Ford‘s hands-free highway system has always had one conspicuous gap: the moment you hooked up a trailer, BlueCruise went dark. For 2027, that changes. The 2027 F-150 launches BlueCruise with Towing, extending hands-free operation to trailering tasks on designated controlled-access highways, with a maximum available towing capacity of 10,000 pounds when properly configured with the Tow/Haul Package and optional Max Tow Axle.
The motivation is straightforward. F-150 owners logged 118 million hands-free miles on BlueCruise in 2025, more than any other BlueCruise-equipped vehicle in the lineup. Ford surveys found that 76 percent of F-150 buyers use their trucks to tow. The system they were using most frequently was the one that stopped working the moment they attached a trailer. Closing that gap became the obvious next engineering priority.
How BlueCruise with Towing Works
Engineering a hands-free system around a towed load is meaningfully more complex than doing so for a solo vehicle. Trailer weight, load distribution, wind resistance, and sway all affect steering feel and braking response in ways that change dynamically. Ford’s ADAS team logged thousands of testing miles across high-elevation routes, tight curves, and high-wind plains, covering dozens of truck-and-trailer combinations with varied weight and load distributions. The team also uses a Driving Dynamics Lab for simulation testing, which Ford says allowed them to expand the range of scenarios beyond what physical testing alone can cover.
Before the system activates, drivers must create a unique trailer profile with accurate dimensions for the specific load being towed. That data informs how the system manages steering and braking. Once underway, BlueCruise monitors continuously for trailer sway; if sway persists, the system automatically slows the vehicle, limits speed, or transfers control back to the driver. Weight monitoring runs continuously as well: if the combined vehicle and trailer weight exceeds the threshold for BlueCruise operation at any point, the feature disengages. Tire pressure monitoring is tied in the same way; an active warning light disables the towing mode.
Speed is capped at 75 mph while towing, five miles per hour below the 80 mph ceiling in standard BlueCruise operation. Hands-free lane changes are not available while towing; those must be made manually. In-Lane Repositioning is also disabled, and a detected construction zone will prompt the driver to resume hands-on control. The system operates only within Ford’s Blue Zone network of pre-mapped controlled-access highway segments, consistent with the existing BlueCruise framework.
Availability and Pricing
Ford is not reserving BlueCruise with Towing for a premium trim tier. Every 2027 F-150 that comes BlueCruise-equipped will have access to the towing mode. Existing BlueCruise subscribers will not pay an additional fee to use it. Ford has not announced what the BlueCruise subscription itself costs on 2027 model year vehicles, though current-generation subscribers carry their plans into the feature without surcharge.
The 10,000-pound maximum applies when the truck is properly configured; Ford hasn’t detailed which options or axle ratios unlock that ceiling. Ford claims the figure is more than what other gas-powered pickups in the class currently offer under hands-free towing operation. That’s true on capacity, not on category: GM’s Super Cruise has offered hands-free towing on the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra since 2023. Ford’s launch is a category catch-up with a higher rated tow ceiling, not a segment first.
Ford says the 2027 F-150 is the launch vehicle and that BlueCruise with Towing will expand to other nameplates in the future. No specific models or timelines were named beyond that.
The feature’s design philosophy tracks with a broader pattern in how Ford has developed BlueCruise since its first deployment across nine Ford and Lincoln vehicle lines, spanning model years back to 2021. Each iteration has added capability based on logged usage data rather than speculative engineering exercises. Hands-free towing is the most operationally significant expansion yet, addressing the exact use case the F-150’s own customer base identified as the system’s most frustrating limitation.
Towing a 10,000-pound fifth-wheel hands-free down I-90 remains science fiction for now. But towing a loaded camper or boat trailer on a mapped highway stretch, without white-knuckling the wheel for hours, is about to become a standard feature on America’s best-selling truck.
Source: Ford. Images courtesy of Ford.
