Record heat + mountains has shown the truck's weakness and common problem... overheating. On the way to PittRace in the 98-100 degree weather the truck on bigger hills/mountain grades decided it wanted to try to overheat. Thankfully I watch my gauges and saw the coolant temp start climbing. Keeping it at 70-75 wasn't going to work. Dropping speed and jumping off throttle helped keep temps to where it normally sits. Some extended grades like climbing for like 5-10 miles or so had me dropping speeds to 60 and sometimes 55mph. Thankfully the gauge just gradually moves from the middle point over or I would have missed it and been in red. The first time I hit around 80% of the needle's gauge before red. Never hit red once. After that I caught it at 65% or less. Other than that I could just sit there 65-75 without issue on small hills.
Now onto the problem... After some research it's a common issue on ecoboost trucks towing bigger loads. The standard gasser's are fine. No one has found the exact reason as Ford just says it's "normal" according to everyone who has brought in their trucks. Supposedly hitting red though just cuts power and is a safety mechanism. Obvious glaring point is boost. They didn't probably care enough to have their cooling system pushed hard and checked on heavier loads in mountains + hot temps. The more likely situation is they knew the problem, but didn't care to fix it. As seen in recent news about their other vehicles and is probably a common occurrence across all manufacturers. Still... It really shouldn't be normal for a modern truck that is boasted as meant to tow to have cooling issues when towing heavier loads (65% of the towing capacity).
Sad part is I have no major issues with this truck besides this. It has plenty of power to pull this trailer. It can easily accelerate up these steep grades at 70-75mph to faster speeds without a hiccup. It will just power through 3rd gear and pull. Interior is great. Rides nice. etc. It's just a bit frustrating that I'll either need to drop $1k+ for cooling upgrades for having towing confidence. I don't want to be glancing at my gauges constantly while towing. I want just a smooth tow, which the truck does besides this. The few times a year I tow mountains I will have this glaring issue...
I really don't want to increase monthly payment by $300 for a diesel although it would be a great peace of mind (I would want the same features as my current truck + things like adaptive cruise control if I changed trucks). I also shouldn't have to justify throwing over $1k at a truck to do it's job it's already meant to do. I also don't want to have a situation where I damage the truck. Idk. Just annoyed.
Positives: Transmission temps were rock fricken solid.
(in before DJ's hate on Ford reply)
Now onto the problem... After some research it's a common issue on ecoboost trucks towing bigger loads. The standard gasser's are fine. No one has found the exact reason as Ford just says it's "normal" according to everyone who has brought in their trucks. Supposedly hitting red though just cuts power and is a safety mechanism. Obvious glaring point is boost. They didn't probably care enough to have their cooling system pushed hard and checked on heavier loads in mountains + hot temps. The more likely situation is they knew the problem, but didn't care to fix it. As seen in recent news about their other vehicles and is probably a common occurrence across all manufacturers. Still... It really shouldn't be normal for a modern truck that is boasted as meant to tow to have cooling issues when towing heavier loads (65% of the towing capacity).
Sad part is I have no major issues with this truck besides this. It has plenty of power to pull this trailer. It can easily accelerate up these steep grades at 70-75mph to faster speeds without a hiccup. It will just power through 3rd gear and pull. Interior is great. Rides nice. etc. It's just a bit frustrating that I'll either need to drop $1k+ for cooling upgrades for having towing confidence. I don't want to be glancing at my gauges constantly while towing. I want just a smooth tow, which the truck does besides this. The few times a year I tow mountains I will have this glaring issue...
I really don't want to increase monthly payment by $300 for a diesel although it would be a great peace of mind (I would want the same features as my current truck + things like adaptive cruise control if I changed trucks). I also shouldn't have to justify throwing over $1k at a truck to do it's job it's already meant to do. I also don't want to have a situation where I damage the truck. Idk. Just annoyed.
Positives: Transmission temps were rock fricken solid.
(in before DJ's hate on Ford reply)