Preparing to tow a trailer 1200 miles

Status
Not open for further replies.
Stage 1: Picking up trailer on lunch break
Mission Status: Great success.

Seems to pull ok, you can feel it's back there when accelerating/braking but it's not too bad.

JsWMQfB.jpg
 
What class is the hitch on that Escape? Hard to tell from the pic, but it looks like a class II. I'd be more comfortable with a class III, but if it's within capacity for the hitch, it should be fine. I don't think class II is rated for much weight though.
 
Originally Posted By: 01rangerxl
What class is the hitch on that Escape? Hard to tell from the pic, but it looks like a class II. ...


99% sure it is a class II 1 1/4 receiver (right click on picture, open in new tab will get you full size)

Should be rated for 3500/350?
 
Originally Posted By: DuckRyder
Originally Posted By: 01rangerxl
What class is the hitch on that Escape? Hard to tell from the pic, but it looks like a class II. ...


99% sure it is a class II 1 1/4 receiver (right click on picture, open in new tab will get you full size)

Should be rated for 3500/350?


Correct. It's a Class II for 3500lb which is what it's rated for as well. I should come in pretty well under.
 
Originally Posted By: hattaresguy
Your going to burn a lot of fuel, probably in the mid teens MPG wise.



I'm guessing 10mpg loaded.



OP
Any fuel consumtion data yet?
 
I don't think it'll get 10 mpg. I borrowed my grandma's 2002 Trailblazer with the 4.2L I6 and reset the average mpg when pulling a 1974 Chevy Nova on a Uhaul car hauler trailer. Car was about 3,000 pounds and the trailer was 2,000. Average mpg highway at 60 mph was about 16-17 mpg. Although it reads 25-26 mpg at 65 mph on the highway.
 
Originally Posted By: CUMMINSPOWER4
LS1MIKE you need a turbo diesel to tow anything, even air. If you don't have a big ol Cummins rollin coal then you ain't going to be able to pull your pop up trailer.


OMG. Knew this one had to come up. Give someone a toy diesel and they think they really have something. If it isn't 13L or larger, then don't strut. And I love the term "turbo diesel". Is there a diesel in a vehicle made in the last 10 years that isn't turbocharged? Just for kicks, I put "turbo diesel" on the sides of the hood on a 2006 Jeep Liberty with a 2.8L VM diesel in it. Caused the pickup diesel guys to have a fit. But, the little VM engine was just as much turbocharged as their toy. If something isn't putting down 500 hp and over 1800 lb of torque, it is nothing to shout about. Folks doing what the OP is doing will do just fine with a gasser. You want Cummins? Then get a 600 hp, 2050 lb torque, 15L ISX then come back and tell us about needing a "turbo diesel" to pull air. I really was fond of the N-14 Cummins engine, but with my experience with two ISX engines, there will never be a Cummins engine in anything I own, ever again. Total waste of good money.
 
Originally Posted By: TiredTrucker
Originally Posted By: CUMMINSPOWER4
LS1MIKE you need a turbo diesel to tow anything, even air. If you don't have a big ol Cummins rollin coal then you ain't going to be able to pull your pop up trailer.


OMG. Knew this one had to come up. Give someone a toy diesel and they think they really have something. If it isn't 13L or larger, then don't strut. And I love the term "turbo diesel". Is there a diesel in a vehicle made in the last 10 years that isn't turbocharged? Just for kicks, I put "turbo diesel" on the sides of the hood on a 2006 Jeep Liberty with a 2.8L VM diesel in it. Caused the pickup diesel guys to have a fit. But, the little VM engine was just as much turbocharged as their toy. If something isn't putting down 500 hp and over 1800 lb of torque, it is nothing to shout about. Folks doing what the OP is doing will do just fine with a gasser. You want Cummins? Then get a 600 hp, 2050 lb torque, 15L ISX then come back and tell us about needing a "turbo diesel" to pull air. I really was fond of the N-14 Cummins engine, but with my experience with two ISX engines, there will never be a Cummins engine in anything I own, ever again. Total waste of good money.


He is my buddy trolling me.
smile.gif


Although based on the photo provided, he is probably at that Escapse's limit.
 
