Cleared for Towing

 

March 10th, 2011

There’s a lot to remember when you connect a trailer to your truck. Whether you tow only once in a while or daily, it’s easy to overlook one of the steps. That’s why Ford developed an industry-first Truck App to keep owners of F-150, Super Duty^® and Raptor equipped with the new technology in the know when they tow. Like a pre-flight checklist, the Truck App asks a set of questions to help ensure that the trailer is connected properly.

With more than 50 percent of F-Series owners regularly towing a trailer, this is a feature that can aid quite a few truck owners. The Truck App is available on F-Series class-exclusive LCD instrument cluster screen, a beefier version of the driver information display where traditional information on fuel economy, vehicle settings and trip tracking are also displayed.

The checklist that your truck will walk you through includes:

• Ball coupler connected and locked?
• Tongue jack raised?
• Mirrors adjusted?
• Electrical wiring connected?
• Lights functioning correctly (running lights, left/right turn and brake lights)?
• Trailer Brake Controller gain setting adjusted?
• Wheel chocks removed?
• Safety chains connected?

For those who own multiple trailers, Truck App allows drivers to name each trailer and collect and store accumulated mileage for each – for up to 10 different trailers, displaying helpful information such as accumulated miles for a particular unit, trailer brake gain (with available integrated brake controller) and output.

The Truck App also caters to the off-road enthusiast with unique information screens such as pitch-and-roll, which shows the angle of surface incline, the degree of tilt and steering angle.

The app on the F-150 SVT Raptor includes a specific screen that shows the status of Hill Descent Control™, off-road mode and the 4×4 system.

In addition to the Truck App software application, the more traditional screen menus include:

• Gauge mode – includes real-time transmission oil temperature
• Trip A/B – includes trip time and mileage information and tracks two trips
• Fuel economy – tracks fuel consumption history and offers selectable displays for efficiency in miles to empty, average and instantaneous
• Settings – allows the customer to turn features on or off, change autolamp time, set trailer brake setting and monitor oil life
• Information – provides management of the MyKey® feature, a system check screen and key system warnings for trailer sway control, Hill Descent Control and Tire Pressure Monitoring System

The F-150 productivity screen is standard on all FX2/FX4, Lariat, King Ranch and Platinum models. It is also available on XLT as part of the XLT Convenience Package.

Source: http://www.thefordstory.com/

About Parker Ford Lincoln, Inc.Parker Ford Lincoln Inc., is a multi-President Award-winning dealership in Murray, Kentucky offering new Ford and Lincoln Cars, Trucks, SUVs and Crossovers. Visit us online at http://www.parkerford.com/.