E-PRO TT and Powerboost Camping Trip First Long Distance Tow

[Cobraman428]

So made my first long distance tow last weekend. Tampa Bay Florida to Newland, NC. My PB really towed my 4400# Flagstaff E-PRO well. Tow-Haul mode all the way. Locked out gears 8-10 and got around 9.8MPGs. Kept out of the turbos as much as possible. Used the gears a lot downshifting and letting the ICE rev up for engine braking and towing uphill so the turbos stay off. Overall very happy with the truck performance. After unhooking the TT running around the Blue Ridge Parkway a lot this week got some amazing mpg. Up to 95 mpg on some of the downhill roads. Here are some pics so far. Week 1 of 2 camping so more to come....

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[Snakebitten]

Nicely done!

And evidence that a Powerboost is still a tow machine with regular mirrors.

 

[HammaMan]

Nice! What was this snapshot of, or what point was it taken? Notice the HVB warmer than its coolant, 7th gear at 38mph. Was that during the tow?

 

[Samson16]

From the manual:


TOW/HAUL - 4X4

For improved transmission operation when towing a trailer or a heavy load. This mode moves upshifts to higher engine speeds to reduce the frequency of transmission shifting. This mode also provides engine braking in all forward gears, which slows your vehicle and assists you in controlling your vehicle when descending a slope. The amount of downshift braking provided varies based on the amount you press the brake pedal. All four-wheel drive modes are selectable in tow/haul mode. This mode does not default to a certain four-wheel drive mode and maintains the previous selection. The system tunes the steering and suspension to enhance driving comfort when towing or carrying heavy loads. The electronic locking differential is available below 25 mph (40 km/h). See Switching the Electronic Locking Differential On and Off - 4x4.

I'm going to use it driving home from work, but it doesn't mention locking out gears 8-10. I'll find out today and save my questions lol.

 

[Davexxxx]

From the manual:


TOW/HAUL - 4X4

For improved transmission operation when towing a trailer or a heavy load. This mode moves upshifts to higher engine speeds to reduce the frequency of transmission shifting. This mode also provides engine braking in all forward gears, which slows your vehicle and assists you in controlling your vehicle when descending a slope. The amount of downshift braking provided varies based on the amount you press the brake pedal. All four-wheel drive modes are selectable in tow/haul mode. This mode does not default to a certain four-wheel drive mode and maintains the previous selection. The system tunes the steering and suspension to enhance driving comfort when towing or carrying heavy loads. The electronic locking differential is available below 25 mph (40 km/h). See Switching the Electronic Locking Differential On and Off - 4x4.

I'm going to use it driving home from work, but it doesn't mention locking out gears 8-10. I'll find out today and save my questions lol.

Whether they are factually locked out, or the shift parameters changed so much as to functionally lock them out doesn't really matter. The effect is, that the 2 times I towed ~6K, they are.

 

[Samson16]

Whether they are factually locked out, or the shift parameters changed so much as to functionally lock them out doesn't really matter. The effect is, that the 2 times I towed ~6K, they are.

I see what you’re saying. Drove home in tow haul and it will use the upper gears, even 10th, but that’s without a load. Held the revs longer and downshifted sooner just like I would if towing or hauling. Maybe they should name that mode tow haul or something

 

[JerseyGlock]

What app is this and where to download? Thanks.

 

[powerboost]

I tow in normal mode so I can get the benefits of the engine shutting off and recharging powerboost battery. I definitely manually use + and - buttons to downshift when approaching hills and upshift on flat and especially downhill avoiding the gas sucking turbo boost. I only tow around 5,000 lb car trailer with Defender 6x6 side by side or 5,000 lb pontoon boat. I hold gears down to a maximum 6 available if 45 mph or less in city areas. Years ago we were told to not tow in normal mode so torque converter could lock up but never would go into overdrive in tow haul mode to save transmission. They seem to work totally different from the old lock up converter from the 90's. My standard mirrors work fine for towing all trailers (utility, car tilt trailer) except the Bennington pontoon boat that is 8.5' wide requiring snap on tow mirror extensions. I get 24 mpg empty and 13 mpg towing.

