Anyone towing with a 2013 Ford Escape?

[ONEFORD]

Originally Posted by frank_a

I better go look at one of these Escapes! Thanks!

Frank

Make sure to Get "tow package" and 2.0 ecoboost. I also have 4WD but dont think this is necassary. I tow in northern MI so needed it.

[Thomas G.]

Originally Posted by ONEFORD

Yes, I installed myself. Yes, the escape has a better power to weight ratio. I dont think they have a specific video on their site yet but you will have no problem wiring it. if I had a second time to do it, would take less than a hour to do.

I have a 2007 Escape, but it was not hard to wire a 7 pin connector myself. In fact, I preferred it, as I was able to use extra heavy wire for the trailer charge circuit.

[frank_a]

Originally Posted by ONEFORD

Make sure to Get "tow package" and 2.0 ecoboost. I also have 4WD but dont think this is necassary. I tow in northern MI so needed it.

I know what to look for, as I was waiting for these 3500# tow capacity Escapes to come out. When they did, I was put off by the 4 pin connector, but you have changed my mind! With an access right in the firewall, this would be easy for me to do. I bet I have all the wire in my shop to do it without even running out!

I avoided drilling hole in my GMC by running my rear view camera wiring up through my standard shift boot. Otherwise it would have been difficult to do, i.e., I would have had to drill some holes, which I do NOT like to do on vehicles unless there is no choice.

Thanks!

Frank

[Jon Vermilye]

I ran the wiring for my trailer lights, brake controller, charge line & a back up camera monitor in a 2010 RAV4 (269hp, 246 torque). Took the better part of a day, and the removal of almost all the driver's side trip. Still, it was do able.

As to towing, the RAV4 does fine with a 3000 lb (loaded) Escape 17B. 15MPG towing, 25MPG highway unhooked.

[Christin]

I know it's an older post but we are towing with a Escape SEL 2013 and that car is great! Its like there is nothing back there! We also Love the gasmileage, we drive it on hwy's 32/33 and with the trailer still with 24/25! Towing capacity is 2000 pounds, the big one with heavy towing package is able to tow 3500 pounds...

[Rick Mooyman]

Hi Christin. So you have the 1.6L is yours a FWD or 4WD? Got to wait another 1000KM before I can start towing, want the engine broken in nice before I start towing my 13' Boler.

Rick

Originally Posted by Christin

I know it's an older post but we are towing with a Escape SEL 2013 and that car is great! Its like there is nothing back there! We also Love the gasmileage, we drive it on hwy's 32/33 and with the trailer still with 24/25! Towing capacity is 2000 pounds, the big one with heavy towing package is able to tow 3500 pounds...

[LeonardS]

Christin,

Just curious, what trailer are you towing? Mpg sounds great!

[Christin]

Towing a 13' Scamp with some modification from the PO who sure ad up a few hundred pounds. Our Escape is a Fwd, i wanted to keep the gasmileage as low as possible. We had a Ford F 250 Superduty Diesel before, could tow everything but was so inefficent *juk*
I thought about a VW Diesel because of the torque but the Ford is so nice inside!

[Christin]

Rick, how much Kilometers do you have right now? We just reached the 2000 Miles, that about 3500 Kilomters i think...

Since my new Scamp is so beat down, the car has time to break in. (if not years)

[Rick Mooyman]

As of last night I am at 960KM, they say I can start towing at 1500km. But I will be waiting till after the 2000km mark just to be safe. I got the Tuxedo Black SE 2.0 4WD with tow package so good for 3500#, but don't think I will ever tow anything that heavy with it. Now I am ready to paint my 13' Boler Will be black on the bottom with gravel guard to match the lower part of my Ford Escape and will do the top half silver. Should look good when I am done.

Originally Posted by Christin

Rick, how much Kilometers do you have right now? We just reached the 2000 Miles, that about 3500 Kilomters i think...

Since my new Scamp is so beat down, the car has time to break in. (if not years)

[andix]

I had a 2008 Escape 3-spd AWD with a 3.0-liter engine and touted 200HP@4000RPM. That thing was rated for 3500 lbs and barely pulled the Bigfoot (2700 lbs read on scale, empty) from BC to AB. We spent 19 hours on a trip that should've lasted 12, just because I did not want to shoot the transmission in the middle of nowhere. Solution: upgraded to a 5.3 V8 Chev rated for 7500 lbs.
Not sure how much your trailer weighs, and I saw the tread probably bit too late. However from experience and professional advice (that I got, didn't believe and ended up verifying on my own) I won't tow anything that weighs more than 1/2 of the tug rating. Just to be on the safe side...

[frank_a]

Originally Posted by andix

I had a 2008 Escape 3-spd AWD with a 3.0-liter engine and touted 200HP@4000RPM. That thing was rated for 3500 lbs and barely pulled the Bigfoot (2700 lbs read on scale, empty) from BC to AB. We spent 19 hours on a trip that should've lasted 12, just because I did not want to shoot the transmission in the middle of nowhere. Solution: upgraded to a 5.3 V8 Chev rated for 7500 lbs.
Not sure how much your trailer weighs, and I saw the tread probably bit too late. However from experience and professional advice (that I got, didn't believe and ended up verifying on my own) I won't tow anything that weighs more than 1/2 of the tug rating. Just to be on the safe side...

