So Ford came out with this new Pro Trailer Backup feature for the 2016 F-150 and all I have to say is “Thanks an F’ing Lot Ford!”. As if there weren’t enough lame ass unqualified pricks driving up and down our highways, now we take one more thing off the required skills list and hand them an extra dose of confidence. Yeah! Cause taking away the one thing that scares them about pulling a trailer will somehow make them good at it now? Seriously? New trucks are already rated to haul WAY too much, and I say that because less than 5% of the towing population does it right. In fact I would say that old guys in RV trailers are probably the ones doing it right with the greatest frequency. And that’s because they started out when trucks weren’t rated to haul this much.
The current population of 20, 30, and 40 somethings that hook up their Ford F-150 to a tag trailer think that the 12,200 lbs Ford says it will haul means you can just slide the receiver in and go. WRONG YOU IDIOTS!!! And Ford you are just as much to blame. So is every truck manufacturer in truth, but today it’s beat up on Ford day…so sorry. Every single truck out there today, and for decades before, are rated at 500 lbs of tongue weight and 5,000 lbs maximum trailer weight if all you do is slide a ball mount into the receiver hitch on your truck. If you do this for anything that has more than one axle you are asking for trouble.
On the trailer hitch on your truck you will see that the hitch clearly says it can handle 10k, 12k, or whatever the maximum is for your truck, when using a Weight Distributing setup. Whatever the maximum is, in the case of the Ford F-150 it’s 12,200 lbs, the maximum tongue weight will be 10% or 1,220 lbs. This means you need a ball mount that slides into your receiver hitch that has provisions for load leveling, or spring, bars. These help equalize the load by using leverage on the front of the trailer and back of the truck to get more weight on the front tires of the tow vehicle. It also takes all the downward twisting force out of the trailer hitch itself and makes EVERYTHING in your operation happier. It will tow flatter, straighter, smoother, and safer than any other way you can tow. Period.
Towing a boat? Tongue weight, and total trailer weight, isn’t an issue with most pleasure boats, but the launch ramp is. Take a look on YouTube, or spend one weekend at your local lake, and you’ll see tons of people having issues. In my experience, backing up straight isn’t the biggest problem. That’s not why people’s tow rigs end up in the water. Will the Pro Trailer Backup stop the trailer when it’s the right distance into the water? Will it hold all four brakes so it doesn’t slide off into the drink? Not sure how much you’ll use a boat? Not sure you have the skill to back it in the water? Rent one for a while and make sure you really love it. It’s cheaper than owning one anyway, and will probably save you from having a boat sitting next to your house that you never use.
Will auxiliary suspension systems like Ridetech’s LevelTow help? Without question, but they are NOT a fix for improper towing equipment. Considering that a typical Weight Distributing Hitch setup costs around $250, it’s a cheap investment and will make your towing life much happier. And it takes 5 minutes to hook them up. It’s too easy not to do it.
So now that we have addressed the fact that most people aren’t towing correctly anyway, and have no business behind the wheel of a truck hauling a trailer most of the time, why would we make it that much easier on them? If backing up a trailer is currently the most likely place for someone to have a problem, and it results in them smacking a post at the gas station or denting their tow vehicle, that sucks. But does it suck as bad as having them lose it on the freeway next to my family in our properly equipped tow rig, causing us to crash? Sorry folks, but I don’t think so.
And you still need to know when to turn the stupid knob. And I can train someone to backup a trailer just as quickly as the Pro Trailer Backup.
Try this. Put someone in your truck, who is scared to death to back one up and has never tried before, with any trailer behind it and have them start backing up. Oh wait, before you do have them put their hand on the INSIDE of the bottom of the steering wheel. As they back up tell them to move their hand in the direction they want the trailer to go.
I’ve been backing up a trailer since I was a single digit in age. I know I’m not the norm. But if you can’t figure out how to do it safely on your own I don’t think you have any business pulling one. Just practice!
Tell me I’m wrong.
Will it work with an enclosed or stacker trailer?
The continued dumbing – down of America.
A real man would not need this girly accessory.
Don’t forget, Emperor Barry the H needs one.
She would also be wearing that pink girly bike helmet to
keep from messing up her hair.
Barry is a real Girly-man!
steve
It would still take some skill. I think i will buy up big on F150 guards, they are going to be looking into those mirrors and not watching where the front of their truck is.
Chad, tell us how you REALLY feel!
I’ve been using trailers for 30 years and still have trouble with my left and right backing up!
And yes you don’t deserve a trailer if you need a computer to tell you how.
This is stupid. Theres noway I’m trusting my 60k truck and the trailer to some mickey mouse gadget. If you can’t back it up then you shouldn’t be hauling it. ITS NOT THAT HARD!!! Go to a big parking lot and practice. Hand at 6 is a good tip, but if you passed 3rd grade you should be able to do it at 12 also.
