Towing a trailer or caravan may seem intimidating but with our quick video guide you can master 4WD towing techniques. Prepare for your next adventure now!
(SPONSORED) Towing a trailer or caravan requires a totally different set of skills to just driving a car, so it’s important that your towing vehicle is suited to the task at hand. The Ford Everest certainly fits that bill.
We’ve covered some of the key things you need to know about towing with the Everest 4WD in our Complete 4×4 Guide to Towing a Caravan or Trailer but have revisited it here to support our video guide included on this page.
The Ford Everest is the ideal towing vehicle thanks in part to its permanent four-wheel drive system and grunty 3.2-litre five-cylinder turbo-diesel, which is mated to a smooth shifting and intelligent six-speed automatic transmission.
All Everest models come with a standard-fit wiring harness making it easy to have your factory towbar fitted and the vehicle ready for towing; many of the Everest’s competitors require aftermarket or extra-cost wiring before they’re ready for towing.
Another stand-out feature when towing with the Everest is its reversing camera, which will shoot out a dynamic virtual line from the back of the towbar allowing you to perfectly line up the vehicle with your trailer… every time.
On the road…
While most Australian states allow you to tow at the posted speed limit, some car makers like you to tow a little bit slower, especially during the vehicle run-in period. Ford recommends sticking to a maximum of 100km/h when towing with the Everest for the first 1600km.
If you’ve ever towed a trailer and experienced trailer sway, you’ll know just how frightening it can be. While many top-spec caravans are now fitted with trailer sway control, very few four-wheel drives have the technology fitted as standard. The Ford Everest does, which is built into the Stability Control System, can help prevent trailer sway by braking individual wheels on the vehicle, and even reducing engine power if necessary. It’s worth noting that shifting into low-range will disable the system, as will activating the electronic locking rear differential.
Weights and capacities…
When you’re determining which trailer or caravan can be towed behind your vehicle, you need to know the key weights and capacities, such as the vehicle kerb weight, the gross vehicle mass (GVM), gross combined mass (GCM), vehicle payload, maximum unbraked and braked towing capacities, and maximum tow ball weight. In the case of a Ford Everest Titanium 4WD, these weights are as follows:
- GVM: 3100kg
- GCM: 5800kg
- Payload: 606kg
- Max unbraked trailer weight: 750kg
- Max braked trailer weight: 3000kg
- Max tow ball weight: 300kg
If you’re going to be towing a trailer weighing more than 750kg then you’ll need to have electric trailer brakes fitted to your vehicle. Your Ford service centre will be able to arrange for an electric brake controller to be fitted and integrated into the interior of your vehicle.
Off the road…
When you’re towing off-road you should select the Terrain Management System (TMS) mode that’s best suited to the terrain you’re towing across – if you’re towing in sand, for example, select Sand mode, and also drop your vehicle and trailer tyre pressures.
When towing on wet and muddy tracks, reduce your speed to suit the conditions and stick to the crown as much as possible to reduce the risk of sliding off the track. Remember, with the extra weight of a trailer behind you, your braking distances will be increased and steering response affected, so don’t drive too fast for the conditions.
Purpose-built for towing
The Ford Everest was designed and engineered in Australia with towing in mind, and it has been extensively tow tested in Outback Australia. It’s a robust towing platform that can take you from the boat ramp to the back of beyond.
If you want to know more about towing with your Ford Everest then visit our Complete 4×4 Guide to Towing a Trailer or Caravan.
It seems ‘practical motoring’ is becoming more ‘Ford everest motoring’ we realise you need to support your sponsors but geez
There are two ways one can chose to look at the series being provided, positively or negatively. The former enables the reader to gather advice on how to approach something they may not be confident about, or to measure their own capabilities against. Towing a trailer or caravan needs a tow vehicle, Regardless of the vehicle chosen for the purpose of each article, the focus is on “how to” accomplish the required task appropriately. If the one vehicle is used throughout the series, it is commonsense to draw out aspects of the vehicle that contribute effectively to what needs to be done. Whilst “any vehicle will do” could have been the stance taken for each topic covered, such comments would still benefit the reader to assess their own choice of vehicle against attributes mentioned. Look for what can be learnt and its a win/win scenario.