Thread: Towing a trailer

Ok so I'll admit I'm your typical clueless woman....and I'm desperate to get help so I can drive my truck the proper way and not end up destroying the transmission.

I tow a horse trailer about 5-6 times a weak. It's a stock, bumper poll, 2 horse trailer. The truck is a 2015 f-150 v6 2.7L.

When I tow a loaded trailer, I put the truck in 4H mode in tow Haul. I was just told however that when I'm towing an empty horse trailer, I should only drive in 2H tow Haul. Thank you so much for your help!

Is this correct??




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Oh my gosh I've doing it all wrong! What situations would you be using 4High then?


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4h is four wheel drive. Never use 4h on dry pavement!


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I know it's boring reading but your owner's manual will tell you everything you need to know to tow properly.

No reason to use four wheel drive for towing. Unless you need more traction on snow, ice, mud, etc. Basically if your spinning your back tires and not moving anywhere... Then use 4wd. Otherwise keep it in 2wd.

Yes on putting the transmission in tow/haul mode, especially when loaded with your horses and towing on hills and grades. This basically just stops your transmission from going into overdrive. However, if you find yourself driving a lot of flat highway miles while towing then your RPM's will be higher and your gas mileage lower in tow /haul mode due to no overdrive being available. Again, your manual will tell you when it is best to use the tow/haul mode.

If your horse trailer has electric brakes on it then you need a brake controller to make them operate. If your trailer has hydraulic brakes, then you don't need to do anything. If your trailer doesn't have brakes.... It should... Especially when you have 2-3 thousand pounds of horses in there.

Speaking if 2-3 thousand pounds of horses... If your hitch / ball is on the bumper this may be well over the rated capacity of what it can safely tow.. Again check your manual. If your hitch is below the bumper then it is using a frame mounted receiver and you should be just fine. Post a pic of your hitch area and it will be easy to tell.

Hope this helps.

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Thank you so much!!! Our trailer does have its own braking system. I don't know what it would be called? I do have a 9 prong plug for it on the truck. I think it's a really basic system, the external battery of the trailer is an external one attached on the tongue of the trailer next to the bumper poll. The brake adjuster in the truck is one of these?

I will take pictures of everything hooked up this evening(after work).


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Yep... That's electronic brakes and a factory brake controller... You're good to go for brakes.

The battery on the trailer is the break-away system. There should be a small diameter cable hooked to a little black box on the trailer. The cable gets hooked to the tow vehicle separately from the safety chains. If the trailer becomes detached the cable gets pulled and there is a little plunger that gets pulled out of the black box on the trailer activating the brakes. They will only work if that battery on your trailer is charged. You can test it by pulling the plunger out of the box... It will take some force. The trailer brakes should be fully locked up. You shouldn't be able to drive away without dragging the trailer tires.

By the way your owners manual will also have all kinds of instructions on how to set up the brake controller in the truck.

Hope all this gets you the info you need.

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Thank you again. I just found this picture from last week actually of our truck and trailer.
Yes it does the emergency break away. I just learned how to test it by pulling the cord a few days ago actually and going to test it. I did do the "squeeze" test and pinch the controller in the truck to test the trailer brakes and just like you said, the trailer kept us parked once I went into Drive.
I've figured out which numbers to set the trailer brakes to when it's towing full and empty, but I'm still trying to understand what "gain" and the other term actually mean(in the dash).




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Originally Posted by 408Stang

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I forgot to also mention that you don't have a bumper pull trailer hitch you actually have the higher rated frame mounted receiver setup so you should be good to go for pulling your horse trailer.

A bumper pull setup would mean the ball is actually mounted right behind your license plate in that small step area.

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Oh ok I think I've seen what you mean. We do have and use(for longer hauling trips), a stabilizer hitch? If that's the right name. You can see the 2 black brackets on the tongue of the trailer for it.




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