Towing with a Sport Trac

[Jason Morgan 2]

Hi all, I did a quick search of the site and couldn't find quite the info I was looking for, so sorry if this is a repeat topic...



But, I'm wondering what the factory tow pkg on the sport tracs included. I'm looking into getting a sport trac, but I don't know if it would be best to buy one with the factory tow pkg installed, or just put a class IV hitch and wiring on a non-towpack truck. I have a 19 ft camper to pull, roughly 3600# empty, and still definitely well under 5000# with all our junk loaded up. I have a weight distrubiting hitch and trailer brakes and the like, but I'm trying to figure out mainly if the factory tow pkg included things like HD engine cooling, tranny cooler or engine oil cooler, any of that type stuff. If it was just the hitch, and all that equipment was standard on all sport tracs, I'm good. If not, I'll keep looking and wait on a factory equipped model.



Thanks,



Jaosn

 

[Henry Suarez]

I tow a 23ft Wellcraft that roughly weighs in at about 5000lbs when fuelly fueled.

 

[TRACket Paul]

What year ST?



Link is from FAQ's.



search > trailer brake, exact words, all posts

 

[Bo Loo]

My understanding is that if a Gen 2 (2005+) ST doesn't have a class IV hitch from the factory, it's near impossible to get one installed aftermarket.

 

[Jason Morgan 2]

I'm looking at an 02/gen 1. I'm sure it's got the motor/hp to pull it, I just don't want to get 20 miles down the road and have it running hot on me. I also don't want to replace a tranny after a couple trips. Thanks again for the help!

 

[TRACket Paul]

Just bolt a Class IV hitch to Gen 1's, transmission cooler, four pole connector are standard. Check the rear axle ratio before puchase, 4:10 recommended.

 

[Duane Foster]

I have an '02 with the 3.73 rear gears. I recently bought a 6x12 enclosed trailer. Most of my towing will be local, but I towed it empty 125 miles and with 700 lbs in it on the return trip. Total weight was about 2000 lbs. Lots of people pull heavier loads than that. I had no problems pulling it. But keep it out of overdrive unless you're on the flat with little or no headwind.

As stated above, all Gen 1s have the basic 4 wire connector as standard equipment whether they have a tow package or not.

 

[EddieS'04]

'01 to '05 Trac is ready to tow 5000. The class 4 hitch is, aftermarket or dealer installed.



Ditto on the 4;10 rear gears prefered. For alot of max towing I would install a larger trans cooler. Or one in series with the oem one. Maybe an external fiter also.

 

[Scott Tanner]

do a search for my name and towing... you'll find all you need... it'll pull it, you'll know it's back there, though. I've pulled mine over 18,000 miles so far, and recently at 200,000+ miles....



[Broken External Image]:

 

[Jason Morgan 2]

@Eddie: thanks for the info on the tranny cooler. We only pull the camper about 4-5 times a year, and half of those trips are south to FL. If it looks like we're going more than that, or if we get bored with the beach and start heading up toward North GA or NC, I'll definitely look into the larger cooler.



@Tanner: When you say "you know it's back there," what do you mean? Is it a frontal area/weight vs. HP/Torque thing, or is do you have problems with sway or what I like to call "the tail wagging the dog?" I have a Jeep Liberty I'm pulling with now, and the biggest complaint about it is that when I'm up around 60mph on the interstate, and semis fly by at 80mph, it gets a little interesting. Lots of semis in succession can make for some pretty white knuckle driving, trying to keep the sway to a minimum. It's workable, but not ideal...

 

[ZoNiE]

@TANNER. That's a big trailer for a V6 Trac IMO. I pull my 2000# boat with my 2001 and no trailer brakes, but wouldn't consider pulling my 6000# (loaded) travel trailer with it. I tow that with my 2009 STA. Yeah, I feel it, but the built in sway control (whatever that is/does) the Tekonsha P3 brake controller, and Stabilizer WD Hitch help a lot. All I need now is air struts in the rear to re-level the trac. My tongue is heavy. Waiting on that mod until after in install my 200# Honda EV4010 Genset and two 6V batteries in the rear of the TT to see if it helps... There is no adjustment on the WDH I can do to change the rear axle loading. At least in a Gen1, you can get low cost air shocks. The Gen2 struts cost $750 a pair!!!:throwup:



If you want to tow anything near 5000# I'd get a V8 2nd Gen. You never want to be just at the limit, but at least 10% under, maybe more. I am about 14% under. I get 11MPG at 65-70 with premium gas and the trailer. Better than I did with my Motorhome that had the same weight of the STA and Trailer.



Just an FYI, the Class III/IV tow package from Ford on the Gen 2's does NOT have the brake controller connector installed. Seems Ford felt nobody used it so deleted it, at least for 2009 and later... Had to hardwire it after we put the interior BACK together looking for it.

 

[blksn8k]

I tow an 18 FT enclosed car trailer with my '07 ST. The trailer is a Covered Wagon brand with the heavy duty torsion bar suspension and 5200 lb axles. Tows well. The '07 was pre-wired for a brake controller. All the dealer had to do was drill a couple of mounting holes under the dash and plug it in. I have towed the trailer loaded with my '68 Cougar locally and my '99 Mustang Cobra to its new home in PA. That was an interesting trip as it was on I-80 through NE Ohio (no problem - flat) and western PA which was more of an issue because of the rolling hills. The Trac was able to handle the hills but, as was mentioned, I new it was back there even with the V8. I can't imagine trying that with the V6. I was still passing semis on the hills but the gas mileage was probably cut in half. Lots of full throttle climbs in 3rd and 4th gear. The trip was about 170 miles and I stopped a little past halfway for gas. Yikes! I had used about 3/4 tank at that point. I can usually make that trip without the trailer on less than half a tank with the cruise set on 73-74 mph. The worst part of the trip was actually on the non-interstate roads in PA. I was down in 2nd gear on one hill mostly because of the 55 mph speed limit and no chance to get a run on it. But, the Trac took it like a champ with no ill effects. I have also used the trailer to haul several loads of furniture.



