SITUATION: planning a road trip to Colorado next summer with my travel trailer. Plan is to head over I70 to the western side and set up camp there.

SETUP: 2011 FX4 Ecoboost (not max tow), trailer brake, stabilization/sway system, 23 foot microlite travel trailer.

ADVICE NEEDED: have never towed with this setup on a long road trip, let alone in the mountains. Any advice from those with experience would be much appreciated!

 

What is the weight of tt ?

 

One of the things I was told is to make sure you let the engine idle for awhile when you stop... especially after pulling hard (like taking your trailer over the mountain passes).

Pulling hard over the mountains with a trailer heats up the turbos. Letting the engine sit and idle for awhile gives them time to cool down before you shut off the truck.

The only other advice I have is to get the towing mirror add-ons (if you don't already). They make highway driving much nicer.
(or just upgrade to a new truck with max tow package so you have Tow Mirrors... thats what I did

 

Unloaded is 3630 lbs...when we travel we probably add 200 to 300 lbs. at the most.

 

LOL...not sure if the upgrade is in the future, but I did plan on looking at tow mirrors. Good advice though...thanks!!

 

These are the ones I used on my old truck

not sure if they fit your year, but I bet they make a version that does fit.

These worked very nicely on my 2004 - they fit tight and look like they are OEM.

 

You will have no problems at all towing that trailer.. As long as the hitch is setup correctly you will barley even know it's back there. Good luck, Kevin

 

also helps the transmission cool down too

 

wasnt there a similar thread to this a few weeks ago where the ecoboost kept overheating while pulling weight up a grade? the end result was to make sure it downshifts. I guess even though higher rpms seems like more heat, the truck has more power there and can do the job easier. oh and run premium. but hey that trailer is pretty light for its size, and you have a long way until the trip, nothing wrong with a little practice until then. nothing wrong with getting a little experienc under your belt

 

That person's trouble was using regular unleaded while towing at high altitude. Had he been using Premium he would have been fine. Detonation will overheat an engine right quick.

 

The Ecoboost doesn't need higher rpm's.. That is the best thing about these motors, They are at max torque(420lb/ft) at 2500 rpm's. Mine tows 7500lbs all day long never seeing above 2600-2700 rpm's on the steepest hills maintaining 65mph...

 

At high altitudes you need the highest octane fuel you can get - 87 octane won't cut it. 89 may be the highest you can find. Anything less than 87 should not be used even when not towing.

 

I have a 2008 5.4 XLT... Had no issues towing my blazer on the auto transport. A lot shorter distance than you, but with the trailer empty, I could hardly tell it was back there. I would just recommend that you keep the speed down and keep your distance from other vehicles and plan a slightly longer braking distance.

 

^ X2. Absolutely. The lower octanes out there assume a normally aspirated engine; not turbocharged.

 

Yep! That's my experience too.