Flat towing an F-150

[CalifCruiser]

Just an update concerning wiring for the 12v plug, finally got around to doing it. We discovered that the 12v plug that is low and center in the dash is wired to fuse #8 and the higher one towards passenger side is fuse #6, both located in the under hood fuse box next to the battery, which makes it easy. We pulled fuse #8, then tested each of the two spades, one is hot and one is not. We simply ran a wire from the dead spade to the battery, about a 12" run. We also used a 20A inline fuse, replacing the 20A fuse that was in the #8 fuse slot. Now the 12v plug is hot all of the time, very easy solution. We also ran a charge line to the same plug that we mounted under the front bumper for lights, etc.

[Milford 47]

Originally Posted by gsdutch

Milford47, Califcruiser: thanks for the quick reply. I am going to try to find the F150 forum post regarding the fused jumper.

I used the hot from the Tuscany 7 pin to avoid a low battery

[BPeas]

Had the same 12v timeout on my 2015 F150. There are a couple of good YouTube videos showing connecting to an always on connection in the internal fuse box on the passenger side. The 12v plugs you can buy from Amazon with LED lighting make it easy to see down by the pedals when you're connecting to it.

[road_dog22]

When flipping back and forth, did you remember to pull the knob out?

[Winepress]

Originally Posted by gsdutch

Milford47, Califcruiser: thanks for the quick reply. I am going to try to find the F150 forum post regarding the fused jumper.

Here is a photo from my 18 F150

[Newmar nut]

I found that a ugrade had to be loaded onto my 2019 F150 truck. Worked fine once that was done

[Dutch Star Don]

Side Note....on the newer trucks, with push button start, they tell you to push the start button WITHOUT touching the brake pedal. Then step on the brakes and shift to Neutral. After that, you have to enable Neutral Tow on the dash. Initially I had issues where it said that it didn't initialize. I realized that you must keep the brake pedal depressed during the entire procedure.....no more issues.

[Azdutchie]

Originally Posted by mricet1005

I have 2018 and don’t have any major issue, but the timing on the 5 switches between 2H and 4L in 7 sec can be temperamental. I’ve had on occasion to try multiple times. Try adjusting speed of turning dial faster or slower to see if works.

On 2018 procedure - press start button without touching brake to turn on accessory power, put into 2H, put transmission into neutral with foot on brake, rotate the 4x4 selector switch as described above, should get message on dash that in neutral tow mode, press start button with foot off brake to turn power off.

As I said, works for me but timing sometimes finicky.

The trick is to turn the 4wd knob all the way once to 4wd low and back BEFORE putting gear selector in N. My 2017 process is: touch start button without brake, turn 4wd knob to 4low and back, put gear selector in N, turn 4wd knob to 4low and back 5 times in 7 seconds. Display will show "flat tow enabled". That 1st turn before gear selector puzzled me in beginning, as instruction say to ensure vehicle is in 2WD high.... well, I visually saw it was in that position, so I skipped turning the knob.... incorrect! Turn the knob once!

[DKRITTER]

Originally Posted by Azdutchie

The trick is to turn the 4wd knob all the way once to 4wd low and back BEFORE putting gear selector in N. My 2017 process is: touch start button without brake, turn 4wd knob to 4low and back, put gear selector in N, turn 4wd knob to 4low and back 5 times in 7 seconds. Display will show "flat tow enabled". That 1st turn before gear selector puzzled me in beginning, as instruction say to ensure vehicle is in 2WD high.... well, I visually saw it was in that position, so I skipped turning the knob.... incorrect! Turn the knob once!

In my 2019, it is completely different from above. Be sure to read your manual for your vehicle and year.

[patgreenair]

My 2018 F-150 works fine as far as shifting it into the "towing" mode, however I have found that if I hook up my electrical cord from my Ford to the RV BEFORE doing the "towing" mode procedure in the truck, it will not work. I believe that the brake light relay that isolates the F-150s brake lights is to blame for that. What that relay does is makes sure that the brake lights on the F-150 are ONLY activated by a signal from the RV itself, and not by a supplemental braking system pushing on the brake pedal. Not every vehicle will need this relay installed, but mine did.

[Wschep]

On my 2020 F150

Tow neutral Ford 150

1. Vehicle Off
2. Press key on button with FOOT OFF the Brake
3. Foot on the brake with pressure ,
4. Make sure its in 2H and shift to NEUTRAL Watch dash as its easy to put it in D)
5. With foot on the brake, 5 times in 7 secs 2H to 4L
6. Take foot off the brake
7. Dash will show Neutral Tow enabled, LEAVE TRANSMISSION IN Neutral
8. Turn vehicle off
9. Anytime door opens ,, it will show,, Neutral tow enabled
10. To exit tow mode, move shifter out of neutral

[PanJH]

Originally Posted by BPeas

Had the same 12v timeout on my 2015 F150. There are a couple of good YouTube videos showing connecting to an always on connection in the internal fuse box on the passenger side. The 12v plugs you can buy from Amazon with LED lighting make it easy to see down by the pedals when you're connecting to it.

You can also reprogram the powerpoint timeout parameter using Forscan software.

[Hawkeye]

This thread is now 2 years old, and we traded for a 2021 F-150. Has anyone set one of these up to flat tow?, looks like the bumper and the electrical has changed some. Thanks

[Dutch Star Don]

I set up my 2019 last year. I used Roadmaster base plates. Roadmaster said the bumper had to be removed, which can be delicate if you have Adaptive Cruise Control. The ACC has to be removed, without changing the setting, to get the bumper off.

The reason for pulling the bumper off was to get it out of the way so you can drill a hole in the frame, both sides, from the side of the truck. It was pretty simple to just drill the hole with a right angle drill. (I have a Harbor Freight right angle drill attachment). The job was a snap without pulling the bumper. Not sure if the 21 is the same as the 19.

I also use the Air Force One braking system. It requires tapping into the brake vacuum booster. On the Ford booster, there are two ports. One for the standard vacuum hose and a second port for a brake sensor. Air Force One sells a "Y" that fits into the sensor port for the AF1 vacuum attachment, rather than cutting the main hose in past installations.

Wiring.....I used on of the premade black box diode kits from Etrailer, tapping into the brake and running lights.