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Cbiggs

Badlands
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Cory
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West Chester PA, OCNJ
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Badlands
Clubs
 
I wanted to give an update on towing a trailer long distance vs the previous trials I did around town.

I just returned from a trip down to Flagstaff, AZ and towed the 3310lb trailer 1350+ miles with my wife’s Bronco through the Rockies, Moab, southern UT and northern AZ, which included several mountain passes at 6-7% grades, speeds of up to 85 mph in UT, 40mph head & crosswinds at times in southern UT/northern AZ, weather conditions from upper 80s down to freezing temps which also had it snowing in parts of the CO mountains on my return.

Towed it very well and better mpg than I thought it would be (15.6mpg). Much better in every possible way than my wife’s previous ’18 Grand Cherokee with 3.6 pentastar. Does it tow it as great as my ’17 F150 w/ 3.5EB…NO. Did I miss my 36gal fuel tank of my truck…YES. Did the Bronco struggle during any of the trip…NO. Was the road noise unbearable with the soft top…NO. Was it a pleasure to drive…YES. Did it do well towing offroad on the limited dirt/sandy/rocky roads I hit…YES.

The highest temps I saw throughout my trip were 234 engine/217 trans and that was when I was climbing the 6-7% grades with the outside temps in the low 70s. All other times, the temps were both around 20-25 degrees cooler.

Bronco specs – MY21 4dr BL, non-squatch, 2.7, 9k miles, lux & tow package, rockslide engineering steps, bestop twill soft top & redarc tow pro brake controller.

Trailer specs – Patriot Campers X1 that has been modified (I removed the factory installed canvas tent, bed frame, king-size 4” spring mattress & annex and installed the ikamper skycamp 3.0, rhino rack 84”x56” pioneer platform). Trailer is all aluminum sitting on a galvanized trailer frame with air suspension, 33” MT tires w/ matching spare and weighs 3310lbs loaded.

Before people ask or say that trailer is awful heavy, here is the breakdown of where that weight came from as it adds up real quick - full 40gal water tanks, 3gal diesel for hot water heater, Redarc BMS/TVMS electronic system, dual lithium batteries, 1000w inverter, weboost, 2 10lb propane tanks, weber-q gas grill, tent, rack, awning, 60L fridge stocked with drinks & food, snacks, stove, cookware/utensils/plates/bowls/mugs etc., power/hand tools, solar panels, recovery equipment, portable ARB twin compressor, 2 camp chairs, camp table, toilet, 2-room ensuite used for shower/toilet/change room, electronics-drone, gopros, gimbals, laptops, ipads, etc., 2 complete first aid kits.
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Sincere thank you for this! Almost my exact build with almost 17k on it and bought it to tow at some point but haven’t yet.
Appreciate the straight forward review and info.
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andrusoid

Base
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Great to know that a 2.3 can tow, can you share your experience and weight of your UHaul ect. Not to take over this post but I'm very interested in what the 2.3 can handle for overlanding.
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Possible 800 to 1000 lbs. plus trailer weight. At first it seemed as though premium gas was not giving me the highway benefit I see when not towing, but I now chock that tirup to over-ethanolicism by some midwest gas stations. Had a couple of days of 10 MPG no matter what I put into it. Once further out west, I did a pure gas fill and got close to 17. Maintained that the rest of the way with premium. Note that as long as I am not going uphill into a headwind, 24+ extended is common on my Base with 265/75/r16 Falken AT3W tires that weigh only 44lbs. each.

Pulled like a champ, rarely noticed it was there except on a couple of sudden steep inclines. It just downshifted and RPMs went from 1.8 to 2.3k or so. No noticeable slow down or extra effort.
 

jakej

Outer Banks
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Outer Banks
Clubs
 
Thanks for the trip report. I have very similar specs (OBX, 2.7, Lux, and towing package). My trailer is about 3200 lbs loaded (with lots of same stuff). Have only towed to close-by campgrounds, with flat drive. Stayed under 65 mpg to get a feel for towing and mpg. First two trips got ~18 mpg. Not expecting that on longer trips with inclines, but sounds like could get 16+ based on this report. I've only towed about 100 miles, but very pleasantly surprised at how solid it felt towing. And maneuverability much better than F150 due to much shorter wheel base.
Ford Bronco My 1350+ miles towing experience through the Rockies with Bronco Badlands 20220419_145007
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