Anyone towing with a 2013 Ford Escape?

[rabbit]

30 sq. ft. is Ford's frontal area number for the 2.0 w/ the blower. I've never seen anyone say that as long as one exceeds max recommendations, everything will be fine, but I have observed that skeptics and heresiarchs prefer to push the limits. Presumably one can tow what one wishes with what one wishes to tow with but I assume that FoMoCo has a reason for a conservative frontal area rec.

jack

[frank_a]

Check out oneford's rig. He's the guy who convinced me getting one of these 2 liter ecoboost Escapes was the way to go. There's a post about 1/2 way down here: http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...e-57074-7.html

He says (and I quote): "I tow a 3500# Travel Lite I17 with a 2013 Ford Escape 2.0 Ecoboost AWD with tow package. It comes with a 2in reciever and a 4-pin conector. I added a 7-pin conector for a Tekonsha Prodigy P2 breke controller and a Andersen "no sway" WD hitch. This combination is incredible!"

Further on, he says: "The Ford Escape 2.0 Ecoboost tow package has 240 hp and 270 tq and weighs only 3500-3700 lbs. The Ford looks like the winner if you are only going to tow 3500lbs and also the ford will get better MPG'S towing and un-towing. Ford also has a built in anti sway controll in the traction controll as a last resort if thing get out of hand., I like to still use hitch sway controll to eliminate it before it starts. I have towed in a 40 mph cross wind a couple weeks ago and didnt have a problem even at 70mph. your friction anti sway should work fine. I just prefer to use andersen style due to it weighs less 50lbs and lets me back up with out unconecting it."

Daniel and I have exchanged emails about how the Escape works towing his rig. He only has very positive things to say about it.

That's the best I can do guys. I may as well stop reading posts in this thread, as all I seem to do is defend my choice of tow vehicle after months of consideration.

Have a great weekend all!

Frank

[Thomas G.]

Originally Posted by frank_a

That's the best I can do guys. I may as well stop reading posts in this thread, as all I seem to do is defend my choice of tow vehicle after months of consideration.

Have a great weekend all!

Frank

Don't fret. Some here love to argue about safety and you will never satisfy them, in fact, it only encourages them.

[rabbit]

Tom, towing safety, commonly stated to be dependent on such considerations as weight, wheelbase and suspension of tow vehicle, has not been mentioned by anyone in this thread or at least not by me. The issue of marginal capability for hill-pulling was raised and justifiably IMO. I was off topic with the reference to Mazda CX5 frontal area parameter of tow rating followed by a mass condemnation of small displacement engines as lacking guts for towing. I apologize to all participants in this thread.

jack

[Jared J]

Originally Posted by honda03842

For the tow rating religious, does the Ford Escape's frontal area limits mean that one can not tow a travel trailer with a Ford Escape?

Obviously, yes. If I cared enough and was using that tow vehicle, I would sit down and calculate out 30 square feet of flat surface, vs whatever footage and curve the camper has at whatever max speed I planned on going.

I prefer sticking my foot in the throttle body and letting 350hp eat. I've never lost speed on a hill, and kick down on TWO hills from wichita to Minneapolis.

I'm that guy the camper forum warns you about.

[MCDenny]

Just looked up the Grand Cherokee frontal area limit, 55 sq ft. V6, V8 and diesel all say 55 sq ft max.

[Jared J]

My '04 titan shows 50 sq. ft., and 2010 ford 350-550 shows 60!!! What the hell?

Are they considering frontal area as what sticks out past the tv? I don't see any other option. Something's rotten in Denmark.

[frank_a]

That's the only thing that makes sense. Our new Escape must have at least 30 sf of frontal area without anything behind it!

I just took of the dealer sticker (grrrrrr), roof rack cross bars (T30, wonderful, plus I needed a step stool), and am going to take of the dealer license plate surrounds, then go over the finish very carefully, make sure everything is squeaky clean, then tape off the black and seal the paint. I may be at this all day...

Frank

Originally Posted by Jared J

My '04 titan shows 50 sq. ft., and 2010 ford 350-550 shows 60!!! What the hell?

Are they considering frontal area as what sticks out past the tv? I don't see any other option. Something's rotten in Denmark.

[MC1]

Originally Posted by MCDenny

Just looked up the Grand Cherokee frontal area limit, 55 sq ft. V6, V8 and diesel all say 55 sq ft max.

Amazing. Looks like they just rubber stamp numbers whether they mean anything or not.

[Andrew Gibbens]

Originally Posted by frank_a

That's the only thing that makes sense. Our new Escape must have at least 30 sf of frontal area without anything behind it!

The Ford towing guide for Escapes with other engines shows a limit of 20 ft2 - which is less than the cross sectional area of the Escape alone......

[frank_a]

Exactly. Ford must know (ya would think), that the frontal area of the vehicle is more than that! It has to mean extra area.

Frank

Originally Posted by Andrew Gibbens

The Ford towing guide for Escapes with other engines shows a limit of 20 ft2 - which is less than the cross sectional area of the Escape alone......

[Mike Magee]

Originally Posted by Jared J

My '04 titan shows 50 sq. ft., and 2010 ford 350-550 shows 60!!! What the hell?

Are they considering frontal area as what sticks out past the tv? I don't see any other option. Something's rotten in Denmark.

