FWD Maverick bests RWD Tundra pushing ~7000 lb. tandem axle trailer

[GPSMan]

My father in law has a 2018 RWD Toyota Tundra.

We tried to put a ~7000 lb. tandem axle trailer in the backyard. This involved going uphill, in reverse, over green lawn. It was mid-day, 2 or 3pm. The grass was green but not wet with dew or anything. The Tundra wouldn't do it. Excessive wheel spin over and over and started to tear up the grass.

Figured what the hell. Let's try the FWD HYBRID Maverick. It only would be 250 feet we need to move it, but uphill, in reverse, over grass.

Would you believe ZERO wheel spin and it pushed that trailer uphill in reverse on the first attempt?!

My only nuisance was the truck wouldn't "creep" at 1 mph. Had to be 2 mph. Because I was on a slope, at 1 mph and under it kept applying the automatic hill hold feature (brake applies). I can totally live with that.

Color the whole family here impressed. No one thought it would. But this is "The Little Engine That Could" in every respect.

(now if only I could get the 12v battery to stay charged! lol!)

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[Hardening2753]

My father in law has a 2018 RWD Toyota Tundra.

We tried to put a ~7000 lb. tandem axle trailer in the backyard. This involved going uphill, in reverse, over green lawn. It was mid-day, 2 or 3pm. The grass was green but not wet with dew or anything. The Tundra wouldn't do it. Excessive wheel spin over and over and started to tear up the grass.

Figured what the hell. Let's try the FWD HYBRID Maverick. It only would be 250 feet we need to move it, but uphill, in reverse, over grass.

Would you believe ZERO wheel spin and it pushed that trailer uphill in reverse on the first attempt?!

My only nuisance was the truck wouldn't "creep" at 1 mph. Had to be 2 mph. Because I was on a slope, at 1 mph and under it kept applying the automatic hill hold feature (brake applies). I can totally live with that.

Color the whole family here impressed. No one thought it would. But this is "The Little Engine That Could" in every respect.

(now if only I could get the 12v battery to stay charged! lol!)

For the battery, there is a thread where they put a new battery in and the battery drain issue went away. Looks like Ford bought a bad batch of batteries

 

[JBryant]

And the Maverick comes through again!! We never cease to be amazed at what these little rascals can do. Great article.

 

[Deleted member 1483]

That electric motor is no joke.

Edit: you have to have a video or pics lol

 

[GPSMan]

That electric motor is no joke.

Edit: you have to have a video or pics lol

Oh ya, it was in electric most of the time. (Left it in Normal Mode) Because I had to navigate a little to the left, a little to the right, to navigate between fence posts, the process took a few minutes, so at some point the engine came on for recharging but it was all EV for much of it.

 

[GPSMan]

And moral of this story is of course, it's not about horsepower in this case, it's about traction.

 

[Azmig88]

For the battery, there is a thread where they put a new battery in and the battery drain issue went away. Looks like Ford bought a bad batch of batteries

I’m pleasantly surprised. That’s GREAT

 

[einstein57]

I can’t even get my hybrid to reverse over a curb. As soon as it senses the resistance it completely cuts power to the electric motor.

As far as the battery issue, I watched some videos about the poor soldering connections on the harness going to the “high voltage” mega fuse.

 

[LSchicago]

My father in law has a 2018 RWD Toyota Tundra.

We tried to put a ~7000 lb. tandem axle trailer in the backyard. This involved going uphill, in reverse, over green lawn. It was mid-day, 2 or 3pm. The grass was green but not wet with dew or anything. The Tundra wouldn't do it. Excessive wheel spin over and over and started to tear up the grass.

Figured what the hell. Let's try the FWD HYBRID Maverick. It only would be 250 feet we need to move it, but uphill, in reverse, over grass.

Would you believe ZERO wheel spin and it pushed that trailer uphill in reverse on the first attempt?!

My only nuisance was the truck wouldn't "creep" at 1 mph. Had to be 2 mph. Because I was on a slope, at 1 mph and under it kept applying the automatic hill hold feature (brake applies). I can totally live with that.

Color the whole family here impressed. No one thought it would. But this is "The Little Engine That Could" in every respect.

(now if only I could get the 12v battery to stay charged! lol!)

And reverse is strictly Electric on a hybrid. The gas engine does not have reverse capability.

 

[Barksdale123]

As impressed as I am at the Mav. (Although FWD beats RWD any time due to the weight over the drive wheels). I am impressed back up the trailer, up hill. You and your Maverick deserve each other.

 

[Delbert]

What kind of tires did you use?

 

[GPSMan]

What kind of tires did you use?

Stock

About the choked wheel or wheels on a curb- there is a stall sensor. If the electric motor does not spin within x seconds it cuts power. Key is you need a rolling start to go over rocks or curbs.

 

[Old Ford Guy]

And moral of this story is of course, it's not about horsepower in this case, it's about traction.

i agree that traction always helps but the electric drive motors superb, almost instantaneous torque probably had more to do with your success . still thats impressive for a vehicle thats 'only' rated for a 2000lb tow capacity. i wouldnt make a habit of this kind of stuff though, LOL

 

[Old Ford Guy]

And reverse is strictly Electric on a hybrid. The gas engine does not have reverse capability.

really? i did not know that. no offense but is that documented in the manual or something like that? i've on had my 2023 for a month and have not yet noticed that reverse is always electric.

 

[GPSMan]

really? i did not know that. no offense but is that documented in the manual or something like that? i've on had my 2023 for a month and have not yet noticed that reverse is always electric.

There is no reversing gear
Notable by the fact there is no shifting of gears of any sort.

To travel in reverse, you can spin the electric motor backwards. You can't spin the gas engine backwards.

However you can run in reverse all day long by having the gas engine generate power to power the backwards spinning traction motor.

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