Ford F-150 Overheats In Torture Tow Test Against Tesla Cybertruck

The crew turned off the F-150 Tremor’s A/C in an effort to reduce engine temps on this 8-mile, high-elevation climb.

Jul 28, 2024 at 8:55pm ET

The YouTube channel The Fast Lane Truck is known for pushing trucks to their limit. Based in the Denver, CO area, the team frequently hauls large loads across difficult terrain. They subject multiple vehicles to the same tests in order to see where each truck excels and where each truck fails.

This recent comparison between the Tesla Cybertruck and Ford F-150 Tremor showcases some of the clear benefits of electrification when towing large loads at slow speeds and high elevations. Both trucks will be towing a very un-aerodynamic 10,500-lb load, maxing out the F-150 Tremor and nearly reaching the Cybertruck's max tow rating.

This $80,600 2024 Ford F-150 Tremor is powered by a 3.5 L Ecoboost that makes 400 hp and 500 lb-ft of torque. The Ford sports a 10-speed automatic transmission and its turbo-charged engine should make it ideal for towing at altitude.

Right from the start of the 8 mile climb, the F-150 was having issues. As engine temps began to rise, Roman brought up the fact that Ford is the only manufacturer that provides asterisks with its towing capacity. “When you’re talking about towing rating that Ford specifies, in their owners manual they say that you need to reduce your overall weight if you’re climbing in elevation.”

It did not take long for the F-150 to overheat on this 90°F day. While climbing a 7% grade, engine coolant reached 239°F with engine oil spiking to 251°F. The vehicle soon de-rated itself, being stuck in 2nd gear even with the accelerator to the floorboard. The truck began having trouble maintaining speed, dropping from 20 mph to below 15 mph in just a few seconds.

As the engine coolant climbed to over 250°F, the truck finally warned the crew that the engine had overheated. At this point, Roman backed off of the accelerator to give the truck time to cool down. “This is really heavy. And the truck is struggling.” 

As the climb began to level off, temperatures gradually came down. But they weren’t out of the woods yet. “It’s hard to cool off your transmission and oil. Once they gain temperature, there’s not many places that temperature can go.”

In order to reduce strain, they actually turned off the A/C, relying on the ventilated seats to keep cool. Before long the truck started losing traction as well, spinning its wheels. “I’m getting all-terrain tires slipping on this dirt road.”

After manually switching to all-wheel drive, they began to approach the peak. At this point, posted speed limits dropped again, further reducing airflow. The truck began to de-rate itself once again as engine coolant reached 250°F.

Switching over to the Cybertruck was a much lower stress experience by comparison. The air suspension and 4-wheel steering work great for comfort and maneuverability. It is also nice that as soon as you plug in a 7-pin connector, the truck knows you are towing and adapts accordingly. Although if you frequently tow different loads, the inability to save pre-defined trailer settings in the Cybertruck is frustrating.

They’re also not crazy about the placement of the rearview mirror cam on the center infotainment system instead of in the traditional rearview mirror like other manufacturers. But the variety of other camera views at their disposal are very nice to have on the often rough mountain roads of Colorado. 

Another potentially annoying factor with the Tesla is that it does not let you monitor your temps as easily while towing. This understandably left the team a little on edge following their experience with the Tremor.

But it turns out there was no real need to monitor motor and battery temperatures. The high-altitude test proved to be mostly effortless for a capable EV like the Cybertruck. The vehicle’s weight provided good stability and the lack of airflow did not present a problem for cooling the way they did on the Tremor. “Compared to the F-150 which very much wants air and has a huge grill, I’m not sure that the cooling is as dependent on the air flowing into the truck.”

During the more difficult section of this test, the Cybertruck did appear to show some strain with noticeable whining from under the hood. But the truck did not issue any kind of warning that it was being pushed too hard. By the end of the test, the battery and motor temperatures never got anywhere near their maximum limits.

Still, to demonstrate the difficulty of towing in conditions like this, the Cybertruck was averaging 3,351 Wh/mi, burning 24 kWh of the battery pack in under 8 miles. Of course, thanks to regenerative braking, they regained an additional 11 kWh on the way down, using 15 kWh for the complete round trip.

When it comes to towing, you’ve got to pick the right tool for the job. So for local and regional mountain towing like this, the Cybertruck could be the ideal rig. “At times when towing with the Cybertruck, I forgot there was a trailer behind me.” Explains Roman. “It never detuned itself, it never overheated in any visible way. So pretty impressed.”

But if you need additional range, other electric trucks like the Chevrolet Silverado EV might be your best for now. “The best range we’ve seen towing with an EV is with the Silverado EV. It has a huge battery.” The Silverado EV towed over 200 miles at highway speeds with a large trailer, which bested the Cybertruck and F-150 Lightning by a huge margin. A range extending pack has been promised for the Cybertruck in the future, but a release timeline has not been announced at this time.

As always, this is a very entertaining video from The Fast Lane Truck crew so be sure to watch the full video above which contains a lot more details. Have you subjected your electric car or truck to any difficult towing situations recently? Let us know about it in the comment section below.

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