Anyone Tow in "normal" mode for mpg

[vertbird]

I have a '22 limited (non max) with the tow package. Mpg non towing is 18-19 but with my 4500lb camper at 65mph (not mountainous) I got 8-9mpg. I was expecting a little more than that on the highway at 65mph. It looks like towing mode locks out 10th gear, does anyone ever use normal mode to pick up that 10th gear when highway towing?

 

[BSarchet]

I have a larger boat that weighs in the 4000+ neighborhood and always use tow mode for that boat. Then I have a small fishing boat that’s probably less than 2000 and I use regular mode for that one. I get about 15 towing that one. I think it’s the overall weight that’s the factor as much as 10th gear.

But I would think if you are on flat highway and the engine isn’t lugging it would be fine to use normal mode. But I haven’t done it.

 

[Joenomad]

None of my ecoboost vehicles, F150 or Expeditions got good gas mileage towing. The tow feature does more than lockout 10th, more importantly it does engine braking and other transmission settings to make it safer to tow. I also tried towing in normal and didn't see any benefits.

 

[Left Coast Geek]

at 65, the shape of the trailer and the speed becomes increasingly significant. I get much better mileage towing my trailer at 55 than I do at 65.

 

[Calidad]

Aerodynamics play a huge role. My trailer can have two formats. Tall boxy mode or folded up into a low profile mode. Tall boxy mode 15mpg. Same weight in low profile mode 22mpg.

As for tow mode? I wouldn’t run standard mode for a draggy box trailer over 3000lbs. You just put unnecessary stress on the upper gear clutches.

My boat tow mode is a must as engine braking makes a huge difference in addition I don’t tow that beast over 50-55mph I typically lock out 8-9-10 sometimes 7. In that case 9mpg is typical. I just used a friend’s 2024 F250 6.8L gasser to haul my boat. 6spd. Got 6.6mpg and did climbs in 2nd gear at 3500-4000 rpm at 40mph where the Expedition did it in 3rd at 2000-2500 rpm at 35-40 mph.

The difference? The Expedition has way more pulling torque from 1800-2500rpm than the 6.8L which needs 3500-4500rpm to match the pulling power. However!!! The 6.8 L has a huge cooling capacity and a transmission cooler with a fan. Transmission temp never went above 210 and that was in stop and go traffic. The hard climbing it actually cooled off to 203-205.
The Expedition has a heat exchanger type transmission temperature management. Which in addition to turbo heat generation poses a challenging task to keep temps cool when dragging a draggy trailer especially when forced into taller gear ratios.

 

[Mr Big]

Tow mode would always be better, especially for the transmission, than normal or eco. It modifies transmission's shift points, delaying upshifts and allowing earlier downshifts to keep the engine running more efficiently. The faster downshifts allow for more engine braking, because of the lower gears, taking some load off the brakes.

 

[GixxerJasen]

I just got to tow a rental travel trailer over the mountains of Utah this past week. I read up on here and one thing I saw pointed out was that if you are in lower gears, the engine RPM will be higher while the boost will be lower. Playing around with it, I found this to generally be true, and apparently the engine will burn less fuel with higher RPM's and low boost rather than the other way around. Either way, I sucked down gas really quickly hauling that thing up the mountains, but the Expedition did a good job of it.

 

[tominwi]

What a great thread for this newbie. Had never used the towing mode before getting our 4000# travel trailer last week, and plugging-in it said "trailer! towing!" or some such but I was too concerned for the myriad of new issues facing me (never pulled such before) like "do the lights work" and "is the WDH set right". The trailer tech set the trailer brake gain when he pulled it around to the front for me to leave with, and I used the towing mode the hour drive home (all was great) but now I have a "Default Trailer" that I can't seem to rename (I will also tow a pontoon boat with this truck). Anyone know how to assert it as my Surveyor TT?

We had a Class C Jayco w/Ford E350 in the late 1990s but trailers are new to me. I think it will be hard to get used to the limited range of this setup i.e. the gas tank is pretty small in our Expys.

