Trip to Keystone towing Mesa Ridge Travel Trailer: 2 states, 1,300 miles, 13.4 MPG

[Maverickman74]

just because you've been doing something for a long time doesn't mean you've been doing it safely or correctly.... but yeah, you do you!

Mildcheddar?

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[RichardCranium]

@GPSMan did a great job on another post explaining the proper way to tow a heavy trailer. Not flooring the accelerator, keeping it in the right power band, etc.
4k towing vs non 4k is a different geared differential and better cooling for the engine and transmission. Basically adds to life of oil and mechanical gear for those that drive hard. If you tow close to or over capacity, it would be a good idea to change fluid more frequently.
The way @GPSMan tows, he could probably get away with towing twice what he does and the maverick would do just fine. Trucks are always under rated as a CYA for ford. If they said you can tow 4k and it broke, then you are going to be pissed at ford.
I chose to get the 4k tow package for mine because I will be towing a 3200 gvw travel trailer and wanted the extra cooling. But that was my decision. To each their own.
now, I don’t hav my Mav yet, but I thought I read something that you shouldn’t use a load distributing hitch on a unibody. Did I read wrong?

 

[Packer Bill]

To be honest, I almost had a heart attacker when the op mentioned his dry weight. My only recommendation is to change the tranny oil often and drive under 65 mph...

 

[RichardCranium]

To be honest, I almost had a heart attacker when the op mentioned his dry weight. My only recommendation is to change the tranny oil often and drive under 65 mph...

I thought he said 4200 loaded, not dry. My travel trailer is 3200 gvw, but that includes 500lbs of crap that I don’t have in the trailer. (I tow with empty water and waste tanks).

 

[Dad]

My insurance covers the truck and trailer. Agent has no problem with it. I had truck and trailer safety checked before the trip. I have been driving trucks and towing trailers while some of you were still in diapers. You drive your truck...and I will drive mine!

God speed!

 

[Mavapa]

Is Ford’s 4000 lb tow rating conservative? I certainly hope so. Good engineering practice would be to specify usage that is not close to a failure mode. That means you can almost certainly get away with towing heavier than 4000 pounds. How much more? Ten pounds? Certainly. Four hundred pounds? Maybe? Probably? The problem is that I don’t know the true answer to that question, and neither does anyone outside Ford’s engineering team. The only way for us to find the limit is to test to failure. I’m not going to do that. So I will choose to accept Ford’s limit as my limit, however inconvenient that might be. I knew the limit when I ordered the truck.

 

[clearviewx]

Dog travel accommodations.

 

[Montana]

Is Ford’s 4000 lb tow rating conservative? I certainly hope so. Good engineering practice would be to specify usage that is not close to a failure mode. That means you can almost certainly get away with towing heavier than 4000 pounds. How much more? Ten pounds? Certainly. Four hundred pounds? Maybe? Probably? The problem is that I don’t know the true answer to that question, and neither does anyone outside Ford’s engineering team. The only way for us to find the limit is to test to failure. I’m not going to do that. So I will choose to accept Ford’s limit as my limit, however inconvenient that might be. I knew the limit when I ordered the truck.

Well said. Going over that is unsafe. Essentially what we have on this forum is folks who are okay with doing things unsafe and putting others at even more risk while they are doing it. The mentality of "I'm old and I know better" is incredibly stupid and incorrect here. I was willing to ignore the weight initially when I asked if this was a trip to Keystone, CO... but the toxic mindset on this thread is disgusting. Grow up and learn to showcase that "older and wiser" mentality - because you are doing the opposite with threads like this and it's no surprise it's from users that do it often here. So old but can't conduct themselves like adults. Strange.

 

[RogueCheddar]

Mildcheddar?

meaning?

 

[801Maverick801]

Havent seen anyone mention this but Ford also states to reduce weight capacity by 2% for every 1000ft of elevation gain. Keystone is over 10000 feet.

I think its awesome when people push these trucks as Ive been really impressed with my ecoboost. Id just recommend changing ATF, PTU, RDU fluid often when pushed like this.

 

[Ranch]

Havent seen anyone mention this but Ford also states to reduce weight capacity by 2% for every 1000ft of elevation gain. Keystone is over 10000 feet.

I think its awesome when people push these trucks as Ive been really impressed with my ecoboost. Id just recommend changing ATF, PTU, RDU fluid often when pushed like this.

https://www.ford.com/cmslibs/conten.../pdf/2023_Ford_Maverick_Towing_Info_Dec16.pdf

 

[RichardCranium]

I think what people are failing to realize is that there is no difference between the trucks except the cooling and drivetrain. The suspension is the same, the “frame” is the same, the brakes are the same, the only difference is a different drivetrain that adds more torque, and the additional cooling that allows the drivetrain to last longer. A trailer that is 4001 pound is not going to tear off the receiver. There has to be a conservative tolerance because a 400 pound tongue weight can increase significantly when you hit a bump or one of the MANY potholes.
that being said, if you drive like a maniac (like I have seen people around here do when towing) then don’t go near the capacity. If you can take it easy and drive conservatively, then you aren’t going to have problems beyond wearing out your drivetrain sooner.
That being said, there are certain members of MTC that I would not be buying a used truck from.

 

[Ranch]

Another thing to consider when towing is the air resistance from the size of the frontal area of the trailer. A larger frontal area makes your Maverick work harder to maintain the same speed.

So towing a trailer that folds down like a tent or pop up unit will not be the same as a standard trailer.

https://www.ford.com/cmslibs/conten.../pdf/2023_Ford_Maverick_Towing_Info_Dec16.pdf

 

[Guv]

If you are over loaded and have an accident, the shite arse lawyers will be the biggest problem. Sue happy ambulance chasers, boo .

 

[Ranch]

I want to point out that the quotes I posted from the Maverick towing guide only mentions a reduced amount of performance from higher altitude and frontal area resistance.

It doesn't say you have to abide by this or you transmission will blow up if you exceed the suggested limits.

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