Anyone towing with a 2013 Ford Escape?

[frank_a]

You're kidding right? I mean not about braking from those speeds, but folks traveling 75 mph with big trailers pass me all the time on the highway. I'm a speed limit kinda guy, I just get it the right lane on the interstate every day going back and forth to work and let folks pass me. I can never get over how many big towed rigs are passing me at speeds of at least 75! Gee!

Frank

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

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.

[MC1]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

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.

Agree.

Note... It is great to see speed testing done (in the interest of science and safety) but only at appropriate locations

[LeonardS]

speed limit cars pulling trailers in California: 55 MPH. (Okaaaay... let's see how many really go that speed on I-5).

Way back on page 7 or 8 of this thread I brought up the "frontal area consideration" that Ford puts in their online documents. It was part of my decision to not get the Ford Escape. Ford doesn't list it as a "rating" nor "requirement", at least not in their online sales info, just a "consideration" or "limitation". I don't think that wording is going to get any lawyers all happy about another reason to blame any accident on someone exceeding such "limitation/consideration". But for me I was a bit worried about burning up the Escape. (I also balked at paying so much in order to get the towing package).

Hearing that folks are successfully towing their FGRV's and enjoying the nice MPG of the little Eco-boost engine makes we wonder if I prematurely eliminated this fine vehicle over this concern. Maybe by the time our Subaru Forester is getting old I'll re-visit the idea of getting the Ford Escape.

[Jared J]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

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.

If the trailer brakes work right, it should be the same as just the vehicle. Before I put aftermarket brakes on the truck, it stopped better with the trailer, haven't tried it with the new brakes.

[ONEFORD]

Why do people keep saying the tow package costs alot? From Ford it is $435 for a class II 2in hitch ,bumper panel cut out, computer sway controll, and a smart 4-pin wire conection that will also reconize the trailer ...installed. Where can you get this cheaper "installed"?

[Ice-breaker]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

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.

Generally, I tow at or slightly below the posted speed limits. However, I have to admit that a couple times when I have not been paying strict attention to my speed, I have been guilty of towing in the 70-75 mph bracket for brief time periods. I guess that goes to show that fiberglass trailers can be so easy to tow that sometimes you don't really notice they are there.

[frank_a]

I agree with a couple things here. One is Daniel noting the cost of the tow package for the Escape. Negligible!

The other is towing a trailer with brakes. My experience is that it is as if my truck was braking normally, or even better! Plus part of the tow package with the new Escape is sway control...

Don't get me wrong here folks. I am an inveterate speed limit driver. I'm just not in a hurry, and I do not want/need to be looking for the guys in blue all the time.

Frank

[cpaharley2008]

Just posted over on Escape forum, speed wastes fuel. Consumer Reports, August Sorry for the small print, but it says close to a 30% drop from 55 to 75 mph.

[frank_a]

Speed always wastes fuel, that's a no-brainer! First thing I did when I sealed the paint on the new Escape was take off the crossbars on the factory roof rack. Those things suck mileage and shouldn't be used unless ya gotta. T30 torx on both our '08 Outback and the new Escape, so we don't need to buy a new tool.

Frank

[Jared J]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Just posted over on Escape forum, speed wastes fuel. Consumer Reports, August Sorry for the small print, but it says close to a 30% drop from 55 to 75 mph.

I hope that doesn't surprise anybody. I'm not going to drive 55 in the 75 all the time to save a bit of fuel, though. I'll stick to the speed limit and get where I'm going to enjoy my vacation. They're short enough as it is.

[ONEFORD]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

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.

Could we stay on topic? Most the speeds limits in my state are 70mph and the minimum speeds are 50mph, so a 20mph difference is a scary thing for you? The Ford Escape has 4 wheel anti lock disc brakes and stops from 70-0 in 170 feet. For my trailer, I have electric trailer brakes....My point was that the Ford Escape has no problem with square footage frontal area on my trailer even at higher speeds.

[ONEFORD]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Just posted over on Escape forum, speed wastes fuel. Consumer Reports, August Sorry for the small print, but it says close to a 30% drop from 55 to 75 mph.

If you don't already know that faster speed uses more fuel then maybe you shouldn't be driving.
Actual honest unbiased studies show that the safest speed to driver (least amount of accident involvement) is at 5 to 10 MPH over the AVERAGE speed of traffic. Go slower and the graph looks like a "U". Go faster, and about the same thing happens. The bottom of the U on the graph is in between 5 and 10 over the average speed.

[frank_a]

Originally Posted by ONEFORD

Actual honest unbiased studies show that the safest speed to driver (least amount of accident involvement) is at 5 to 10 MPH over the AVERAGE speed of traffic. Go slower and the graph looks like a "U". Go faster, and about the same thing happens. The bottom of the U on the graph is in between 5 and 10 over the average speed.

Daniel, I found a u-shaped graph like that on the web from some study done in TX in 1990. It is down a bit on this page: http://blog.motorists.org/speed-limits-slower-safer/

Is that the one you refer too?

