I posted this question in the Tow Vehicle forum as well, but after looking through this forum thought this might be the more appropriate place.I am considering a new travel trailer. It is 31 feet long with a dry weight of 6,544 lbs and a carrying capacity of 2,256 lbs, for a maximum combined weight of 8,800 lbs. The hitch weight (I assume that is tongue weight) is listed at 835 lbs. I drive a 2019 Ford Expedition with a towing capacity of 9,200 lbs and a receiver capacity of 930 lbs. I will be purchasing a good quality weight distribution hitch. Although the camper is within the limits Ford provides for my vehicle, there is not a lot of room for error. So my question is whether this camper leaves me enough cushion to feel comfortable? Would you buy this camper and tow it with this truck?

In my opinion, that will be just at the limits of your tow vehicle. It will probably be safe but not very comfortable. Your tongue weight is probably going to be well North of 1000lbs when it is ready for camping. I would not be surprised to see a tongue weight of 1200lbs or more. That will be well above the rated capacity of your receiver.Does your ratings leave you enough cushion to feel comfortable? Probably not."Would you buy this camper and tow it with this truck?" No. I am not comfortable towing at the limits of my trucks ratings.

My Tahoe is similar and wouldn’t try over 6k with it. Wheelbase is another issue.

"Would you buy this camper and tow it with this truck?" I wouldn't tow that trailer with my truck.. And it has a tow rating of #11,000.. The trucks hitch is rated at #1100 with WD, but in the end, I know I would not be comfortable towing that size trailer with my truck.How many butts do you plan on putting in the Expedition? Any additional stuff in there too?I'd stick with a trailer with no more than #7500 GVWR.Engine power is not the issue here either.. It's the rest of the truck that leaves a bit to be desired when towing heavy like that..Good luck!Mitch

The trailer will likely weigh 8k lbs loaded for a trip. That will put the tongue weight at 1050lbs (12.5%) the minimum you should have for safe towing. No doubt the Expedition will handle it. But you will be over the Expy’s hitch rating. I’m sure it won’t break at 120lbs over. You could always dial it back to the 930lbs but that would put you at less than ideal tongue weight for an 8klb loaded trailer!

I think that your Expy will be over at least one of its ratings when loaded up for a long weekend.My estimates are that you will be:7500 pounds loaded TT1000 pounds of loaded TWWhat is your estimate for people and cargo in the Expy when towing?What does the Tire and Loading sticker say you have for maximum combined weight of occupants and cargo list?For almost all half tons: 6k dry, 700 pounds may dry TW, assuming 1500 pounds of payload available and at least 8k tow rating.

Expedition Towing Camper | Good Sam Community

Drought_Buster
Explorer
May 09, 2019
Hey, good news. I just got an email from my dealer telling me that my Expedition will have no trouble towing this camper. He says he will explain it all to me when I come in, but basically we reminds me that we won't be adding weight just to the front, but to the whole trailer. We can just shift weight to the rear to take pressure off the tongue. And with the quality weight distributing hitch he is going to put on it, we will have no issues. Like Sheldon Cooper, sometimes I wish I had a sarcasm sign to hold up.
dodge_guy
Explorer II
May 09, 2019
Drought Buster wrote:
APT wrote:
I would not go quite that far. Stay closer to 6k dry and <700 dry TW. That will likely end up right at ratings. That Expy has a ton of power so it will pull very well. It's more of a stability/comfort level.

Thanks, the dry weight on the one we had wanted is 6,544lbs. Just a darn heavy tongue at 835lbs.

Also remember that just because it has a high dry tongue weight doesn’t mean it will be even heavier after it’s loaded. You need to mod the trailer properly to get the 12% TW. There is no reason an 8k lb trailer should 1200lbs of TW. It’s all in the loading!
Grit_dog
Navigator
May 09, 2019
The new expy will tow it fine.
80k miles on your Suoer Duty and you’re not sure how long it’s going to last?? Lol
Drought_Buster
Explorer
May 09, 2019
Grit dog wrote:
The new expy will tow it fine.
80k miles on your Suoer Duty and you’re not sure how long it’s going to last?? Lol

I get what you are saying. Obviously I am not a tech type guy (if you knew me it would be much more obvious), but its not the mileage that concerns me (I realize it is very low for a truck this age), it is the fact that its 11 years old and has been towing a 12,000lbs fifth wheel the whole time (its just about the only thing I use it for). Worried things will start to go wrong and wouldn't want to have that happen while on a trip.
Drought_Buster
Explorer
May 09, 2019
dodge guy wrote:
Drought Buster wrote:
APT wrote:
I would not go quite that far. