Lariat Hybrid tow test: Airstream Bambi (3500 GVW)

[Darryl]

That’s a great point! I wonder how Ford would square that away when trying to deny your warranty claim for towing the same trailer that they used in their photo shoot?

Ford doesn't require pictures of what you were towing. They won't even know what you towed unless you brought it in with the trailer attached. Otherwise, we can only speculate. We'll sometimes ask. But we usually only ask about weight. If we think you're lying, we'll talk about you behind your back. But we don't do private investigations. Just make sure you have maintenance records

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[Darryl]

As others have noted on this thread, Airstreams aerodynamics are well established. Even the (heated) underbelly area is relatively clean aerodynamically. I had a 16ft Jayco before buying a 25 ft Airstream Flying Cloud. The Jayco was as aerodynamic as a shoe box. The Jayco's Murphy Bed meant towing an eight foot high vertical wall, eight feet wide. That was 64 sq ft of wind resistance. I was shocked at how well the Flying Cloud towed compared to the boxy little Jayco.

Much of the frontal area of the Bambi is in the lee of the Maverick tailgate (including 100% of the boxy propane tank cover). So it's not accurate to assume the the frontal area of the trailer is 100% additive to the frontal area of the Maverick itself. Also the edges of the Bambi are "faired" just as edges of aircraft are faired. Even the door hinges are faired on Airstreams!

I found the Bambi towed well even at 70mph but the fuel mileage at those speeds made for 150 mile fuel stops! At 15 mpg I'd rather be in the SuperDuty

The skull mirrors are marginal for multilane freeways but the BLIS (Blind Spot Information System w/ Trailer Coverage) meant that I was getting alerts from vehicles becoming adjacent to the trailer as well as adjacent to the Maverick. Its took about a minute to teach the Maverick the Bambi's dimensions (ball to bumper length and width) then when the Mav detected a trailer connected I was prompted to "select" the trailer from those previously saved. Once Bambi was selected the BLIS cone of protection was extended to include the trailer.

Regenerative braking works quite well! With cruise control engaged the Mav will downshift as required on downhills to keep the set speed. With the cruise disengaged a quick tap of the brake pedal is all that is needed to cause a downshift. I ran the entire day with Tow/Haul mode on so the ICE ran all day without ever switching to e-motors yet never had the regeneration braking decline as the hi-voltage battery reached some arbitrary set point.

First night stop in Olympia.

This was what I was waiting for; an Actual performance update vs OPINIONS as to whether it could be done safely. I sat maintaining highway speeds without any signs of overheating, braking or handling problems is the ultimate test. And yes, towing near the Max with a small vehicle will drop fuel economy to at or below the level of a super duty. But if you tow only on occasion, it's not a problem since the fuel economy when not towing more than makes up the difference. I was confident it could. Glad my thoughts were confirmed.

 

[Chilipepper]

Ford’s Towing Guide for the Maverick shows a Lariat towing an Airstream Bambi 16 Sport and notes that the 53Q 4K Tow Package is required for trailers over 2,000 pounds. The diminutive Bambi 16 Sport is the runt of the Airstream line at just 3,500 GVW.

My Hybrid Lariat has the 53Q package and so may tow the littlest Bambi according to Ford. The Maverick's odometer just passed the 1,000 mile mark so that (Ford) requirement is met too.

But how well is a 2.5 liter, conventionally aspirated Atkinson cycle 4-cylinder going to do actually towing 3,500 pounds over 8,000 foot mountain passes?

How much help will regenerative braking be in slowing those 3,500 pounds on those miles- long 6% mountain grade descents?

Is the electronic trailer sway control effective?

And how about all that ProTrailer automation for positioning the Maverick to tow?

“Blind Spot Information System® with Trailer Coverage” sure sounds helpful. How is that going to work?

Then there are those tiny skull-shaped mirrors…are they even adequate?



I had lots of questions!

