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Towing a boat w/ v6

4K views 5 replies 4 participants last post by  Charles 
#1 ·
Hello everyone! Im new here but not to Fords. Had a few mustang drag cars, family has owned escapes to explorers.

Picked up a 2011 XLT 4wd(awd) v6 Escape this year. I am heavily into fishing and i have a jon boat and trailer that i tow around perfectly fine with my escape.

I added a Curt class 3 hitch with wiring kit. the current boat/trailer setup weights maybe 500lbs max, and pretty much cant even tell its behind me when towing.

Next week i am upgrading my boat to a bigger 17ft aluminum boat.

I am posting as im kinda looking for some input experience and assurance on towing larger items. The manual/Ford says 3500lbs for my model, but then next to that they do the *** saying "with towing package" and from what ive read there is nothing major in the towing package except hitch, wiring and bumper. some say trans cooler but ive also read all models have the trans cooler. Either way i will install one over winter if mine doesnt.

The new boat and trailer package i am getting is roughly 2200lbs. Im just looking for assurance or anyones' experience of towing similar items around the 2300 pound range. I live in Illinois so its primarily flat land for the most part, no crazy up and down steep grades. I will be looking to tow it around fairly often next year. mainly 30min-2hr drives around me to lakes.

Should i use the "grade assist" button only when doing incline/decline or should i leave it on all the time on flat highway driving and just lose some gas milage due to no overdrive. ( i come from having a trailblazer SS which could tow 5k no problem since it had air suspension in the rear, and i could manually drive the trans and keep it in 3rd with no OD.

Any input is great, as i pickup the boat on Tuesday and finalize it all, but i am some what worried with towing but just looking for some assurance. Obviously a better towing vehicle would be the best option but i just bought my escape about 6mo ago, so i am not in the market for a new car.

Thanks in advance!
 
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#2 ·
Welcome to the City!!! We are glad you joined us!!! :hi:

Now to your question. I don't think you will have an issue towing the boat with your escape. The main reason I think so is you don't have any crazy hills or mountains to climb/descend. I towed a 5 ft x 10 ft U Haul trailer with my 2003 Escape that had a 4 speed automatic without issue.

I would utilize the Tow/Haul mode on the trans to minimize transmission shifting.
 
#3 ·
Thanks for the reply!

It actually looks like it may be a bit lighter then i thought which is a good thing. I will add a sway control bar over winter to the trailer to help. i did find a old thread on here with someone with the same boat with no issues so that makes me a feel a bit better.

Do you recommend then using the grade assist even while just cruising on the highway? the manual said to really only use it on hills/ decents but i do know that its proper to not let it go into OD. My old trailblazer ss had a OD lock out button for towing, so i do know ill feel it in the gas milage which isnt a big deal.

Thanks again.
 
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