2014 F-150 integrated brake controller question

[AZDesertRat]

Bought a new 2014 F-150 Ecoboost 4x4 with tow package last month.
Spent Sunday setting up the Equalizer WD hitch on the Rage'n toyhauler.
I hooked it all up, did a 16 mile test drive and noticed the steering wheel was cocked to the right while towing up the freeway. It does not do this when not towing. The brake controller was preset at 10 on the gain and I did not do any further adjustment at that time. The trailer brakes were checked and adjusted after my last trip with the old 2006 F-150 and the trailer tows straight.

My question is has anyone seen this before? With the brake controller could it be dragging a trailer brake? Or with the Ford sway control could the truck somehow be dragging a break or compensating for something? I don't quite understand how the factory sway control works. At a loss here and am headed to the mountains on Friday morning for a 4 day trip.
I have a heat gun and always take it with me on trips to measure bearing and tire temps but would like to solve this before heading out.

[tragusa3]

I lock out 6th only under conditions that include rolling hills or steeper. If it is flat, I'll leave 6th as an option.

Whether I am or not, I feel like the strongest tow'er on the road! Last summer we did 6k miles with 4500 pounds and at payload on the truck. It did an outstanding job, with no perceivable difference in power up to 11k-12k feet. We upgraded trailer and now tow 7500lbs loaded. I can feel the weight diference under acceleration and on grades, but it still does it easily.

My mileage with the smaller trailer was 11.5mpg on that long trip. I'm pretty sure that's dropped to 10.5 with the larger trailer, but it's a little early to tell. I just got 10.1mpg on a local 100 mile trip, but that included some long 6% grades and isn't fair for an average.

One tip that I tend to do. I'll take it out of tow/haul if going down very long grades. Otherwise, it will downshift to try and hold speed. Sometimes, that's good, but if the road is straight and clear in front of you, why shave off free speed?

[CantCampEnuf]

Read the manual... inside and out. Will incorporate some new items to next trip. I like the lock out gear mode. Sound like alot of people lock out 6th gear... is that all the time or only under certain conditions. Manual did not explain.

Want to dive in to see if sway control is engaged, never checked but assume it is. Did not get any messages to reduce speed due to excess sway tho...

[CantCampEnuf]

spud1957 wrote:
Bob, you lock out 6 by pressing the "-" button on your gear shift when in "D". Press it the second time and you lock out 5th. press the "+" to unlock gears.

All this info (and much more) is in your used manual under "Transmission".

Thank you. Would be a good idea to take time to read it.... but I understand it much better when asking questions on here and getting real answers. But will pull that out and read it. Thanks!!

[spud1957]

Bob, you lock out 6 by pressing the "-" button on your gear shift when in "D". Press it the second time and you lock out 5th. press the "+" to unlock gears.

All this info (and much more) is in your used manual under "Transmission".

[CantCampEnuf]

deerhunt799 wrote:

Tystevens wrote:

deerhunt799 wrote:
Driving from Denver to Buena Vista with elevation topping out at 10,039ft, my ecoboost did great. Maintained the posted 65mph speed limit without a problem. I lock out 6th when I tow and truck only shifted down to 4th on the steepest of climbs.

Why do you lock out 6th when you tow?

I am in "D" 98% of the time when towing, and find that the transmission programming does a great job of avoiding unnecessary shifting. We can move down the road in 6th gear, 1800 rpms anywhere but going up a 3%+ grade, as long as we can keep the speed at 65 or above.

Mostly just to keep from gear hunting as most of the places we camp have several grade changes (more than just rolling hills). I do agree that the computer does a good job keeping it in the correct gear most of the time. I've also found that according to the computer, my instant mpg was the same whether I was in 5th or 6th.

How do you lock out 6th gear? I put it in tow/haul mode for entire trip. I did get a message on console that engine was hot, and was downshifting a gear to ovoid overheating. I was going up from Camp Verde, slow because of traffic.

