Hi, We are new to the Ford Family. Just bought f150 Super cab and want to tow a 28' Heartland travel trailer ultra-lite. (5290lbs unloaded). We have always used cruise control. What are your thoughts about tow haul? Should we always use tow haul when towing? Should we use it only on hills? Can we use cruise control at the same time as we are using tow haul? Thanks. T

 

Welcome to Ford and FTE!

Use tow/haul ANY time you are towing (or hauling) over 1000 lbs. Your tranny will thank you.

Do not use cruise control when towing unless you are on flat terrain in light traffic. Your wallet (i.e., MPG) will thank you.

I assume you have an 09 or later, BTW...

 

I don't plan on towing any time soon but why would cruise control affect your mpgs? Doesn't running on cruise control usual optimize your mpgs? What am I missing?

 

When towing with cruise control, the truck will do what ever it takes to maintain the set speed.

Its best for MPG to not use cruise control. The idea is to slightly slow down going up hill, and pick up speed slowly on the down hill. By maintaining throttle control going up hill, the truck will not try to down shift as much.

If the cruise is set and you hit a hill, the truck will drop 1-2 gears to maintain the speed and use more fuel doing so.

 

It is ok to run the cruise while in tow haul and towing. I have never noticed much of a difference in mpg's either way. I prefer to maintain speed when I can, but I guess if you try hard enough you may be able to save a few drops. I guess I am a realist, I gave up on trying to get good mpg's while towing!

 

If I use CC when towing my boat, I get 11.9 MPG. If I turn CC off, I get 14.4 MPG (same route).

Huge difference? No, but when you're towing it 200 miles (one way) it adds up.

IMHO using CC is also a BAD IDEA if you're towing in any kind of traffic.

 

When i tow my 7500lb trailer, i dont use cruise control because of the MPG difference. With CC on the truck stays in 2nd on the hills and 3rd in the flats and never locks the converter.

With it off i can maintain 3rd gear on most of the hills and keep the converter locked on the flats.

It saves a couple MPG and i dont have to hear my truck drop to second gear at 65 mph.

 

I have almost 12,000 miles on my 2011 5.0L FX2 and - according to my tow display, I've towed about 4,000 miles of that.

During those 4,000 miles, I've tested all sorts of combinations and below is my 2 cents on each post:


I've also tried Manual mode "M". That seems to work very well at highway speeds (65mph) with cruise off. This way, the tranny isn't always hunting for the better gear and I can control the shifting when I want.

I do want to add that I drive in Florida where the hills are mostly bridges so to be fair, my situation is probably different then some of yours.

My 2 cents.

 

Great feedback.

LOL - your "mountains" are our "molehills" (exactly the same as what someone from CO would say about our "mountains").

 

I'd say CC is a BAD IDEA if you're in any traffic regardless of towing or not.

Using CC while towing on the highway is fine unless it's hilly or heavy traffic which, again, is the same for towing or not.

 

I use it all the time in "moderate" traffic - but I'm usually in the right lane at the speed limit while everyone else is 10-15 MPH over the limit.

 

OK if you gotta try and save fuel while towing, please stay in the right lane with your 4 ways on so I don't run into the back of you! LOL