Max towing Hybrid XLT, 4500 miles over hills & flat land

[GPSMan]

As I posted elsewhere....

It matters little if you tow/haul light and drive fast, or tow/haul heavy and drive more slowly.

No matter what you do, keep the power needle under 50% sustained and nothing will overheat. Short bursts to 60-70-80% for passing or accelerating onto highways is fine, but you can't / shouldn't keep the truck above 50% output for more than a couple minutes at a time. Heat builds when you get in the 55-60% range and above. Perfectly fine under 50%.

Before you start thinking "50% sucks" it doesn't. Try it. Bet you can't hold it at 50% even if you wanted to, unless you are on greater than 6% grade dragging an anchor.

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[DavePamh]

To contrast and compare:

San Fransisco to B.C. Canada to Yukon Canada to SE Alaska to B.C Canada to Alberta Canada to San Francisco - 5,360 miles in just under 3 weeks.
There's NO flat earth on this route and some grades of 11% 9% 8% 7% and every 20th mile it seems in the 6% zone. Plus some light duty off roading with a trailer.

2022 Hybrid XLT
770 pounds in the truck
3,000 pound trailer*
62 MPH / 100 km/h
18 MPG hand calculated from pump receipts.

*Electric brakes with aftermarket brake controller and additional aftermarket equipment on Maverick.

If anyone says this is not a truck, feel free to point them here.

Wow, you certainly have me beat, I tried to keep my weight closer to what Ford called out as the limit.
Before we took the Maverick on the trip I looked for information from someone else who had towed at or next to the hybrids limit.
All I found was EcoBoost powered Maverick's towing close to their 4k limit.
Which prompted me to post this thread that the hybrid Maverick can safely haul at its max limit under many varying conditions.
Keep on trucking!

 

[06Warrior]

Glad to hear other hybrid Maverick’s towing campers.

We bought our little teardrop camper a few weeks ago. 1670 lbs. Currently swapping the hydraulic brakes to electric brakes. Installed a 7 pin connector with a brake controller.

we’re hoping to go camping one weekend a month.

 

[DavePamh]

Glad to hear other hybrid Maverick’s towing campers.

We bought our little teardrop camper a few weeks ago. 1670 lbs. Currently swapping the hydraulic brakes to electric brakes. Installed a 7 pin connector with a brake controller.

we’re hoping to go camping one weekend a month.

Hi, looks like a great time.
Teardrops are always very popular in the camp grounds, the Maverick is a perfect fit with it.
Have fun!

 

[RDRahn]

Glad to hear other hybrid Maverick’s towing campers.

We bought our little teardrop camper a few weeks ago. 1670 lbs. Currently swapping the hydraulic brakes to electric brakes. Installed a 7 pin connector with a brake controller.

we’re hoping to go camping one weekend a month.

Love to hear how you installed 7-pin connector and brake controller. Thinking of doing that myself just not sure how.

 

[GPSMan]

Glad to hear other hybrid Maverick’s towing campers.

We bought our little teardrop camper a few weeks ago. 1670 lbs. Currently swapping the hydraulic brakes to electric brakes. Installed a 7 pin connector with a brake controller.

we’re hoping to go camping one weekend a month.

Looks fantastic to me!

 

[06Warrior]

Love to hear how you installed 7-pin connector and brake controller. Thinking of doing that myself just not sure how.

Ordered 2 parts from www.etrailer.com and installed it my self. I followed the instructions on both parts. On their website you can find an installer if your not comfortable installing it.

Finished swapping the camper’s hydraulic brakes to electric brakes and the campers brakes awesome with the brake controller. Definitely worth the investment and work installing it. Hope this helps.


1) Universal Installation Kit for Trailer Brake Controller - 7-Way RV and 4-Way Flat - 10 Gauge Wires

2) Redarc Tow-Pro Elite Brake Controller - Dash Knob - 2 Braking Modes - 1 to 3 Axles - Proportional.

View attachment 123277

 

[OT18]

I did an Alaska trip while towing a Leesure Lite trailer with my motorcycle, 10k+ miles. No amenities but plenty of room for sleeping and stowing your gear. Trailer weighs 275 lb empty and sets up in one minute.
Good writeup on your tip, thanks.

