Towing safety gamechanger - Ford's new trailer stability control for Ranger and Everest
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 มิ.ย. 2023
- #trailersway #ford #ranger #everest #tsc
Trailer sway, or snaking, is the unwanted oscillation of a trailer behind a towcar which, if unchecked, can easily lead to a nasty crash. It has become more of a problem as today's towcars are powerful and are used to tow very heavy and large trailer relatively quickly. The problem is not helped by carmakers overstating the realistic towing capacity of their cars, and caravan makers understating the weights of their trailers and paying little attention to trailer dynamics.
Ideally, your trailer would never sway, but if it does then you want it back under control, immediately! This is where electronic sway systems come in, and in this video I explain two types and how Ford has moved the market on in Australia with the next-gen Everest and Ranger. I also briefly cover how to use a brake controller to control sway using a Redarc TowPro Elite as an example.
Post questions as comments!
Follow me on Facebook:
/ robertpepperjourno
Support me on Patreon:
/ l2sfbc
Buy my books:
l2sfbc.com/where-to-buy/ - ยานยนต์และพาหนะ
Hi Robert, great video and totally agree ford next-gen is way ahead in terms of towing package and its integration. Other manufacturers have plenty of work to do. I can say from personal experience the ITBC works well when sway does occur. keep up the content, awesome
Thanks am keen to hear experiences. I thought of actually towing with a next generation but decided as I wouldn't be testing the sway feature a tow test wouldn't add anything to the explanation.
I'm very cautious towing my van, but got surprised by something i hadn't considered.
On coming truck.. hand on REDARC button if needed.
But, i was doing 95kmh when a truck overtook me (must have been doing over 110)and pushed the wavefront on the back the van.
This caused an unusual push/sway effect.
Luckily i reached the button in time. Now I'm aware to watch for this.
Large trucks passing trailers are a common cause of sway. I have another video showing why - imagine a large boat and its bow wave. That's what a truck does but with air. When that wave hits your rig...it sways. And, you're typically doing 90-100km/h. So what was a stable rig becomes unstable, and you have around 3 seconds to sort it out. Hence all my videos on sway and in this one why I went over use of the brake controller. Please spread the word.
@@L2SFBC
The larger the side surface are of the trailer relative to its weight, and the higher the speed of the unit, the more danger there is of a snaking event. Slow down to an appropriate speed before it happens! Be aware of overtaking trucks or other large vehicles and also be aware that the same possibilities apply when you overtake them. Go on a trailer driving course to be made fully aware of the issues and be tested on your skills including spacial awareness and manoeuvring in reverse using mirrors and eyes and a guide if necessary. This course should also cover trailer attachment, balance, maintenance and load security such as strapping practices.
Yes!
Great info again👍
I have our Tekobsha brake controller set to brake the van harder than the vehicle, which pulls our caravan in behind our Defender. You don't want the van pushing the vehicle. I'm surprised how many people who tow don't seem to understand this basic strategy.
I feel the 10 (to 15%) ball weight came about due to high speed stability findings in USA.
A big part of it is likely that if you can have 10% ball weight on a rear-biased axle trailer, it means there isn’t much tail weight - which is the real issue.
I’d think 1% ball weight would be stable IF the other 99% was exactly on the axle - and at axle height. Not really possible though.
The big risk with some vans is that they have axles mid-mounted, a 5% ball weight AND about 10% behind the axle weight - creating an unstable and dynamic load.
In a perfect world you’d have 95% of the load spread evenly over the axle of the trailer and on the towball (with the remaining being aft of the axle), to maximise stability, but no common vehicle can handle that load.
The faster you go the more the weight bias affects the stability.
Europeans towing at 50-55mph can handle 5% ball weights. Americans doing 75-85mph need to maximise stability, so work with 10-15%. I like 15 myself, but accept 8-10 is a reality to match gvm/axle limitations on our available tow vehicles.
American trucks/utes also have much longer wheelbases. In combination with other design factors, make them far superior for towing heavy trailers.
Yes, the ideal TBM is very much situation-dependent.
@HardstylePete i have one, a 2500. The difference between it and any LC or dual cab ute is like chalk and cheese. You are so right. They are unbelievable.
7% TBM thereabouts is ideal in my situation.
what software or program did you use for the video of the truck and trailer clip @ 2:42 video time? I would like to reconstruction a simulation of an event i saw occur to see how or why it would happen! Many thanks
It's not mine it's Toyota's video
another great video, did you done video on new gen everest integrated break controller?
that is it!
