First Tow of Rockwood 2502ks

[jlmanatee]

I purchased a Rockwood 2502ks a couple weeks ago and today was my first opportunity to tow it with my 2014 F150 Ecoboost. This is also my first TT towing experience ever. While researching the truck's ability to tow and what performance I could expect, I found that real data was hard to come by. So I figured I'd write up a little report of my first impressions.
First, some numbers.
2014 F150 XLT 3.5L Ecoboost 4WD Supercab
3.31 gear ratio (yeah, I know but it's what I have)
While it has a tow package of some kind, it's not the "Max tow" package
Tire pressure: 36 PSI
OEM P275/65 18" tires
Stock everything except Rancho RS9000XL rear shocks
Vehicle-only scale weight (topper, me and some stuff in the bed): 6240 lbs. (3360 lbs on front axle)

Trailer: 2016 Rockwood Mini Lite 25' travel trailer
advertised dry weight: 4700 lbs
Max weight: 6577 lbs


Scale weights - Truck and Trailer with Anderson WD hitch
Front truck axle: 3100 lbs
Both truck axles: 6900 lbs
GCVW: 11040 lbs
Tongue weight: 800 lbs
note: I have not loaded the trailer for traveling yet.

After weighing, I took the unit out for a spin and put about 150 miles on it. This was in preparation of a 1200 mile trip I'm taking in August. Ambient temps were in the upper 70's and a 10-15 mph west wind. Overall I got 9.1 MPG (about 20 city miles, 130 hwy miles). I drove 55-60 MPH and was both with and against the wind.

Observations: The truck towed this trailer effortlessly. Well almost. I could tell the trailer was there, just a little wiggle I could feel in the seat of my pants from time to time. While I could have allowed it to use all gears, I locked out 6th gear and used tow/haul mode. I was driving through rolling bluff country in SE Minnesota. Trans temp stayed about 201 degrees. One particular section of my drive took me down (and later up) a steep 2 mile Mississippi river bluff road. Again, the truck performed very well, shifting down to 3rd to maintain 55 mph with engine braking. On the way back up, it never dropped below 3rd gear and still maintained 55 mph. Trans temp hit a high of 211 degrees at this point. In conclusion, I'm really happy with the setup. Higher ambient temps, interstate truck traffic and higher winds will probably make things more interesting but I have nothing to complain about yet.