 

[realshelby]

Wow, you certainly have me beat, I tried to keep my weight closer to what Ford called out as the limit.
Before we took the Maverick on the trip I looked for information from someone else who had towed at or next to the hybrids limit.
All I found was EcoBoost powered Maverick's towing close to their 4k limit.
Which prompted me to post this thread that the hybrid Maverick can safely haul at its max limit under many varying conditions.
Keep on trucking!

Sounds like the Hybrid handled the weight ok. You should pull through a "CAT" scale at a truckstop. Easy to do, cost about $15. That would tell you EXACTLY how much the trailer weighs as it goes down the road. And what the Maverick weighs too.
And that is where you are likely WAY over Fords recommendations. Gross Vehicle Combined Weight Rating is the total weight of Maverick, trailer, and EVERYTHING in them. Including passengers, water, gear, luggage, etc.
Your Maverick has a GVCWR of around 6100 lbs.
Not having auxiliary braking on the trailer might seem ok until you need to stop fast. It is also not legal in many states. Some states have a maximum weight before requiring trailer brakes. Many are at 3000 lbs. But some are a lot less.

 

[son of a ..sven]

Glad to hear other hybrid Maverick’s towing campers.

We bought our little teardrop camper a few weeks ago. 1670 lbs. Currently swapping the hydraulic brakes to electric brakes. Installed a 7 pin connector with a brake controller.

we’re hoping to go camping one weekend a month.

Ha..we had a nuCamp 320 Boondock, a 2020. used it a lot and pulled it with a Honda Ridgeline..I think we got 14 mpg.
trailer was 2000 lbs. With the Mav hybrid we have (sold the 320) wondering what mpg on a 1000lb trailer? (looking at a Viking 9.0..maybe)

 

[GPSMan]

Weight is not going to bother the truck much on flat earth, but it will feel it going up hills.

Wind drag it is going to feel it all the time.

Consider both.
I consider wind drag reduction better than weight reduction if you can choose one.

I'd choose a heavy teardrop over a light brick, all else being equal. But that's me. I also think less trailer sway with heavier.

 

[RanCheeto]

We also have an A-frame trailer. Sport model 10' and 800lb dry. Our Mav is a Hybrid.

We have towed a trailer about 4,500 miles of our 8,100. Averaged about 28 mpg with the trailer. Our worst was 3,000' of climbing over 115 miles and we got 24mpg. Our best was 75mph on a busy interstate with a tailwind and semi trucks all around. We got 35 mpg for about 200 miles on that run.

Been a great lil' truck. Did a little "off road" too. Got it up on three wheels once. No problems even towing the trailer up loose rocky trail.

PS Two road bikes fit really nice diagonally in the bed. Mountain bikes are a bit of a squeeze. The Ford DIY board thing only works for small bikes with flat bars. I moved the board to the back, just set it flat and the handlebars could stick out over the tailgate.

 

[RDRahn]

Ordered 2 parts from www.etrailer.com and installed it my self. I followed the instructions on both parts. On their website you can find an installer if your not comfortable installing it.

Finished swapping the camper’s hydraulic brakes to electric brakes and the campers brakes awesome with the brake controller. Definitely worth the investment and work installing it. Hope this helps.


1) Universal Installation Kit for Trailer Brake Controller - 7-Way RV and 4-Way Flat - 10 Gauge Wires

2) Redarc Tow-Pro Elite Brake Controller - Dash Knob - 2 Braking Modes - 1 to 3 Axles - Proportional.

View attachment 123277

This install looks really good.

Did you retrofit the original Mav hitch and 4-pin connector or start with nothing? If the first, how did you cut the metal plate where the original 4-pin connector is located that is part of the hitch?

 

[06Warrior]

This install looks really good.

Did you retrofit the original Mav hitch and 4-pin connector or start with nothing? If the first, how did you cut the metal plate where the original 4-pin connector is located that is part of the hitch?

It came with the hitch and 4 pin connector from Ford. I took a grinder and cut off the 4 pin connector and added the 7/4 pin connector bracket.

You disconnect the 4 pin connector from the back of the original and it plugs into the new 7/4 wiring.

This install looks really good.

Did you retrofit the original Mav hitch and 4-pin connector or start with nothing? If the first, how did you cut the metal plate where the original 4-pin connector is located that is part of the hitch?

 

[RDRahn]

It came with the hitch and 4 pin connector from Ford. I took a grinder and cut off the 4 pin connector and added the 7/4 pin connector bracket.

You disconnect the 4 pin connector from the back of the original and it plugs into the new 7/4 wiring.

Ok. Angle grinder it is…. Thanks.

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