Ford Escape 2014 2.0L 4 Cylinder Ecoboost w/tow package

Thanks everyone for the valuable advice. I found it extremely helpful and really appreciate it especially about the safety concerns.

After reading all the comment I went out and bought a Ford F-150 5.4L V8 which should be enough to pull a Travel Lite Falcon F20 with a dry weight of 2,480 lbs.

Once again thanks everyone for the advice.

I towed a roughly 3500 lb pop-up with a 2010 Honda Pilot (4500 tow rating) for several years and it worked really well, but that's a lot bigger and heavier crossover. I don't think I'd want to try it behind an Escape. There are smaller pop-ups that may work, though. I definitely wouldn't try any sort of standard tall TT. If you want to try that I'd sell the Escape and buy a pickup.

RinconVTR wrote:

WesleyW wrote:
I currently own a 2014 Ford Escape 2.0L 4 Cylinder Ecoboost with the factory tow package which is rated for #3500 towing capacity.

I have read many forums that mention this vehicle but I have not read many posts about what people have actually towed with the Ford Escape.

If anyone on this forum has used or know someone that has used a Ford Escape I would be curious to see what they have physically towed.

Thanks

You can easily and very safely tow many pop ups and some very small trailer trailers, depending how you load the vehicle and how many people are within.

2 people with all the cargo in the trailer...no problem.

X2...been towing with 3500 lb tow ratings for years. These vehicles do a great job for their capability.

Thanks!

Jeremiah

WesleyW wrote:
I currently own a 2014 Ford Escape 2.0L 4 Cylinder Ecoboost with the factory tow package which is rated for #3500 towing capacity.

I have read many forums that mention this vehicle but I have not read many posts about what people have actually towed with the Ford Escape.

If anyone on this forum has used or know someone that has used a Ford Escape I would be curious to see what they have physically towed.

Thanks

You can easily and very safely tow many pop ups and some very small trailer trailers, depending how you load the vehicle and how many people are within.

2 people with all the cargo in the trailer...no problem.

I don't think power is the issue. Getting a load moving is the easy part. Stopping that load is the issue and I think that's why many people don't use an Escape to tow regularly with. I would also think its short wheelbase would not make a very stable platform.

Plenty of power until the EGT gets high and the engine controls cut you to limp home mode. That engine is not designed for sustained boost, which is required for towing any high walled trailer.

We have a 2009 Ford Escape V-6 with the same 3500# tow capacity. We bought a Flagstaff High Wall pop-up camper and used the Escape to tow it home. After that, we got my truck so it would never be an issue again. We had already planned on me getting a truck, but it just accelerated the purchase.

The camper weighs roughly 32-3300 lbs and it would do "OK" on flat ground, but once I started climbing an overpass, it became a struggle. NO WAY would I consider taking it anywhere that involved hills or mountains.

Part of the issue is that the AC unit and part of the camper actually are above the roofline of the Escape creating wind drag. Look for a low profile pop-up that isn't higher than the vehicle or possibly something more aerodynamic that towing a brick. #2-2500 lbs at the most, going lighter with the more people and things that you take along.

A couple of FiberglassRV forum members tow Scamps and Casita with that vehicle. Page 2 of FGRV.com thread Being from MN, I'm sure you know that these trailers are more rounded, more narrow, shorter, and thus more aerodynamic than the average boxy TT. Wind resistance is a huge factor when towing; it's easier to tow a 3000 lb popup than a 1500 lb conventional TT or cargo trailer.

Another factor to keep in mind is the hitch weight, max 350 lbs. Shoot for a trailer with a dry hitch weight of 250-260 lbs or less, so when you load it up with LP, battery, water, etc. the tongue should still be less than 350 lbs. (This lets out the Casita 17' with front bath because it's too nose-heavy.)

As long as you don't want to push the Escape hard up hills and you keep your speed down to around 60 mph or so, it should do fine with a FG egg or a popup of reasonable weight and balance. Pushing it too fast generates heat that can damage a transmission.

I towed a 2700 lb 16' conventional TT as well as a 2200 lb 17' Burro all over the place (including Rocky Mtns) with a Toyota Highlander and it did well enough; my V6 had about 30 more HP but about 25 lb-ft less torque than the 2L turbo.

I've read many posts from Escape owners that tow.

Nearly all tow popups, A-frames or egg-shaped trailers.

NEVER have seen any that tow a full height TT without problems.

This is the issue for all vehicles that have the 3500lbs tow rating.

You'll also find that Ford puts a trailer frontal area limitation on the Escape, which any full height trailer will easily exceed.

Therefore that's why popups, A-frames and eggs trailers are the norm for Escape owners.

Bottom line, if you want to tow a regular TT, you need a different tow vehicle.

I would be very cautious. As suggested, borrow a trailer, load it with something of similar weight and go tow it for a hundred miles and do some hills. If it's a cargo trailer you borrow, remember you'll have a lot of wind resistance on the TT, especially since it's got a larger front into the wind than the Escape has.

We have a several year old Escape with the V-6. My former truck, weighing about 6,000# quit one day so we towed it about 8 miles with the Escape. Yes, that's about twice what you're thinking of of, but it was for only 8 miles at about 45 mph on perfectly flat ground - the transmission did not like it at all. It still worked afterwards, but at the end of the tow you could really smell how hot it had gotten.

Bill