Regarding the 2010 F350, would you tell us the page number and name of the document where you found that? I have read through the Owner Guide (2nd printing), towing info seems to be between pages 251 and 262, and have not been able to spot any frontal area specifications. I have to see this for myself!

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by Jared J

My '04 titan shows 50 sq. ft., and 2010 ford 350-550 shows 60!

Originally Posted by Mike Magee

Regarding the 2010 F350, would you tell us the page number and name of the document where you found that?

From the Recommended Towing Weights section on page 253 of the 3rd printing of the 2013 owners manual for the F-250/350/450/550:

Note: The total area in square feet (meters) exposed to air resistance of
a moving vehicle and its trailer is the trailer frontal area. Do not exceed
60 feet2 (5.57 meters2) trailer frontal area.

If it seems strange that the same manual covers this wide range of trucks, keep in mind that they all have mostly the same design and the same drivetrains: the heavy versions have mostly frame and axle changes, which change the load that can be carried in the truck but have less effect on towing. The GCWR does change, but the frontal area - which is only a recommendation - does not. I agree that this value doesn't seem to get much serious attention from Ford.

Originally Posted by Jared J

Are they considering frontal area as what sticks out past the tv? I don't see any other option..

The definition above says no.

[Brian B-P]

Another note on the F-SuperDuty information discussed above: the owners manual gives GCWR for various models and axle ratios, but those are apparently for the gas engines. There is a diesel supplement, which provides higher GCWR numbers... but no mention of frontal area.

What does this have to do with an Escape? I think it suggests that the frontal area - although not completely arbitrary - is not so carefully chosen by Ford as the GCWR.

[Jared J]

You're right, I missed that the first time around. I don't remember what I saw it in last night, but I found it again here, although worded differently: http://www.ford.com/assets/pdf/towin...RDUTYsep09.pdf

This makes no sense.

I read the titan specs on a forum. Today I went to look it up and found the same person (same exact post wording) on 4 forums saying they can't pull a fifth wheel/gooseneck, and are limited to 50 sq ft., per the 2004 towing guide a salesman showed him.

I went on nissan's site, the 2004 titan towing guide says NOTHING either way about a gooseneck or frontal area. The 2006 guide says gooseneck/fifth wheel ok, follow normal trailer specs, no frontal area limit. The 2009 guide lists separate gooseneck/fifth wheel specs, and a limit of 60 sq ft frontal area.

This same forum poster had several posts saying ford/chevy/dodge are the only real trucks...somebody had an agenda, and likely has never set foot in a nissan dealership, let alone own a titan.

[Jared J]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

Another note on the F-SuperDuty information discussed above: the owners manual gives GCWR for various models and axle ratios, but those are apparently for the gas engines. There is a diesel supplement, which provides higher GCWR numbers... but no mention of frontal area.

What does this have to do with an Escape? I think it suggests that the frontal area - although not completely arbitrary - is not so carefully chosen by Ford as the GCWR.

The towing guide listed above shows (I was off on the models here) f250-450 ALL APPLICATIONS as having 60 sq ft frontal area.

Directly, it has nothing to do with an escape, but it does show those ratings are a little ridiculous. To suggest a cherokee at 55, and a titan and f-450 at 60 are all in the same capacity for that rating? That makes no sense.

Also, if you figure an 8.5 foot wide trailer, that means it can be only 7' high... that's right, an f-450 pulling a standard width camper, can only be 7' high. Basically, if you want to tow 90% of the stick built fifth wheels out there, you need a semi.

[Mike Magee]

Thanks Brian, I read through there twice and still missed it, till you showed me.

That pickup rating is kind of crazy. They say don't do it, then they say if you do it you can expect "reduced performance" (almost like they are winking at those who exceed the rating). The Escape manual just says don't do it, and nothing else.

As far as I can see, with neither the pickups nor the Escape are they saying that it will negate the warranty or ruin something. F-250s (and up) routinely tow some monster trailers, and nothing catastrophic seems to be happening (at least not right away). That makes me wonder if the Escape would be the same way. But of course there are no guarantees!

[ONEFORD]

My travel trailer has a min of 45 sq ft frontal area and I tow at full load 3500lbs. I drive 70 to 75mph and the escape will maintain 5th gear and will drop to 4th up hills. I have towed into 40 mph pluss head winds all the way across Michigan with no problems. Yes, you will get 9 to 11mpg in thoes extreme conditions but will get 29mpg as soon as you unhitch. My last tug was a 2008 Econoline E-350 with a 5.4L V8 and it only had 15 more horse but alot more frontal area. It kicked down much more and only got 6 mpg towing and max of 15mpg unhitched.

[frank_a]

Thanks for joining in here Daniel! I can't wait to order a ParkLiner and take it up through the Adirondacks!

Frank

[cpaharley2008]

Originally Posted by ONEFORD

My travel trailer has a min of 45 sq ft frontal area and I tow at full load 3500lbs. I drive 70 to 75mph and the escape will maintain 5th gear and will drop to 4th up hills. I have towed into 40 mph pluss head winds all the way across Michigan with no problems. Yes, you will get 9 to 11mpg in thoes extreme conditions but will get 29mpg as soon as you unhitch. My last tug was a 2008 Econoline E-350 with a 5.4L V8 and it only had 15 more horse but alot more frontal area. It kicked down much more and only got 6 mpg towing and max of 15mpg unhitched.

Why would anyone tow a trailer at 70-75 mph is beyond my thinking. Let's hope they will never have to stop from that speed.