Here is an update. We left at 3AM and I've been driving most of it, gonna let my grandfather drive for an hour or two so I can take a break. We've averaged 65-70mph most of the way, it pretty much poured rain all the way to Beckley WV and on and off after that. We've averaged about 12mpg which is about what I expected. It pulls it well enough, it does downshift to 5th on most minor hills and 4th for anything remotely steep.

I don't really think it's even the weight so much as the wind resistance that is the issue. I've been keeping an eye on trans temp since we left and the hottest I saw it get was 170f or so on a really long, steep incline on the WV Turnpike.
 
Look I don't generally tell anybody they are wrong, But 65 to 70? Well that is not what you should be doing. That thing has ST tires, they are rated to 65 mph when maintained properly. U-Haul does not maintain their stuff. I never tow much over 60 unless I have to for merging traffic or getting around someone pulled to side or someone going very slow. If you blow a tire the Escape does not have enough wheel base for you to recover. No doubt you can move it that fast, but in emergency you don't have enough tow vehicle.

You are towing I wouldn't worry about MPG as much as being able to recover in an emergency.
 
Yeah, pulling a rental trailer beyond 65 is increasing the risk level considerably. There is really no way to determine if the trailer has been well maintained or who pulled it before. Never figured out why anyone would want to pull a trailer, unless it was a custom designed pulling unit and trailer, beyond 65 mph anyway. There is no real benefit in doing so. Increased risk, increased fuel cost, etc. Saving time? Well, most folks are not pulling for 11 hrs a day, across the nation. The few minutes that one might save is just not worth it. It sure isn't like they are on an electronic logging thing like many commercial truck drivers and have to maximize the distance in the allotted time frame. I have seen a lot of wrecks over the years from lighter vehicles overdriving the situation while pulling a trailer.

Mike in the previous post stated some rationality here.
 
Originally Posted By: ls1mike

He is my buddy trolling me.
smile.gif


Although based on the photo provided, he is probably at that Escapse's limit.


LMAO! Cool comeback. No, just that I run diesels from 1.7L to 15L and am always amused at how some folks think that a "turbo diesel" is some form of macho thing. It is definitely a good choice in certain circumstances. I sure wouldn't want to use a gasser engine to pull the truck, trailer, and 23 tons of freight I had in the trailer the other day. But it does lend itself to comedy to think that there is something all special about diesel, in and of itself.

Keep waiting for Cummins and GM to finally get those EBDI engines running on E85 into the market. The same HP and Torque out of an engine using E85 that is less displacement than comparable diesel platforms. And they don't require the SCR and DPF mandated systems the newer diesels have. And they get comparable fuel economy as diesel. Boy, when and if this stuff hits the market, the diesel only crowd is really going to have a fit.
 
Originally Posted By: TiredTrucker
Originally Posted By: ls1mike

He is my buddy trolling me.
smile.gif


Although based on the photo provided, he is probably at that Escapse's limit.


LMAO! Cool comeback. No, just that I run diesels from 1.7L to 15L and am always amused at how some folks think that a "turbo diesel" is some form of macho thing. It is definitely a good choice in certain circumstances. I sure wouldn't want to use a gasser engine to pull the truck, trailer, and 23 tons of freight I had in the trailer the other day. But it does lend itself to comedy to think that there is something all special about diesel, in and of itself.

Keep waiting for Cummins and GM to finally get those EBDI engines running on E85 into the market. The same HP and Torque out of an engine using E85 that is less displacement than comparable diesel platforms. And they don't require the SCR and DPF mandated systems the newer diesels have. And they get comparable fuel economy as diesel. Boy, when and if this stuff hits the market, the diesel only crowd is really going to have a fit.

I will admit, there are times at altitude when I wish I had the diesel but for my 7500 lbs of trailer my gas GM 6.0 does just fine keeping up with traffic. What I like is it is cheap to maintain. It is thirsty, but reliable.
 
Originally Posted By: ls1mike
Look I don't generally tell anybody they are wrong, But 65 to 70? Well that is not what you should be doing. That thing has ST tires, they are rated to 65 mph when maintained properly. U-Haul does not maintain their stuff. I never tow much over 60 unless I have to for merging traffic or getting around someone pulled to side or someone going very slow. If you blow a tire the Escape does not have enough wheel base for you to recover. No doubt you can move it that fast, but in emergency you don't have enough tow vehicle.

You are towing I wouldn't worry about MPG as much as being able to recover in an emergency.