Maybe it is time to get Bambi on the ball and seek some answers?

Bambi came to us used and supposedly complete with the requisite hoses, block and chocks, even a BBQ grill and a folding table. I suggested a short shakedown cruise to find out what I needed to fix, replace or reprovision. Her Highness welcomed the chance to test out her expertly-curated tiny cooking kit and demonstrating her prowess crafting amazing meals in the miniscule kitchen. Just a couple of days to check out how the Maverick does towing Bambi and lets see what happens…


Here is the hitch setup. Simple: NO weight-distribution, NO sway control

And here is Bambi on the ball:

The Mav towed Bambi the 500 yards from my storage site to the gate on the e-motor alone.

Towed it just fine but then I realized that I should really be in Tow-Haul Mode!

The first day we plan about 100 miles of secondary highways and 50 miles of interstate, will report on how that went in my next post...

 

[Chilipepper]

Ford’s Towing Guide for the Maverick shows a Lariat towing an Airstream Bambi 16 Sport and notes that the 53Q 4K Tow Package is required for trailers over 2,000 pounds. The diminutive Bambi 16 Sport is the runt of the Airstream line at just 3,500 GVW.

My Hybrid Lariat has the 53Q package and so may tow the littlest Bambi according to Ford. The Maverick's odometer just passed the 1,000 mile mark so that (Ford) requirement is met too.

But how well is a 2.5 liter, conventionally aspirated Atkinson cycle 4-cylinder going to do actually towing 3,500 pounds over 8,000 foot mountain passes?

How much help will regenerative braking be in slowing those 3,500 pounds on those miles- long 6% mountain grade descents?

Is the electronic trailer sway control effective?

And how about all that ProTrailer automation for positioning the Maverick to tow?

“Blind Spot Information System® with Trailer Coverage” sure sounds helpful. How is that going to work?

Then there are those tiny skull-shaped mirrors…are they even adequate?



I had lots of questions!

Maybe it is time to get Bambi on the ball and seek some answers?

Bambi came to us used and supposedly complete with the requisite hoses, block and chocks, even a BBQ grill and a folding table. I suggested a short shakedown cruise to find out what I needed to fix, replace or reprovision. Her Highness welcomed the chance to test out her expertly-curated tiny cooking kit and demonstrating her prowess crafting amazing meals in the miniscule kitchen. Just a couple of days to check out how the Maverick does towing Bambi and lets see what happens…


Here is the hitch setup. Simple: NO weight-distribution, NO sway control

And here is Bambi on the ball:

The Mav towed Bambi the 500 yards from my storage site to the gate on the e-motor alone.

Towed it just fine but then I realized that I should really be in Tow-Haul Mode!

The first day we plan about 100 miles of secondary highways and 50 miles of interstate, will report on how that went in my next post...

It’s just matter of time before it going fail. I saw a 2024 maverick towing a similar trailer in Mississippi on I-10 very slowly and he came into the gas station I stopped at. I could tell he was having trouble so I talk with him. He had driven about 300 from Beaumont Texas and he began having engine problems with lack of power. We grabbed a a sandwich and as I left and he was waiting on a tow truck because he released the trailer and was still having problems trying to drive around the station parking lot. Good luck

 

[First Sergeant]

It’s just matter of time before it going fail. I saw a 2024 maverick towing a similar trailer in Mississippi on I-10 very slowly and he came into the gas station I stopped at. I could tell he was having trouble so I talk with him. He had driven about 300 from Beaumont Texas and he began having engine problems with lack of power. We grabbed a a sandwich and as I left and he was waiting on a tow truck because he released the trailer and was still having problems trying to drive around the station parking lot. Good luck

His truck may have been having problems regardless of the trailer. Many a Maverick has had the dreaded "I'm quitting" syndrome where the system software just shuts it down for some unknown reason and truck needs towed to dealer. Who knows?

