First Tow With The New F250

[Bob Landry]

First one with the new truck. It was only about 60 miles of Interstate but this truck is the nads. Went out last weekend and set up the WD. As we were leaving the storage yard today I set the truck's brake controller on the way to the gate. Easy.. Used Tow/haul, which I never used with the Tundra. Left it in standard mode, all six gears. I would always lock out 6th with the Tundra because I was thinking it was easier on the truck than towing in a higher gear. Pulled my 277RL 60-64, stayed around 1700RPM and only shifted down into 5th going up the grades. I think I love this truck. It will be interesting to see what kind of MPG I get.

[warsw]

First one with the new truck. It was only about 60 miles of Interstate but this truck is the nads. Went out last weekend and set up the WD. As we were leaving the storage yard today I set the truck's brake controller on the way to the gate. Easy.. Used Tow/haul, which I never used with the Tundra. Left it in standard mode, all six gears. I would always lock out 6th with the Tundra because I was thinking it was easier on the truck than towing in a higher gear. Pulled my 277RL 60-64, stayed around 1700RPM and only shifted down into 5th going up the grades. I think I love this truck. It will be interesting to see what kind of MPG I get.I have a neighbor that has a 2013 Outback 298re (almost the same exact weight as yours) and he just ordered a new F250 with the 6.2. He will be really happy to hear yours did so well.

[fla-gypsy]

How heavy are you towing Bob?

[Bob Landry]

How heavy are you towing Bob?

I haven't had the current rig on a scale, but I'm guestimating 8500 and around 1000 on the hitch. I've kept the pass-through relatively light from towing with the Tundra.

[Albert]

Bob,

You will also find it will automatically shift down when going down a grade in tow mode. We have a 2012 model at it pulls or fiver very well. We get about 10 MPG when towing.

John

[dave-g]

I think you will like the 250- here is some fun stuff I found.

1.it can keep 2 mpg records- normal and towing- helpful is you remember to switch it.
2. haul mode- when going down hill if you tap the breaks it will start to down gear to hold your speed down-
3. will give a warning if the trailer disconnects electric for some reason
4. has a sway control setting for the trailer- will actually apply trailer only breaks to prevent sway.

I hope you got the backup camera, I would have never ordered this but now would not be with out it.

I get 7-8 mpg towing the 5th wheel.

Good luck with the truck.

[F16Vip3r]

I bought a used 2011 6.2L last summer after I figured that my 5.4L 2010 -150 wasn't cutting it with my 6500lb trailer. I got lucky with what I found, considering what I've been reading over the last couple months. Without me even looking for it, I wound up with the 4.30 gears and 10,000lb GVWR. It's also LOADED with every option I could ask for.

Anyway, it pulled my 6500lb (~7500lb loaded) TT like it wasn't even there, getting about 8.0 mpg on 87 octane, 8.5 on 92, and 9.0 on "ethanol-free" 87. I just upgraded to an 8200lb camper, and we got about 8.0 mpg (I think) pulling her home lightly loaded. I'll have more fidelity after we take her on an actual trip in a couple weeks. I usually set the cruise on the highway at 60, then place her in "M" and shift as I see fit... Leading the upshift when cresting a hill, and downshifting only when I see her start to lose steam. I haven't used tow/haul much b/c I figure I can gain an MPG (or a .1-.2) manually shifting a bit earlier/later. It's just as easy to engine brake using the select shift by locking out gears 'til I get to the one I want. I have sometimes used tow/haul when accelerating for the more aggressive shift points.

The 1 upgrade I've done to the truck was add the Firestone Ride Rite air bags. Even with the old trailer, when she was loaded, there was a bit of sag in the rear end. Part of that may be that I didn't have the WD cranked up tight enough. I'll be moving cross-country this summer, and we plan to load up the truck and trailer as close to the max as we can, so I figured the air bags were a worthy investment (especially with 865, empty, now sitting on my hitch). I read a number of posts on the "Ford Truck Enthusiast" site about the -250 rear end being a bit "weak." It wasn't just my imagination.

[Bob Landry]

Even with the old trailer, when she was loaded, there was a bit of sag in the rear end. Part of that may be that I didn't have the WD cranked up tight enough.

After reading this post several times and telling myself to be quiet, I can't help but comment on this.

Leveling the truck(or the trailer) is not the function of the WD system. The purpose of WD is to return weight to the front axle that is removed by adding the weight of the trailer to the rear end. The amount of weight to be shifted is determined by the information in your truck's owner manual. In the case of the late model Fords, you will need to return the front end height to half of the difference between the hitched and unhitched height.. Nowhere in any hitch installation instructions I have ever read does it say anything about adjusting the hitch until the truck is level. The WD adjustment is critical. Too little weight return and you jeopardize steering stability with potential front end float. Too much and you accelerate front end suspension and tire wear.
The RV forums are full of posts giving recommendations to tweak the hitch until the truck "looks right", or it feels better, and I cringe when I read them. That's just not how it's done

I would recommend that you go over to the towing section of RV.Net. There are two stickies, one explains how WD works and the other is a detailed explanation on how to adjust it. Both should be required reading for anyone considering towing a trailer, and the guys who wrote them deserve a PhD in trailer towing. The stickies that good.

