Boomerweps

That's why I asked this here. Always great info. Think I'll stick with the regular 87 octane.

All good to hear. I never put anything other than a rubber plug into my 2014's receiver But I like options.

Does the factory towing package include anything other than the receiver hitch and wiring? Curious because of the engine/transmission performance difference between my 2014 SWB with factory towing package and the new 2017 LWB without. Or is it just the weight change?

I used the select shift extensively in Utah and Colorado. Only way I could regain travel speed after encountering moving roadblocks in the mountains. 3rd gear to get back to 65+mph. High revs but I figure it was designed for that. This engine in the SWB 2014 seemed "sporty". In the LWB, more of a dog when it comes to mountains.

Just got back a week ago from UT to PA. Was stuck with using E85 gas due to the huge price difference between real gas and alcohol blends. Fuel filler says E85 is OK so I tried it. Has anybody done comparisons on their mileage between regular and E85 gas? I can't give a decent comparison because all my E85 use was at high altitudes and up and down significant mountains. At home, there isn't much E85 around BUT a station 16 miles away had the E85 at $2.189 vs regular 87 at $2.499. So around a 12% cost savings.

Any updates on this?

Bought the day after I bought the TC, about 3 months back. Got my son in law to help, actually he did the bulk of the work His name is Curt! Forget the front, but the back goes up a set of ramps easy, no prob. Had to grind off a little off the bolt heads to get them to fit up in the designated frame holes. Took under an hour total. Looks good. Took the time to show my wife the minor ClusterFred it takes to get the spare tire in and out. You have to disconnect the main cable from the fitting and unscrew the safety cable from the fitting. Even though she won't be the one doing it, she needs to be able to explain it to a Good Samaritan. We measured carefully to center the receiver before torquing it in and kept the throat pretty much even with the bumper face. So it sticks out far less than the factory hitch. Next, the wiring harness. Probably this weekend.

The larger RVs have the combo washer/dryer units as an option. Truck stops that have showers also usually have coin washers and dryers. We used the laundry at our cousin's almost daily in Utah. Just the traveling back 3 days dirty clothes added to the packing pile, especially in several of those small plastic grocery bags. When I was single & traveled by personal vehicle in the Navy for temporary duty, I'd drag my dirty laundry along and use the bachelor quarter's self serve laundry to stay caught up.

Return trip from southwest corner of Utah to western PA: 2145 miles. 31 hours avg speed 68 mph 24.5 mpg through the mountains, reset this meter on the flatlands in Kansas. Average mpg bumped to 27mpg. In order to maintain the speed limit on those extremely long high elevation mountain roads, I had to use select shift mode and use 4th and often 3rd gear to maintain 65mph uphill. Both my wife and I noticed the loss of power with the added weight of the LWB over the SWB with the same engine. Took me a while to get her to consider operating the TC as a standard transmission. Got to say it is a dog on the mountains. BOTH of us sorely missed the satellite radio. Seriously considering the add on unit. trip lessons learned: No more summers in Utah! No more hauling a full sized cooler. There will be nothing stacked above the rear seat level (I had a 6 inch square on the driver's side rear window clear to view through on the way back). Early Saturday morning is a great time to drive though a majority city (Denver) and Sunday morning , too (Kansas City). An empty large zippered bag will be taken for dirty clothes. I started to feel like a refugee with all the little plastic shopping bags full of dirty clothes thrown on top of everything else! We did try to play it smart by using a smaller overnight bag each while traveling to take in and out to the hotels. Everyday and every night while getting out our overnight bags, I was singing to myself a modification to a Tom Petty song, "You don't have to pack like a refugee". There were just the three of us, myself, my wife and my 11 yo grandson. Between my grandson's extra luggage and toys and such, that added the space equivalent of another person I could've used those darn roof rails.

I've had the rear doors blow into me on windy days. No fun, just pain! i thought you might be using that wood bar for adding a canopy over the rear doors at first.

I, too, have noticed the gas smell when trying to top off. I actually started following Ford's advice from the owner's manual. Only click it once after the auto pump shutoff and then wait several seconds before removing the nozzle. No more interior gas smell. Even drips on the filler area cause the smell. i think the fuel filler moldings attached to the body panel in a poor design, allowing leakage into the interior of vapors if gas gets on the outside of the molding. Gas stench EVERY time if you use that adapter and a gas can. I no longer rotate my gas stocked in my gas cans with this vehicle.

Only one the XL model now. It's gone from the XLT in 2017. Had a plastic back molding with a latch in the left rear upper corner.

Thanks for the search engine. None list 2014-2017 TC roof racks.

What we have herah is a failure to communicate. The cheap alternative shown means I would have to remove and throw away the installed factory side rails, standard on the 2017 XLT. I just want a stock roof rack at a reasonable price.

Yes, I truely missed my Sirius radio I had in my previous TC on the trip. The radio scan feature basically sucks. You have to hold the + or - button for a couple seconds to make it engage the search in FM mode. Then it stops on the first noise it finds, not necessarily a readable station. Bad for the driver to use. side issue: Trying every junkyard I can find for 2014 up TCs with roof racks, none yet. Can't even find wrecked TCs! Must be incredibly safe vehicles. When I get home, I'll have my local junkyard do a junkyard parts search through their network.

Well, drove PA to UT, via Mt. Rushmore. Wrong travel time, Sturgis! 2464 miles, 38 hours travel time, averaged 63mph, averaged 26 mpg, all per trip computer. Includes tour to Rushmore, Crazy Horse, & Custer State Park with wildlife loop stopped by the buffalo herd in the road. Shorter, more direct route home. Expect a little higher average speed on the return trip.

If you are ever going to use the far back seats, then the captains chairs allow easy access. My grandkids like to ride in the far back, but then I have to leave a middle seat down to get them in and out, unless they go through the back door with only one back seat up. I had the SWB, loved it. Got the LWB for more capacity and traveling room. Lost some cargo height. We leave the 3rd row seats down most of time.

Pictures of your DIY screen solution? Is it a soft or hard screen solution? Back when car bras were a popular accessory, several had screens attached. They also sold a screen that attached with little S hoops and thin bungee cords. I used them in Florida during love bug season. I would think aluminum or fiberglass screening cut to fit along with some self stick Velcro (maybe sewn on the screen) would work well. They still sell mesh like inserts for pickup trucks for styling. Maybe somebody will do similar for the TC?

My 2008 Explorer will freeze us FAST. My 2017 TC will chill you after a little while. The AC works but not as strongly as on my older model Ford ;( Slow enough that I had the dealer check it out, they said it was normal. However AFTER they checked it, it seemed to start to work better. Still not as good as my never worked on 2008 AC. Hmmm?

Most insurance companies will pay full for a chip repair to avoid the higher windshield replacement cost later.

Concur on the idea that bungees are for quick, short term use. I would get a set of the smaller nylon belt ratchet straps and use those for the tie downs.

I expect that was overall average. I got about 20-21mpg on my 2014 SWB at 90mph on my trip a couple years ago. however. Maybe they mildly improved the TC. I'll be monitoring and logging my MPG vs. MPH on my upcoming cross country trip with the 2017 LWB.

Don't think you mentioned your reasons for the angled walls on your cabinets.

Very nice convertible option.

Thanks for the clarification. Thought you meant the knob Don pictured. US DOT has regulations on high beam aiming, I'm sure the US never had that interior adjuster knob. Looks like you have an extra push button under the fog light switch. Driving lights? Or courtesy main lights that just glow for in town driving like the U.K. uses?