I just bought an F-250 Tremor. It came with the Pro Trailer Hitch and Backup Assist. I've been towing trailers a long time and don't need these features. However, my wife is just starting to tow our horse trailer and wouldn't mind a little help.

This morning I went to our trailer to test these features. I positioned the truck about 6 ft from the trailer hit, put it in reverse, and pressed the Pro Trailer button. It asked if a trailer was connected, I said no. Then I got an error message: "Pro Trailer Hitch Assist Not Available. Refer to Owner's Manual." I looked in the owner's manual and saw this:



I tried driving the truck forward for a few minutes, then turning it off for 5 minutes. Didn't help. I just got the truck on Friday and it only has 45 miles on it. Do I need to drive it more to initialize the camera and/or steering system before I can use this feature?

Second, I tried to configure Pro Trailer Backup Assist. I set the trailer up in the Towing control panel. Then I tapped on Pro Trailer Backup Assist. I got to the screen below. All I can do is choose the Trailer Angle Limit. There are no other steps and no way to complete the process.



What am I missing?

 

I'm probably wrong, but I think this is the first post I've ever seen asking how it's used.

I've had on my last 8 or 10 vehicles, I've never even tried it.

 

Pro Trailer Backup Assist requires putting a supplied sticker in the correct spot on the trailer so the truck can track the position.

https://www.ford.com/support/how-tos...backup-assist/

https://www.ford.com/support/vehicle...r-hitch-assist

 

Yep, aware of that. The issue is that the setup process described in the article you linked to isn’t working.

“To use Pro Trailer Backup Assist, press the center button of the Pro Trailer Backup Assist **** and a list of available trailers will appear, or you can add a new trailer by pressing the center button on the Pro Trailer Backup button to the right of your steering wheel, selecting Add Trailer and following the prompts.”

When “following the prompts” I can’t get past the section on configuring the trailer angle (as I showed in the original post).

I may try calling the dealer. Guess the wife will have to learn the old fashioned way!

 

That video is retarded with fake actors and doesn’t show how to use the hitch assist. Before you do anything else go into your center screen and check for software updates. If there are any download them first. I have a 2024 Lariat Ultimate and initially this feature would work with a regular hitch, but not with a weight distribution hitch. That was fixed in one of the software updates. To use the feature you have to be on mostly level ground and pretty much inline with the trailer, about 20 feet away. Six feet is way too close to start and it won’t initialize. Shift the truck into reverse and press the center button on the Pro Trailer backup assist dial. It will ask if a trailer is connected, select No. A circular target will appear and you have to back up to center the trailer hitch in that target until it turns green. Once it does hold down the button and release the steering wheel and brake pedal, the truck will steer and back itself up to the hitch, stopping a foot or two away. A message will ask if the hitch height is appropriate and you select Yes or I’ll check. Put the truck in park and go back to see if the hitch is high enough to clear the ball, once it is shift back to reverse and hold the button down and it will back right under it, but very slowly. Per the manual this feature only works with ball hitches, not pintle hitches. I don’t have a trailer with a pintle hitch so I haven’t tried it.

 

switters, I forgot one part, make sure your backup sensors are turned on in the center screen. It needs them to measure the distance to the trailer I guess.

 

I think I have the feature and I know I had it on the F-150 I previously had. I never bothered hooking up the trailer sensor kit or calibrating the system and then finding a big area to effectively calibrate the thing.

I'd note that even if I had thought I needed the system? My travel trailer is 34 feet long and the system apparently doesn't work if the trailer is over 30 feet long.

So make sure your trailer is not too long for the system. Double check to make sure you have properly hooked up the trailer sensor kit. Make sure any required calibration has been done. If all that has been done then you SHOULD be able to hook up to the trailer, plug in the trailer sensor system and use the assist.

Again, for me this is all theoretical since my trailer was too long for the system on the F-150 and I've not bothered to even look at it for the F-350.

 

Thanks, everyone. I was able to get both features working the second time I tried setting them up. I think I just needed to drive the truck a bit more before the steering fully initialized. All set!