Flat tow battery drain?

[D.J. Swanson]

I recently bought a 2025 Ranger Raptor (which is what brings me to this forum!).
I specifically bought the Raptor because it allows flat towing. I have a class C motorhome and have the truck set up to tow behind the motorhome with a motorhome dealer-installed DEMCO Stay-In-Play duo braking system. I’ve towed the Raptor only twice, and for about 40 miles each time. I am getting ready to make a longer trip, about 400 miles, at the end of the year. I’ve read that when flat towing for long distances, it’s necessary to stop every couple hundred miles and run the towed vehicle engine to make sure the battery isn’t going dead during flat towing. I welcome opinions on this from forum members who have flat towing experience. Thanks!
DJ

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[superj]

is the a normal issue on flat towing vehicles?

i know zero about it but i see tons of motorcoaches pulling jeeps and stuff and never once thought about the battery draining. maybe there is a way to wire a jumper to the battery from the motorcoach to keep the battery topped up? would a solar charger work?

 

[dajo]

I have never set up any of my tows with a battery charge line until the RR. Since there are so many electrical systems that a dead battery could cause issues. I am going to be using a charge line. Look at someone like Etrailer and you will see many battery charge methods available.

 

[BryanJay]

I’ve never flat towed, but there were lots of reports with the 5G Rangers of transmissions being chewed to hamburger when the battery went dead during towing. Consensus in the 5G forum seems to be that a charging cable is good insurance. Not sure if the 6G would have the same issues, but seems pretty likely.

 

[John E Davies]

I’ve never flat towed, but there were lots of reports with the 5G Rangers of transmissions being chewed to hamburger when the battery went dead during towing. Consensus in the 5G forum seems to be that a charging cable is good insurance. Not sure if the 6G would have the same issues, but seems pretty likely.

Would Ford even pay for a new transmission if it failed that way? I doubt it. That possibility alone points directly to the only correct and safe way to tow, on a full trailer, with all four wheels up…. That also eliminates wear and tear on the rest of the drivetrain and tires, and reduces rock chipping. Whenever I see a big RV flat towing a vehicle, I just shake my head in wonder. What is he thinking? BTW my brother in law flat tows a Caddy SRX behind his old diesel pusher. His car is usually a huge greasy mess when he gets to his camp spot. An enclosed car hauler would 100% fix that.

Just because you CAN do something, does not mean you SHOULD do it.
IMHO.

John Davies
Spokane WA USA

 

[david.jce]

Ditto what dajo said. Use a charge line from your rig.

Also, running the engine every few hundred miles is not for recharging the battery (idling for a few minutes won't do that), but instead to circulate lubricant in the transmission. Very important.

 

[paulhut]

I use the RVI Charge Controller for my 2025 RR. My recent trip was 4000 miles with 3 and 4 day stints of never unhooking the RR. I like it because it regulates the charge and has lights letting you know if it's charged or charging. It's the bee's knees.

https://www.etrailer.com/Accessorie...816&gbraid=0AAAAAD_vMtkoR19wX9w0BeOSaZe80T-NB

 

[D.J. Swanson]

I have never set up any of my tows with a battery charge line until the RR. Since there are so many electrical systems that a dead battery could cause issues. I am going to be using a charge line. Look at someone like Etrailer and you will see many battery charge methods available.

I must consider that. At the same time, I don’t want to charge the battery while towing in a way that would screw up the electronics of the vehicle since everything is so complex. Thanks.

 

[Bills_Raptor]

When I flat

I recently bought a 2025 Ranger Raptor (which is what brings me to this forum!).
I specifically bought the Raptor because it allows flat towing. I have a class C motorhome and have the truck set up to tow behind the motorhome with a motorhome dealer-installed DEMCO Stay-In-Play duo braking system. I’ve towed the Raptor only twice, and for about 40 miles each time. I am getting ready to make a longer trip, about 400 miles, at the end of the year. I’ve read that when flat towing for long distances, it’s necessary to stop every couple hundred miles and run the towed vehicle engine to make sure the battery isn’t going dead during flat towing. I welcome opinions on this from forum members who have flat towing experience. Thanks!
DJ

When i flat tow, keep the remote handy. When i stop for gas I hit the remote start and let it run for 10m while i get gas snd a bev.

 

[D.J. Swanson]

I use the RVI Charge Controller for my 2025 RR. My recent trip was 4000 miles with 3 and 4 day stints of never unhooking the RR. I like it because it regulates the charge and has lights letting you know if it's charged or charging. It's the bee's knees.

https://www.etrailer.com/Accessorie...816&gbraid=0AAAAAD_vMtkoR19wX9w0BeOSaZe80T-NB

Thank you for the tip. This is getting expensive. The flat tow stuff cost $3k alread.

I’ve never flat towed, but there were lots of reports with the 5G Rangers of transmissions being chewed to hamburger when the battery went dead during towing. Consensus in the 5G forum seems to be that a charging cable is good insurance. Not sure if the 6G would have the same issues, but seems pretty likely.

Thank you. I appreciate the feedback. Something else for me to worry about before my next tow...

 

[D.J. Swanson]

When I flat

When i flat tow, keep the remote handy. When i stop for gas I hit the remote start and let it run for 10m while i get gas snd a bev.

I am concerned that if I hit the remote start while the Ranger is hooked up in flat tow mode, even while stopped, doing that may cause the truck to drop out of flat tow mode - so I'll have to go through the initiation steps again (which are extremely complex)...

 

[dajo]

I also wondered about remote starting but easy enough to check, just open the door and look at dash. I don't considered the tow procedure very complex and difficult to do. Several of the steps in the manual are unnecessary and can be eliminated. Someone on this forum posted his procedure on tow setup that simplifies procedure. https://www.ranger6g.com/forum/threads/flat-tow-xlt-question.23437/

 

[D.J. Swanson]

Thank you for the tip. This is getting expensive. The flat tow stuff cost $3k alread.


Thank you. I appreciate the feedback. Something else for me to worry about before my next tow...

The invoice I got for the work to set up my towing by ear wasn’t really clear about whether a charge line was installed. Today I went back and talked to the service rep — YES, a charge line was installed, so I do not need to worry about the battery going dead. That makes me feel much better! Whew!

 

[LDHunter]

If it costs $3000 to set up for flat tow and the worries about torching your transmission are real along with battery drain etc. then it seems to make sense to me to use a car hauler type trailer to avoid all that and all the mileage readings on the flat towed vehicle.

I think you can get a pretty good car hauling trailer for $3000 but haven't priced them recently. An enclosed one that would accommodate a Ranger Raptor would be pretty big and heavy and I'm thinking it suddenly becomes quite cumbersome and the cost to buy it and the fuel to tow it would be over the top.

 

[superj]

flat trailers are right around 3k, yes. +/_ a little each way depending on what you add to them

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