If you want to use air bags to level the truck, that's OK, just understand that raising the rear end does nothing more than change the adjustment of the WD hitch. They do not transfer weight and they do not increase any of the ratings of the truck. The way they affect the WD adjustment is by altering the hitch tilt angle which changes the tension on the bars, but after you read and digest the stickies, you'll understand what I'm talking about. The WD has to be adjusted with the trailer loaded like yo are going to pull it and the air bags inflated to the pressure you are going to use.

Good luck and safe towing..

[Bob Landry]

I think you will like the 250- here is some fun stuff I found.

1.it can keep 2 mpg records- normal and towing- helpful is you remember to switch it.
2. haul mode- when going down hill if you tap the breaks it will start to down gear to hold your speed down-
3. will give a warning if the trailer disconnects electric for some reason
4. has a sway control setting for the trailer- will actually apply trailer only breaks to prevent sway.

I hope you got the backup camera, I would have never ordered this but now would not be with out it.

I get 7-8 mpg towing the 5th wheel.

Good luck with the truck.

This truck didn't come with the BU Camera. My Tundra had one and it only took one trip with this truck to convince me to install one. I installed the Rostra camera with the CCD camera and the video screen in the rear view mirror. I'm really happy with it. Ford makes an aftermarket kit for the F150 but not for the Super Duty. Go figure.

[fla-gypsy]

After reading this post several times and telling myself to be quiet, I can't help but comment on this.

Leveling the truck(or the trailer) is not the function of the WD system. The purpose of WD is to return weight to the front axle that is removed by adding the weight of the trailer to the rear end. The amount of weight to be shifted is determined by the information in your truck's owner manual. In the case of the late model Fords, you will need to return the front end height to half of the difference between the hitched and unhitched height.. Nowhere in any hitch installation instructions I have ever read does it say anything about adjusting the hitch until the truck is level. The WD adjustment is critical. Too little weight return and you jeopardize steering stability with potential front end float. Too much and you accelerate front end suspension and tire wear.
The RV forums are full of posts giving recommendations to tweak the hitch until the truck "looks right", or it feels better, and I cringe when I read them. That's just not how it's done

I would recommend that you go over to the towing section of RV.Net. There are two stickies, one explains how WD works and the other is a detailed explanation on how to adjust it. Both should be required reading for anyone considering towing a trailer, and the guys who wrote them deserve a PhD in trailer towing. The stickies that good.

If you want to use air bags to level the truck, that's OK, just understand that raising the rear end does nothing more than change the adjustment of the WD hitch. They do not transfer weight and they do not increase any of the ratings of the truck. The way they affect the WD adjustment is by altering the hitch tilt angle which changes the tension on the bars, but after you read and digest the stickies, you'll understand what I'm talking about. The WD has to be adjusted with the trailer loaded like yo are going to pull it and the air bags inflated to the pressure you are going to use.

Good luck and safe towing..

X 2 on what Bob said. Understanding the WD system is critical to doing it correctly and making the set up as safe as possible. I 2nd the sticky at RV.net on WD systems, it is one of the best I have ever seen.

[lightning79]

Bob,

You will also find it will automatically shift down when going down a grade in tow mode. We have a 2012 model at it pulls or fiver very well. We get about 10 MPG when towing.

John

My diesel has done this when in tow/haul mode. Why does it do this? Is it safe? Made me a little concerned.

Kevin

[TandE]

Not sure on the dodges but on the fords when in tow haul mode when the brakes are tapped or applied it will downshift to help with braking. It does it so you don't have to use the brakes as much so they don't overheat. With my trailer being so light I tap the brakes and let off and it barely gains any speed going down hill and most hills will actually slow to a point I have to use the accelerator.

Yours could be the same but again not sure on the dodge. Do you have and exhaust brake? If so is that what you are experiencing?

[lightning79]

Not sure on the dodges but on the fords when in tow haul mode when the brakes are tapped or applied it will downshift to help with braking. It does it so you don't have to use the brakes as much so they don't overheat. With my trailer being so light I tap the brakes and let off and it barely gains any speed going down hill and most hills will actually slow to a point I have to use the accelerator.

Yours could be the same but again not sure on the dodge. Do you have and exhaust brake? If so is that what you are experiencing?

I have the exhaust brake, I only tried the T/H mode twice, and when it revved up, it startled me a little. It sounds like it was working fine, if downshifting means it's slowing the rig down.

