Can low trailer wind resistance increase towing weight?

[gparbst]

I've got a interesting question about trailer wind resistance. According to the 2022 Maverick hybrid towing guide PDF, Ford recommends up to 20 ft² frontal area for a trailer. Above this will negatively affect the tow rating. My question is would less frontal area positively affect the tow rating IE allow more tow weight?

I have a reservation to buy the XL because nine months of the year I will get to enjoy the great mileage on short daily trips. 3 months of the year I plan to go south for the winter and will tow a pop up camping trailer about 4,000 mi round trip. The trailer is 7x12, 1750 lbs dry weight, hard shell, not a lightweight.

The trailer height is slightly higher than the cab height so with a bed cap there would be virtually no wind resistance over the top. The trailer width is 7 ft so there would be 6" x 4' frontal area on each side. If I have 5 ft² of trailer frontal area does that allow me to tow more weight?

Any real experience with towing a low frontal area trailer would be helpful. I'm new here and appreciate the input from those with more experience.

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[Mymaverick2021]

I've got a interesting question about trailer wind resistance. According to the 2022 Maverick hybrid towing guide PDF, Ford recommends up to 20 ft² frontal area for a trailer. Above this will negatively affect the tow rating. My question is would less frontal area positively affect the tow rating IE allow more tow weight?

I have a reservation to buy the XL because nine months of the year I will get to enjoy the great mileage on short daily trips. 3 months of the year I plan to go south for the winter and will tow a pop up camping trailer about 4,000 mi round trip. The trailer is 7x12, 1750 lbs dry weight, hard shell, not a lightweight.

The trailer height is slightly higher than the cab height so with a bed cap there would be virtually no wind resistance over the top. The trailer width is 7 ft so there would be 6" x 4' frontal area on each side. If I have 5 ft² of trailer frontal area does that allow me to tow more weight?

Any real experience with towing a low frontal area trailer would be helpful. I'm new here and appreciate the input from those with more experience.

As long as you are at or under the recommended towing capacities shouldn't effect your milage, Just remember low wind drag = better fuel economy

 

[Mavman123]

I've got a interesting question about trailer wind resistance. According to the 2022 Maverick hybrid towing guide PDF, Ford recommends up to 20 ft² frontal area for a trailer. Above this will negatively affect the tow rating. My question is would less frontal area positively affect the tow rating IE allow more tow weight?

I have a reservation to buy the XL because nine months of the year I will get to enjoy the great mileage on short daily trips. 3 months of the year I plan to go south for the winter and will tow a pop up camping trailer about 4,000 mi round trip. The trailer is 7x12, 1750 lbs dry weight, hard shell, not a lightweight.

The trailer height is slightly higher than the cab height so with a bed cap there would be virtually no wind resistance over the top. The trailer width is 7 ft so there would be 6" x 4' frontal area on each side. If I have 5 ft² of trailer frontal area does that allow me to tow more weight?

Any real experience with towing a low frontal area trailer would be helpful. I'm new here and appreciate the input from those with more experience.

If you're asking if you have a low frontal area trailer can you exceed towing capacity, like tow 2500lbs instead of 2000, then I would say the answer is no. There's more to the equation than wind resistance. Transmission temperature, oil temperature/engine temperature are all increased when under extreme load (towing). That's why the 4k tow package includes a beefier radiator and fan, and transmission oil cooler.

 

[aspect]

In general a tow rating is a combination of factors and it's hard to say where the limits really are. Overall weight and tongue weight and aerodynamic drag all load the vehicle in different ways.

Can a 2k tow maverick physically tow a 5k trailer without causing a problem? Absolutely, but it depends a lot on the scenario and the trailer. Can a 4k tow maverick overheat towing a 3k trailer? Yep definitely, depending on the scenario and how much drag the trailer has.

You shouldn't think if of a tow rating as a static limit but more of a guideline that Ford is giving you. As in "under normal circumstances you will almost certainly not have an issue towing under this limit". Uphills or downhills, ambient temperature & humidity, travel speed, trailer drag, condition of the trailer axle, vehicle payload, etc will all play a factor. I've personally exceeded a tow rating by 300% before and it was fine, but it was at low speeds and approached with caution.

