2012 Ford Expedition Towing 30' Travel Trailer

The 2500 Suburban was the original 3/4 SUV, older models had the 350/454 motor options with TH400 trans, 01-06 they were available with 6.0/8.1 and 4L80E trans, 07-13, only had the 6.0L but with the 6 speed 6L90E trans that kept the tow ratings the same. Ford made the Excursion from 00-05 available with the 5.4, 6.8 V-10, or 7.3 diesel.

Back to your current situation, the first thing you need to do is get to a Cat scale and see what your weights are. Expy's have coil springs for a soft ride, not the best for stabilizing a load. I towed with one for a year before trading it in for a 2500 Suburban. I added airbags, and they helped a lot, what I did wrong was connect them to a common air line, so they didn't help with body roll, just sent air from one bag to the other. If you add them, plumb them separately.

Also the transmission in the Expy is not very sturdy, be sure to add a trans temp gauge andd possible an aux cooler if you tow with it on the regular.

txnese wrote:
I towed it home after purchase with my F250 with No WDH, no problems at all. The kids like riding in the expedition for the extra room. Learning as I go.

I'll get it measured, but the weights per MFG as I found it. Trailer is 5400 dry weight, hitch weight is 715. The expedition is 6000-7000 towing and tongue weight is 575lbs. I don't have the OEM trailering package.

The newer Expeditions with trailering package is rated at 9000-9300lbs, but it comes with 3.5 Eco Boost. Has anyone towed a trailer with the V6 EcoBoost? How's it handle?

The dry weights are meaningless but if I'm reading your post correctly, the dry hitch weight is 715 and the trucks tongue weight limit is 575, so you are already over. In reality, fully loaded, it's likely to be up around 1000lb.

Without the towing package, watch your transmission. Other than the hitch, one of the big things you get is an auxiliary transmission cooler.

Even with the new expedition, payload may be an issue. Looking online says it's around 1750lb. Again, the sticker on the door is the one that counts as adding running board, roof racks and other items can use up a surprising amount if you don't get a stripped down version.
- A family of 4 can easily eat up 600lb of payload. If you have younger kids, keep in mind in 5-10yrs, they may increase by 100-200lbs as they turn into teenagers.
- A cooler and a couple bags and you have hit your payload limit.

Also keep in mind your rear axle rating. Most of the hitch weight winds up on the rear axle.

It's possible you might be able to stay within your ratings but you will have to stay on top of your weights. The CAT scale trip will give you a really good baseline when looking for a new tow vehicle but if buying a new truck, I would want to leave myself some margin for error.

I was initially skeptical of the ecoboost but it's turned out pretty good from the ones I've ridden in and reports I've heard. Don't expect great MPG while towing. It still takes fuel to make power.

I towed it home after purchase with my F250 with No WDH, no problems at all. The kids like riding in the expedition for the extra room. Learning as I go.

I'll get it measured, but the weights per MFG as I found it. Trailer is 5400 dry weight, hitch weight is 715. The expedition is 6000-7000 towing and tongue weight is 575lbs. I don't have the OEM trailering package.

The newer Expeditions with trailering package is rated at 9000-9300lbs, but it comes with 3.5 Eco Boost. Has anyone towed a trailer with the V6 EcoBoost? How's it handle?

txnese wrote:
I was using Mfg weights.

Load up as if you are going camping and swing by a CAT scale. Take 3 measurements (first is around $12 and reweighs are around $3):
- Trailer attached with WDH connected.
- Trailer attached with WDH disconnected.
- Truck by itself.

I'm betting you have one or more weight issues and it's showing up in the handling.

Assuming you can't or won't move to a pickup:
- Very good chance the truck is over it's payload limits. Tow rating is only one consideration. Look on the door jam for a yellow sticker. It lists the actual payload. But looking online, it appears to be around 1600lb. Assuming your 30ft trailer is around 10,000lb, the hitch weight could easily be 1500lb which counts against the payload. Any passengers or gear in the truck also count against payload.
- What is the hitch weight percentage? Ideally, you want around 12-15% of the fully loaded trailer weight on the hitch (more is actually better but conflicts with the need to stay within payload limits for the truck). Get below 10% and they have a tendency to sway. You will feel when semis blow by but it should settle down almost immediately. If it keeps swaying, that's a problem.
- If it's a heavy trailer, the 1000lb bars on the WDH might not be enough. Also, 50% of how much life on the front are you returning?
- If you are pushing 10,000lb, a gas engine will need a lot of RPM in hills. Gas engines generally make peak HP up around 3500-4500 RPM. If the drivetrain is otherwise in good shape, other than noise and fuel burn, there should be no harm. What kind of slope and what kind of RPM were you experiencing?

Depending on what you find at the CAT scales...If you will be towing regularly (especially in hilly/mountainous areas) and you can't switch to a 3/4 or 1 ton pickup, I would be looking at 3/4 or 1 ton BODY ON FRAME full size vans. That should address payload issues. Then you have the choice between a big fuel hungry gas motor that will rev climbing hills or a much more expensive diesel motor which will keep the RPM more sedate and handle high altitude better...depends on how much and where you tow.

Have you got a hammer? Put it in you right hand, put left thump on fender, rare back and hit that thumbnail as hard as you can.

Pretty silly idea, right?

IMHO, not any more silly than trying to decide what is wrong without knowing what the actual weight and distribution and ratings on your rig.

I was using Mfg weights. The front wheel height was reduced to about 50% using the EAZ LIFT 48058 1,000 lbs Elite Kit. I was told to leave at least 5 chain links, so that was about as far as could go, I guess. Come to think of it, these measurements were taken before I loaded up trailer with camping gear. I'm going to re-check heights this weekend with similar gear loaded.

I was going to upgrade to 2021 Expedition before the chip shortage, so we're waiting until everything comes back to normal. Just doing some research before we make the purchase, hopefully next year.

Yes, there were 3/4T, 4X4 Suburbans with either the 350 or 454 engine. I used one for years to pull a four place enclosed snow machine trailer and it did fine with the 350.

I don't know if the 4X4 Excursions are rated at 3/4T or not?

Bill

3/4 ton Suburban or van is your next step up. Same lousy mpg....but larger engines available.

did you actually weigh the trailer loaded up and weigh the tongue? or are you going on the trailer mfg ratings?

and is the wd set up so the front of the expedition is back near empty height? not below but near empty ride height?

and what kind of sway control are you using