Towing at Max Gross - 1.4mi/kWh

[FingerlakesSparky]

Just got back from a short 75 mile trip (one way) to borrow my folks mini excavator with my 23 ER, MT Lariat. My trailer + the equipment weighs in just shy of 10,000 lbs. Really quite impressed with the consumption pulling through the hills in the backroads of WNY. Mostly 55 mph (ish) except through a smattering of small towns.

Great towing experience, the truck feels noticeably more planted and stable than pulling the same setup with my previous 3.5EB MT.

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[Ford Motor Company]

Just got back from a short 75 mile trip (one way) to borrow my folks mini excavator with my 23 ER, MT Lariat. My trailer + the equipment weighs in just shy of 10,000 lbs. Really quite impressed with the consumption pulling through the hills in the backroads of WNY. Mostly 55 mph (ish) except through a smattering of small towns. Great towing experience, the truck feels noticeably more planted and stable than pulling the same setup with my previous 3.5EB MT.

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WOW! We're glad that your F-150 was able to get the job done! Thanks for sharing a great towing experience.

 

[BeeKind]

Love this thread, I'm always telling people the truck actually excels at towing and then they think I'm the stupidest MF'er around. If you're a local contractor you can get almost any piece of equipment you want within 100 miles and not have a CDL. That's nuts.

I even feel much better in our trucks than the Rivian.

To my points, I'm going to guess this wasn't really exactly under 10k lbs, perhaps a few lbs over

 

[RickLightning]

A few?

 

[FingerlakesSparky]

Yup - I use to be the same way until I actually started looking at my use cases and sorted through all of the misinformation floating around. Hence the post; I hope others find it a useful data point if they're considering one.

You'll be surprised, but that excavator is lighter than it looks - about 6600 lbs wet; 2000 lbs for the aluminum tilt-deck trailer, 400 lbs worth of buckets, another couple of hundred pounds for other stuff (weight distribution hitch, spare tire, tools, etc). Totals up to somewhere in the low to mid 9K range. Only had my two younger daughters with me and limited cargo so we also fit well inside the GCWR.

 

[hturnerfamily]

I just bought a 4,000 lb camper, and the former owner couldn't BELIEVE that I didn't need to use a sway-control hitch system, as he had with his 'gas' F150... he almost assured me that I would have problems if I didn't : I drove off and made it home easily 80 miles later with no issues of any sort. The truck actually has sway-control already built in.

I had towed our previous 3,000 lb camper over 20,000 miles with no issues, too, and no matter the speed.

PRO with standard range battery, Max tow cooling, Tow Tech, and ProPower keeps the camper fridge going and even cooling with the roof air conditioner, while traveling...

 

[Max Power]

Towed this rental trailer over a mix of highway and Pennsylvania mountain roads last week, about 100 miles each way. Estimated load was 7,200-8,000lbs for the trailer, plus a full load in the truck for a week away, including my family of 5. Averaged 1.2mi/kWh, which meant no charging stops needed with my ER Lariat (with max trailer tow package), only a recharge at the destination before the return trip.
I felt some push/pull of the trailer while driving in Normal Mode, which smoothed out somewhat after switching to Tow/Haul Mode. Side note: I don't recall anywhere in the Trailer Connection Checklist anything about switching to Tow/Haul Mode, nor did my truck automatically make the change. If it hadn't randomly occurred to me about halway through the outbound leg, I would have done the entire trip in Normal Mode. I don't tow that much, but I would think it would be nice if the truck defaulted to that mode when a trailer was connected. Any thoughts from the regular towers on the thread?
As for power, this truck is an absolute BEAST! It pulled the trailer up the mountain roads like it wasn't even there. Acceleration was smooth and effortless. I used the ecoRoute feature in the Ford Nav for the return trip, which took me over some very narrow, steep mountain roads with frequent stops and turns. It was nerve wracking at first, but my confidence built with every mile as the truck performed so well.
Having not driven the route before, I did feel some range anxiety, and worried about having to unhitch to charge at one of the sparse charging stations available off the beaten path in rural PA. Perhaps this will change once I receive my NACS adapter from Ford this Fall.
Sorry for the long post, but hope this helps others who are researching towing with the Lightning.