 

[Calidad]

Go into the trailer menu. Its a little clunky. You can edit it.
My 19 is annoying because I have to go in and select No Trailer after I’m done towing or it reverts to trailer on the dash every time I go somewhere. Ford might have finally fixed that bug?

The tow mode most definitely engine brakes and its a huge difference when towing. Trust me 780 miles dragging a 8700 lb boat from Seattle to CA you learn real quick how important that tow mode is. And yes the 3.5 can sound quite convincing coming off a long grade highway exit down shifting. I got more than a few confused looks from truck guys when they looked over expecting to see some kind of big truck and see a dad soccer wagon dragging a big boat

 

[Calidad]

Brrrrrrrrr——br-brrr
Brrrrrrrrrrr

LoL

 

[ms136]

I second Calidad's comments. I've found using Trailer Tow Mode and locking out all gears above 7th yields the best fuel economy and puts the least amount of stress on the drivetrain in the form of heat while towing our 8800# travel trailer. I typically target 60 mph which equates to 2300 rpm which avgs 8.5-9.0 mpg. The increased engine speed keeps coolant moving at a higher rate for better cooling and reduces turbo boost, which also reduces heat. The economy of Ecoboost engines drops exponentially as boost increases. At road speed with the same load and transmission setting my 2020 Coyote equipped F150 was about 1.5 mpg more efficient.

 

[tominwi]

Go into the trailer menu. Its a little clunky. You can edit it.

I looked and looked at that menu and couldn't figure-out how to change it from "Default" but I will try again...

 

[VBreithaupt]

I tow travel trailer, open trailers with wood, enclosed trailers. If I don't have trailer brakes I like using towing mode but if the trailer has brakes I don't need the downshifting on stops because of the trailer brakes. I feel its extra the transmission has to work that you don't need if your trailer brakes are set up right. I like using manual shift mode on highway and usually lock it in 9th gear or 8th gear and yes I use with cruise on long open runs even they don't recommend it. This keeps it from shifting down heavy or even at all on small hills and bigger ones I can just shift down a gear or up on downhill side manually. Do what you like best

 

[Calidad]

Just from a weight observation even with a vehicle like the F250

I have seen a big difference between towing 3000-4000lbs vs 6000lbs. Regarding how you adjust your driving style and stopping. The jump from say 4000lbs to 6000lbs you realize really fast that you need to anticipate your stops. Even with really good disc electric hydraulic trailer brakes.

8000-9000lbs is a whole different level. Doesn’t matter if its the Expedition or the F250. In my towing experience I haul in the Sierras and up and down the west coast. The long grades are a very serious factor regarding preserving your brakes while maintaining a slow speed. I’d say 3000lbs and up tow mode is mandatory especially on anything not flat. Coming down off of many passes 5000-7400ft many miles of 3-6% grade tow mode is absolutely necessary to keep speed checked and brakes cool. Even coming off long down slope off ramps the engine braking is a huge help.

I find tow mode too aggressive for non towing down hill trips over the passes but I have found sport mode 2wd perfect for managing down hill speeds with the Ex packed with people.

My rear pads I replaced at 50,000 miles with about 15% pad life. My fronts are at around 50% currently at 78,000. We go up and over a 7400ft pass multiple times a month. I have zero issues with my stock brakes they have been excellent. Even with my giant boat which requires oversize permits to haul. I found that the F250
Doesn’t really stop my boat any faster than the Expedition however it definitely carries the weight better and is more confidence inspiring. I actually prefer the 3.5L power over the 6.8L v8 gasser. The 3.5 is more diesel like power vs the 6.8 gasser you rev 3500-4500 rpm to get the grunt the 3.5 has at say 2000-3000 rpm.

