Ford Flex & 2106FBS

[Mjjjjjj989]

Hello!

We are in the process of buying a 2106FBS. I've been told our AWD Ford Flex can tow this no problem with the WD hitch (required).

I have asked multiple dealers, with the dry weight being 3700 ish lbs and our max trailer weight being 4500lbs (450 tounge) will we be fine? Yes! Of course!

It'll just be my wife and I and we are light travelers. Nevertheless am I asking for trouble? Seems close! Anyone else have any experience with a 4500 lb limit?

[blueridge-fl]

I would not do it. The dry hitch weight on that trailer is 360lbs. That is without the battery or propane tanks. Adding those will take you to around 430lbs. Add the weight of a WDH and you will be over your tongue limit before you even add any gear.

[old_engineer]

What blueridge-fl says.



Most people end up with about a 1000lbs of cargo which would put you over your vehicles tow rating. Even if you travel light at say 500 lbs (battery, trailer options above base, personal effects) you will be over on tongue weight. Loaded trailer tongue weights are rarely 10% of the trailer weight. They typically run around 12% to 15% so you are already over your max assuming a 4200 lb loaded trailer weight (500 lbs of cargo).

[BobC]

Personally I've tried to not tow any more that 80% of the advertised capacity.

If you dig into the details of vehicle tow ratings you'll see that they're based on some pretty unrealistic assumptions. The SAE standard (J2807) assumes the tow vehicle is carrying only a 150# driver, a 150# passenger, 70# of stuff and nothing else. Other factors like wheelbase, etc. can also come into play. The shorter the wheel base, the more uncontrollable things can get. Here's an article that may help you out:

https://www.autoblog.com/2016/06/23/...dards-opinion/

If you push the limits, you're risking your and others' lives.

Trailer manufacturers are incentivized to advertise lighter than realistic weights and vehicle manufactures are incentivized to advertise heavier than realistic tow ratings, even though they may be technically achievable.

[Mjjjjjj989]

Thank you all for the information. Hard to swallow as we really like the floor plan and this late in the season... ugh... haha..

[blueridge-fl]

Originally Posted by Mjjjjjj989

Thank you all for the information. Hard to swallow as we really like the floor plan and this late in the season... ugh... haha..

Not a problem. You were probably secretly wishing for a shiny new F-150 anyway.

[rgvtexan]

The frontal area will have a big effect on towing. It's like dragging a big sail behind you.
I pulled a 6' wide by 6' tall utility trailer in rolling hills and my Flex was doing a lot of shifting. The trailer was not heavily loaded.

You could always rent a large U-Haul and try dragging it around.

[jlb27537]

Yes, a current suv has the hp rating to tow something, but.....if you are going to actually tow something, other than flat ground, at sea level, buy a truck. Your suv is NOT a truck.

A trailer, 8' wide, 6' tall is a lot of wind load. Go out west, loose 3.5% of your power for each 1000' above sea level, And hope gravity does not work.

You folks, thinking your suv is anything other than a way to get the kids to a ball game are just hoping and dreaming.

Buying a small trailer, buy a 150/1500 truck to tow it.

[LarryW]

The Fkex is a good vehicle but that TT, a good choice, needs a stouter TV. My 2101DS is supposed to be 3740 pounds dry. Loaded and wet it’s 5100 to 5200. Old engineer says 1000 pounds of water and stuff. I’ve found it’s 1300 to 1400 for me. (Yes, I carry an extra kitchen sink)

Jlb, the 2106 is seven feet wide...7’4” counting the awning.

[nrg2brn]

all good advice above. dont do it. it might work for a while, but you will be endangering yourselves and others, have a miserable ride and wear out the tv. I tried to make a flex a tow vehicle once, and realized my mistake. all I can add to this, however, is you do NOT need a full size truck necessarily. I ended up with a nissan frontier, I prefer a bit smaller trucks, as mainly it will be my daily driver. 6800 lbs capacity, 400 tongue. a comparable tacoma could do it as well, just make sure they come with factory towing package. I tow a smaller rv, but have zero complaints, handles my 3500 lbs just fine. so no, you do NOT need to go full size. my kids in the backseat, however, would argue this.

[LarryW]

Agreed, nrg. Colorado and Canyon come to mind. Ford’s new Ranger probably also.

[nrg2brn]

yeah true, those would work probably. a lot of the reason people stay with pups or dont buy TT's in general is not everyone wants a bohemoth, gas guzzling full size truck, nor do they feel comfortable driving one, or maybe like me, they commute and its just irresponsible to do that in a ginormous vehicle, really. Unless you just happen to live on a farm, or for whatever other reason you have that truck, cool, get a big, heavy TT, for the lucky niche, however, a teardrop or ultralight style will likely be enough, dont listen to the dealer, they make money per foot, lol. and us? we spend 99 percent of our time outside anyway. the TT is for sleeping and rainstorms mainly.
ours is 2880 unloaded, the flex might actually handle that, its the winnebago 170k winne drop. work for us and our two smallish kids. we do not carry water, however, do not live or go in the mountains, nor do we drive across country in it, for most people, its enough.....check out lighter options if you dont want to buy a megaford 1550 supermaxduty!

[LarryW]

Not carrying full water tanks in the dry West isn’t a good option, nrg.

[nrg2brn]

good thing I live in the wet east! also, we dont boondock, ever. Id sooner pull into a walmart. we have campgrounds every 10 feet here in the carolina's. you know, ive never put a drop of water in my tanks in 20 years. huh. anyway, add another couple hundred pounds for that I guess.....does beer in the fridge count?? ;-) - nrg

[dubelo7]

I looked up the Ford Flex towing capacity and it says 2000 pounds. So where do you get the max trailer weight being 4500 pounds?

[rgvtexan]

My 2012 trailer specs say 4500. I only move a 2800# boat. A lot less wind resistance than a box trailer, and just short trips.

https://www.ford.com/resources/ford/...T_FlexDec7.pdf

[old_engineer]

For 2017 the towing guide has 200/2000 lbs without WDH and 450/4000 lbs with WDH. It also says the max frontal area with the towing pkg is 40 sq ft which isn't a lot so pretty much limits you to a popup or tear drop.

[TDPerry]

Originally Posted by nrg2brn

good thing I live in the wet east! also, we dont boondock, ever. Id sooner pull into a walmart.

It's a good idea to carry at least some water in the toilet. A few trips I've taken one of the parties in the vehicle had to make a potty stop and there were no toilets handy. Having water in the tank - and a safe place to pull off - made for a happy momma.

We tow with a Toyota 4Runner and have a Winnebago 1790. We went with the 17x series because it was within our tow ratings (5000/500) and was large enough to be in when the weather was bad, but as was commented earlier we spend most of our time outside the trailer and only use it due to inclement weather (heat/rain) or to sleep in. We even do the cooking outside.
I had looked at the 21xx series, but dry/wet ratings were higher than I wanted.

You may want to look at the 1790 if you want a larger kitchen and within your rate range.
The 170S, 170K (bunk beds in rear) and 1780 all should be within the range for your Flex if @ 4500/450. They are smaller trailers (Minnie Drop) but still have a nice amount of room inside.

We've been really happy with ours so far.

[nrg2brn]

wow thanks guys ancient post though. Yes with proper weight distribution this particular Ford Flex could max out at 4000 but we abandoned that idea and I bought a Nissan Frontier and got a Winnebago teardrop 170 we're very happy with it and use the flex to pull the trailer with a four-wheeler sometimes.... but back to the flex the main reason we abandon it was the fact that we could not find the proper transmission cooler