Here I always thought going speed limit in the right lane and letting all those other folks fly by in the left was the way to go. Hmmm... Hard to teach old dogs new tricks!

Frank

[MCDenny]

Originally Posted by frank_a

Daniel, I found a u-shaped graph like that on the web from some study done in TX in 1990. It is down a bit on this page: http://blog.motorists.org/speed-limits-slower-safer/

Is that the one you refer too?

Here I always thought going speed limit in the right lane and letting all those other folks fly by in the left was the way to go. Hmmm... Hard to teach old dogs new tricks!

Frank

That's a phony math graph. Note there is no scale on the Y axis. Does going avg speed +/- 10 mph show a trivial risk increase, 1%? Significant risk increase, 50%? It doesn't say.

Note also, the organization advocates for higher speed limits so maybe they have a wee bit of bias in their presentation.

When towing, I'm most comfortable going about 65 and am religious about staying in the right lane. That's probably about the 10th percentile on an uncongested 70 mph limit freeway. When not towing I shoot for about the 90th percentile, generally high 70s. Both speeds keep the closing velocity with nearly all other vehicles quite low, 10 or 15 mph.

[frank_a]

That's why I was asking Daniel. I have no clue!

I drive speed limit most the time, and stay in the right lane. That changes on a multi-hour trip. I'll drive/tow faster usually in instances like that, but not all the time. I'm most comfortable just driving speed limit or a bit above. I'm still amazed on a daily basis (I'm on the interstate for a bit twice a day M-F) how fast people drive, incluidng those hauling big trailers!

Enjoy your day all!

Frank

Originally Posted by MCDenny

That's a phony math graph. Note there is no scale on the Y axis. Does going avg speed +/- 10 mph show a trivial risk increase, 1%? Significant risk increase, 50%? It doesn't say.

Note also, the organization advocates for higher speed limits so maybe they have a wee bit of bias in their presentation.

When towing, I'm most comfortable going about 65 and am religious about staying in the right lane. That's probably about the 10th percentile on an uncongested 70 mph limit freeway. When not towing I shoot for about the 90th percentile, generally high 70s. Both speeds keep the closing velocity with nearly all other vehicles quite low, 10 or 15 mph.

[frank_a]

Rick, did you need to upgrade to a 7 pin RV plug? If so, where did you route the wires?

I'm still trying to find out how to remove interior panels to run wire from the back to the front, but about all I can find on the web is how to remove door panels, which is of no use to me!

When do you start towing? Or have you already?

Frank

Originally Posted by Rick Mooyman

Yup got the 2013 SE in Tuxedo Black 2.0 turbo with tow package. And now I find out the 2014 have the backup camera as a standard feature.

[Steve L.]

Since I'm feeling in a rabble-rousing mood today and haven't yet contributed to this absurdly long thread, I'll offer the following:

I don’t have any problem with the graph referenced. The Michigan State Police have no particular axe to grind with respect to the setting of speed limits but more with enforcing the limits set, unless one subscribes to the writing tickets as a principal income source theory. I expect they do have interest in identifying troublesome areas. I fully expect that the vertical axis is a subjective labelling to actual data.

Here’s a link to another study from California. A similar graph occurs about 2/3rds of the way in. In this graph the vertical axis is accidents per 1000 miles and it has two curves, one for 2-lane and the other for urban freeway. Like the graph disparaged above, they’ve also assigned risk levels of “low” and “safe” and presumably all other levels are “high” or perhaps "higher". I don’t see that what level they choose to label “safe” alters the conclusion that driving near the speed limit reduces the number accidents. Not only does the data support it but it passes the “sniff” test.

http://www.hwysafety.com/BHSPI_SettingSpeedLimits_CTCDC_060223.htm

Planting oneself in the right lane doing 10 or 15 mph under the limit is not a safety improving strategy. Not that I'm clear anyone is advocating that.

Lastly, every time a bone-head mountain biker flies by me on a forest trail it’s (sometimes) painfully obvious to both of us that speed differential is hazardous.

But then, I long ago lost track of the point of the thread so I could be wrong.

[frank_a]

This is getting REAL confusing, but then again, I'm 60 and easily befuddled...

Often I find myself in the company of tractor trailers when I'm going 65 on our interstates here. They go 65 a lot. 65 is the speed LIMIT, and while most people don't stay under the limit, there seem to be more and more like me that stay at 65. In fact, often I will have people come up behind me, and they must like my speed, because I end up with followers once in a while.

Now the average traffic speed must be around 70-75, the mean maybe a bit less. Is this data saying that I'm risking an accident by going speed limit in the right lane with other wackos like me?

Huh!

Frank

[Steve L.]

I'm older than you so imagine how confused I must be. What's you definition of "risky"? Leaving the house is a risk. (depending on your house I suppose.)

[frank_a]

My idea of "risky" is getting off-topic, just like this! These new Escapes with the 2 liter ecoboost motors and factory tow packages are gonna take over the tug market for a lot of fiberglass trailers I bet!

Another idea of "risky" - removing interior panels to run wiring for a brake controller for our new Escape!

Frank