Warning: EcoBoost Maverick cannot be flat-towed

[Dudley]

I read a thread discussing towing your maverick with all four wheels on the ground. I went to the owners manual to see what Ford says and what I read made me want to make sure, given it is getting to be travel time and if any of you thought about towing your Maverick with all 4 on the ground, PLEASE note on page 287 of the 2022 manual it says you CANNOT do this to a gas only Maverick due to possible transmission or vehicle damage but you CAN a Hybrid but you MUST do exactly what they lead you then thru.

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[AutobahnSHO]

Correct.

 

[MakinDoForNow]

I read a thread discussing towing your maverick with all four wheels on the ground. I went to the owners manual to see what Ford says and what I read made me want to make sure, given it is getting to be travel time and if any of you thought about towing your Maverick with all 4 on the ground, PLEASE note on page 287 of the 2022 manual it says you CANNOT do this to a gas only Maverick due to possible transmission or vehicle damage but you CAN a Hybrid but you MUST do exactly what they lead you then thru.

Even if you follow "The Procedure" some are reporting a major possible flaw in that the 12v power must remain active to prevent the possibility of truck dropping out of "I can be flat towed mode". They believe that if 12v dies during flat tow they will kill their truck. I believe that possibly they do not truly have their flat tow me set up. Maybe I expect too much from the programming. Perhaps with Fords approval, of course, a 12v backup source could be used, but where should it be connected and what exact voltage should it have?

 

[Dudley]

Even if you follow "The Procedure" some are reporting a major possible flaw in that the 12v power must remain active to prevent the possibility of truck dropping out of "I can be flat towed mode". They believe that if 12v dies during flat tow they will kill their truck. I believe that possibly they do not truly have their flat tow me set up. Maybe I expect too much from the programming. Perhaps with Fords approval, of course, a 12v backup source could be used, but where should it be connected and what exact voltage should it have?

They do mention this. They say "Note: Switching neutral tow on requires battery power" and then "Note: start the engine and allow it to run a few minutes at the beginning of each day, and every six hours or fewer. With the engine running and your foot on the brake, shift into drive and then into reverse before shifting back into neutral. Before continuing to tow, switch neutral tow on."

Easier to rent a tow dolly, me thinks!

 

[AutobahnSHO]

Even if you follow "The Procedure" some are reporting a major possible flaw in that the 12v power must remain active to prevent the possibility of truck dropping out of "I can be flat towed mode". They believe that if 12v dies during flat tow they will kill their truck. I believe that possibly they do not truly have their flat tow me set up. Maybe I expect too much from the programming. Perhaps with Fords approval, of course, a 12v backup source could be used, but where should it be connected and what exact voltage should it have?

Who is "some"?

It IS safer to have power to the truck, a good RV mechanic which hooks up the tow equipment would know how to connect the power source. Many have written it up in good detail in this forum.

That said, For the TRANSMISSION's sake, it's still required to follow the startup and shifting procedure Dudley mentioned.

 

[AutobahnSHO]

Easier to rent a tow dolly, me thinks!

For rare tows, definitely. But those who frequently tow the Mav or don't want to deal with the hassle of connecting the dolly it makes sense to flat-tow.

Flat-towing also requires extra equipment and setup.

 

[MakinDoForNow]

They do mention this. They say "Note: Switching neutral tow on requires battery power" and then "Note: start the engine and allow it to run a few minutes at the beginning of each day, and every six hours or fewer. With the engine running and your foot on the brake, shift into drive and then into reverse before shifting back into neutral. Before continuing to tow, switch neutral tow on."

Easier to rent a tow dolly, me thinks!

I am never going to flat tow but I have heard that it is somewhat difficult to find a location for your RV which permits the tow Dolly's?

 

[JBryant]

I am never going to flat tow but I have heard that it is somewhat difficult to find a location for your RV which permits the tow Dolly's?

Some spots do not have room for RV, truck AND two dolly. I am actually thinking about just using an aluminum car hauler. Same problem, but can find parking spot somewhere in campground. That way I can back up without unhooking if ever get blocked in

 

[GPSMan]

I admit I underestimated the difficulty of backing up with a vehicle with only front wheels on a dolly.