Very much agree with, I flat out would NOT tow this much with a Ford Escape.
 
Just got back home. We did slow down to 60-65ish afterwards. The way down what with it pouring rain the whole way (which meant the A/C was on to keep the windows defogged) we did 12.6mpg.

The way home we set cruise at 62 the whole way pretty much and managed 14.6mpg. Still meant we had to stop every 150 miles or so for gas. It pulled it just better than I could have expected. It had plenty of power, though as one might expect the long steep inclines had it working hard.

Before we left I checked and pumped all 4 tires on the trailer up to 60psi (pressure for max load is 65) the tires were actually pretty new, and in good condition. No dry-rot or anything.

When we left NC I put the whole thing on a scale and I calculated out the trailer weight 2800lb- a full 700lb below the tow rating for the V6 escape. and within the tow vehicle- trailer weight ratio. If the tires were in bad condition, I would have kept the speed down- or demanded they gave me another trailer with better tires on it.

Honestly with the exception of the decreased performance and longer braking distances, it was hard to tell it was even back there most of the time. IT was very well behaved, did not pull the car around at all, no swaying, nothing.

I really hope I never have to do this again though,the cost of gas was very high, fortunlately there were 3 of us to split it between though.
 
And somewhat surprisingly, even today, pulling up the long grades in VA/WV in ~55f ambient temps, transmission temp stayed below 175 the whole time. The cooler was doing it's job.
 
Originally Posted By: Nick R
Here is an update. We left at 3AM and I've been driving most of it, gonna let my grandfather drive for an hour or two so I can take a break. We've averaged 65-70mph most of the way, it pretty much poured rain all the way to Beckley WV and on and off after that. We've averaged about 12mpg which is about what I expected. It pulls it well enough, it does downshift to 5th on most minor hills and 4th for anything remotely steep.

I don't really think it's even the weight so much as the wind resistance that is the issue. I've been keeping an eye on trans temp since we left and the hottest I saw it get was 170f or so on a really long, steep incline on the WV Turnpike.


Wow, thats pretty fast, especially given the conditions and terrain. Glad you made it back safely, but I wouldn't make it a habit just because of one data point.

Sounds like you didn't force out OD, which is rule #1 for operating.
 
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Originally Posted By: Nick R
Here is an update. We left at 3AM and I've been driving most of it, gonna let my grandfather drive for an hour or two so I can take a break. We've averaged 65-70mph most of the way, it pretty much poured rain all the way to Beckley WV and on and off after that. We've averaged about 12mpg which is about what I expected. It pulls it well enough, it does downshift to 5th on most minor hills and 4th for anything remotely steep.

I don't really think it's even the weight so much as the wind resistance that is the issue. I've been keeping an eye on trans temp since we left and the hottest I saw it get was 170f or so on a really long, steep incline on the WV Turnpike.


Wow, thats pretty fast, especially given the conditions and terrain. Glad you made it back safely, but I wouldn't make it a habit just because of one data point.

Sounds like you didn't force out OD, which is rule #1 for operating.


There really isn't much of a tow/haul mode. There is a hill descent button, but it doesn't lock out 6th completely. The only other option is "L" which is bad because that is the "hold gear until redline" option, which obviously is less than ideal. And honestly it held 6th well enough (it would hold it at high throttle (using the absolute throttle position graph on the torque app) until vacuum hit about .9in/hg. It spent more time going between 4th and 5th than 5th and 6th.

But yeah I don't really plan on towing anything for a long time after this.
 
Last edited:
Pretty sure the "don't tow in overdrive" dates back to older 4spd autos, some of which had weak gears, but most of which tended to run unlocked convertors near stall speed, generating lots of heat. I'm guessing today's smaller motors simply spin faster when loaded, unlike yesterday's motors which could (and would) grunt down and get the job done--but unfortunately at a bad rpm for a TC.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

ctechbob
Little bit of Heavy(ish) towing with the Ranger (Towing Review)
2
Replies
24
Views
6K
ctechbob
L
  • Locked
My Ford F-150 2.7 liter V6 Long Haul Mountain Towing Experience
2 3
Replies
43
Views
13K
HemiBenny
K
2022 Volkswagen Taos SE, FWD - 3,000 mile review
2 3 4
Replies
74
Views
29K
K.Aoi
Back
Top Bottom