Flat Tow Supplmental Braking Issue

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Most all states require supplemental braking to be used in flat towed vehicles. I use an RVi3 braking system that attaches to the brake pedal. It proportionally pushes the pedal with an air driven piston when needed with the motor home brakes. During setup it pumps the brake pedal three times to release any stored vacuum from the brake booster. This prevents any brake grab when first braking is applied. When I set it up on the Ranger and first applied braking I heard a ratcheting sound coming from under the hood and the Ranger would come to a quick stop. Tried it a second time and same thing. Last week I took the Ranger to my Ford dealer and had the shop foreman check out the sound. We tested by stopping the truck on a slight grade, putting it into flat tow mode, pumping the brake pedal several times to release vacuum and let it roll forward. When the brake pedal was depressed we heard the ratcheting sound and quick stop. The hood was then opened and the shop foreman walked beside as the test was repeated. He confirmed that the noise and quick stop was from the ABS system stopping the truck! He then disconnected the harness connector to the ABS system and we retested. The truck slowly stopped as the pressure on the brake was increased. He agreed that Ford had apparently not considered flat tow supplemental braking when it left the ABS powered up. He has made a call to his regional Ford engineer regarding this issue and we are awaiting a response. Until this is resolved NO supplemental braking system should be used when flat towing the Ranger (no flat towing behind a motor home).
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P. A. Schilke

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Most all states require supplemental braking to be used in flat towed vehicles. I use an RVi3 braking system that attaches to the brake pedal. It proportionally pushes the pedal with an air driven piston when needed with the motor home brakes. During setup it pumps the brake pedal three times to release any stored vacuum from the brake booster. This prevents any brake grab when first braking is applied. When I set it up on the Ranger and first applied braking I heard a ratcheting sound coming from under the hood and the Ranger would come to a quick stop. Tried it a second time and same thing. Last week I took the Ranger to my Ford dealer and had the shop foreman check out the sound. We tested by stopping the truck on a slight grade, putting it into flat tow mode, pumping the brake pedal several times to release vacuum and let it roll forward. When the brake pedal was depressed we heard the ratcheting sound and quick stop. The hood was then opened and the shop foreman walked beside as the test was repeated. He confirmed that the noise and quick stop was from the ABS system stopping the truck! He then disconnected the harness connector to the ABS system and we retested. The truck slowly stopped as the pressure on the brake was increased. He agreed that Ford had apparently not considered flat tow supplemental braking when it left the ABS powered up. He has made a call to his regional Ford engineer regarding this issue and we are awaiting a response. Until this is resolved NO supplemental braking system should be used when flat towing the Ranger (no flat towing behind a motor home).
Hi Chuck,

Just finished 2000 miles of towing 4 down behind my 40ft Diesel Pushter Alfa motor home. No issues...wonder why the difference? I tow my Ranger without any electrics on as I have pushbutton start....is yours one with a steering column key?

best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired
 

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Most all states require supplemental braking to be used in flat towed vehicles. I use an RVi3 braking system that attaches to the brake pedal. It proportionally pushes the pedal with an air driven piston when needed with the motor home brakes. During setup it pumps the brake pedal three times to release any stored vacuum from the brake booster. This prevents any brake grab when first braking is applied. When I set it up on the Ranger and first applied braking I heard a ratcheting sound coming from under the hood and the Ranger would come to a quick stop. Tried it a second time and same thing. Last week I took the Ranger to my Ford dealer and had the shop foreman check out the sound. We tested by stopping the truck on a slight grade, putting it into flat tow mode, pumping the brake pedal several times to release vacuum and let it roll forward. When the brake pedal was depressed we heard the ratcheting sound and quick stop. The hood was then opened and the shop foreman walked beside as the test was repeated. He confirmed that the noise and quick stop was from the ABS system stopping the truck! He then disconnected the harness connector to the ABS system and we retested. The truck slowly stopped as the pressure on the brake was increased. He agreed that Ford had apparently not considered flat tow supplemental braking when it left the ABS powered up. He has made a call to his regional Ford engineer regarding this issue and we are awaiting a response. Until this is resolved NO supplemental braking system should be used when flat towing the Ranger (no flat towing behind a motor home).

I think I would pull the ABS fuse before I flat towed something without brakes illegally in most states :)

EDIT: If with the key, I'm guessing that the key should be in the OFF position and not even in the vehicle... I have yet to find that there is a steering lock so I would think it would be the safest way to do it. Does the manual say to leave the key in?


EDIT2: "Put transfer case dial in 2wd, push ignition button to release shifter and place in neutral. Use steering wheel buttons to operate info center to place vehicle in "neutral tow mode", and turn ignition off."
 
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Hi Chuck,

Just finished 2000 miles of towing 4 down behind my 40ft Diesel Pushter Alfa motor home. No issues...wonder why the difference? I tow my Ranger without any electrics on as I have pushbutton start....is yours one with a steering column key?

best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired
Hello Phil,
I have a Lariat with push button start and follow all directions in the manual. Even with the push button off, no LED light, many electronics still have power. What do you use for a supplemental braking system? Have you ever been in the Ranger while under tow to see that there are no supplemental braking issues? I always fully test any new vehicle I setup for flat towing behind our 43ft diesel American Revolution coach. As I said, my shop foreman with 30 years experience verified the issue and I don’t plan to flat tow and ruin the truck’s braking system until the issue is resolved.

