Any Experience with Ford Tow Haul Feature
TV here is a 2013 Expedition with the 5.4 and six speed auto transmission. We pulled our flatbed 1600 miles with total weight of 3500 pounds. DW did the vast majority of the driving and complained...
Forum Discussion
Here's the deal with RV towing. Stick your hand out the window at 60-65mph. That's a decent force of air. Now the engine has to pull two sheets of plywood wide at at that speed. That takes a lot of power. Any incline and you are now left what how much deserve power the engine/trans has at whatever speed you are trying to maintain. This is why diesels owners love it. They cruise at the peak torque of 1700-2500rpm. Naturally aspirated gassers do not.
Also, don't use 6th gear when towing a high walled RV. Even if the engine coudl hold the speed you want on flat ground, any incline will slow down. By the time you press the go pedal enough to make up for the speed decrease, you lost 5-10mph, and you need a double/triple downshift to make up. If you run a bit higher engine sped in 5th, or 4th, it has more reserve torque to maintain the speed you want and will only drop the 2mph you expect.
Here's another point of torque multiplication. Your gas engine may provide 85% of 365 ft-lb at 2200rpm in 5th gear, which is about 0.85:1 ratio so wheel torque is more like 264 ft-lb. Now go to 3rd gear at 4400rpm and you are at the engine's peak of 365, in a gear that multiplies torque by 1.7, so wheel torque is 620ft-lb now. Diesels don't get to downshift often, because they are tuned to produce peak torque in a narrower engine speed range. But they have a full 700+ lb-ft in 5th/6th without downshifting.
I had a 2003 F-150, 5.4L/3.73/4-spd trans. I towed on the highway in 3rd gear, 2500-2800rpm at 62-70mph all day long. Speed would drop a little on hills and at 55mph, I would kick down to 2nd and 4000rpm. My current TV is very similar to yours. A bit more peak HP and torque, but it also weighs 600 pounds more. 5th gear cruising, 2200-2500rpm, and never an interstate hill that needs 3rd gear/4000rpm. Occasional 4th gear/3000rpm is all.
Edit add: Crap, I took a brief look at the 2013 Expy Owners Manual. It seems to not have transmission electronic range control, of select shift as Ford calls it on their pickups. This issue plagued the 2009-2010 F-150 and appears to continue on the Expy.
Also, don't use 6th gear when towing a high walled RV. Even if the engine coudl hold the speed you want on flat ground, any incline will slow down. By the time you press the go pedal enough to make up for the speed decrease, you lost 5-10mph, and you need a double/triple downshift to make up. If you run a bit higher engine sped in 5th, or 4th, it has more reserve torque to maintain the speed you want and will only drop the 2mph you expect.
Here's another point of torque multiplication. Your gas engine may provide 85% of 365 ft-lb at 2200rpm in 5th gear, which is about 0.85:1 ratio so wheel torque is more like 264 ft-lb. Now go to 3rd gear at 4400rpm and you are at the engine's peak of 365, in a gear that multiplies torque by 1.7, so wheel torque is 620ft-lb now. Diesels don't get to downshift often, because they are tuned to produce peak torque in a narrower engine speed range. But they have a full 700+ lb-ft in 5th/6th without downshifting.
I had a 2003 F-150, 5.4L/3.73/4-spd trans. I towed on the highway in 3rd gear, 2500-2800rpm at 62-70mph all day long. Speed would drop a little on hills and at 55mph, I would kick down to 2nd and 4000rpm. My current TV is very similar to yours. A bit more peak HP and torque, but it also weighs 600 pounds more. 5th gear cruising, 2200-2500rpm, and never an interstate hill that needs 3rd gear/4000rpm. Occasional 4th gear/3000rpm is all.
Edit add: Crap, I took a brief look at the 2013 Expy Owners Manual. It seems to not have transmission electronic range control, of select shift as Ford calls it on their pickups. This issue plagued the 2009-2010 F-150 and appears to continue on the Expy.
