Ford Maverick Travel Trailer Towing Test - How Ford's New Compact Handles at Max Tow Weight!

Hey folks and welcome to the Truck King YouTube channel. Today we thought we were just doing a towing test with this Ford Maverick, but Mother Nature had other plans. We got a big dump of snow last night, so now in this video we're going to go tow that travel trailer, we'll tell you how this Maverick handles it, and we'll tell you how the all-wheel drive system works in the snow. So big shout out to Gimme Shelter, our local RV dealer, for setting us up with this Palomino Real Light today. Let's start with the walk around. So powering our Maverick Lariat today is the two-liter inline four-cylinder turbocharged engine that makes 250 horsepower, 277 pound-feet of torque, and that is sent through an eight-speed automatic and all-wheel drive. So the next thing I want to tell you about here on our Maverick is the 4k towing package, and as the name suggests, this truck can tow up to 4,000 pounds. Now when you get the package, you're getting additional cooling up there for your engine, you're getting an integrated trailer brake controller, more on that when we're in the truck, you're of course getting the hitch on the back, and you're getting a beefier rear end, so that really is a comprehensive towing package. Now another thing I want to mention to you, we do have a set of Bridgestone Blizzax on our truck today, so real winter tires, which is nice because of this big snowfall we just got. And last but not least, let's take a look at the payload number on the doorjamb sticker. We're talking about 1,284 pounds, which is, what exactly are we towing today? This is a RealLite by Palomino. Now this unit right here is 21 feet long, and the numbers are important. Unloaded, like it is right now, it has nothing in it, it comes in at about 3,800 pounds. Now fully loaded, it actually goes up to 4,900 pounds. So yes, fully loaded, this trailer is too big for that truck. Now there's two reasons this is like this. The first one is just we have a limited selection of trailers, and this is the one that was offered to us. A and B, we wanted to really push this truck today. So at 3,800 pounds, we absolutely are taking this Maverick right up to the limit, and you know what? Let's hit the road now and see how it handles. Okay, backing into the trailer now so you can see the camera. So you just get a straight up backup camera, it does give you that hitch line, and then once you get close, my camera's a little bit dirty still, you can zoom in and get right on that hitch ball, and how's my height? Boom! Nice. So yeah, it's nice to have that hitch zoom in view here on the Maverick. And here we are out on the road today. Now Dad and I have done a first drive in the Maverick, so if you just want to see us cruising around town empty, that video is already here on the channel. Today we're focused on towing this travel trailer that we have behind us. And like I mentioned off the top, we have an extra, you know, complication today with the snow and all these snow-covered roads. So we're really getting a feel for the braking and the acceleration, no doubt about that. So you know what? We're actually coming up to a nice highway here which is nice and clean, so why don't we feel the acceleration here, Dad, with this trailer on. Yep. And the Maverick here does have drive mode, so we're going to put it into tow haul mode, and we'll see, yeah, how it pulls. We'll wait till the tractor trailer goes by. That's fair. All right, we've got an opening out onto the highway, and we're also going right uphill as we get out onto the highway. But, uh, there. My foot's in it. It's working. She's a little screamer. Well, and it's accelerating uphill. But it is. I mean, the power's okay. It's not overwhelming for this trailer, but it feels like a nice match. We're at highway speed. It didn't take very long at all. Nice. Now I think another thing we can mention today is, I think if you own this, Dad, you probably have an equalizing hitch on it. We didn't set up the EQ hitch today, so once again, that actually makes the towing test harder in a lot of ways for the truck. So now, I guess, throw it back to you. What do you feel? How's it feeling? Yeah, to your remark, without the EQ hitch, it makes it harder for the driver, because you got to pay a little more attention to your steering. However, we've been running on a lot of dirt today, which is, of course, covered in snow, and it's also starting to melt now. It's midday, and I've really been impressed with the all-wheel drive setup, because with that power moving constantly front to back, it's counteracting slip. In addition to trying to find traction, it's helping the whole rig stay straight, and so, yeah, I've really liked it today, particularly in the sloppy stuff, and we haven't had a lot of wheel spin, because that's the one nice thing, is that as soon as something starts slipping, power goes somewhere else. So, good system. And, of course, in tow haul, and there's a slippery mode as well, it seems as though it's much more proactive than reactive, and the power gets to those rears as soon as you put your foot into it. Let's see how much the Maverick is squatting