Can the F150 Lightning be flat towed?

No, the Ford F-150 Lightning cannot be flat towed. Except under certain circumstances, when it can!

Can the F150 Lightning be flat towed? Read on for more details!

What is flat towing?

Before we get into the specifics of the Ford F-150 Lightning let’s quickly review the towing methods and what flat towing is.

Flat towing is sometimes called four-wheel-down towing. It’s just what it sounds! The vehicle is put into a mode where the wheels can spin freely and the car is towed behind the towing vehicle with all four wheels making contact with the road.

It is perhaps most common with RVs where campers want to have a run-about vehicle available at the campsite. If you’ve ever wanted to pop out to the shops in a huge RV then you’ll know what we mean!

The two other options are towing with a dolly and trailer towing.

Tow Dolly

A tow dolly is like half a trailer. This was discussed more in our article on towing a Ford F-150 on a dolly. The car’s front wheels are driven onto the dolly and so only the rear wheels are in contact with the road. Note that not all vehicles can be towed on a dolly and there are definitely pros and cons to consider between flat towing and towing with a dolly.

The Ford F-150 Lightning cannot be towed with a dolly. We discuss why in more detail below.

Trailer towing

The final option is simply loading the car onto a trailer. In this case all four wheels are off the ground. All cars can be trailer towed, but you clearly need to be careful about the load that is put onto the towing vehicle, and ensure you are within towing parameters.

Can the F150 Lightning be Flat Towed?

Ford does not recommend that any of the Ford F-150 Lightning models be flat towed. There is a risk of damage to the electric motors. They only recommend towing on a flat-bed trailer with all wheels off the ground.

This is due to the nature of the transmission of electric vehicles. [See our glossary for an explanation of some of these terms].

Electric vehicle transmission

Regular combustion engines have a set of gears in the transmission system to regulate the balance between rotational speed (rpm) and the torque. Torque is simple turning power. They also have a clutch and neutral setting to disengage the the engine from the wheels so that you don’t need to turn off the engine when you come to a standstill. In addition they have a reverse gear to make the wheels turn the opposite direction.

Pretty familiar huh?

But in electric vehicles they (mostly) have the electric motor(s) directly driving the wheels. In this case the transmission is much simper and usually without the gearing system. There is no neutral and no reverse gear, since the electric motors can simply be stopped, or just run in the other direction to achieve reverse motion.

Emergency towing the Ford F-150 Lightning

Ford does, however, permit flat towing in an emergency if there is no flat-bed trailer available. However this is as a last resort, and comes with some pretty stringent conditions.

The Lightning faces forward when being towed
You switch emergency tow on
Maximum speed is 35mph
Maximum distance is 50 miles

The instructions for entering emergency tow mode depends on your model.

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Emergency towing with a 12.3 inch screen

To enter emergency tow mode you must:

Secure the vehicle to the towing vehicle
Switch the vehicle on the accessory mode
Apply the parking brake
Press Settings
Press Vehicle
Press and hold Emergency Tow until a confirmation message appears on the touchscreen
Press and hold the brake pedal
Shift into Neutral(N)
Release the parking brake
Switch the vehicle off

Emergency towing with a 15 inch screen

To enter emergency tow mode you must:

Secure the vehicle to the towing vehicle
Switch the vehicle on the accessory mode
Apply the parking brake
Access the vehicle drawer on the touchscreen
Press Settings
Press Vehicle
Press and hold Emergency Tow until a confirmation message appears on the touchscreen
Press and hold the brake pedal
Shift into Neutral(N)
Release the parking brake
Switch the vehicle off

Can the Ford F-150 Lightning be towed on a dolly?

Ford does not recommend that thet F-150 Lightning be towed on a dolly.

Frequently asked questions

Can a Ford F150 Lightning be towed behind an RV? No, Ford does not recommend that the F-150 Lightning is towed behind an RV. This is due to the nature of the transmission for an electric vehicle.

Glossary

There is a lot of jargon out there, so let’s break it down!

Differential. When your car goes around a corner the wheels on the outside of the curve travel further than those on the inside of the curve. It’s just geometry! This is why it’s not generally desirable to have wheels that are connected by a rigid axle (like in a Hot Wheels model car). A differential allows the wheels on the same axle to turn at different rates. This also helps distribute power from the engine to the wheels.
Transfer Case. The transfer case is required on 4×4 or AWD vehicles. It distributes engine power to both the rear and front axles. The differentials then distribute power from the axle to the wheels. The transfer case can be thought of as a differential between the front and rear axles. It helps ensure both front and rear wheels are turning at the same speeds and synchronized. This is not necessarily a given, since different gearing ratios, or different tire sizes can cause unequal speeds to develop. Many transfer cases allow the driver to switch between 4WD and 2WD modes.
Transmission. The transmission connects the engine to the axle(s) and ultimately the wheels. It’s the connection that provides power to the wheels. It contains the gearbox and helps regulate the power that is being delivered to the wheels. When you are standing idle in your car at the traffic lights the transmission disconnects the engine from the wheels so the engine can continue without delivering power to the wheels. Transmissions are generally either manual or automatic, depending on whether the driver is operating the clutch to change gears. n

Conclusion
Ford does not recommend that the F-150 Lightning is flat towed. However there it is possible to flat tow the truck in an emergency. However, see the important instructions and limitations above. Note that we don’t discuss whether your towing vehicle is capable of towing the Ford Maverick and you can use our towing calculator to help you determine that.