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Ford F150 caravan (trailer) backing assistance


Yabbietol

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New backing assistance technology coming to Ford in the US in 2016. Maybe here soon?



http://www.wired.com/2015/05/ford-makes-backing-trailer-easy-turning-knob/



Looks interesting.


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Does it only back in a straight line or into difficult sites that we all regularly come across?


If you can't back it you shouldn't be towing it.


Bas


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Suggest have look at video in article, in demo backs boat down ramp with turning on to it. The steering wheel does move quite a bit in video so it looks great for tight twisty spots. Although the camera only sees your tow bar not the back of the tow, it appears to work well.


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Good Morning all


We are currently touring QLD with our new 21ft XC3 our tow vehicle is a PX Ford Ranger , it is doing a good job but a little slow on hills , we are going to have a look at a F150 Super Cab as this suits our setup and is not as big as the F250 , as this will be my daily drive i don't want big vehicle , i notice in one of the forums somebody had bought one of the F150 , any comments or help on locating the owner would be appreciated


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Hi Graeme



It might pay for you to do a comparison between the F150 and the Chevy 1500, The reviews of both these trucks are very interesting reading and both more than capable.



Do a search.....f150 vs chev 1500.




Cheers



Merv


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  • 2 years later...

I'm probably the person they were referring to re the F150.

i use it to tow my 22'6 TE which is rated at 4t. It usually is around 3800 for us as we don't travel that heavy.( maybe that should read 'relatively heavier

'!

F150 rated at 4.5 t in Oz but in states at quite a bit more (around 5.9t I believe). Some converters only have the ADR rating at 4t so check that.

tows it easily. I also have a 15 LC 200 so I can compare.

before these I've owned 3 Ram 2500 and 2 3500. Also 2 x F250's. towed with all of them.

F150 is a twin turbo 3.5l v6 petrol. Puts out around 300kw and has plenty of torque.

i purchased this for same reasons you mentioned - it's a bit more manageable around town. Mine is a Limited so has 22

' wheels. I have a set of Ford 18

' on way from states now which I'll use for towing, especially off road.

better economy than LC, miles more towing grunt and vehicle doesn't get shoved around as much.

i just wanted to give the f150 a go. If it hadn't worked I would have imported the 2018 F250, but definitely prefer this one. 

US autos do all my conversions. In my opinion they are miles ahead of rest apart from Maracoonda. The rest are ok, but not to these 2 standards. Just my opinion, not meaning to upset any owners from other converters.

Rams great for towing but big around town. Ditto for F250's.

so far I'm happy with this one. Outsells the rest in the states by big margins. 875,000 F trucks a year ( that's all F variations, but still a lot).

this one drives quieter than my LC Sahara and they are quiet.

hope this helps.

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Hi Paul

 

They are a great truck but they also have the highest number of factory recalls against any other vehicle in the USA.   People still cannot work out just why the Ford out sells Chev or Dodge Ram in their trucks because of this.

 

 

 

Cheers

 

Merv

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Merv

It seems in this day and age all manufacturers have recalls, mainly over little items that get noticed. I'm not aware of any brand dodging this, even here in Oz.

I like all the US trucks but prefer to steer away from anything not converted right here in Oz, as that does raise issues when you need something attended to, especially when warranty is concerned.

I must admit I do have a preference for the 17 on F trucks as they seem to dominate for a reason. They are certainly quite a big jump on interiors, NVH etc on the current crop available, but I'm sure the others will have a red hot go at catching up. However I like the Rams, Chevs  and others as well.

I do think the after sales service is the most important issue when buying though as they can be a real issue when the salespeople (as distinct from the converters in another country) lose interest in the customer.

Anyway, they all tow so much better than what is locally available and that's the main thing. I've always enjoyed mine and like the current one I have.

Catch you on the road.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi Paul,

Like Graeme, we also are considering upgrading to a F150 supercab for similar reasons. We currently tow our ATV2 with a 79 Series Landcruiser ute optioned up.   Having made a few preliminary phone calls to QLD converters re specs I am getting mixed messages re payload and tow weights, availability etc. We would be keen to learn of your experience sourcing and purchasing your vehicle. Would it be possible for you to text your phone number to me so I could have a chat to you at a convenient time? My number is zero four eight eight 747337. Any advice and information would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

Ken and Christine

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Hi Graeme

Have you checked the difference in measurements of F150 against say Dodge Ram 2500, the ford is only 137mm shorter and is wider by 20mm , and I think comes in a 5 lt petrol where Dodge has a 6.7 lt Diesel and the Dodge is approx. $139500 on the road where the Ford is a fair bit more.

Which ever way you go ENJOY!!!!!

Neville.

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Just a couple of answers.

this is my 6 th Yank truck. Rams (2500'sand 3500) F250's  and now this one.

i usually use US Autos in Sydney as I find personally they have the best conversions. They don't do the Rams anymore (not the new ones anyway) I had the Ram Limited in all the ones I had. Crowd doing them now don't appear to do them, just the standard Laramie.

They do he F150 lariat starting at around $100k, but just ring and find out for different models.

Only issue is delay between ordering and final pickup, usually around 4 months.thats where the others can appeal to buyers not wanting to wait.

Opinions like backsides, everyone has one but only other crowd I'd use apart from US Autos is Maracoonda. They do good conversions.

as I've said before, I like them all, but you do tend to be on your own if anything minor goes wrong, I find it easier to fix myself, especially here in WA. 

The new F150 tows my 4t van a lot easier than my LC200 but not as strong and heavy as the Rams and 3/4 tonners. But still does it easy.

i have the second Limited in Oz and it has everything in it. Drives well, easy to park (relatively) and gets around 11.5-12l/100 empty and around 19-23l/100 towing. So I'm ok with that at moment. Rated to tow at 4.5 tonnes, but some converters only do the 4t - unsure why.

mine is certified etc with all the compliance plates.

hope this helps.

if I had a van that weighed over 4t then I would go up to the F250 Pl atinum which I've costed at around $155k.

Rams and Chevs as well if you prefer. They are heavier and have heaps grunt. Just get rid of all the emission junk on them and they run properly. DPF delete and EGR delete is easy. Kits from states.

ken, my mob is 0419777370, best to ring after 6pm WA time (2hrs behind ES)

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