The frontal area of the trailer is going to affect the amount of engine power required to maintain speed. So, a small streamlined trailer is going to need less power on the highway. Will this overload your cooling system? It depends entirely on how fast you are going and the ambient conditions.

 

[MakinDoForNow]

I've got a interesting question about trailer wind resistance. According to the 2022 Maverick hybrid towing guide PDF, Ford recommends up to 20 ft² frontal area for a trailer. Above this will negatively affect the tow rating. My question is would less frontal area positively affect the tow rating IE allow more tow weight?

I have a reservation to buy the XL because nine months of the year I will get to enjoy the great mileage on short daily trips. 3 months of the year I plan to go south for the winter and will tow a pop up camping trailer about 4,000 mi round trip. The trailer is 7x12, 1750 lbs dry weight, hard shell, not a lightweight.

The trailer height is slightly higher than the cab height so with a bed cap there would be virtually no wind resistance over the top. The trailer width is 7 ft so there would be 6" x 4' frontal area on each side. If I have 5 ft² of trailer frontal area does that allow me to tow more weight?

Any real experience with towing a low frontal area trailer would be helpful. I'm new here and appreciate the input from those with more experience.

As mentioned by others there are many variables and the Ford "guidelines" are a starting point. The frontal area is used to adjust for increased wind resistance. The frontal area of the XL does not include the open area between the tires is not counted and if the trailer occupies a portion of that area it should be included in the trailers portion as well as any portion of the trailers tires frontal area that are not directly behind the XL's tires. Most likely not much but it's there. If you are driving into a head wind to keep the wind resistance the same you will have to reduce the speed of the truck. Also there is a big difference in heat generated while pulling on a 90 degree day compared to a 70 degree day. What I am saying is that there are things to consider that are at least as important as weight alone. I certainly expect the Maverick Hybrid to be very capable in pulling 2k trailer, particularly the XL BASIC version.

 

[gparbst]

Thanks for all the excellent answers, My takeaway is don't exceed the DOT GVWR & GCWR capacities for the tow vehicle and trailer. It looks like I can do this, and the low frontal area of the pop-up camper will give me better gas mileage and handling.

 

[Bn1970]

The low tow ratings for North America (compared to the rest of the world) have more to do more with our lax laws that do almost nothing to regulate speeds when towing and the shockingly inadequate driver training systems than inherent technical reasons.
The original post clearly shows that you've got more analytical and reasoning ability than the average north american driver. You'll be fine.

 

[JASmith]

Short answer is whenever looking at tow rating, its maximum rated tow capacity MINUS negative factors, but never plus.

The low tow ratings for North America (compared to the rest of the world) have more to do more with our lax laws that do almost nothing to regulate speeds when towing

Its the other way around, the European towing laws are ludicrously weak, which is why they allow inadequate vehicles to tow far too heavy of weights for anything but ideal conditions, and compensating by setting ridiculously low tow speeds creates a traffic hazard for the rest of the flow of traffic which is going much faster, creating moving road blocks. Furthermore, towing capacity in Europe is increased by setting much lighter tongue weights, which reduces the stability of the towing vehicle.


Unlike the US, the EU never created an engineering organization such as the Society of Automotive Engineers which are the ones to have scientifically created the J2807 standard with rigorous safety testing under a variety of harsh conditions.

tl;dr: European countries have such high tow capacities often for vehicles that have no right to even be used as tow platforms by compensating with unsafe very low speed limits that the police can't and don't easily enforce and/or low tongue weights that reduce stability. The US seems so low because of a much higher culture of safety surrounding towing.

 

[TSAINTS1115]

In a nutshell, there's no shortcut around physics.

 

[Bn1970]

Respectfully disagree. I prefer the European method of ..... "drive slow in the right lane" to the north American " my f250 can easily handle this trailer at 85mph, while tailgating, without breaking a sweat". Insurance/accident statistics would definitively prove it either way I assume.