 

[Ford Motor Company]

I just bought a 4,000 lb camper, and the former owner couldn't BELIEVE that I didn't need to use a sway-control hitch system, as he had with his 'gas' F150... he almost assured me that I would have problems if I didn't : I drove off and made it home easily 80 miles later with no issues of any sort. The truck actually has sway-control already built in.

I had towed our previous 3,000 lb camper over 20,000 miles with no issues, too, and no matter the speed.

PRO with standard range battery, Max tow cooling, Tow Tech, and ProPower keeps the camper fridge going and even cooling with the roof air conditioner, while traveling...

Whether you're loading up for everyday errands, work plans, or weekend excursions, the F-150 Lightning can help you get moving. Thanks for sharing, William!

 

[Ford Motor Company]

Towed this rental trailer over a mix of highway and Pennsylvania mountain roads last week, about 100 miles each way. Estimated load was 7,200-8,000lbs for the trailer, plus a full load in the truck for a week away, including my family of 5. Averaged 1.2mi/kWh, which meant no charging stops needed with my ER Lariat (with max trailer tow package), only a recharge at the destination before the return trip.
I felt some push/pull of the trailer while driving in Normal Mode, which smoothed out somewhat after switching to Tow/Haul Mode. Side note: I don't recall anywhere in the Trailer Connection Checklist anything about switching to Tow/Haul Mode, nor did my truck automatically make the change. If it hadn't randomly occurred to me about halway through the outbound leg, I would have done the entire trip in Normal Mode. I don't tow that much, but I would think it would be nice if the truck defaulted to that mode when a trailer was connected. Any thoughts from the regular towers on the thread?
As for power, this truck is an absolute BEAST! It pulled the trailer up the mountain roads like it wasn't even there. Acceleration was smooth and effortless. I used the ecoRoute feature in the Ford Nav for the return trip, which took me over some very narrow, steep mountain roads with frequent stops and turns. It was nerve wracking at first, but my confidence built with every mile as the truck performed so well.
Having not driven the route before, I did feel some range anxiety, and worried about having to unhitch to charge at one of the sparse charging stations available off the beaten path in rural PA. Perhaps this will change once I receive my NACS adapter from Ford this Fall.
Sorry for the long post, but hope this helps others who are researching towing with the Lightning.

The F-150 Lightning is most certainly, a beast! And that is a stunning F-150 Lightning. Thanks for sharing.

 

[VTbuckeye]

I always tell people, as long as you are within the range of the truck towing is a complete non-issue. It tows better than any other half ton and it isn't even close. Now that the Silverado EV and cyber truck are available there may be better choices, but for local towing this truck is great. This picture is from when the truck was a week old back in October 2022. Towed the Tacoma 100 miles to carvana. It was probably quicker with the Tacoma on the trailer than the Tacoma would have been with an empty trailer.

 

[jdmackes]

I just bought a 4,000 lb camper, and the former owner couldn't BELIEVE that I didn't need to use a sway-control hitch system, as he had with his 'gas' F150... he almost assured me that I would have problems if I didn't : I drove off and made it home easily 80 miles later with no issues of any sort. The truck actually has sway-control already built in.

I had towed our previous 3,000 lb camper over 20,000 miles with no issues, too, and no matter the speed.

PRO with standard range battery, Max tow cooling, Tow Tech, and ProPower keeps the camper fridge going and even cooling with the roof air conditioner, while traveling...

What kind of efficiency are you getting towing them? I've been looking at Trailmanor trailers but it's been tough to find ones around me that are either in good shape, or aren't wildly overpriced

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