Towing Observations from a 5000 km Trip
09-25-2018, 10:17 PM
#1
Towing Observations from a 5000 km Trip
Just got back from a 6000 km trip to the East Coast with our 2018 HDPP/MTTP Screw towing our 6500 GVWR TT. (our 40th Anniversary Tour, hence the new truck)
Here are a few thoughts:
The truck tows well, I have towed with more planted trucks but the stability was fine. We went through a gale in Quebec, saw a dump truck have it's power cover ripped off off by the winds and all the wind warning lights were flashing winds up to aprox. 80 kms per hour,(I really should have pulled off and waited it out). The rig handled this really well, wasn't pleasant but not a "white knuckle" drive. The amount of rain (and the insane transport drivers) was more of an issue. The truck towed better with the Stability Control off. The HD squats very little which is both a positive and negative (with the WDH). Transmission temps never moved despite the hills, no large mountains, but some small one with very steep hills
Positives
-Power! This combination 3.5 EB, 3.73 axle and the 10 speed goes up very steep inclines at any speed you choose.
-MPG I was pleased with the fuel use, just over 18.4L/100km (about 12.5 mpg US) on regular fuel. I drove at a fairly steady 60 mph. Locked out 9 and 10 gears.
-Comfort The truck was quiet and smoother with the trailer hooked then not (I had the PSI at 48) not tiring over 8 hour drives.
-Fuel Tank size, trailer assist stuff and the cooled seats were all appreciated.
-AWD seem to work well, went up some very steep gravel roads at low speeds.
Negatives
-Why, Why, Why, does the truck revert to default setting every time you turn it off! Many time I forgot to turn off the Stability Control and had to stop and put the truck in Park to turn it off, and don't get me started on the stupid interior motion alarm and dogs in the cab!
-Sway Control what the heck does it do, truck drove better without it.
-Boost and Shifting This might be a positive but the trans seems really reluctant to downshift on hills. It seems to just up the boost and power up the hill. I often manually downshifted and lowered the boost, it would be interesting to see which is more efficient. The power is awesome!
-I wouldn't mind a little firmer steering effort in Tow Haul mode.
Random Observations
Seemingly the most common Vehicle\TT were smaller TT trailers being towed by smaller SUVs. Some seemed a good combination others nuts! I saw more then one newer RAV4 (1500 pound tow rating) with a good sized single axle trailer hooked up. Say more then one Diesel VW SUVs with trailers bigger then I was towing!
Smaller 5th wheels being towed by 1/2 tons were also more common then in the past. I talked to a guy with a 2017 F150 3.5 (not a HD) towing a 24 foot 5th wheel and he said it towed great, he raved about his Anderson 5th wheel hitch.
Not nearly as many giant 5th wheels as past years (gas is expensive out there).
The truck of choice by a wide margin in the Canadian Maritimes is the Ram. Many fewer Fords and Chev, Tundras seem rare.
Overall a great trip despite the gale and a close call with a Tornado!, and my wife loved the truck.
Last edited by Hoss10; 09-26-2018 at 06:44 PM.
The following 2 users liked this post by Hoss10:
GossipIsBad (10-03-2018),
rotorbudd (09-28-2018)
09-26-2018, 05:17 AM
#2
Nice report! Stability control uses sensors from steering position, wheel speed, yaw velocity, longitudinal velocity and others I’m sure to detect potential instances of instability. Some WDHes will actually create forces that the system wants to try to correct and apply diffential braking. To me this is a WDH problem not the trucks so I wouldn’t use that hitch.
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GossipIsBad (10-03-2018)
09-26-2018, 11:03 AM
#3
Interesting I'm using a Equalizer WDH which a very popular well reviewed system. I'm not sure what other to use, as they all work on the same basic principal, unless you get into the 2000 dollar WDH range.
09-26-2018, 11:17 AM
#4
Senior Member
Interesting that you found the Stability Control "Off" as more stable. I always understood that when driving in normal 2WD mode, that the SC would re-activate when the vehicle was driven above a certain speed....for reason, I was remembering 25 MPH? True or false?
09-26-2018, 12:34 PM
#6
You don't have to be in park, just not moving. So you can quickly do it at a stop sign or something.
False. I always turn mine off when towing my TT and it stays off until the next ignition cycle. I never get any sway.
False. I always turn mine off when towing my TT and it stays off until the next ignition cycle. I never get any sway.
The following 2 users liked this post by BlackBoost:
GossipIsBad (10-03-2018),
Ryan_2020 (09-26-2018)
09-26-2018, 06:43 PM
#7
Its surprising you got that with the a Equalizer, it’s more common with the Blue Ox since it uses centering force. There’s been others that have lit up the dash by using too much tension on the WDH regardless of brand. Did you have a light on the dash light up? Are you using high tension on the WDH?
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09-26-2018, 06:45 PM
#8
Yup I did mean Sway Control.
Very little tension, on tension bars. With the HD there is only about an 1 1/2 inches squat, so there is not much room for tension!
No lights on dash, it just felt better with the Sway Control off. Not a huge difference but I felt it.
Very little tension, on tension bars. With the HD there is only about an 1 1/2 inches squat, so there is not much room for tension!
No lights on dash, it just felt better with the Sway Control off. Not a huge difference but I felt it.
Last edited by Hoss10; 09-26-2018 at 06:49 PM.
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GossipIsBad (10-03-2018)
09-26-2018, 07:01 PM
#9
I said it before that I believe Ford and other manufacturers will start using differential braking way before they light up the dash indicator. One way to check is to use a IR temperature gun and check rear rotor temps. On my own truck from another manufacturer it was applying differential braking while I was traveling with wind gusts up 35mph, never gave an indication on the dash but the rear rotors were twice as hot as the front.
The following users liked this post:
GossipIsBad (10-03-2018)
09-27-2018, 09:36 AM
#10
I said it before that I believe Ford and other manufacturers will start using differential braking way before they light up the dash indicator. One way to check is to use a IR temperature gun and check rear rotor temps. On my own truck from another manufacturer it was applying differential braking while I was traveling with wind gusts up 35mph, never gave an indication on the dash but the rear rotors were twice as hot as the front.
The following users liked this post:
GossipIsBad (10-03-2018)