In essence, you are pulling TWO trailers.
I can see how backing up more than a few feet would be chaotic and close to impossible.

The dolly is a trailer on the RV and the car is trailer being pulled by the dolly.

Definition of trailer: wheels on both ends, can support 100% of the weight itself.

Definition of semi-trailer, "Semi" for short: wheels on one end, the other end is supported by the tractor or towing vehicle.

I pulled a semi with my Maverick.
( ya really )

Semi-trailer

 

[BradnChristine]

Who is "some"?

It IS safer to have power to the truck, a good RV mechanic which hooks up the tow equipment would know how to connect the power source. Many have written it up in good detail in this forum.

That said, For the TRANSMISSION's sake, it's still required to follow the startup and shifting procedure Dudley mentioned.

I tow my Ford C-Max with my Ford Transit RV (haven't gotten around to setting up the Maverick yet). The 7-pin connector on the RV has what is referred to as a "charge wire" to keep the C-Max battery charged. While there is no "neutral Tow" switch in the C-Max, it does deplete the 12V battery to keep the auxiliary brake system powered (Brake Buddy).

 

[SloopJB]

I bought an older U-Haul Tow Dolly without surge breaks. The trailer is in great shape and I bought a surge brake kit from e-trailer.com that includes a new, hydraulic coupler, brake lines and two disk calipers with rotors that fit the wheel hubs. The installation took me about a normal day to complete. I towed our front wheel drive BMW on it behind our motor home and it handled well. I have a wireless stop and tail light kit that magnetically attaches to the rear of the car and works in conjunction with the motor homes system without any additional wiring.

The trip went flawlessly with the electric Parking brake turned off. The tow dolly does not require a license as the cars rear wheels are on the payment and it’s license makes it legal.

the surge brakes took the additional braking load off of the RV’s braking system.

Our new Maverick is a hybrid (front wheel drive only), so it will be the same as the BMW.

The Maverick is out to out 0.5 inches wider than the BMW and will fit nicely as the BMW could have been 2” wider and still fit even when turning. The deck of the tow dolly pivots a few degrees to facilitate turning.

for me, it is a simpler and cheaper solution. By the way, e-trailer.com sells new surge brake tow dollys for this application.. My total investment was $2000 plus my labor. I think the new units are about $4K

 

[shadow76]

I am never going to flat tow but I have heard that it is somewhat difficult to find a location for your RV which permits the tow Dolly's?

I

I am never going to flat tow but I have heard that it is somewhat difficult to find a location for your RV which permits the tow Dolly's?

With a Class C and a tow dolly, have not had an issue with a RV park disallowing the dolly.
However one must cautious when entering an unfamiliar car park or fuel station to avoid having to reverse. The dolly & attached vehicle can be backed for a short distance, but with great care.

 

[SloopJB]

I have a 7 pin connector. The Class C Winnebago takes the backup light and disables a the actuator electrical solenoid so that the surge is deactivated when backing up, so not an issue in my case

 

[SloopJB]

The actuator comes with a 5 pin flat connector. I got a 7 Pin to 5 Pin adapter

 

[realshelby]

Hmmm.....surge brake tow dollies can be backed up? Not the ones I have towed with!!!
There is a pin you have to put in the hitch to "LOCK" the surge brake out to back up on about any trailer/dolly with surge braking.
I have towed with dolly, flat trailer, enclosed trailer, and flat towing.
There is a reason almost every motorhome you see is flat towing. There is simply NO comparison in speed to hook up, unhook, and efficiency in towing ( least amount of weight to drag around) when you compare flat towing to any alternative.
Not really any more expensive to set up in the beginning. More work, but once installed you have almost NO equipment to maintain.
With the Ready Brute towbar/braking system I can unhook in seconds if I would need to if caught in a tight place.
There is also a reason half or more of the toads are Jeep Wranglers! They are the most simply vehicle there is to tow. Put transfer case in neutral, make sure the emergency brake is off, and go. NOTHING else needs to be done!

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