Towing with your Raptor - A Primer

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tpe187

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Towing with the Raptor – A Primer

Background – I have a 2013 Raptor SuperCrew with stock wheels and tires with about 15K miles. I am in the military and move every two to three years. I have a lot of tools, guns, ammunition, reloading equipment and components, etc. that weigh a lot and are not exactly packer friendly. I have towed the largest U-Haul trailer you can get, which is a 6x12 with a wt. capacity of around 2500lbs, with an SUV. Once I had the truck I thought I could get away with the added capacity of the bed, but honestly didn’t research it much because I only tow every two to three years. I looked at options for air bags, and springs to increase capacity, etc. but you end up with other potential limitations such as axle tube bending, etc. In the end I figured I would put it all in a travel trailer and go from there. To me, the benefits for the trailer is that the cost wasn’t too bad - $5600 out the door and the military will pay me about $4K for moving 6K lbs. I can also use the trailer for storage wherever I am. On post space for my trailer at my current location is $25 a month. Can’t beat that. So, with that information, here is what I found:

Things to know:

The receiver hitch is only rated to 5K lbs unless you use a weight-distributing (WD) hitch, which brings it to 10.5K. The weight-distributing hitch will level out the Raptor and trailer so you don’t lose steering control when all the tongue weight pushes the rear down and takes weight off the front wheels. The weight rating information is on a sticker on the underside of your hitch. I would not tow without a WD hitch for any distance and certainly not if my combined trailer and load was over 5K. It makes a huge difference. Cost is around $400 depending on the model and features you want.

The SuperCrew Raptor is rated to tow 8K lbs., but you can’t exceed the Gross Combined Weight Rating (GCWR); everything in the truck and trailer and including the truck and trailer, people and fuel. For the Supercrew this was 14.7K. For the supercab it is only 12.5K. This is not located on the door information; it is in the owner’s manual, pg. 271 and 273. An interesting note is the recommendation to reduce GCWR by 2% per 1000ft above sea level (pg. 268).

You will need to install the fuse and relay that came with your truck in the power distribution box, which is located above the radiator, in the engine bay. In my manual this is pg. 309-310. It is relay #6 and fuse #21. These are probably in a small bag in your console or glove box. I don’t know why they don’t put them in from the beginning and there is no issue when the trailer is disconnected, so why not just install them now.

I just got done a 900-mile trip with a Cargomate 7x14 trailer. The trailer weights just under 2K lbs. empty. I got the upgraded axles to 5200lb axles for a total capacity of 10.4K. 3500lb axles are standard. I used a Reese WD hitch system with 1200lb spring arms (Recommended by the trailer dealer). This weight is based on a tongue weight of 10-15% of the load. The Ford receiver hitch states you can’t exceed 1050lbs of tongue weight. The adjustment range of the 1200lb spring bars is 600-1200lbs so no big deal really. As it was, I only used two links in the chain from the spring bar, to level the truck.

I weighed my truck and trailer before loading them and came out with a combined weight of 9000lbs. My truck is basically stock, but has mid perch, line-x and a BAK Roll-X cover. When I loaded it and had a full 35gal tank it came out to 14,900lbs. So, I was pulling about 8K lbs., and with me in the truck I was about 400lbs over max gross.

I used the Tow/Haul mode and the truck handled very well. I drove from San Antonio, TX to Colorado Springs, CO. My normal mileage is around 13.4 MPG with mostly highway driving. My average fuel economy was 7.6 MPG overall. I did not use cruise control. Once into New Mexico and then Colorado you could definitely tell you were going up in altitude but nothing too bad. Tow/Haul helped with some engine breaking going down the mountains and it rarely went into 6th gear. Most of the climbing was in 4th and sometimes 3rd depending on the incline.

Hopefully the above information will serve as a starting point for someone looking to periodically tow using their Raptor. I would recommend spending the $8-10 to get your actual GCWR at public wt scales and not guess. Its pretty easy to go over. Have fun and be safe!
 

Huck

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Good info except the fuse and relay are only needed for aux power in the trailer. You don't need them for marker lightening or trailer brake control
 

A.I.I.Raciing

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Good info except the fuse and relay are only needed for aux power in the trailer. You don't need them for marker lightening or trailer brake control

Thank you for posting, I'm was so confused and was getting ready to go look at my book to figure out what was going on.

I've got 2 questions, what trans temp is to high? Yesterday I got up to 205 and that's the highest I've seen with my Raptor, usually it's around 192

Also, my dash keeps telling me the trailer is disconnected, any idea why it says that only when I have a trailer hooked up?
 

