Towing behind RV on a dolly

[Klege]

Maybe I should write a final update.
As already written, we had a flat tow kit installed. At first, things worked well, but by June 2022 we started having issues with the 12-volt battery. I ended up disconnecting the Invisibreak system most of the time. In April the truck went dead on us. I couldn't even jump it; it had to be towed to Las Cruzes, NM. This was in the middle of our around-the-country RV trip. We were without the truck for about 3 weeks. A dealership in El Paso put in a new 12-volt battery and things seemed to work. By that time we were already near Las Vegas. I drove from there to El Paso to get the truck. Halfway back, the battery was dead again. It seemed it wasn't charging. I notified our customer service guy at Ford and he arranged an appointment with a dealership in Reno. I just used our Solar Generator and a charger to keep the battery charged. Since by then, we started to drive through mountains, I started to use the invisibreak system again. Leaving Death Valley, we managed to smoke the brakes on the truck. And this is on the lowest setting possible on the system. We dropped the truck off at the dealership in Reno and added the brakes to the list of problems. That and all the recalls. Long story short, one of the techs at the dealership crashed the truck for some substantial damage in the front of the truck. We worked out a deal with them for a new Ford Ranger 4x4. End of story. The Maverick was a great truck but the electrical problems and now 7 recalls made it difficult to keep liking it. Will see what the future brings. Great trip though. At the time of writing 10k miles. What a lifestyle.

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[AF Blue]

Maybe I should write a final update.
As already written, we had a flat tow kit installed. At first, things worked well, but by June 2022 we started having issues with the 12-volt battery. I ended up disconnecting the Invisibreak system most of the time. In April the truck went dead on us. I couldn't even jump it; it had to be towed to Las Cruzes, NM. This was in the middle of our around-the-country RV trip. We were without the truck for about 3 weeks. A dealership in El Paso put in a new 12-volt battery and things seemed to work. By that time we were already near Las Vegas. I drove from there to El Paso to get the truck. Halfway back, the battery was dead again. It seemed it wasn't charging. I notified our customer service guy at Ford and he arranged an appointment with a dealership in Reno. I just used our Solar Generator and a charger to keep the battery charged. Since by then, we started to drive through mountains, I started to use the invisibreak system again. Leaving Death Valley, we managed to smoke the brakes on the truck. And this is on the lowest setting possible on the system. We dropped the truck off at the dealership in Reno and added the brakes to the list of problems. That and all the recalls. Long story short, one of the techs at the dealership crashed the truck for some substantial damage in the front of the truck. We worked out a deal with them for a new Ford Ranger 4x4. End of story. The Maverick was a great truck but the electrical problems and now 7 recalls made it difficult to keep liking it. Will see what the future brings. Great trip though. At the time of writing 10k miles. What a lifestyle.

That is a lot of headache and misfortune i am reading.
Flat-towing was a perk and exclusive hybrid capability.

I had considered a new Ranger myself ... but I got confused
on if the 4x4 could still be flat-towed like previous years.
Is your new Ranger a '23 or '24 ?

 

[Klege]

That is a lot of headache and misfortune i am reading.
Flat-towing was a perk and exclusive hybrid capability.

I had considered a new Ranger myself ... but I got confused
on if the 4x4 could still be flat-towed like previous years.
Is your new Ranger a '23 or '24 ?

It's a 2023. Only the 4x4 Ranger can be flat towed. You can always consult the Ford Towing Guide if in doubt.

 

[AF Blue]

It's a 2023. Only the 4x4 Ranger can be flat towed. You can always consult the Ford Towing Guide if in doubt.

'23 4x4 is good ... have not seen guide for '24.
Was reading on ranger6g.com.

https://www.ranger6g.com/forum/threads/flat-tow-6g-ranger-update-6-23-not-flat-towable.7259/

 

[Klege]

'23 4x4 is good ... have not seen guide for '24.
Was reading on ranger6g.com.

https://www.ranger6g.com/forum/threads/flat-tow-6g-ranger-update-6-23-not-flat-towable.7259/

I saw that when doing my research.
We will keep this one for a while. Took the rig over the scale not too long ago. 5000 Lb on the dot with the miniature golf cart in the bed. I am impressed by how off-road capable this truck is. It already got us into places the Maverick would have never gone. You can check it out at www.starzonek.net

 

[processwrench]

HYBRID TOW DOLLY CHRISTMAS TREE LIGHTS FIX!!!! GREAT NEWS!!! I found a fix to the hybrid tow dolly Christmas tree of lights! I towed my hybrid behind my motorhome for over a year now. The lights come on the dash everytime we stop. Drive it 50 yards and they turn off. Once it did nothing. I couldn't figure out what I did different. That was about my third tow. Last week after prob. 30 tows throughout the year, It didnt light up. What did I do differently? What it was is I was at a RV park that had a muddy spot I got my tire in it. So I put the truck in slick mode to get up the dolly ramp. Thats the difference! I just tried it. Follow these instruction. This is a XL so if you have a upper model let me know if it works. Before pulling on the tow dolly 1.) turn on the auto hold brakes, the hand with the(( )) around it. 2.) Then put your truck in snow/slick mode. 3.) pull it on the tow dolly. 4.) Hold the brake. 5.) turn off the auto hold brake. 6.) Switch to regular drive mode. 7.) Put it in park 8.) Turn off the truck. Done! I then wrapped my seat belt around the steering wheel and and buckle it shut the doors and locked it. I left it on the dolly overnight then drove all day the next day. when I pulled it off NO LIGHTS!!! I believe when I towed it back on the third tow it snowed a bit and I remember putting it in slick mode to get it up the ramp. I believe the wheel sensors are confused by doing this so it doesnt throw the lights. I owned a gas maverick and it never threw lights when towed so its just a hybrid problem. Let me know if this works for you!