[Broken External Image]:

 

[blksn8k]

BTW, the trailer looks more intimidating because of the height. I went 6" higher than standard so that I could haul my lifted 75 Bronco.



One other thing I need to mention: the max speed rating on most trailer tires is 65 mph unless you jack the air pressure up which doesn't sound very appealing to me. Not exceeding that and getting a run on big hills sucks too.



Oh, and don't try to run in OD when towing something this heavy. Your transmission will thank you.

 

[Patrick Wallach]

I tow many things with mine. It has a tranny cooler and 4.10 gears but it towed a 6000# boat, and like mentioned before you definitely feel it. The truck never got hot or anything and I towed it for more than 2 hours. Be sure that you are up on all of your routine maintenance.

 

[Scott Tanner]

Jason,



It's 5500 lbs, so you know you're not gonna jackrabbit start or do 80 up hills... I use LT tires, antisway friction cam, and equalizer bars. The LT tires aired up to 55# took care of the buffetting from semi's passing. the Frontal area is the key. 80 sq. ft is the max. Mine is a light weight, and weighs 4100# MT. The comment above about too much trailer for the truck is not true. It may be too much trailer for the driver's nerves, though. I'm within the weight rating. The frontal area is what kills you, not the length. The looonnngg tongue of my trailer, along with the long WB of the trac, makes it tow like a dream. Also, the trailer is only 7-1/2ft wide and only ft tall, so it is within the factory specs. I've gone up 8% grade at 55mph in 2nd gear out in Sedona Arizona. You need an additional trans cooler, if your towing up a lot of hills or in hot hot weather. Change your fluid before starting to tow, I change once a year. 4.10 gears are preferred. I wish I had them....

 

[Jason Morgan 2]

@STanner: This is probably a dumb question, but what do you mean when you say LT tires? And are you using them on the truck or trailer?

 

[Chris Taylor]

The only thing extra I would recommend is an ADDITIONAL tranny cooler. I pull a 22' trailer about the same weight as yours (7' wide, so the weight is about the same). Somewhere on here, I have described how the tranny reacted to pulling at various air temps and terrain. Without the extra cooler, you will be pushing 210 degrees in hot ambient temps and some hills. With the extra cooler, I never go over 190, and am usually lower. I'm measuring the tranny temp with a ScanguageII, one of the best things I've ever bought for the ST.



I did find that leaving OD off does make a BIG difference in how hot the tranny gets.

 

[Chris Taylor]

Just found my old post. Here's the info I got.



I'll post one more item here. Just back from a trip to WV, where I met some bigger hills than I ever have. ST did fine, but I'm real glad I had the additional tranny cooler.



Some observations:



Conditions

'03ST, 4:10 rear, 4x4, 255/R70-16 Michelin LTX M/S, towing 3800lb trailer with a frontal dimensions of 8'x7', 300lbs of gear in ST, all weights measured on a scale, additional 8400BTU tranny cooler, Air temp for all measurment about 85F, full synthetic tranny fluid, all temps measured at 55-60 mph



Flatland Non-towing OD OFF: Tranny temps in the 140-145 range. Water temp 195.

Flatland Non-towing OD ON: Tranny temps in the 140-145 range. Water temp 190.



Flatland Towing OD OFF Tranny temp 160. Water temp 200.

Flatland Towing OD ON Tranny temp 165. Water temp 195-200.



Mountain Towing: OD ON Tranny was hunting as I was going over moderate ups and downs. Left OD on until tranny temp got to 195, and then switched it off to let things cool down. Water temps peaked at 215. Not possible to leave on in steep uphill because it would automatically downshift out of OD and stay out...



Mountain Towing: OD OFF Going up 4-6% grades for about 30 miles. Let tranny downshift as needed to maintain 55-60 mph. Tranny temp peaked at 183. Water temp at 216. Had no problem keeping up the speed, but I was at ~ 4200 rpm. I let the ST choose what gear to be in. I did not manually downshift.



Observations: The more the tranny had to shift, the faster the tranny temp went up, especially if is was under a heavy load when it shifted. 10 degree rises in 30 seconds was not uncommon. Water temp also went up with rpm and amount of work the engine was having to do(measured by my feel of the gas pedal as the cruise was working to keep it at speed). Tranny temps took a while to cool down after getting heated up(5-15 minutes). Water temp came down fast after the load was off(2-5 minutes).



After 12 hours of driving in mountains, rolling hills and dead flat NW Ohio, a couple of things became clear. If the tranny is not downshifting out of OD on highway overpasses on flat land(especially if fighting a headwind, it will do that..), then leave it in OD. As it starts to downshift on slight hills, use your judgement, but even downshifting once every 10 minutes is enough to keep the tranny temps elevated. In the hills, remember that every time it shifts, it makes heat. OD is just another shift, and more heat. Best to leave it off. In the mountains, no doubt, leave it off and let the temps recover whenever possible on the easier stretches.



And... If you are going to tow any distances or in the mountains, an additional tranny cooler WILL be a big asset. Mine dropped tranny temps by 20 degrees in nontowing and towing, and allowed faster cooling when things did heat up than just the stock one alone...



This was my 1st time towing in mountains with the ST, and although I may have been ok with just the stock cooler, the Scan Guage showed what was really going on.

 

[Scott Tanner]

Jason,

LT is for Light Truck tires.. way stiffer sidewall, it eliminated the sway and buffetting by tractor trailers completely...