's what I was told by the master technician whom I have no reason to doubt. He stated that he thought the reason for the warnings was because I had hardwired a dash cam, using an Add A Circuit to the inside fuse box. Now I've had the dash cam installed since I brought the truck back in Novermber and have never received a warning before. The tech went on to say that the inside fuse box isn't really a fuse box but a communication modem and if you add any auxiliary item to any fuse, it could cause communication problems to the many computers in the truck. Asked about the fuse box under the hood and he said the same thing about it. Also said that tapping any wires anywhere under the dash could cause computer communication problems. Again, I have no reason to doubt him but honestly I've never heard this. I did ask if any codes were thrown and he said there was about 20 but they were all communication errors. Dealership has a great reputation and the tech took quite a bit of time to explain his thoughts and he did say he has seen this issue several times. Anyone ever hear of this? I kind of thought it might be a towing issue but the tech said he highly doubted it. I've removed the Add A Circuit for the dash cam and am plugging into the cigarette lighter for now, not quite the look I want. Hard to believe that you can't hook up any electrical accessories to these new trucks.
I was getting the same errors. They found no errors. Started the morning of Day 3 of owning. Dealer said communication errors. Could even be a loose connector somewhere. To say a fuse panel isn't a fuse panel and a communication bus is completely stupid. The computers talk over a CANBUS bus and not some kind of bastardized powerline networking. Did he recommend refreshing your blinker fluid and lubing your muffler bearings? (Sorry, I wouldn't trust him to wash the truck after the oil was changed.) If you blew a fuse you would lose communications.
At the worst I had the truck start stumbling and completely die one time. Luckily I was cruising down the isle in a mini storage place. It restarted and ran ok as I drove to the dealer.
After I removed my OBDII reader (ScanTool OBDLink MX) back in October all of the errors have stopped.
He is correct in that tapping into the fuse panel can interrupt signals between modules in the CANBUS if the tap has any feedback on it. The CANBUS communicates with all the modules via the wiring harness, not directly connecting to each module, otherwise it would defeat the purpose of CANBUS, which is to reduce complexity and a central computer. If a tap induced modulation, it can backfeed into the main buss on the fuse panel and get into other modules, triggering faults.
CANBUS is a protocol, not a physical layer. The physical layer is the vehicles wiring harness. Over the +12v and -12V there are pulses being sent between the modules and the central CANBUS controller. Anything that interrupts the pulses can trigger faults. This is the reason why you should never tap directly into any wire in a late model vehicle, but use an isolation device instead, or go direct to the battery with a relay setup.
aftermarket water/alcohol injection system is another way to go, rather than adding an intercooler and higher octane gas. It all depends on your budget and your appetite for maintenance.
RE: 8 mpg. My first question is, "How fast were you going." If you were driving 70 mph, it's definitely not surprising you got only 8 mpg. Back off to about 60-62 and you'll notice a big improvement, at least I do. In fact, I see a noticeable difference between a cruise controlled 65 and a cruise controlled 60-62.
Originally Posted by bstar1952
Hi all - Recently downsized from a 2015 Chevy 2500LT 6.0 gasser to 2017 F150 Supercrew XLT with the 3.5 ecoboost. We tow a 7500 lb 32' travel trailer 2 or 3 times a year about 200 miles to the coast, flat land towing. We do take a long trip once a year from the San Antonio, Texas area to Utah and other places out west, lots of mountains and steep grades. The Chevy was a great truck and towed the TT flawlessly, I averaged 9 mpg while towing. I downsized because with towing only about 5% of the year, I could no longer justify the everyday 13mpg the Chevy got. Several friends own the F-150 ecoboost and all say they have no problems towing basically the same TT as mine and they get 20+ mpg when not towing. So after a lot of research, we decided to get one. Of course as soon as I purchased, I started finding threads on how bad the aluminum body F-150s handle when towing so I was a little worried. Anyway, adjusted my Equalizer WDH, hooked up the TT and took a 100 mile drive through the Texas Hill Country and I-10 from Bourne to Kerrville. Truck towed great, not kidding I was very pleased. The good:
One of my big worries was getting blown around by the semi's on the Interstate. Yes, I could feel the "push/suck" when being passed but it wasn't as bad as I had anticipated and I never felt unsafe.
Going up steep grades was easy, in fact I had to slow down. With my Chevy 6.0 gasser, you put the petal to the metal and up she'd go. With the ecoboost you have to actually watch your speed.
I had no sway issues at all. Didn't feel "pushed" around by the wind either.
Only one bad - 8.0 mpg towing. Expected at least 9. May get better when engine gets a little more broken in. I have the max-tow package and the only things I have done to make the truck tow better is I installed a set of SumoSprings in the rear and put on a set of Cooper Discoverer LT tires. Loaded up, truck sets level. I really like the SumoSprings much better than airbags or spring helpers (that's just my opinion).
I did have an issue with the truck that I assume is not related to towing. About halfway thru the trip I received several warnings in the center stack, one right after the other. Service AdvanceTrac; Steering Assist Fault, Svc Required; Hill Start Assist not Available and Hill Descent Control Fault. Luckily I was at an area where I could safely pull over. Turned the truck off and everything cleared when I re-started and I was able to drive home without any other warnings. Hope the warnings threw some codes as I have an appt with the dealership on Monday. I was able to find a couple of threads from other folks having the same warnings/problems, hope its an eazy fix.
Hope this thread might help someone with towing questions. Cheers.....
RE: 8 mpg. My first question is, "How fast were you going." If you were driving 70 mph, it's definitely not surprising you got only 8 mpg. Back off to about 60-62 and you'll notice a big improvement, at least I do. In fact, I see a noticeable difference between a cruise controlled 65 and a cruise controlled 60-62.
Thanks Atlee - I do tow at 62 mpg, same as my last truck. 62mpg was the "sweet spot" for mileage with my Chevy so I figuered to do the same with the F-150. Pretty dissappointed with the 8 mpg towing but can live with it I suppose. What really concerns me is the 17 mpg I get with the F-150 not towing. I have 1400 miles on my F-150 and expected better. My whole purpose of changing trucks was better gas mileage. If 17 is the best this truck will do, I might go back to Chevy. Cheers.....
Appreciate all your feedback OP. post 26 above sure seems inline with your dealer too. I've found RF hash on many 12 chargers over the years. I'd keep trying different fuel. Wonder if no ethanol would help. pure-gas.org is a finder. Keep us posted. Not broken in here so im sure my 2018 3.5L 19.5 MPG not towing is not relevant either.
01-29-2018, 12:39 AM