with that travel trailer. According to the spec sheet, the hitch weight here is about 550 pounds. So, let's see. That right there, that's 33, sorry, 32 and a half. That's 32 and a half inches. Now, I'm gonna walk here and lift her up, and we'll see how much it was squatting. Okay, weight is off the truck. Let's measure again, see what it was doing. And that is right about 34 inches, which gives us an inch and a half of squat. The integrated trailer brake controller is something that we always love to see. It works well. You can set it up really quick as soon as you, as soon as you hook up the trailer, based on how much weight you got. Today, I've only got it set at about two and a half gain, so it's not overly aggressive. But on the other hand, it's enough so that any time I've braked, and I purposely have done that, where I've like gone on the snowy section and applied hard brake, it stayed dead straight, which was really nice, because the trailer was braking just enough to keep it in line. So, good system. It's just so nice to have an integrated brake on a small truck. For some reason, people think of it as a big truck technology, but why, right? On this thick and tall, over 3,000, that's when you need a trailer brake. So, give us the brake controller, and Ford did it. We appreciate that. So, and as long as we're talking about that, at the back end, the hitch is nicely set up, and it's pulled a little bit out from the bumper. So, you're not into this situation where you got to get down on a knee to get underneath for the safety change, or for the light hookups, or for that matter, putting the hitch in and getting the pin through. So, again, well thought out. Well, to your point, and I guess my overall feeling now is just that towing wasn't an afterthought. Not at all, right? They definitely focused on making sure this vehicle is a step above, I would say, most crossovers in terms of towing, because they really did put some time and some engineering into it. Yeah. If there's one thing that we got to complain about, it's the mirrors. It would be awesome to get towing mirrors, proper towing mirrors on a small truck. You can't get them on mid-sizers either, but once again, with the travel trailer, yeah, technically today, we would need to have those clip-on mirrors because you can't see all the way behind you. So, Dad, it's safe to say we're at the limit of this Maverick. We're absolutely at the limit in terms of weight. Like I mentioned, we could have an EQ hitch. So, I guess the question I want to pose to you, and I think the ultimate question here is, does the truck feel like it's at the limit? Is it right at that, you know, breaking point where it feels strained, or is that 4,000 a comfortable number, do you feel? No, in typical fashion, and that's not just a Ford thing, that's everybody. They know where the break point is, they're just not going to share that with us, and then they back it off. I would say they back it off at least 20%, maybe 25%, and that's the number that they pin on it. So, I mean, I guess what we're saying is that if you do have a 4,000 pound trailer, you buy a Maverick, you'll be okay. And I should also mention payload. Tongue weight on this specific trailer is just a little over 500 pounds. So, 500 back there, 500 up here with us. We still have 200 and change to play with. If you did have a full family, yeah, you're getting close to your full payload, but you know what? That 1,200 pound number, it's right there with a lot of the other trucks we test, and it's just nice to know you actually do have a little bit of extra gap there with your payload. And I think this is where we're going now. Don't forget we're testing a whole new class of truck with these compacts, and there's a lot of people who are going to be looking at this a little cockeyed and say, well, is it really a real truck? Am I going to be able to do all the things I want to do with it? And today, my answer to that is yes. Obviously, you're not towing a 10,000 pound fifth wheel. However, within the confines of what they've set out, man, you can do a lot with this truck. Absolutely. And of course, I keep saying it, we're right at the max today, but if you're talking about a pontoon boat, PWCs, fishing boat, snowmobiles, all of that recreational stuff, you're going to tow it with absolute confidence. And now let's look at the fuel economy. So we towed this trailer for 37.8 kilometers, and that was good for 20.9 liters per 100. And I have to tell you, that's about double what I was getting empty, driving around empty this week. I've been averaging around 10 liters per 100 kilometers. So yeah, put the trailer on, and it just about doubles. Well, folks, we have come to the end of this video. So the conclusion here, I think, is that we have proven that even at max weight, this Ford Maverick is still a capable truck. And obviously, the Ford engineers spent a lot of time making it that way. So like I said, that's the end of this one. Now please go below, let me know what you think of the Maverick. As always, while you're down there, don't forget to hit like, hit subscribe, hit join to become a member, and then come right back here to the channel to see what we're testing next.