Lariat Hybrid tow test: Airstream Bambi (3500 GVW)

[Mavster Mechanic]

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!

FYI

The temperature gauge is not linear.
And once "warm" it does not move/change at all until overheating.

It's misleading.

You can only trust it as being "ok".
It won't move until it's not ok.

180°F and 230°F display as the same since both are "ok".

Get a data reader for towing!
So worth it!

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[Daveinva]

FYI, I researched this exact same question a couple months back-- can a Mav safely tow an Airstream Bambi like the flyer shows?-- and I discovered a critical piece of information missing from this thread:

The 16' model Bambi in the Ford towng flyer is a 2004 or earlier model.

You can tell by the rear window pattern. (I learned this fact here, and confirmed it myself through scrolling RV Trader Bambi photos across model years: )

Those <2004 models weighed 3500 lbs dry but with a 375 lb hitch weight, within Ford's specified tow ratings. (https://www.airstream.com/wp-conten...g-coach-trailer-motorhome-weights-guide-7.pdf)

I don't know what model year trailer the OP owns, but while the modern Bambi stays at 3500 lbs dry, their 2025 hitch weight is now a whopping 475 lbs in comparison to the model shown in the Ford towing flyer. (https://www.airstream.com/travel-trailers/bambi/specifications/).

If I had a late-model Bambi, I'd be paying extra attention to the hitch weight (you can buy hitches with a built-in scale), and doing whatever I can to reduce it (propane tanks to the truck bed, to start, and probably loading everything in tubs in the truck bed rather than in the trailer itself).

Bottom line: Ford did its homework in choosing the Airstream model for its advertisements-- by choosing a near-20-year-old model that average new owners aren't going to be considering. Sneaky Ford!

 

[Butterscotch]

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.

It appears you have some interest in what you have configured. Check the guy at the gas pump

 

[surfstar]

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.

add some airbag / helper springs and keep your ride more level - that is safer than simply aiming your lights lower

 

[Mavster Mechanic]

add some airbag / helper springs and keep your ride more level - that is safer than simply aiming your lights lower

I did both.

I recommend both.

 

[Glen Baker LLC]

And yet this is the exact trailer that Ford shows in it's towing guide,,,,,,

https://www.vdm.ford.com/content/da...f/2025_Ford_Maverick_Towing_Info_fnl-Dec5.pdf

HRG

Excellent observation

 

[zorki1c]

However you cut it you are trying to pull something using a four cylinder engine. Get an f150 or at least a Ranger or Tacoma if you want to pull any RV

 

[Bic]

A couple more updates:

"tested" the anti sway when a hi performance car driven by a lo performance driver tried to occupy the same space as the Mav. Mr LoPerf was weaving thru heavy traffic at 30 mph over the pace and put several people onto the shoulder to avoid him. My swerves to avoid him caused trailer movement that resulted in a red background alert that the anti sway was at work. Its also broke a fridge door hinge and made a mess :-(

Also found a nice speed for fuel consumption! That's also a speed easy to maintain on a secondary highway like US-395.

Note the yellow icons indicate tow/haul mode is in use

I also found a software usability bug:

When stopping and restarting the Mav (e.g at a fuel stop) my selected trailer ("Bambi") is retained, as I would expect.

But the selected Mode is not retained and the Mav reverts to Normal Mode, seemingly forgetting that is was in Tow/Haul mode with a trailer connected immediately before the engine was stopped. That seems to be a usability bug in the least, maybe even a safety issue if the legal department gets cc'd

Instead of manually switching the mode back to Tow/Haul mode after a campground checkin I decided to see if I could get to the campsite on e-motor alone. The 0.4 miles of e-motor were done in Normal mode and I made it to the site and backed in with the loudest sound being the "chicken squawk" from the backup alarm.

 

[Bic]

Here is a pic from the southern terminus of our "Just a couple of days to check out how the Maverick does towing Bambi and lets see what happens…" trip


Bambi By Mav-light?

 

[Bic]

Lessons learned over these 3,800 miles of towing:

• Anti-sway is useful but not a panacea
• 55-60 mph is a sweet spot for fuel consumption (20mpg) and range (285 mi/tank)
• The ProTrailer hitch up assistance works as claimed but isn't as fast as a practiced driver using the backup camera
• The trailer brakes were slowing the Mav at times (leading to puzzlingly low Braking Coach scores)
• BLIS is well worth the minute it takes to configure it to your trailer
• Ford should offer a tow mirror option

 

[bsenecal]

A couple more updates:

"tested" the anti sway when a hi performance car driven by a lo performance driver tried to occupy the same space as the Mav. Mr LoPerf was weaving thru heavy traffic at 30 mph over the pace and put several people onto the shoulder to avoid him. My swerves to avoid him caused trailer movement that resulted in a red background alert that the anti sway was at work. Its also broke a fridge door hinge and made a mess :-(

Also found a nice speed for fuel consumption! That's also a speed easy to maintain on a secondary highway like US-395.

Note the yellow icons indicate tow/haul mode is in use

I also found a software usability bug:

When stopping and restarting the Mav (e.g at a fuel stop) my selected trailer ("Bambi") is retained, as I would expect.