Good vid👍🏻. I have a van that has esc already fitted and I pick up my new Everest in a couple months. Do I need to get my Everest rewired with an Anderson plug as my current vehicle has? Or do I just plug in my vans 12 pin plug to the new Everest and it automatically talks to my vans esc?
Ask your van maker, I can't answer that one
So if the Everest applies anti sway braking to the caravan brakes, how will this interact with the dedicated anti sway system installed in the van. Eg. Alko or Lippert systems where there is a sensor module on the van? Are two different systems going to be pushing current to the trailer brakes?
Disable one of them on the trailer.
@@L2SFBC really, is that your considered advice? Just about every caravan now has inbuilt anti sway. Are you saying Everest and Ranger owners should turn it off because the car is doing the job?
@@georgethomas6541I’m late to the party to these comments but I’m in the same boat. Just got a new Everest with the integrated break controller and also have Dexter on existing trailer. Dexter being able to control each individual wheel for breaking is obviously a much better system but I’m assuming the Everest would over ride this system as it would apply current to the electric breaks over riding the dexter individual control. I wondered if you had a response yet and weather the recommendations are to turn off the cars trailer sway control system. ???
Hey there. Very difficult to find any information about the Ford system. I had received some Facebook advice to leave both van and Everest anti sway systems active. The van one is likely to be more sensitive. The car one is a bonus. Who knows..?
I tow a 2.9T Van with my V6 Wildtrak and like the Tow/Haul Mode except for the engine braking. I find the engine braking in Tow/Haul Mode too harsh at times and I wonder what stress it places on the transmission.
What do you mean by "too harsh"? It would engine brake to reduce the chances of brake overheating - road vehicles have brakes designed for occasional emergency stops, and if there is a heat buildup in advance of the stop then the emergency stop won't go well.
@@L2SFBC When brakng the vehicle seems to shift down to a gear where the engine (at times) revs above 4000 RPM while decelerating. I find this a little excessive for a diesel engine. It seems (although I cant verify this) that the harder you brake the more the car shifts down the gears while in Tow/Haul mode. If you can get hold of a next gen Ranger (V6) I suggest you try it with your van - I would love to get your feedback.
Thanks. I've not towed with a next-gen, waiting for reasons such as this to test one rather than test for test's sake. Yes, what you describe is how modern vehicles work; same thing happens unhitched when descending, they auto-engine-brake which is a good thing seeing as nobody is taught this technique in the standard driving lessons!
It's far safer to load to engine up than have an over reliance upon the vehicles hydraulic brakes. Modern diesel engines are designed for much high RPMs than older, heavy, mechanically injected engines. The ford engineers did design the tow mode for operate within these parameters.
To stop the engine over revving and down shifting gears, you keep your foot on the accelerator and press the brake pedal with your left foot, a message is displayed on the instrument cluster that power has been reduced. I find this is the only way to stop the engine over revving and downshifting gears while using tow mode.
Great vid. Does the caravan stability control only work in tow haul mode?
Interesting question, I'll ask Ford as I don't know.
This is a great feature - is this a new update as I can't see it mentioned in any Ford info online?
Difficult to find up to date content but a next gen handbook I found online says 'brakes to individual wheels'. It does not mention trailer wheels.
"HOW DOES TRAILER SWAY CONTROL WORK
The system applies the brakes to the individual wheels and reduces engine torque to aid vehicle stability."
I found the feature whilst watching a video on the Everest about something else, three seconds of voiceover and I thought "WOW!!!!". So I contacted Ford PR who gave me a little more info. I think this shows a disconnect between engineering, marketing, and consumers. If I was Ford, I'd be shouting about this but I will never understand marketing people. Part of the problem is that the significance of the feature is not apparent unless you really understand heavy towing, and people from car marketing in, my experience, know little about cars and even less about towing...and to be fair, the average tower may not even understand how cool this is. And, it wasn't picked up in any review I scanned of the Everest or Ranger wither, not even the tow tests so the journalists testing the cars haven't noticed either, far as I can see. I know a few watch my stuff so maybe it'll trickle out now.
@@L2SFBC Hmm like you say it would be a great feature but if not in any documents I would question if "Ford PR" actually do know the truth on how it operates. What documentation did Ford provide or reference?
Emails with their engineers via the PR team and it is mentioned in their videos.
Thanks Robert,
I have a V6 Ford ranger on order to tow my new caravan (2.9 ton).
