Frozen Door Latches, Air Suspension Problems and Best Tires for Towing? (Ask TFLtruck)

Welcome to today’s Ask TFLtruck! We have two problems and a question to tackle this time around. First up: an issue with frozen door latches on current generation 2015 – 2018 Ford F-150s, as evidenced by a post on F-150 Forums:

Ford F-150 frozen door latch issue – Eric:

Hi!
I really like what you do on your Youtube channel, I’m following you since 2013, the year I bought my first F150 that I loved a lot
I changed it for a 2016 Lariat, what i huge mistake I did, I live on the north and like almost every 2015+ F150, I have the frozen doors
problems, is it possible with all the contacts you have to know the truth about this problem, because even with the 2018 production
they still have the frozen doors problem
I don’t know if you know this forum:
Thanks!
Thanks for bringing this to our attention, Eric! Perhaps some of you out there in the TFLtruck community have experienced this problem as well. According to the poll on the F-150 forums, Ford is aware of the issue and working to fix it, although not everyone has gotten the notice or had their issue resolved.
The next issue comes from a Ram Rebel owner who has been having issues with his air suspension in the frigid Canadian Arctic.

2016 mopar ram rebel

“Dude, I HATE My Ride”: 2016 Ram 1500 Rebel air suspension issues – Steve

Hello TFL,

I currently HATE my ride.  I have a 2016 Ram 1500 Rebel with the Air Ride suspension and I had my hesitations about the Air Ride system before buying, but I was assured that the system would be fine in cold weather and the dealership even shipped the truck to me in Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada which is only accessible by plane.  They sold me the 7 years of extended warranty and assured me that the mechanics in town would be able to cover all issues with my truck.  

However, my Air Ride suspension has not been working for 5 months now and stays in entry/exit mode and is riding on the frame.  It’s been 5 months of diagnostics and still nothing has been fixed.  I’m now looking at spending an extra $2500 to ship it back to Ottawa and have a 2018 Ram Powerwagon shipped up to me.  However, until this happens, I HATE My Ride and would never recommend anyone to buy a Ram Rebel for use in Canada because the Air Ride suspension does not work and if you don’t have a dealership immediately accessible, no one else can fix it for you even though FCA will tell you that they can to sell you an extended warranty.  If you more information, or a video, or pictures, please send me a message.

 

That’s definitely unfortunate – sorry to hear about the problem with your truck. Perhaps one of you out there in the TFL community have some more insight as to cause of Steve’s air suspension problems?

Finally, we have a question from Don – which is the best set of tires for towing with a Ford F-150?

What are the best tires for towing on a long trip? 

I have a 2016 Ford F-150 with the 3.5 liter Ecoboost. I am looking to put on a new set of tires for a 20,000+ mile road trip from North Carolina to Alaska (and back). I have the factory installed Goodyear Wranglers on it now (275 65R20). While the wear on these has been good and I still have decent tread (I have 41,000 miles on the truck), I want new rubber all around for this trip (and future trips).  I have towed my RV with the factory installed tires and they have performed well. My RV is a 21’ Lance with a weight of about 5,000#’s. 

I am interested in a good, All Terrain tire that is more designed for towing than the factory installed tires. I have gotten some feedback on the Nitto Grappler, the BFG KO2 and the Falken Wildpeak. 

I am very much interested in your opinion. I will be using the vehicle for pleasure/passenger travel when here at home and then for towing the RV when on the road. I am not necessarily over concerned about the  smoothness of the ride per se, but more in the safety, endurance and dependability when towing and on off road conditions.

Your feedback would be appreciated. Thanks. Don

Hi Don!

We answered a similar question last year, and Andre recommended BFG KO2s, as they’re reasonably quiet and give good performance both off-road and in snow and ice. Since you’re traveling up north and back, I’d personally agree with his recommendation. However, they’re not the best full-time towing tire, since they’re more off-road biased. They certainly won’t last as long as a more road-biased all-season would.

Of the choices you mentioned, the Nitto Terra Grapplers would probably offer the best all-around performance for towing conditions. I have some experience with those tires, and they do offer a fairly quiet ride and good, long-lasting performance. If you lean more toward off-roading, then the Wildpeaks or KO2s are good ways to go, particularly if your budget can stretch to the latter.

Send in your questions and issues to ask@tfltruck.com! Thanks guys, and keep the messages coming!