The 2020 Heavy Duty GMC Sierra 2500 and 3500 trucks have been causing quite a stir with their advanced trailer assist technology. The top of the line tow package on these trucks will have 15 camera views from the dash app, including one that seems to see through the trailer and looks at the road behind it as if the trailer wasn't even there. Impressive to say the least, and when they are available in the third quarter of 2019, there will certainly be many taking it for a test drive to see what it's all about.
Knowing what's coming gets us thinking about what is here now. With that, let's explore what some of the different pickups have in terms of trailer assist technology.
Ford F-150
By a large margin, the Ford F-Series trucks are the top selling trucks in the United States. According to Pickuptrucks.com, 909,330 F-Series trucks were sold in 2018. So what does the F-150 have to offer in terms of towing technology? First, there is the impressive Pro Trailer Backup Assist. With this feature, users can take their hands of the steering wheel and turn a knob to control the direction of the trailer and where it is needed to park - no more worrying about turning left on the steering wheel a certain amount to go right and then cutting back, etc. The tech can make almost anyone look like a pro at backing up a trailer.
The Buzz talked to the no. 1 volume Ford dealership in America, Galpin Ford outside Los Angeles, about these features. "You put some measurements into the system and you're able to backup just by the remote," the Galpin sales representative said. "It's pretty awesome." To set it up, one hooks up the trailer, makes the truck and trailer straight, then goes into the cab and inputs the trailer information, then puts a sticker on the trailer that the camera uses to assist the backup process. After taking a few measurements clearly explained in Ford's tutorial video, you are basically ready to go. "Besides the trailer assist, we have a blind spot information system," Galpin says, "Where you put in how long the trailer is and the mirrors will warn you when there is a car next to you in your blind spot by flashing an orange light." For a truck that advertises its payload capacity often, its technology is pretty impressive.
Ford F-150 LARIAT pickup pulling hauler. [Photo/Ford Motor Company]
Chevy Silverado/ GMC Sierra
Coming in a distant second in sales (585,581 in 2018 for Silverado, Sierra is 5th at 219,554), the Silverado and Sierra have similar features. "We have tons of different options for towing assist so it just depends what you want," says Darion, a sales representative at Dave Motors in Kellogg, Idaho, "I'm not even a truck guy and I remember seeing the demo of the features and thinking this is pretty cool!" The ProGrade Trailering in the new Sierra and Silverado trucks have a Hitch Guidance system that basically has a camera on the hitch and helps you align and setup the hitch perfectly. "It's great because you don't need the ‘other guy’ out there watching it," Darion explains. There is a light on the tailgate that shines on the hitch, which helps with connecting in the dark, as well as an integrated trailer brake controller that allows users to store settings for different trailers.
The App on the Chevy and GMC pickups is loaded with information, from the very basic how-to hook up a trailer checklist with images, to trailer light testing, and saving profiles for each trailer. There is also a trailer tire pressure monitor, as well as a heat sensor for the trailer tires. There is a trailering camera package that has two cameras on the side of the truck and a trailer-mounted camera that allows a similar experience to the one advertised on the 2020 HD GMC trucks.
Dodge Ram
The Ram is the 3rd best-selling pickup of 2018, also equipped with a lot of technology in terms of towing assistance, mostly to do with safety. There is a blind spot monitoring system that helps alert drivers of blind spots. A lane departure warning; this guides the vehicle back within the lane boundaries when the truck is drifting. There is also forward collision warning, which will warn and then brake if it sensing a potential collision if the driver does not respond. Lastly, there is an air suspension system that maintains a level ride when towing a particularly heavy payload.
Toyota Tundra
The Tundra, surprisingly, does not have much of any trailer assist technology. “We spend most our money on safety and reliability,” says Rubin, a sales representative at Toyota of Fort Worth in Texas. “We may have some new things coming out on the 2020 models, but they haven’t let us know about it yet.”
All these technologies do not change the fact that there are 1000s of pounds behind you being towed - you still have to get use to the feel of having a trailer. And perhaps the days of driving a trailer to an empty parking lot and practicing backing it in to a spot are not quite over. But, with these new technologies, we can see it isn’t as necessary to know the ins and outs of towing skillfully as it once demanded.
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