I was going to fit a Dexter sway controller to the van as I am concerned about safety.
Would you recommend fitting a sway system to the van , and would it interfere with the Rangers braking system if I did?
Love your videos, keep up the good work!
If you fitted a Dexter then there would be no need for the Ranger's trailer-sway-braking system. I The Dexter brakes either or both left and right side of the trailer so it is arguably superior to the Ranger which can only apply all trailer brakes at the same time. As I said in the video it's one of those "how safe do you want to be" questions but personally given the Ranger has TSC and can brake the trailer, I'd be content with that. Please also ensure you weight the trailer correctly.
-Thanks so much for your advice.
The Dexter will cost around $2000 to fit. I will see how the TSC performs on the Ranger and if it does the job there is no point spending money if I don't need to,
cheers.
From information, I read when the Dexter ESC was first released and the testing carried out showed the Dexter ESC activated quicker than the vehicle based trailer sway control. During the testing with both vehicle trailer sway control and trailer ESC active, the trailer ESC always activated first, alleviating the need for vehicle trailer sway control to work. I have a new Everest coming with the integrated brake controller and the caravan I have has Dexter ESC I think the vehicle sway control will be a good backup for the caravan Dexter ESC.
@@wazza8687 Thanks Wazza, that makes sense. I might still install Dexter as an extra layer of safety.👍
Can you just apply the trailer brakes using the ford system? Ie similar to the redarc system
Yes you can do that as well, and will need to in some situations for example difficult offroad towing. However, for sway, the car should take care of everything. If it doesn't, then there is the manual override too as demonstrated.
@@L2SFBC manual override in the Ford system? As in an easy to access button? BTW I'm waiting on my new next generation xlr bought for towing
It's not a button it's a slider. I show it in the video. Same effect though
Alwys makes me wonder why that 10% noseweight "rule" was ever thought to be a good idea. All weight on the hitch transfers to the back axle and more as it lifts the front body so transfers more weight to the back axle. very quickly most vehicles will overload the rear axle. Here in the uk the noseweight figure is mostly 75kg, for the Land Rover it's max 150kgeven for the max 3500kg tow limit, so you'll add about 200kg to the rear axle, People forget, that weight comes off your payload. I also totally disagree with the tow vehicle to be heavier than the trailer, I understand why it's said, but it has no basis in physics, theory or reality. Again, look at the D1, 3500kg tow weight, MAM/GVM 2720kg. but actually tows really well at full capacity. Keeping within the stated tow capacity and having good and serviced trailer is much more important. 🙂
There is a very good reason why I recommend the towcar be heavier than the trailer and that is control. Simply, the heavier the trailer, the more it can 'boss' the towcar around. It is however a recommendation not a rule, as towing is so varied - say with your Discovery you tow 3500kg of tractor on a well-maintained vehicle trailer, properly located, dry day, level roads, max speed 80km/h. That's a different story to a typical Australian heavy tow which would be a poorly weighted trailer on offroad tyres, raised suspesion with high CoG, crazy high ball weight, up to 110km/h in potentially high winds, at night, dirt roads etc etc. Towing 'really well at full capacity' is very much dependent on what sort of towing you're doing, and for the video I've focused on the terrible Australia caravans that are pulled around this country. Hence, trailer lighter than towcar suggestion. European caravans are much lighter by comparison and Europe also speed-limits trailers far more than Australia, so the risk is much lower.
Hey mate I see Ford says it only applies brakes to car ?
That's TSC not this
Sorry I don't understand
There’s no basis in fact that the tow car must weigh more than the trailer either. For fifty years I have towed 3.5 ton loaded trailers with 2 ton [Range Rover Classic] to 2.7 ton [Land Cruiser 80 and 100 series] and from power outputs from 67hp [22 years with 1984 LR OneTen pickup] to 202hp [Ford Ranger 2023] and never had the slightest issue. Moreover the cargo is most often four cows that move around inside the trailer, altering the balance and tow ball weight as they do. The weight occasionally exceeds 3.5 tons, depending on how heavy the cows are and how wrong I guess it. No trailer stabilisers have ever been used and the tow ball is well greased to prevent wear. While one day I might appreciate the trailer sway control very much, as of yet and in all those years I have not needed its help.
It is definitely a fact that all else being equal the heavier the towcar the more stable the rig.