 

[Nw_adventure]

Frontal load is always a fun debate- For instance its been said to deduct the tailgate and airspace under the trailer in the equation -

 

[Mavster Mechanic]

Airstream says that when they compared their best 28 foot trailer wit the competition’s worst 35 foot box trailer, they found that the airstream was 25% more aerodynamically efficient.

Completely unfair test and wildly optimistic, but 25% reduction. So the 16 ft airstream is still 50 square feet of frontal area if you make fudge factors for aero profile. That’s still 25% over what Ford recommends.

And yet it will still be fine.

 

[Mavster Mechanic]

@Bic
Mine. Quite similar.
3200 lbs. But not as aerodynamic.

My rule:
62 MPH ( 100 KPH ) maximum.

Can give it the beans to accelerate or pass but I never SUSTAIN greater than 50% total power output for more than a few minutes. On a very long incline, or an incline with unknown length, just back off on the right foot pedal to a point the power output is 50% or less.

Trust me on this. I've towed for 10,000 miles with my 2022 FWD Hybrid.

Torque is what pulls you uphill.
The hybrid has good torque at all speeds. Horsepower is only relative to how fast you go uphill. You can tow your airstream uphill with 90 horsepower if your speed is 35 mph or 45 mph.

Get an OBDII scanner. It will show you in quick order what you can do safely.

Good luck. I highly recommend keeping it under 65 mph.

Oh, I forgot to say:

I had 3200 on the trailer AND 900 in the bed at the same time!

62 MPH, no problems, @ 16.5 MPG.

(slower on mtn grades but ALWAYS faster than semi's.)

 

[Mavster Mechanic]

P.s.

Adjust your headlamp beams down a little while towing.

It's quick and easy to do with a + screwdriver in under 60 seconds once you know where the screw is.

Point at a wall or something the first time, to make sure you move in the correct direction.

And count revolutions of of the screw.
Say 4 or 5 revolutions then put it back the same number of opposite revolutions.

Or, if at home, you can put masking tape on your wall and masking tape (or chalk, etc) where your tires go on the floor so you can get back to the original setting later.

Distance from the wall matters.
You want a slight down slope beam in all cases.

 

[bsenecal]

@Bic
Mine. Quite similar.
3200 lbs. But not as aerodynamic.

My rule:
62 MPH ( 100 KPH ) maximum.

Can give it the beans to accelerate or pass but I never SUSTAIN greater than 50% total power output for more than a few minutes. On a very long incline, or an incline with unknown length, just back off on the right foot pedal to a point the power output is 50% or less.

Trust me on this. I've towed for 10,000 miles with my 2022 FWD Hybrid.

Torque is what pulls you uphill.
The hybrid has good torque at all speeds. Horsepower is only relative to how fast you go uphill. You can tow your airstream uphill with 90 horsepower if your speed is 35 mph or 45 mph.

Get an OBDII scanner. It will show you in quick order what you can do safely.

Good luck. I highly recommend keeping it under 65 mph.

Oh, I forgot to say:

I had 3200 on the trailer AND 900 in the bed at the same time!

62 MPH, no problems, @ 16.5 MPG.

(slower on mtn grades but ALWAYS faster than semi's.)

Excellent reply and good advice.
The HP in my 89Ranger was 160 and I towed an enclosed 2 place snowmobile trailer with no issues.
My snowmobile actually had more HP than the truck.
Brian

 

[Escapologist]

P.s.

Adjust your headlamp beams down a little while towing.

It's quick and easy to do with a + screwdriver in under 60 seconds once you know where the screw is.

Point at a wall or something the first time, to make sure you move in the correct direction.

And count revolutions of of the screw.
Say 4 or 5 revolutions then put it back the same number of opposite revolutions.

Or, if at home, you can put masking tape on your wall and masking tape (or chalk, etc) where your tires go on the floor so you can get back to the original setting later.

Distance from the wall matters.
You want a slight down slope beam in all cases.