[deerhunt799]

Tystevens wrote:

deerhunt799 wrote:
Driving from Denver to Buena Vista with elevation topping out at 10,039ft, my ecoboost did great. Maintained the posted 65mph speed limit without a problem. I lock out 6th when I tow and truck only shifted down to 4th on the steepest of climbs.

Why do you lock out 6th when you tow?

I am in "D" 98% of the time when towing, and find that the transmission programming does a great job of avoiding unnecessary shifting. We can move down the road in 6th gear, 1800 rpms anywhere but going up a 3%+ grade, as long as we can keep the speed at 65 or above.

Mostly just to keep from gear hunting as most of the places we camp have several grade changes (more than just rolling hills). I do agree that the computer does a good job keeping it in the correct gear most of the time. I've also found that according to the computer, my instant mpg was the same whether I was in 5th or 6th.

[Tystevens]

deerhunt799 wrote:
Driving from Denver to Buena Vista with elevation topping out at 10,039ft, my ecoboost did great. Maintained the posted 65mph speed limit without a problem. I lock out 6th when I tow and truck only shifted down to 4th on the steepest of climbs.

Why do you lock out 6th when you tow?

I am in "D" 98% of the time when towing, and find that the transmission programming does a great job of avoiding unnecessary shifting. We can move down the road in 6th gear, 1800 rpms anywhere but going up a 3%+ grade, as long as we can keep the speed at 65 or above.

[deerhunt799]

Driving from Denver to Buena Vista with elevation topping out at 10,039ft, my ecoboost did great. Maintained the posted 65mph speed limit without a problem. I lock out 6th when I tow and truck only shifted down to 4th on the steepest of climbs.

[souraider]

Congrats on the new truck. I too have been very impressed with the Ecoboost.

[AZDesertRat]

The first trip was amazing! The steering wheel sorted itself out so mush have been the Equalizer bars were not centered or ?
We went from Phoenix to a little over 7700 feet elevation east of Payson AZ. On flat ground fully loaded at somewhere between 9000 and 10000 lbs (I need to find a scale to check) the tach was at 1600 RPM at 60 MPH and it never wanted to shift up or down unless we hit a grade. I must say, between the low RPM torque of the Ecoboost, the 6 speed transmission with Tow Haul mode and the built in sway control the truck was amazing. Never got below 4th gear even on long steep grades, never got over 3500 RPM unless I intentionally floored it to pass someone and never dropped below 55 MPH. I could maintain 60-65 if I wanted to but didn't want to push it since the truck still has less than 1000 mles on it even after the trip.
And to top it all off, it snowed in AZ on the 9th of May! Woke up Saturday morning with a blanket of snow over everything.

I have not filled the gas tank but it appears it was around 8-8.5 MPG going up and 9-10 coming home. Can't complain though as I never got white knuckled once even when passing though mountain passes with cross winds. You could actually feel the sway control doing its thing and correcting itself. I never would have believed it. I am 100% sold and its not even the 3.73 MaxTow package.

[deerhunt799]

I'll be towing at close to 10,000ft this weekend and will also report back then.

[deerhunt799]

CantCampEnuf wrote:
Let us know how that first trip up the mountain feels. We just bought the 2014 ecoboost 150 with max tow package. Excited - but still a bit skeptical! How much weight are you pulling?

I have the same truck. While I haven't taken the TT (~6000lbs loaded) over the highest passes yet in the state, I've gone over Monument Hill (elevation ~7350ft) and truck stayed in 5th (I lock out 6th) the whole way at 65mph.

[CantCampEnuf]

Let us know how that first trip up the mountain feels. We just bought the 2014 ecoboost 150 with max tow package. Excited - but still a bit skeptical! How much weight are you pulling?

[Ductape]

Easily happens with an Equalizer hitch if you don't lube the sockets and bar contact points. BTDT.