@@L2SFBC There’s a whole raft of factors involved in that equation, such as the speed, the suspension system of both towing vehicle and trailer, the tyre size and pressures of both units, the nose weight, the area and length of trailer and indeed the depth of the sides of the trailer. The state of the road and topography of the land. Every one having a very significant bearing on the stability of the unit and any combination having the possibility of being more relevant than the weight ratio between vehicle and trailer. I often tow near 20 ton trailers behind 8 ton tractors with no issues whatsoever as do literally thousands of other all round the world at speeds of up to 32mpg/50kph. The weight limit in most countries for standard driving licences or even after taking a trailer towing test is 3.5 tons/7700lbs and is again done regularly behind literally thousands of pickups and SUV’s such as Defender, Range Rovers weighing usually from two to two point five tons. The speed limit on most UK roads for trailer towing is 50mph with 60 possible on motorways. The speed limit need not be driven and most drive with full loads much slower when road conditions dictate.
I agree with everything you've said thus far, none of which invalidates the point about towcar weight. In Australia I can tow 3500kg with a 2000kg vehicle at 110km/h on single-carriageway roads! At slow speeds it doesn't matter too much...have towed a 8t trailer with a 1.5t Series Land Rover!
@@L2SFBC There you go then. The weight ratio is just one factor and should not be taken is isolation at any time without serious consideration of all the other factors I listed and anything else that crops up according to circumstances on the day. 3,5 tons is perfectly safe behind modern pickup trucks as long as the driver is competent to take control of the unit. There’s plenty of drivers, and we’ve all seen them, that I wouldn’t trust to take charge of a wheelbarrow unloaded much less a car of any kind, incompetent, maybe half blind or with dementia.
very useless info Rob, I used to tow with my UA Everest Ambient AWD years ago, my rule of thumb max tow weight was 2,200kg, 2,000kg for tow and 10% tow ball weight, since the Everest was 3,000kg tow, if you looked at the GCW it was well within the safety margins including vehicle payload (re: driver, passengers and cargo).
As for driving style, what many people forget is length, depending on what your towing the combined length changes, so with that you need more room at the straight ahead to do what needs to be done, also braking, you need more space, be proactive not reactive in the best form of driving so if you have ability to manual shift gears then do so (even if its using those awful toggle switches on the stupid designed Ford e:shifter), no point being in 10th gear as there is zero engine braking so lock out 10, 9th, 8th and even 1:1 gear ratio 7th gear and stick with 6th gear, sure the engine will rev harder thus using more fuel but you have engine braking, the transmission can handle it 9if its an 6 speed transmission like Rob's PX ranger use 4th gear (as 5th is direct drive 1:1 ratio).
As for trailer controller, most people set the gain (pressure) to 5 but be careful check that your trailer brakes are in good conditions and not warped.
thanks, sorry you found the information useless :-(
So Ford are going to reduce the work force in Australia after the brilliant trailer systems Ford Engineers developed for the Ranger? How short sighted can a company be? I don't work for, nor am I associated with Ford...just an independent observer.
I don't have enough information to comment on Ford's global plans and problems. Remember that Australia is a tiny part of the world automotive landscape, and 4x4/towers are a tiny part of that. But I'm here speaking for us :-)
@@L2SFBC I think we are substantial market for fords' ranger class and the Engineers here had a lot to do with that. I'm not 100% sure though.
@@BenMitro yes but what are they going to do now the next gen ranger has been released?
@@markymark8472 Exactly...they can get away with the tech they have now for a few years, but as the market catches up and overtakes them, they'll be well behind the 8 ball with little ability to recover.
Welcome to the downfall of the western world
Hi Robert. I think when the technology is there, this system should be mandatory in all vehicles that tow. An aftermarket product must be made. If you own a trailer your vehicle must be licensed with this system. Why not bring the future to us now for safety's sake?
As I said in the video, the trailer brake controller needs to be integrated into the vehicle from the ground up. That way the engineers know exactly what they're dealing with and how it works, and can design/calibrate the vehicle and trailer based systems in one. So we'll need to see more ITBCs in cars first, with the likes of Toyota/Nissan/Mitsubishi following Ford's lead.
@@L2SFBC Yes, we'll get there soon hopefully.
Because trailer esc systems interfere with some older integrated braking systems. I hear what you are saying, but they play havoc with older american pickups like my MY12 2500HD that doesn't need trailer esc anyway.
@@L2SFBC ITBCs are awesome. American pickups have had this technology for a very long time. I cannot speak highly enough about how well they work.
Camera sync not synch.
Its a Ford so its wont work anyway.
bahahahahahaha