Back in the day there used to be levers behind the headlamps to set for loaded or level, I don't know why or when they stopped doing that, seems like a backwards step.

 

[Mavster Mechanic]

Back in the day there used to be levers behind the headlamps to set for loaded or level, I don't know why or when they stopped doing that, seems like a backwards step.

If they can automatically keep you in your lane at 80 mph they can automatically level your headlamps.

They choose not to.

 

[Granger Ford]

Ford’s Towing Guide for the Maverick shows a Lariat towing an Airstream Bambi 16 Sport and notes that the 53Q 4K Tow Package is required for trailers over 2,000 pounds. The diminutive Bambi 16 Sport is the runt of the Airstream line at just 3,500 GVW.

My Hybrid Lariat has the 53Q package and so may tow the littlest Bambi according to Ford. The Maverick's odometer just passed the 1,000 mile mark so that (Ford) requirement is met too.

But how well is a 2.5 liter, conventionally aspirated Atkinson cycle 4-cylinder going to do actually towing 3,500 pounds over 8,000 foot mountain passes?

How much help will regenerative braking be in slowing those 3,500 pounds on those miles- long 6% mountain grade descents?

Is the electronic trailer sway control effective?

And how about all that ProTrailer automation for positioning the Maverick to tow?

“Blind Spot Information System® with Trailer Coverage” sure sounds helpful. How is that going to work?

Then there are those tiny skull-shaped mirrors…are they even adequate?



I had lots of questions!

Maybe it is time to get Bambi on the ball and seek some answers?

Bambi came to us used and supposedly complete with the requisite hoses, block and chocks, even a BBQ grill and a folding table. I suggested a short shakedown cruise to find out what I needed to fix, replace or reprovision. Her Highness welcomed the chance to test out her expertly-curated tiny cooking kit and demonstrating her prowess crafting amazing meals in the miniscule kitchen. Just a couple of days to check out how the Maverick does towing Bambi and lets see what happens…


Here is the hitch setup. Simple: NO weight-distribution, NO sway control

And here is Bambi on the ball:

The Mav towed Bambi the 500 yards from my storage site to the gate on the e-motor alone.

Towed it just fine but then I realized that I should really be in Tow-Haul Mode!

The first day we plan about 100 miles of secondary highways and 50 miles of interstate, will report on how that went in my next post...

Looks like you are ready to adventure out with the Maverick

 

[Bic]

Couple updates:

Pulled two 8,000 ft passes on US-395, with no issues. Temp stayed right at thermostat.


But got stuck in Bishop (again!)

CAL DOT was saying "A High Wind Advisory Is In Effect From Bishop (Inyo Co) To The Nevada State Line" but that "advisory" was a prohibition for "High Aspect" vehicles. So three hundred or so 18-wheelers were parked up on one shoulder of the highway in a line that went for more than a mile.

We found an impromptu dry camp in the shelter of the (closed) Public Library. But the library WiFi worked fine!

 

[Darryl]

It’s just matter of time before it going fail. I saw a 2024 maverick towing a similar trailer in Mississippi on I-10 very slowly and he came into the gas station I stopped at. I could tell he was having trouble so I talk with him. He had driven about 300 from Beaumont Texas and he began having engine problems with lack of power. We grabbed a a sandwich and as I left and he was waiting on a tow truck because he released the trailer and was still having problems trying to drive around the station parking lot. Good luck

I assume it was a EcoBoost because a 2024 hybrid isn't rated to tow that much. Also, without knowing what was wrong, we have no idea whether the problem was caused by towing or not. Could have been engine problems. Could have been a sensor. Could have been bad fuel. Unless you stuck around until the diagnosis, you don't know. Also, did he drive too fast? Maybe not. At any rate, in the case of the 2025, the hybrid transmission is actually rated for more torque than the EcoBoost transmission. It's the HF45 vs the 6F35. (450 newton-meters vs 350 newton-meters )

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