Here's Everything We've Towed With Our 2021 Ford F-150 Hybrid
The 2021 Ford F-150 hybrid gets an EPA-estimated gas mileage of up to 25 mpg combined, and the truck’s long driving range of more than 700 miles on a single tank is a compelling attribute. But just because it’s a hybrid doesn’t mean it can’t tow: When equipped with the Max Trailer Tow Package, the F-150 hybrid is rated to tow up to 12,700 pounds.
Related: What Not to Do When Towing: Don’t Swerve for Debris
The Max Trailer Tow Package isn’t offered on Limited trim levels like our long-term 2021 F-150, and our truck-specific trailering limits are 5,000 pounds when equipped with a weight-carrying hitch and 11,600 pounds with a weight-distributing hitch, with tongue weights not to exceed 500 and 1,160 pounds, respectively. Towing the maximum weight our truck is rated to handle leaves just 202 pounds for anything else, as the payload rating for our well-equipped truck is just 1,362 pounds.
Here’s a summary of what we’ve towed so far with our 2021 F-150 Limited. We’ll add to the list as we tow more things.
Taxa Cricket
Trailer weight: 1,500 pounds
Distance traveled: 473 miles
Trip computer fuel economy: 13.7 mpg
The Taxa Cricket is a lightweight, single-axle camper. It’s the lightest thing we’ve towed with our F-150, but the truck’s 13.7 mpg average fuel economy was the second-worst gas mileage we’ve observed when towing. The Cricket isn’t as aerodynamic as some of the other things we’ve towed, however, which may explain the lower gas mileage. Most of the 473 towing miles were logged on the highway at 65 to 75 mph.
1998 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am
Car and trailer weight: 5,470 pounds
Distance traveled: 163 miles
Trip computer fuel economy: 15.7 mpg
The combined weight of the U-Haul car trailer and Firebird was 5,470 pounds, making it the second-heaviest trailer we’ve towed. Our observed fuel economy, however, was the second best we’ve achieved with a trailer in tow: 15.7 mpg. As with the Cricket, most of the towing was done at highway speeds.
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Airstream Flying Cloud 25FB
Trailer weight: 6,190 pounds
Distance traveled: 1,872 miles
Trip computer fuel economy: 10.9 mpg
Our longest towing trip by far also had the heaviest trailer: a 25-foot Airstream travel trailer weighing in at 6,190 pounds. Not surprisingly, the F-150 hybrid got its worst towing mileage — 10.9 mpg — when pulling the big Airstream. Like our other trips, most of the 1,872 miles were logged on the highway. That said, we burned through roughly 20% of a single tank of gas to keep the camper powered up during an overnight test of the F-150’s available Pro Power Onboard generator system.
2002 Ford SVT Focus
Car and trailer weight: 4,610 pounds
Distance traveled: 285 miles
Trip computer fuel economy: 16 mpg
On our second car-hauling trip, the F-150 towed a lighter load in the form of a 2002 SVT Focus built to compete in the 24 Hours of Lemons, an endurance racing series for inexpensive cars. The gross combined weight of this setup was 740 pounds lighter than when we towed the Firebird — 11,560 versus 12,300 pounds — but gas mileage was roughly the same at 16 mpg. Most of the trip’s 285 miles were logged on highways traveling 55 to 65 mph.
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