So it's okay if the RPMs go up like that?

My trailer only weighs 4000 pounds unloaded, so I don't think my Cummins is really working at all! Sounds like I don't need T/H with this trailer.

Kevin

[lightning79]

And I believe the time the engine revved in T/H was when I touched the brakes as I was approaching a hill going down.

Sorry if I cut into a thread!

Kevin

[Bob Landry]

Can we get back on topic?

[IdahoSRT10]

Bob as good as the 6.2 is you will like it better with a custom tune. Check out this site, Mike knows and owns the 6.2, his tunes turned my 6.8 around.
Link (http://www.5startuning.com/)

[Jay Pat]

Bob,
If you travel thru Rockdale on Hwy 79, there is a scale at the co-op on the right side of the road.
If they are not busy, and you ask nicely, they can help you weigh your rig and even check the individual wheel weights. Their scales are level with the ground.
It wouldn't hurt to bring a dozen Round Rock Donuts with you for good will.....
Pat

Also, there is an old beam scale that they do not use anymore on the right. Go past it and turn in the gate to the newer scales.

[F16Vip3r]

After reading this post several times and telling myself to be quiet, I can't help but comment on this.

Leveling the truck(or the trailer) is not the function of the WD system. The purpose of WD is to return weight to the front axle that is removed by adding the weight of the trailer to the rear end. The amount of weight to be shifted is determined by the information in your truck's owner manual. In the case of the late model Fords, you will need to return the front end height to half of the difference between the hitched and unhitched height.. Nowhere in any hitch installation instructions I have ever read does it say anything about adjusting the hitch until the truck is level. The WD adjustment is critical. Too little weight return and you jeopardize steering stability with potential front end float. Too much and you accelerate front end suspension and tire wear.
The RV forums are full of posts giving recommendations to tweak the hitch until the truck "looks right", or it feels better, and I cringe when I read them. That's just not how it's done

I would recommend that you go over to the towing section of RV.Net. There are two stickies, one explains how WD works and the other is a detailed explanation on how to adjust it. Both should be required reading for anyone considering towing a trailer, and the guys who wrote them deserve a PhD in trailer towing. The stickies that good.

If you want to use air bags to level the truck, that's OK, just understand that raising the rear end does nothing more than change the adjustment of the WD hitch. They do not transfer weight and they do not increase any of the ratings of the truck. The way they affect the WD adjustment is by altering the hitch tilt angle which changes the tension on the bars, but after you read and digest the stickies, you'll understand what I'm talking about. The WD has to be adjusted with the trailer loaded like yo are going to pull it and the air bags inflated to the pressure you are going to use.

Good luck and safe towing..

Bob- (tx) About this time last year I hadn't even contemplated buying a TT, and now I'm on my second.

The F-250 Owner's Manual also has a section on setting up WD. Since I bought my first trailer off Craig's List with all the equipment, and a Reese WD system with no documentation, I used this guide to set up my hitch. I ended up doing this at a gravel campground (not ideal) since neither my street, my storage lot, nor my driveway are level. Still, even though all the measurements were in accordance with the manual when I calibrated the system, there seemed to be a bit of "sag." This could have been due to us putting more load under in the trailer after I calibrated the WD. Technically, I guess we should re-calibrate each time we load up.

The primary reason for the air bags was not to account for "sag" created by the trailer. It was in anticipation of loading the truck (and trailer) to the max GVWR / GCWR for our x-country move from TN to CA. We get paid an "incentive" for the amount of weight that we move ourselves.

Though I haven't researched it, I was of the opinion that I shouldn't be using a WD hitch to account for the 1500lbs of weight I planned to put in the bed of the truck (in addition to having a trailer putting another 800+lbs on the hitch). I had read in multiple posts across the FTE forums about the newer -250's being a bit "weak in the rear," so I thought it was a good, and relatively cheap, investment. I'd rather not have my truck riding on the bump-stops for close to 2500 miles over 2 weeks of moving/camping. My truck is rated for 2648 of Cargo Carrying Capacity.

I just bought my new trailer (Sprinter 320BHS) 2 weeks ago, though I dropped it off 3 days later for some warranty issues we found and are STILL waiting to get it back (missing our second camping weekend b/c of it). It's 25% heavier (8200 dry / 865 hitch), so I decided to research my "no documentation" WD system. It's probably rated for a max of 1000lb, and our ball was only rated for 6000lbs, so I've since bought a Blue Ox SwayPro 1500 system and a 20,000lb ball (truck is rated for 1,250 hitch / 12,500 total). I'm still waiting to get the trailer back in order to set this system up. In accordance with the SwayPro manual, the air bags should be deflated to the minimum pressure when doing this. I'll have to check out how that's different from the stickies.