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Huck

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Thank you for posting, I'm was so confused and was getting ready to go look at my book to figure out what was going on.



I've got 2 questions, what trans temp is to high? Yesterday I got up to 205 and that's the highest I've seen with my Raptor, usually it's around 192



Also, my dash keeps telling me the trailer is disconnected, any idea why it says that only when I have a trailer hooked up?


Another member has that trailer disconnected issue but we haven't dug into it yet or tried it with my truck.

I have ideas but absolutely nothing to go one.

I've seen 215 will at the dunes. Not sure ford lists what is too much
 

Hoverp

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Thank you for posting, I'm was so confused and was getting ready to go look at my book to figure out what was going on.

I've got 2 questions, what trans temp is to high? Yesterday I got up to 205 and that's the highest I've seen with my Raptor, usually it's around 192

Also, my dash keeps telling me the trailer is disconnected, any idea why it says that only when I have a trailer hooked up?

Do you have operational trailer brakes?
I get the trailer disconnected when I hook mine up , all the lights work, but the electric brakes are not hooked up (wires cut) so I was told that was the reason why it kicked on the trailer disconnected warning. I also don't have a battery backup safety on the trailer ( was told this was part of the equation as well.
 
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tpe187

tpe187

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Good info except the fuse and relay are only needed for aux power in the trailer. You don't need them for marker lightening or trailer brake control

Yep, should have clarified that portion. It does sound like its needed for the trailer lights, which its not.
 

HAYNES OFFROAD

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Ive spiked my trans temp to 235° in the dunes running really hard on a 80° day with factory ATF. Once i converted the trans to Amsoil i havnt seen temps go over 215° in the same conditions/driving.

190-205° would be considered normal operating temp for our trucks.

205-225° would be expected during spirited runs.

225-250° would be extreme situations such as hill climbs, or hard desert running. Let cool as soon as possible.

275° is the absolute max, VERY temporary operating temp (such as a long hill climb), before you will considerably reduce the life of your ATF and trans. Let cool immediatly.

At 300° you WILL damage internal transmission parts, including warpage of metal parts, degradation of clutches, and melting of seals. Transmission oil oxidizes, (forming varnish-like substances causing further clutch slippage and compounding heat build up) and transmission oil life is extremely short. If you see this temp, break out the check book.


Every 20° above 200°, oil oxidation rate doubles.

For EXAMPLE, say, at 200°, ATF life is 100,000 miles,
220° ATF life is 50,000 miles,
240°- 25,000,
260°- 12,500,
280°- 6,250,
300°- 3,125 miles.... And so on...

Obviously those numbers arnt going to be exact and is only hypothetical, because every transmission sees differant temps on a day to day basis, as in one day, your trans will only see 195°, while on another it sees 220°....
 

6gun

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Great writeup! One other thing I discovered when hooking up my boat trailer is to shut the truck down, and wait until all the running lights go off when plugging my trailer lights in. If I plug the lights in when any of the truck lights are on, it blows the fuse. If I wait till the truck is dark, I never have an issue. First time this happened, it drove me nuckin futz trying to figure out why the truck turns and 4ways would work, but got nothing at the trailer. Answer was the trailer fuse referenced above had blown.
 

georgesr

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Trailer lights

I can verify all the comments in this thread.

I thought I was loosing my mind when I drove to Waco to ***** up a new trailer and when I got there the running lights on the trailer would not work but the break light and turn signals work.

Checked the fuse panel and found that the trailer running lights fuse was blown, The day before I had hooked up my truck to my old trailer while the running lights were on. Didn't notice the running lights did not work until I hooked up the new trailer the next day.

Changed the fuse and they worked again.

When I got home I tried the Aux lights and they did not work. I checked at the plug and my truck was not outputting power on the Aux wire. I look the manual and discovered that the relay and fuse for aux power where not installed.

It did not click for me that there was a fuse and a relay in the glove box and that is what they were for. I did not find pages 271 in the owners manual.

So when I found this thread on towing I thought this is exactly what I am having. when I get home I will try all of this and I am almost certain this is my problem

Shawn
 

georgesr

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could you tell me what the relay and fuse where labeled? I have a 2014 raptor and things seem to be a little different #6 replay is the "trailer tow park lamp" and there is already a relay there. Now #9 is open and it is labeled "trailer tow battery charger".

fuse #21 is the trailer tow battery charger power. so this seems correct #9 relay would match that.

also what heading in the book in on page 309 and 310, in my book is is audio function.

Shawn
 
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