- Banned
- #151
There seems to be agreement you CAN flat tow a hybrid Maverick. Not much talk about how and why this is possible.
I owned a First Generation (first ever) Ford Escape Hybrid. December 2004 build on a 2005 Model year.
It could not be towed with wheels down. Main reason; there was no clutch, no movable gears, no mechanical neutral. The gears in an eCVT are always in mesh.
The hybrid eCVT transmission is a planetary gear set with three parts. You have a traction motor, a smaller generator motor, and a gasoline engine. Any time the wheels are moving; at least 2 out of 3 other components need to be moving. When the engine is off, the Motor and Generator MUST be spinning. (And they spin in opposite directions.)
For car washes, and pushing short distances by hand; there was only what I call "pretend neutral". In "pretend neutral" the pretend gear selector in N position only meant no electrical power would be sent to either the traction motor or generator. During the car wash; the motor and generator would spin, but ovbiously slowly, and obviously for short duration. Thus no harm done.
I'm skeptical without engineering documentation that there is a mechanical neutral in the Maverick. But it is 15 years newer, and anything is possible.
The "must run" every 6 hours leads me to believe your motor and generator ARE spinning while in motion; just freewheeling. Also the run every six hours is probably to charge the HV traction battery, NOT the 12 volt battery. So those of you with the 12 volt line from the RV are not excused from this requirement. I personally would use a dolly. Get those front wheels off the ground. More work; but way safer. ESPECIALLY if you do a lot of miles RV with a toad. Kind of a paradox. For occasional use; I'd say, go ahead and flat tow. For frequent use; use a dolly. However the frequent user is the user who wants to flat tow (but probably shouldn't).
Also the 70 mph limit should not be taken lightly. This is also evidence your traction motor and generator are spinning while being towed. With the engine off, there is a fixed gear ratio between the wheels and the electric motors. Above 70 mph the rpms of the smaller generator will probably be above design limits. In the 3 part planetary gear set, which is an engineering marvel, as the gas engine speeds up; the generator can slow down, and this is how you get infinite gear ratios in an eCVT. But with only 2 parts active, you have a fixed gear ratio.
None of this matters if you guys find there is a mechanical disconnect, a mechanical neutral. The first few generations of hybrids didn't, so I'm very curious about this subject.
I owned a First Generation (first ever) Ford Escape Hybrid. December 2004 build on a 2005 Model year.
It could not be towed with wheels down. Main reason; there was no clutch, no movable gears, no mechanical neutral. The gears in an eCVT are always in mesh.
The hybrid eCVT transmission is a planetary gear set with three parts. You have a traction motor, a smaller generator motor, and a gasoline engine. Any time the wheels are moving; at least 2 out of 3 other components need to be moving. When the engine is off, the Motor and Generator MUST be spinning. (And they spin in opposite directions.)
For car washes, and pushing short distances by hand; there was only what I call "pretend neutral". In "pretend neutral" the pretend gear selector in N position only meant no electrical power would be sent to either the traction motor or generator. During the car wash; the motor and generator would spin, but ovbiously slowly, and obviously for short duration. Thus no harm done.
I'm skeptical without engineering documentation that there is a mechanical neutral in the Maverick. But it is 15 years newer, and anything is possible.
The "must run" every 6 hours leads me to believe your motor and generator ARE spinning while in motion; just freewheeling. Also the run every six hours is probably to charge the HV traction battery, NOT the 12 volt battery. So those of you with the 12 volt line from the RV are not excused from this requirement. I personally would use a dolly. Get those front wheels off the ground. More work; but way safer. ESPECIALLY if you do a lot of miles RV with a toad. Kind of a paradox. For occasional use; I'd say, go ahead and flat tow. For frequent use; use a dolly. However the frequent user is the user who wants to flat tow (but probably shouldn't).
Also the 70 mph limit should not be taken lightly. This is also evidence your traction motor and generator are spinning while being towed. With the engine off, there is a fixed gear ratio between the wheels and the electric motors. Above 70 mph the rpms of the smaller generator will probably be above design limits. In the 3 part planetary gear set, which is an engineering marvel, as the gas engine speeds up; the generator can slow down, and this is how you get infinite gear ratios in an eCVT. But with only 2 parts active, you have a fixed gear ratio.
None of this matters if you guys find there is a mechanical disconnect, a mechanical neutral. The first few generations of hybrids didn't, so I'm very curious about this subject.
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