But the selected Mode is not retained and the Mav reverts to Normal Mode, seemingly forgetting that is was in Tow/Haul mode with a trailer connected immediately before the engine was stopped. That seems to be a usability bug in the least, maybe even a safety issue if the legal department gets cc'd

Instead of manually switching the mode back to Tow/Haul mode after a campground checkin I decided to see if I could get to the campsite on e-motor alone. The 0.4 miles of e-motor were done in Normal mode and I made it to the site and backed in with the loudest sound being the "chicken squawk" from the backup alarm.

Excellent, so at 57mph you were able to get 20 mpg. That’s impressive.
Brian

 

[Bic]

FYI, I researched this exact same question a couple months back-- can a Mav safely tow an Airstream Bambi like the flyer shows?-- and I discovered a critical piece of information missing from this thread:

The 16' model Bambi in the Ford towng flyer is a 2004 or earlier model.

You can tell by the rear window pattern. (I learned this fact here, and confirmed it myself through scrolling RV Trader Bambi photos across model years: )

Those <2004 models weighed 3500 lbs dry but with a 375 lb hitch weight, within Ford's specified tow ratings. (https://www.airstream.com/wp-conten...g-coach-trailer-motorhome-weights-guide-7.pdf)

I don't know what model year trailer the OP owns, but while the modern Bambi stays at 3500 lbs dry, their 2025 hitch weight is now a whopping 475 lbs in comparison to the model shown in the Ford towing flyer. (https://www.airstream.com/travel-trailers/bambi/specifications/).

If I had a late-model Bambi, I'd be paying extra attention to the hitch weight (you can buy hitches with a built-in scale), and doing whatever I can to reduce it (propane tanks to the truck bed, to start, and probably loading everything in tubs in the truck bed rather than in the trailer itself).

Bottom line: Ford did its homework in choosing the Airstream model for its advertisements-- by choosing a near-20-year-old model that average new owners aren't going to be considering. Sneaky Ford!

When I bought my SuperDuty I was amused by the number of owners who were putting "leveling kits" on their SuperDuty to "fix" the difference in the gap between the top of the front tire & front fender and the top of the rear tire & rear fender.
And in this community some have the same "leveling need" .

So, with no further fanfare, I give you the "$50,000 Maverick Leveling Kit":

Whatever the Bambi's current tongue weight is, it's just right to level the truck when the Bambi is level.

That tongue weight is gonna vary too:

The tongue holds two "20 pound" propane tanks (40 pounds of propane plus 25 pounds of tanks). There is also a fresh water tank (drivers' side of dinette) that could be carrying water or not and the propane tanks could be full or empty.

Tongue also carries a group 24 battery (35 pounds?) but that weight isn't gonna change if the battery is fully charged or fully discharged

 

[Bic]

Excellent, so at 57mph you were able to get 20 mpg. That’s impressive.
Brian

I agree 20 mpg is very impressive considering the dismal 15 mpg or so at (just slightly) higher speeds. 55-60 is a sweet spot!

 

[Bic]

However you cut it you are trying to pull something using a four cylinder engine. Get an f150 or at least a Ranger or Tacoma if you want to pull any RV

I'm a fan of the SuperDuty ('24 F250 w/6.7 HO) and use it to pull a 7300 pound GVW Airstream. But that SuperDuty + Flying Cloud combination is more than 50 feet long and that makes it a challenge on the Wa$hington $tate Ferry $ystem and in state parks.

The Maverick + Bambi did excellent and returned 20 mpg as soon as I learned its 55-60 mph sweet spot. I'd do the same trip again with the same rig as soon as I sort out the towing mirrors. This little rig got us into state parks and impromptu dry camps impossible for the larger rig to access.

The Mav is a marketplace hit because it is enough truck to do 90% of the trucking that 90% of the prospective buyers actually do with their trucks.

My experience over the 3,800 miles towing the Bambi was evidence that the Maverick was capable of towing the 3500 pound trailer over 8,000 foot mountain passes and maintaining a safe downhill speed with that load without having to use the Maverick's brakes.
That's not just capability; that's excellence. Its proof that you don't need an F-150 to pull this class of RV when the Maverick (a F-075!) is enough. View attachment 230512

For the 10% of my trucking that the Mav can't handle, its stablemate can
(and it has the right mirrors )

 

[Mavster Mechanic]

A couple more updates:

"tested" the anti sway when a hi performance car driven by a lo performance driver tried to occupy the same space as the Mav. Mr LoPerf was weaving thru heavy traffic at 30 mph over the pace and put several people onto the shoulder to avoid him. My swerves to avoid him caused trailer movement that resulted in a red background alert that the anti sway was at work. Its also broke a fridge door hinge and made a mess :-(

Also found a nice speed for fuel consumption! That's also a speed easy to maintain on a secondary highway like US-395.

Note the yellow icons indicate tow/haul mode is in use

I also found a software usability bug:

When stopping and restarting the Mav (e.g at a fuel stop) my selected trailer ("Bambi") is retained, as I would expect.

But the selected Mode is not retained and the Mav reverts to Normal Mode, seemingly forgetting that is was in Tow/Haul mode with a trailer connected immediately before the engine was stopped. That seems to be a usability bug in the least, maybe even a safety issue if the legal department gets cc'd

Instead of manually switching the mode back to Tow/Haul mode after a campground checkin I decided to see if I could get to the campsite on e-motor alone. The 0.4 miles of e-motor were done in Normal mode and I made it to the site and backed in with the loudest sound being the "chicken squawk" from the backup alarm.

I added this to my Fridge on day one.
One of the simplest and most useful mods. $9.95

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