THANKS @AutoDrifter I took my 22 lariat lux for its first toad trip, i loaded it 3 times, first time i followed your instructions to the T (except for the seat belt thing which i didn't understand) and had no warnings, second time i just drove it up in normal and hooked up and got the whole load of warnings and as everyone has said a quick drive around the campground reset everything. The last time i drove it up in slippery and just shut it down and had no issues. So the trick seems to be pull it on in slippery mode. Thanks Much for the info. Hope this helps others

 

[Crowman]

This is what Ford is saying about the 2024 maverick hybrid. any thoughts?

 

[Joseph G.]

We just returned from our first camping trip with our Hybrid Maverick in tow.
We towed it on our dolly with the truck turned off, e-brake turned off, not in tow mode.
When I got into the truck for the first time, I was greeted with a barrage of error messages. Anything from E-Brake fault over antilock brake fault to pre-collision assist not available. ABS light is on too.
After driving a few yards everything resets and the truck acts normal again.
Anyone here that might have an idea what is going on?

I flat tow my 2023 hybrid with NO issues. Just put in Neutral tow. Gone on 3 trips with traveling over 700 mile. I use Blue Ox equipment and swapped out lower valance FX4 bumper.

 

[Klege]

I flat tow my 2023 hybrid with NO issues. Just put in Neutral tow. Gone on 3 trips with traveling over 700 mile. I use Blue Ox equipment and swapped out lower valance FX4 bumper.

When we got the Maverick, there was no tow kit available yet. We transferred to 4 down in September of 2022. Roadmaster to be precise. It worked well for many miles. Well, until a dealership in Reno crashed the truck. We now tow a 2023 Ford Ranger. That thing got us into places, the Maverick would have never gone. Gas mileage sucks though.

 

[BradnChristine]

I flat tow my 2023 hybrid with NO issues. Just put in Neutral tow. Gone on 3 trips with traveling over 700 mile. I use Blue Ox equipment and swapped out lower valance FX4 bumper.

I took my 2023 Maverick on 2622 miles of towing behind my motorhome a few weeks ago, after installing the Demco Baseplate. ZERO issues. No fascia issues (Blue Ox) and no destroyed lower active shutter system (Roadmaster).

 

[Klege]

I took my 2023 Maverick on 2622 miles of towing behind my motorhome a few weeks ago, after installing the Demco Baseplate. ZERO issues. No fascia issues (Blue Ox) and no destroyed lower active shutter system (Roadmaster).

I like what Demco did. That wasn't available to us in 2022.

 

[AutobahnSHO]

I took my 2023 Maverick on 2622 miles of towing behind my motorhome a few weeks ago, after installing the Demco Baseplate. ZERO issues. No fascia issues (Blue Ox) and no destroyed lower active shutter system (Roadmaster).

Awesome! Plus LOVE the plate! I grew up with county 19 plates.

 

[BradnChristine]

I like what Demco did. That wasn't available to us in 2022.

Ford cancelled my 2022 VIN...and I ended up with a 2023 with NAV, the ability to add BAP and could wait for Demco to get it done. I did have to set up my C-Max for towing due to the delays (It's for sale now!)

 

[Klege]

I kinda miss the Maverick but I also don't. Coming from a Lariat First Addition with active cruise control and all that good stuff to an XLT Ranger was a step-down. But! That Ranger is more off-road capable than I could ever imagine. While boondocking in Utah and Wyoming we drove the Ranger into places the Maverick would never have been able to go. And the things we go to see, we would have never seen with the Maverick. I am still dreaming of a 4x4 hybrid Maverick that one can flat tow though. With the same ground clearance as the Ranger. lol. Oh and a towing kit that is as easy to install as the Ranger. I mean, it took me 3 hours in the middle of nowhere to install the tow kit on the Ranger compared to 1 1/2 days in a shop by a guy who does that almost every day with the Maverick. It was his first base plate on a Maverick and he hated it. lol

 

[BradnChristine]

I kinda miss the Maverick but I also don't. Coming from a Lariat First Addition with active cruise control and all that good stuff to an XLT Ranger was a step-down. But! That Ranger is more off-road capable than I could ever imagine. While boondocking in Utah and Wyoming we drove the Ranger into places the Maverick would never have been able to go. And the things we go to see, we would have never seen with the Maverick. I am still dreaming of a 4x4 hybrid Maverick that one can flat tow though. With the same ground clearance as the Ranger. lol. Oh and a towing kit that is as easy to install as the Ranger. I mean, it took me 3 hours in the middle of nowhere to install the tow kit on the Ranger compared to 1 1/2 days in a shop by a guy who does that almost every day with the Maverick. It was his first base plate on a Maverick and he hated it. lol

I had a real struggle initially with the Demco plate. They said it was hard for them to get a test vehicle...and then they were so late to the game, they sort of rushed it after one install. The first baseplate they sent me was 3/4" too wide, and had small holes that would not allow for Ford's manufacturing variances. Demco sent me a second baseplate with my specifications and it was perfect. They also enlarged the holes (I think from about 5/16 to about 7/16) and I had no issues with it. It was easier than my C-Max, that's for sure, and I didn't need a prybar and all my strength like on my 2005 MDX. The S-10 install was like bolting on 2 trailer hitches and was super simple., like the Ranger (I set up a 1997 and later a 2001 Ranger).

I'm also hoping for a flat-towable hybrid AWD Maverick. The Rangers are heavier than my little Transit 350-HD wants to tow (it likes a 4,000 lb limit). But until then, the trusty 2015 Wrangler gets winter driving duty here.

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