Aluminum body F150 towing

[flaresadog]

I just upgraded from my Jeep Cherokee to a 2015 F150 4x4 with the lighter weight aluminum body. So far really pleased. Ford has made it really easy and foolproof to safely tow.

I reinstalled my existing Air Force One braking system and the only issue was finding a good place for the control unit. E-trailer suggested either on the firewall behind the engine or on top of the engine cowling. There was no room on the firewall with my 3.5 Ecoboost and I didn't want to drill holes in the cowling. Instead I found the perfect spot alongside the air intake box. It's out of the way, stable and protected.

It was also suggested that the bumper needed to be removed in order to run the AF1 and tow light wiring. I found it possible, difficult but possible, to run everything without bumper removal. All in all I think the installation looks good and I'm very pleased.

Has anyone else had experience with towing the 2015 + F150! Good or bad?

[vettenuts]

I have my eye on the F150 but am waiting for the new Ranger first to see if it's a scaled down F150 with aluminum body and towable transfer case.

[jddangelo]

Went from dolly towing a 2006 Ford Freestyle to this setup and love it.

I will never go back to dolly towing!

[flaresadog]

Originally Posted by jddangelo

Attachment 170379

Went from dolly towing a 2006 Ford Freestyle to this setup and love it.

I will never go back to dolly towing!

Do you notice the extra weight of a full size pickup at all? I'm running a Fleetwood Revolution with Cat c-7 350hp. Up till now I've pulled a smaller SUV.

[Hugmongous]

flaresadog,

I tow a 2016 F-150 4x4 2.7L ecoboost with supercrew config (4 full doors) - I previously towed 2005 JGC Limited -- the F-150 is 100# heavier! Which I find amazing but that's according to the charts. Different F-150 configs have different weights.

[flaresadog]

Originally Posted by Hugmongous

flaresadog,

I tow a 2016 F-150 4x4 2.7L ecoboost with supercrew config (4 full doors) - I previously towed 2005 JGC Limited -- the F-150 is 100# heavier! Which I find amazing but that's according to the charts. Different F-150 configs have different weights.

Interesting. I've been pulling a 04 Jeep GC that weighed in at 4350. According to the charts my 2015 extended cab with 3.5 EB should have been about 4900. When I weighed it was 5600. I'm guessing all the options added up, plus the 36 gal fuel tank. Lol

Originally Posted by flaresadog

Do you notice the extra weight of a full size pickup at all? I'm running a Fleetwood Revolution with Cat c-7 350hp. Up till now I've pulled a smaller SUV.

[jddangelo]

Originally Posted by flaresadog

Do you notice the extra weight of a full size pickup at all? I'm running a Fleetwood Revolution with Cat c-7 350hp. Up till now I've pulled a smaller SUV.

To be honest I pulled the Freestyle with a V10 gasser so the F150 feels like it is t even there

[JohnH12]

Originally Posted by flaresadog

Interesting. I've been pulling a 04 Jeep GC that weighed in at 4350. According to the charts my 2015 extended cab with 3.5 EB should have been about 4900. When I weighed it was 5600. I'm guessing all the options added up, plus the 36 gal fuel tank. Lol

Same thing I found with a 2016 F-150 Lariat. Two different CAT scale weighings are almost the same at about 5600#. I have the 36 gallon tank but it was only 1/4 full.
Only issue was rigging the lights. I was, and still am, skeptical about tapping into the LED lights. You can't use a magnetic because of the aluminum body. I went with an LED strip that I taped to the lower edge of the tailgate. It satisfies the law but isn't all that bright during daylight. I ran the light wires to the front so they only work when hooked to the coach. The blind spot and backup warnings are disabled if you use the trailer light connection.
At least the truck brake lights come on also when the Patriot inertia system is activated. That give additional warning to any following vehicle.
I may add another LED light strip and mount it higher so there's better turn signal and running light awareness.
Only other dislike is the short 5.5 foot bed. I couldn't find a 4 door Lariat with the 6.5 foot.

[flaresadog]

Originally Posted by JohnH12

Same thing I found with a 2016 F-150 Lariat. Two different CAT scale weighings are almost the same at about 5600#. I have the 36 gallon tank but it was only 1/4 full.

Only issue was rigging the lights. I was, and still am, skeptical about tapping into the LED lights. You can't use a magnetic because of the aluminum body. I went with an LED strip that I taped to the lower edge of the tailgate. It satisfies the law but isn't all that bright during daylight. I ran the light wires to the front so they only work when hooked to the coach. The blind spot and backup warnings are disabled if you use the trailer light connection.

At least the truck brake lights come on also when the Patriot inertia system is activated. That give additional warning to any following vehicle.

I may add another LED light strip and mount it higher so there's better turn signal and running light awareness.

Only other dislike is the short 5.5 foot bed. I couldn't find a 4 door Lariat with the 6.5 foot.

In the 2015 model it still had the incandescent tail lights. I would have preferred to add a second bulb into the light housing because I've had some previous problems with diode setups. But the taillight design made adding a second bulb impossible. I went ahead and added 4 diodes in the taillight cavity and so far it's working great.

Yeah they don't make the crew cab with the 6.5 foot bed because it gets so long. I had a choice of extended cab with 6.5 or crew cab with 5.5.

[JohnH12]

Originally Posted by flaresadog

In the 2015 model it still had the incandescent tail lights. I would have preferred to add a second bulb into the light housing because I've had some previous problems with diode setups. But the taillight design made adding a second bulb impossible. I went ahead and added 4 diodes in the taillight cavity and so far it's working great.

Yeah they don't make the crew cab with the 6.5 foot bed because it gets so long. I had a choice of extended cab with 6.5 or crew cab with 5.5.

Not in the F-150 unless you special order it for an additional arm and a leg.
They'll sell an F-350 dually with the crew cab and an 8 foot bed though (I had one).
The American public has forgot how to drive a real truck!

[jrwitt]

Originally Posted by JohnH12

Not in the F-150 unless you special order it for an additional arm and a leg.
They'll sell an F-350 dually with the crew cab and an 8 foot bed though (I had one).
The American public has forgot how to drive a real truck!

I was shopping for a King Ranch F150 here in Colorado a few months ago and saw several with 6.5 foot beds. They were all crew cabs. Seems like most of the longer beds also had the V8 engine rather than the 3.5 Eco Boost that I was looking for. Didn't see any 8' beds in the crew cabs so can't comment on that.

[walt2137]

What I did on the toad lights on my F150 XLT was add a LED light strip under the tail gate also decided to add leather seats recently, on towing the truck at close to 6000 lb verses the Kia Soul at under 3000 lb I do notice a few tents more fuel usage but it tows great.
The LED lights are on EBay for less than $20.

[hstansel]

Great pictures and writeup. Can you tell me what brand of wiring harness you installed on the F-150 for brake, turn, and tail lights. I have the same truck as you and getting ready to buy the Air Force One, base plate, and light wiring kit.

[walt2137]

With the strip LED you just buy a trailer wire kit from Walmart. What year F150, the 2013 I have I had to install the LED on the bottom lip of the tail gate but the later F150 it will fit in the space below the tail gate