Why do weed need this? Because options spell profit at the stealership..thats why
Oh boo hoo. You all sound like the old heads that griped about power windows and door locks! \”I can roll my own window down! It\’s just something else to break!\” This is going to make people more efficient at what they do. How many times have you been at a campground, or lumber yard, or scrap yard and sat for what seemed like days watching someone struggle with backing a trailer? Wouldn\’t it be nice if they were able to back it right in and get out of your way? Not being able to back a trailer never keeps someone from pulling one anyway. You should all be happy that they\’ve finally got some assistance. And hell, no matter how good you think you are at it, I\’d venture to guess that with a few minutes in a truck with this feature, you\’d probably improve on your own trailer backing ET\’s. Should everyone pulling a trailer know how to back one? YES. Do the refuse to pull one because they can\’t back it? NO. So why not give them a hand so they can get the hell out of the way….safely. My only question would be if the truck has sensors in the front that keep the nose of the truck from hitting things.
And boo hoo hoo to every idiot who uses this thing and bangs up his brand new truck because he couldn’t learn how to drive. lol
“jeff” I’d punch you in the face if a computer could show me how to be a man and do it correctly
I cry bullshit on efficiency and on the comparison to power windows. Oh, and by the way I only own two things with power windows. Both have cost me hundreds of dollars in repairs. The manual windows….still working after 50 years trouble free. Just saying. LOL
I’m with you Chad
more “auto & computerized” gadgets in cars, the less skilled and more distracted the drivers get !
Your comment about trucks not being able to tow over 5000 pounds without weight distributing equipment is incorrect. Many trucks come with weight CARRYING capacity of 10,000 pounds or more. I’ve seen some of 14,000 pounds. I work in the equipment rental industry, I deal with this every day. We won’t rent a Bobcat and trailer without a 10,000 weight carrying hitch. Unfortunately, we get dentists and accountants who have never towed anything show up with a properly rated truck. We load em up and send them out.
I love you like a brother Greg, but YOU are incorrect. LOL. All the manufacturers differentiate between weight carrying and towing capabilities. They are NOT the same. Unfortunately putting a Bobcat and trailer on a 3/4 ton pickup that has a 5000/10000 hitch on it and a 10,000 carrying capacity, and only using the hitch without weight distributing equipment is both unsafe and illegal in most states if the bobcat and trailer weigh more than 5000 lbs. In fact, you can be cited for it and required to weigh if prompted to do so by highway patrol.
I love you too Chad, BUT I attended a week long trailer hitch school at Reese in Elkhart, Indiana. I made my living installing hitches, and instructing the proud new owners of giant travel trailers how their weight distributing hitches work. I know the difference between weight carrying, which would be just slapping on a ball or pintle hook, and weight distributing, which is using the spring bars. Class 3, 4 and 5 all have capacities listed in carrying and distributing. Since you cannot use weight distributing equipment with a pintle hook or surge brakes, we go by weight carrying.
I’ve set up hundreds of weight distributing hitches, sway controls, and brake controllers.
Just looking through the Reese online catalog, there are class 5 receivers, which are 2 1/2 tubes rather than the common 2 inch, which are rated for 18,000 pounds weight carrying, and 2000 pounds tongue weight. And according to Reese, weight carrying means gross trailer weight, with no weight distributing equipment.
No thank you! I will just keep towing with my 69 Chevy long bed step side. No problem.
Your right Chad. look at airline captains with modern avionics. Their loosing their flying skills. Another thing. How many people check the rating of the pintle? I see 5500# rated ones used for much heavier trailers. I pointed it out to our landscape contractor at work.
I have an F-150. But when I tow long distance, I prefer to use my Hyundai Elantra. It gets some chuckles when people see it, but they aren’t laughing when they realize I’m getting over 30 mpg towing. Only downside is backing up. The wheelbase is short and the distance of the trailers axle from the ball is even shorter. Basically it folds like origami. Maximum concentration is required when things don’t go as planned with that rig.
I used to drive a quad and trailer set up when I was a groundsman on a large private estate. When it came to reversing with the trailer it was really easy. I just unhitched the trailer, turned it the right way round and then hitched the quad back up to it.
Just as well it didn’t have 10 foot logs on it then!
Don’t worry not many F150 owners will use this feature after they see how much fuel their underpowered eco-boost sucks when towing anything with any weight. Hopefully they get a good trade in value on a Cummins Ram.
Or when the Dodge owners experience that neck-snapping 240HP and incredible 7900lb tow rating, while shelling out more for diesel and an extra $2000 over the Eco-boost option…maybe they\’ll shoot themselves for making such a stupid purchase because they can put a big \”C\” in their back window.
240hp Cummins? What is this, 1980? The Cummins trucks can be speced to 31,000+ lbs.
If you want to teach someone how to back up a trailer correctly…and instantly…..put your hand on the TOP of the steering wheel and move it slightly toward the door mirror that the trailer is moving into as you back up….and if you cannot drive forward and see it in BOTH side mirrors you should be adding some flags to the width.
It is yet another step towards taking the driving away from the driver.
But, come on Chad. At least half of the drivers on the road cannot back up their Crossover without cameras, sensors, and self parking controls. You want to see a driver even after 40 years experience go all white knuckle with fear? Watch them try to parallel park in between two cars in a space only 50% longer than their car.
Many of these trucks will tow heavy loads… but stopping them is a different story. And rental yard guy, let me know when you put 8,000 pounds of Bobcat and trailer behind somebody’s Toyota because on paper it will work. I’d like to be off the highway at those times.
On a dyno my pick up gets 20 mpg. Unfortunately I drive on real roads not a dyno. It’s the same thing.