 

[HammaMan]

I tow in normal mode so I can get the benefits of the engine shutting off and recharging powerboost battery. I definitely manually use + and - buttons to downshift when approaching hills and upshift on flat and especially downhill avoiding the gas sucking turbo boost. I only tow around 5,000 lb car trailer with Defender 6x6 side by side or 5,000 lb pontoon boat. I hold gears down to a maximum 6 available if 45 mph or less in city areas. Years ago we were told to not tow in normal mode so torque converter could lock up but never would go into overdrive in tow haul mode to save transmission. They seem to work totally different from the old lock up converter from the 90's. My standard mirrors work fine for towing all trailers (utility, car tilt trailer) except the Bennington pontoon boat that is 8.5' wide requiring snap on tow mirror extensions. I get 24 mpg empty and 13 mpg towing.

So you climb a hill, heat everything up and then let the motor shut off instead of cooling everything down?

 

[travisN000]

What app is this and where to download? Thanks.

Pretty sure that's OBD Fusion:

https://www.f150gen14.com/forum/threads/obd-fusion-pids.12838/

https://www.f150gen14.com/forum/threads/obdlink-mx-is-on-sale-today.13217/

 

[Cobraman428]

Nice! What was this snapshot of, or what point was it taken? Notice the HVB warmer than its coolant, 7th gear at 38mph. Was that during the tow?

I just took a snapshot while driving on Blue Ridge Pkwy. Wasn’t towing my trailer. But I was at almost 5700 feet.

 

[Cobraman428]

Just completed my 14 day camping trip. Fla to NC mountains and then to Helen Ga then to Savannah and finally home to Tampa Bay. On the drive back today from Savannah to Tampa got 11.5 MPGs in tow haul mode driving between 64-68 mph I95-I10 & 301 Hwy. Running 93 octane gas. Mostly flat roads but I’m very happy with it. The PB towed great and had a few trailer disconnects mainly after stopping for gas. My display when dark once, also had several apple car play synch issues. Overall very pleased. Had several other campers ask me about my truck and how the powerboost works. It’s fun to watch people when I tell them I’m rocking 7.2kw genny that is built into my truck.

 

[Cobraman428]

Pretty sure that's OBD Fusion:

https://www.f150gen14.com/forum/threads/obd-fusion-pids.12838/

https://www.f150gen14.com/forum/threads/obdlink-mx-is-on-sale-today.13217/

It’s a custom display created by Turbopilot using OBDLink Mx+.

 

[Cobraman428]

Nicely done!

And evidence that a Powerboost is still a tow machine with regular mirrors.

It’s a great truck even with clip on tow mirrors…….

 

[mistermoon]

We recently completed 31 day a 4,400 mile trip trip from GA to CO, returning via NM and TX. We were towing our Lance 1685 camper, 6,400 lbs GVWR, but probably about 5,600 lbs when loaded. Our camper is really boxy and a foot wider than the E-Pro, which has an impact on fuel economy. Overall fuel economy was 9.7 mpg, towing fuel economy was 9.3 mpg. We only towed in tow mode and did not lock out any gears. We limited our speed on interstates to 65 mph max and pretty much always ran cruise control. We always ran 87-88 octane fuel (in Colorado regular is 85 octane).

When we weren't towing, we got >25 mpg just running around.

We used to tow a Lance 1575 which was lighter and more importantly narrower and we got 1-1.3 mpg better fuel economy than our current rig.

The PB tows like a beast, running up long grades to >11,000 feet elevations and it never felt it was working hard.

The oil life monitor went down from 100% to 22% during the course of the 4,400 miles. This is in line with the owner's manual recommendations of more frequent oil changes are required when towing. I changed it as soon as I got home.

We have a pretty good solar set-up on my camper to supply all of our 12V needs, but no inverter. The pro power generator on board the truck was handy the few times we needed AC power for something such as running the microwave. But that wasn't for more than 15-20 minutes at a time. Fortunately for us the the few times we needed air conditioning, we had access to shore power.

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