 

[Nw_adventure]

Respectfully disagree. I prefer the European method of ..... "drive slow in the right lane" to the north American " my f250 can easily handle this trailer at 85mph, while tailgating, without breaking a sweat". Insurance/accident statistics would definitively prove it either way I assume.

You should see the trailer/big rig insanity here in Utah- Crazy

 

[AutobahnSHO]

Short answer is whenever looking at tow rating, its maximum rated tow capacity MINUS negative factors, but never plus.

Its the other way around, the European towing laws are ludicrously weak, which is why they allow inadequate vehicles to tow far too heavy of weights for anything but ideal conditions, and compensating by setting ridiculously low tow speeds creates a traffic hazard for the rest of the flow of traffic which is going much faster, creating moving road blocks. Furthermore, towing capacity in Europe is increased by setting much lighter tongue weights, which reduces the stability of the towing vehicle.

Unlike the US, the EU never created an engineering organization such as the Society of Automotive Engineers which are the ones to have scientifically created the J2807 standard with rigorous safety testing under a variety of harsh conditions.

tl;dr: European countries have such high tow capacities often for vehicles that have no right to even be used as tow platforms by compensating with unsafe very low speed limits that the police can't and don't easily enforce and/or low tongue weights that reduce stability. The US seems so low because of a much higher culture of safety surrounding towing.

As a guy who lived in Germany almost 4 years (and drove to Spain, France, Italy, etc...) I disagree.
Europe requires quite strict annual safety inspections. They take driving much more seriously there- not everyone has a driver license nor a vehicle. Driving is a privilege, not a right. Driver ed takes many many hours.

Slow vehicles are not a hazard- in many countries trucks are not allowed to go over 62mph. Traffic zips by just fine at 150mph because people watch mirrors, move right when not passing, use blinkers and even common sense, etc...

I felt much safer tailgating (and getting tailgated) at 100mph in Germany than driving 60mph in many US cities...

 

[GPSMan]

The short answer to the OP is "YES".

You have a limited amount of horsepower. That is the #1 limiting factor.

You can do A LOT of work slowly with it.
Or,
You can do a slight amount of work quickly with it.

191 horsepower is quite a lot.
Think about it.

Could one actual living horse pull your hypothetical trailer across level ground? I bet the answer is yes.

Could a team of two actual living horses pull your trailer up a hill? Probably. If not, a team of 4 certainly would.

It's not B.S. A pull start lawnmower could move your trailer at 1 or 2 MPH.
Not practical, but possible.

So now possible AND practical at the same time with reasonable results.

3300 lbs. 7W x 12L x 9H
Trailer has brakes.
Truck has an integrated brake controller. The trailer can stop itself.
The Hybrid Maverick can pull this up a 6% grade at 55 mph on a 96 degree day without overheating. Done it. Proven. Not theoretical.

The key is "reasonable speed" coupled to appropriate equipment (trailer brakes and sophisticated brake controller) coupled with an experienced driver with 30 years of towing experience.

Wind drag on this thing is huge. I said it elsewhere, I had to use gas going downhill most of the time. "Runaway" was never going to be a problem. On that note, 55 to 60 MPH is the practical limit due to wind drag. At 45 MPH and under, the truck barely knew it was there.

 

[Johnkn]

I've got a interesting question about trailer wind resistance. According to the 2022 Maverick hybrid towing guide PDF, Ford recommends up to 20 ft² frontal area for a trailer. Above this will negatively affect the tow rating. My question is would less frontal area positively affect the tow rating IE allow more tow weight?

The answer to this year old question is a simple “no”.

Irrespective of the trailer’s decreased frontal area, the Maverick’s published tow rating prevails....


.

 

[GPSMan]

The answer to this year old question is a simple “no”.

Irrespective of the trailer’s decreased frontal area, the Maverick’s published tow rating prevails....

My what an ignorant statement.
Perhaps in a warranty dispute.
But then, it's up them to prove your trailer was the cause of the warranty claim.
Drag racing without a trailer has more potential to harm your truck though.
Enjoy your truck. Tow what you are comfortable with.

New / inexperienced drivers should of course start small.

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