Best Regards,
Chuck
 


P. A. Schilke

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Hello Phil,
I have a Lariat with push button start and follow all directions in the manual. Even with the push button off, no LED light, many electronics still have power. What do you use for a supplemental braking system? Have you ever been in the Ranger while under tow to see that there are no supplemental braking issues? I always fully test any new vehicle I setup for flat towing behind our 43ft diesel American Revolution coach. As I said, my shop foreman with 30 years experience verified the issue and I don’t plan to flat tow and ruin the truck’s braking system until the issue is resolved.

Best Regards,
Chuck
Hi Chuck,

I use a Roadmaster Add-A-Brake as I have had it for over 15 years now and it has worked well for me. I have not been in the Ranger under tow but my TPMS measures wheel/tire temps and I have not seen any increases in temp to indicate a problem with braking...have to check next time we take the Alfa out. I did find that I had to increase pedal pressure relative to my 2007 Ranger as I could tell the pedal pressure was initially not enough for effective braking.

best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired
 
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Hi Chuck,

I use a Roadmaster Add-A-Brake as I have had it for over 15 years now and it has worked well for me. I have not been in the Ranger under tow but my TPMS measures wheel/tire temps and I have not seen any increases in temp to indicate a problem with braking...have to check next time we take the Alfa out. I did find that I had to increase pedal pressure relative to my 2007 Ranger as I could tell the pedal pressure was initially not enough for effective braking.

best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired
Phil,
A quick test would be like we did at the dealership. Find a slight incline, apply the emergency brake, perform all the required flat tow requirements, and pump the brakes three times to release the vacuum assist. Release the emergency brake and let the Ranger slowly roll forward. Slowly apply brake pedal pressure like your Roadmaster would do. You will experience the ABS stopping the truck quickly rather than the usual slow stop.
Chuck
 

P. A. Schilke

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Phil,
A quick test would be like we did at the dealership. Find a slight incline, apply the emergency brake, perform all the required flat tow requirements, and pump the brakes three times to release the vacuum assist. Release the emergency brake and let the Ranger slowly roll forward. Slowly apply brake pedal pressure like your Roadmaster would do. You will experience the ABS stopping the truck quickly rather than the usual slow stop.
Chuck
Hi Chuck,

Okay...will try that and see what happens...My driveway has a slight incline I can roll down... Thanks for the tip...may have do a fuse pull on the ABS if that happens...eh?

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired
 
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Hi Chuck,

Okay...will try that and see what happens...My driveway has a slight incline I can roll down... Thanks for the tip...may have do a fuse pull on the ABS if that happens...eh?

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired
The Ford shop foreman tried pulling just the ABS control fuse and that didn't help. He next pulled all three fuses, control, pump 1, and pump 2 and that did the trick. I'm hopefully Ford will come up with a software fix that will disable the ABS when the Ranger is in flat tow mode. In any case, Ford needs to acknowledge the problem and issue a fix or at least send out documentation as to how we should disable the ABS when flat towing.
Chuck
 

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The Ford shop foreman tried pulling just the ABS control fuse and that didn't help. He next pulled all three fuses, control, pump 1, and pump 2 and that did the trick. I'm hopefully Ford will come up with a software fix that will disable the ABS when the Ranger is in flat tow mode. In any case, Ford needs to acknowledge the problem and issue a fix or at least send out documentation as to how we should disable the ABS when flat towing.
Chuck
Hi Chuck,

I wonder if the ABS is like the powerpoints which stay hot for a couple hours after the vehicle is shut down... I cannot figure out the logic to keep the HCU hot all the time.

best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired
 

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I just finishes a 2500 mi trip using a RVI3 brake system i did not notice any issues with braking at all
 
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I just finishes a 2500 mi trip using a RVI3 brake system i did not notice any issues with braking at all
Hello Richard,
You probably wouldn't notice much from the inside of your coach. The fact remains that the ABS braking system continues to be powered up when in flat tow mode, at least on the Lariat model. I would suggest you do some testing as I did and described previously. As said before, my Ford shop foreman verified this issue and continues to wait on his regional Ford engineer for a fix. I do not plan to ruin my new Ranger's braking system until I hear from Ford.

Best Regards,
Chuck
 
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Hello Richard,
You probably wouldn't notice much from the inside of your coach. The fact remains that the ABS braking system continues to be powered up when in flat tow mode, at least on the Lariat model. I would suggest you do some testing as I did and described previously. As said before, my Ford shop foreman verified this issue and continues to wait on his regional Ford engineer for a fix. I do not plan to ruin my new Ranger's braking system until I hear from Ford.

Best Regards,
Chuck

Chuck ill check i out thanks for the heads up
 

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Chuck your right the abs is active in tow mode but I wonder in my cross counrty trip I never unhooked ranger nor power it up so maybe the abs powers down after a couple of hours so i didnt seem to have any hard braking issues later today ill put the ranger in tow mode and let it sit and see if abs still works after a few hours thanks for for the heads up on this issue


Richard
 
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Chuck your right the abs is active in tow mode but I wonder in my cross counrty trip I never unhooked ranger nor power it up so maybe the abs powers down after a couple of hours so i didnt seem to have any hard braking issues later today ill put the ranger in tow mode and let it sit and see if abs still works after a few hours thanks for for the heads up on this issue


Richard
Sounds like a good test. Please let us know what you find. Either way Ford needs to shut down the ABS when the Ranger is put into tow mode.

Chuck
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