Towing an Airstream with Gen14, and ProPower 7.2

[laujoyjoy]

So Tow Haul mode does let you go into 9th and 10th gear? I always heard people saying it locks out top gears at 8th.

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[i2oadi2unnei2]

Just wondering what you meant by "however I do lock out 9 and 10"?

It was hot and dry and full of pollen this weekend. Most of the snow birds will be gone by end of March, which will open up some vacancies to the better camp sites.

I manually disable 9th and 10th gear, thus locking them out. I'm no expert but as I understand it the EB powerband is best at about 2500rpm. Camp sites here are taken up so fast it's not even funny. We are slowly moving towards boondocking but still teaching the kiddos to learn the word 'sparingly' lol.

 

[dog_tired]

So Tow Haul mode does let you go into 9th and 10th gear? I always heard people saying it locks out top gears at 8th.

Tow/Haul mode kept me pretty much in 9th gear on the interstate, with 10th on a rare occasion.

Also, and I haven't gone back to double check on this: I think I have to be in tow/haul for the parking brake to engage when using the backup camera and hitch assist. (without the parking brake, we always roll just an inch too far!).

 

[dog_tired]

I manually disable 9th and 10th gear, thus locking them out. I'm no expert but as I understand it the EB powerband is best at about 2500rpm. Camp sites here are taken up so fast it's not even funny. We are slowly moving towards boondocking but still teaching the kiddos to learn the word 'sparingly' lol.

I like your thinking. I need to become more proficient with backing into tight spaces.
Our "kiddos" are two german shorthaired pointers, so I have to keep me and the wife on the "sparingly" profile

 

[daemonic3]

So Tow Haul mode does let you go into 9th and 10th gear? I always heard people saying it locks out top gears at 8th.

Mine hit 9th only a few times that I noticed so it is possible. I'm hoping new one with 3.73 instead of 3.55 decides 9th is best sometimes so I get better tow MPG.

 

[dog_tired]

Mine hit 9th only a few times that I noticed so it is possible. I'm hoping new one with 3.73 instead of 3.55 decides 9th is best sometimes so I get better tow MPG.

I've got the 3.73. Maybe that's why I was in 9th for much of the drive?

 

[daemonic3]

I've got the 3.73. Maybe that's why I was in 9th for much of the drive?

I think you have a much less resistive trailer too, but I'm optimistic for mine! With a 6 gallon smaller tank it would be a nice surprise to get the same or better MPG. I'd like to still get 300 miles on a tank for times if we just want to push through the butt fatigue.

 

[desertlivin]

Following up on my own post.

What a beautiful setup! The truck and the airstream a great-looking combo! Thanks for the feedback on towing your camper. I have a 21ft camper coming in myself, will be towing it with a Powerboost as well. Can't wait!

 

[dog_tired]

What a beautiful setup! The truck and the airstream a great-looking combo! Thanks for the feedback on towing your camper. I have a 21ft camper coming in myself, will be towing it with a Powerboost as well. Can't wait!

Thank you!!

 

[laujoyjoy]

Does Ford recommended premium gas when towing? What do you use? I only put regular for normal driving.

 

[daemonic3]

Does Ford recommended premium gas when towing? What do you use? I only put regular for normal driving.

Interesting thought! I have only put 87 in mine over the entire life. I had never thought of a premium fuel. My wife's requires 91 and it annoys me every time I see that price! But hey, since we're close to $4 a gallon what's another 20 cents honestly? I'd consider it if it helps...

 

[don.mullins]

Does Ford recommended premium gas when towing? What do you use? I only put regular for normal driving.

From the owner’s manual, they recommend premium for best performance, especially when towing.

 

[i2oadi2unnei2]

+1 on premium (with or w/o towing) and as mentioned above the manual does state to use premium when towing. I have on a few occasion compared both regular and premium and I do 'feel' the premium appears to provide better performance. Although its my daily driver I and for towing I don't fill up as often (every 3wks) so premium doesn't really hurt me....YMMV.

 

[Jack in Prescott]

I've been following this thread while waiting for our Lariat to be built, as we'll be towing a 5,700# Lance. I've noticed almost all the posts concern either mileage (mostly) or payload By contrast, my biggest concern is range while towing. As daemonic3 mentioned above, I originally thought a 300 mile range was a reasonable expectation when towing...but I now doubt that under some conditions. And that range becomes important when taking the trailer back to the northern sections of BC and western Alberta.

We did have an early mileage report from a member here who towed his 7,000# trailer from Phoenix up to Sedona and back, so that mixed together climbing some grades, higher elevation impacting horsepower to some degree, and his speeds were pretty high at 70-75. As I recall, he reported mileage of ~8.5 mpg for the trip. That doesn't seem inconsistent with the mileage report above of 10.5 mpg at sea level with no elevation gains and mostly at 65 mph while towing the Airstream @ ~5,000# loaded for the weekend.

Climbing up/down the Rocky Mtn spine I can imagine averaging 8-9 mpg while towing. I don't think I would want to be traveling with less than 5 gals in the tank. That suggests, for mountain region towing, a range of ~212 miles (8.5 * 25) and doesn't take into account the additional fuel burn required by the ProPower system while boondocking, which is our preference. I find this disappointing.

Jack

 

[daemonic3]

I've been following this thread while waiting for our Lariat to be built, as we'll be towing a 5,700# Lance. I've noticed almost all the posts concern either mileage (mostly) or payload (less so). By contrast, my biggest concern, related to the first, is range. As daemonic3 mentioned above, I originally thought a 300 mile range was a reasonable expectation when towing...but I now doubt that under some conditions. And that range becomes important when taking the trailer back to the northern sections of BC and western Alberta.

We did have an early mileage report from a member here who towed his 7,000# trailer from Phoenix up to Sedona and back, so that mixed together climbing some grades, higher elevation impacting horsepower to some degree, and his speeds were pretty high at 70-75. As I recall, he reported mileage of ~8.5 mpg for the trip. That doesn't seem inconsistent with the mileage report above of 10.5 mpg at sea level with no elevation gains and mostly at 65 mph while towing the Airstream @ ~5,000# loaded for the weekend.

Climbing up/down the Rocky Mtn spine I can imagine averaging 8-9 mpg while towing. I don't think I would want to be traveling with less than 5 gals in the tank. That suggests, for mountain region towing, a range of ~212 miles (8.5 * 25) and doesn't take into account the additional fuel burn required by the ProPower system while boondocking, which is our preference. I find this disappointing.

Jack

That's a great point about boondocking. Typically we get where we want to get, and the first time unhitching and taking the truck into town or whatever is when I will gas up. But boondocking you want it full at the destination and will need to plan. I hadn't considered that since I'd only thought of boondocking as a quick overnight at a walmart or a local dry camp on a weekend that is <1hr anyway. There are so many amazing state parks here that have no electricity in the best sites.

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