Not going to lie when your towing 8000+ lbs 34 ft you drive like a semi driver you leave lots of room and do lots of creeping along slowly in traffic. Even with really good trailer brakes there’s no such thing as a fast stop at any speed. I had a lady turn left across the front of me out of on coming stopped traffic while I was pulling away from a green light. I was hard on my brakes 4x farther back vs probably no brakes without the trailer. She was pulling into her driveway. But sat in the road. I was going about 20mph in a 35. I have a 8 ft wide giant oversized banner on the Expedition roof with flags!! Towing a 13ft high boat 9ft wide. I had to give her the hard horn as I came to a hard stop maybe 15ft before reaching her. The F250 wouldn’t have stopped me much shorter than that. She never saw me but all the stopped drivers watching were all big eyes expecting to see me run her over..

There’s a big jump between 4000lb and 6000lbs and even bigger jump to 8000-9000lbs regarding how you tow and manage your momentum

 

[Calidad]

I looked and looked at that menu and couldn't figure-out how to change it from "Default" but I will try again...

I think your asking about the trailer default it gets stuck in even when not towing? Yeah its annoying

Its under select trailer / then you choose “no trailer” its stupid. It detects a trailer when plugged in but won’t drop the trailer mode when unplugged. Super annoying

2016 - 2020 Ford 150, 250, Expedition - Reset From Tow Status To Normal on Digital Gauge Display

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[Calidad]

6000lbs and up I wouldn’t call it towing
I’d say momentum management is a more accurate description. Your either trying to create momentum or managing the momentum to control speed or stop

 

[duneslider]

My trailer is probably in the 6500-7000lbs range when loaded. I have towed it with and without tow mode and it seems that normal mode is slightly better mileage but not by much. If you are going down hills the tow mode does help with engine braking if needed.

I can't find the reference right now but the ford towing guide said you don't have to use tow mode and tow mode should NOT be used in bad weather/possible slick roads. These transmissions do a pretty good job of doing what they need to do and even in tow mode I have seen it go into 9 or 10 but not always. I don't believe it is locking them out, it is just much more picky about when it will go into them. Keeping rpm's low keeps the boost low. Keeping speeds lower makes the mileage better. Mileage is better at 65 than 70. Head wind kills mileage, tail wind helps it.

I just expect it (mileage) to not be great. My best mileage towing was recently in a spring snow storm and rarely went over 50-55mph.

22" wheels get worse mileage than 18" wheels.

 

[VCFP153]

at 65, the shape of the trailer and the speed becomes increasingly significant. I get much better mileage towing my trailer at 55 than I do at 65.

Drag increases as the square of airspeed.

 

[chuck s]

Once you get rolling air resistance is a (maybe the) major factor in fuel use and air resistance is exponential -- it's twice at 70mph than it was at 50. Slow down! Don't gotta drive 50 but certainly don't drive 70. I towed our 23' travel trailer the 310 miles from Cleveland to Gettysburg many times while my daughter was in college. This was almost all Turnpike. Required a fuel stop enroute it I drove at "five over." Dropping to "five under" I didn't. Air resistance matters.

-- Chuck

 

[42pilot]

"does anyone ever use normal mode to pick up that 10th gear when highway towing?"

Absolutely not. The normal mode is all about mpg and nothing for towing nearly any amount of weight. You'll be engaging all those solenoids as the transmission hunts for the right gear, thereby decreasing the life of those components. In addition, the timing (ignition) strategy for normal versus tow mode is different. Normal mode has a slightly retarded ignition curve which actually reduces hp and efficiency under load, and in 10th gear, you have low oil pressure and high stress on the crank. Very bad combination for the main bearings.

When I tow, I lock out gears 8,9 and 10. My trailer is 6800 lbs and I found 62 mph is about 2400 rpm and I get the best mpg (10-11) and the motor is not working as hard, the transmission is not shifting so much, oil and water temps are stable (I have an OBD reader on my iPhone).

Even though these cars are very good at towing within their limits, if you are looking for economical towing, you have the wrong vehicle. One last comment - I changed my transmission fluid at 75,000 miles and the car effectively had about 20,000 miles of towing. The fluid was nearly black and there was the slightest amount of clutch material in that fluid. I changed the fluid, erased the adaptive learning tables, and it shifts as good as the day I bought it.