The trailer we hope to buy is rated at just under 2500#s dry. We've dropped the Escape, dropped the Traverse, and are looking now at 4Runners That may very well change once we actually head out to buy something. The 4wd drive 4Runner is built on a truck chassis, has a 4 liter V-6, and a capacity of 4700#s. We're probably not gonna pull a switch on a more capable tow vehicle this year. We're in a planning mode, and gathering info.

Frank

[floyd]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

While it may be true that 1500 pounds is the tow limit of most cars, very few vehicles which are used as tugs have a limit which is that low. I agree that most of our trailers are over 1500 pounds gross operating weight.

That's "rating"

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by andix

I had a 2008 Escape 3-spd AWD with a 3.0-liter engine and touted 200HP@4000RPM.

It would be surprising to find any but the most basic vehicle built in this century with a three-speed transmission; the 2008 Escape had a four-speed CD4E automatic (or a five-speed manual). The shifter only shows "1", "2", and "D", but if the "O/D" button on the side is out then "D" becomes "4" instead of "3".

You may choose not to use the top gear, especially for towing, leaving three gears in use. 200 hp is more than enough for this size of rig... if you let the engine run fast enough to produce that power. The big jump in engine speed from third gear to second will be annoying, as it is in my similarly geared motorhome.

Originally Posted by andix

That thing was rated for 3500 lbs and barely pulled the Bigfoot (2700 lbs read on scale, empty) from BC to AB. We spent 19 hours on a trip that should've lasted 12, just because I did not want to shoot the transmission in the middle of nowhere.

In these forums I have heard of quite a few people who are alarmed by the engine running significantly faster than it does in a gentle cruise, yet it must run much faster to produce anything close to its maximum power. As a result, they crawl along at low engine speed in second gear. 12 hours regular driving time sounds like something like the South Okanagan to Edmonton; 19 hours for that trip would probably include hours of 50 km/h grade climbs.

I don't know of any reason to be concerned about the transmission. Was it hunting between second and third gears when trying to drive any faster?

In this case, the Escape may also have been overloaded (beyond the 7080 lb GCWR), depending on how much weight was added to the empty trailer and to the Escape (passengers, cargo).

Originally Posted by andix

However from experience and professional advice (that I got, didn't believe and ended up verifying on my own) I won't tow anything that weighs more than 1/2 of the tug rating. Just to be on the safe side...

It would be an enormous waste if everyone followed this suggestion, with much larger vehicles than necessary being driven year-round to not take advantage of the vehicle's capability on the occasional vacation. Our 3500-lb-rated Sienna has not much more power than a 2008 V6 Escape, weighs more, and hauls 3000 lb or more of trailer through those same mountains without trouble; I think that it would be ridiculous to drive huge SUV year-round to fix a non-existent problem.



In any case, the 2013 Escape is a different vehicle from a 2008 Escape: different engines, different transmissions, different body... almost unrelated.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

While it may be true that 1500 pounds is the tow limit of most cars, very few vehicles which are used as tugs have a limit which is that low.

Originally Posted by floyd

That's "rating"

Now there's a blast from the past... a response to a three-month-old post! Just catching up to us, Floyd?

Thanks for the attempt at help, but I don't need a ghost writer. The rating is the limit expressed by the manufacturer. You can choose to exceed that value, just as you can choose to drive faster than the speed limit.

[floyd]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

Now there's a blast from the past... a response to a three-month-old post! Just catching up to us, Floyd?

Thanks for the attempt at help, but I don't need a ghost writer. The rating is the limit expressed by the manufacturer. You can choose to exceed that value, just as you can choose to drive faster than the speed limit.

Ratings are set by corporate lawyers.
Capacities are determined by engineers.
Limits are set by statute.
My apologies, if I "spooked" you!

[LeonardS]

At the FORD website, there is a document regarding Ford Escape towing. I have attempted to attach it here.

The document brings up "Frontal Area Consideration". Specifically, the 2.0 Ecoboost with towing package has a "limitation/consideration" of 30 square feet total for "moving vehicle and trailer".

30 square feet doesn't seem like that much, especially if one has to add in the Escape's frontal area. Wouldn't that "limit" one to pulling a small boat, or pop-up camper?

I'm all for choosing a economic, relatively high mpg vehicle, and appreciate that many choose Ford Escapes for their tow vehicles, and tow successfully, and have done so for years. But reading this "Frontal Area Consideration" certainly puts a different light on the Escape's stated capabilities. Maybe there is more to the towing equation than simply a weight rating.

I personally backed away from the Escape, maybe prematurely, as a tow vehicle after reading this guide. I was looking to upgrade from my wife's Forester's 2400 lb. rating in order to tow a 15 or 16 or even a 17 foot FGRV, but the "Frontal Area Consideration" brought up by Ford made me wonder if I was going to be unhappy with the results. I certainly didn't want to be burning up a new tow vehicle, which is sort of what they are suggesting.

[LeonardS]

DANG! I tried to attach a file, used the advanced tab and "chose file" and...no attachment.

[Mary F]

Did it have the correct file type? Not every filetype will attach here.

[LeonardS]

It was a .pdf.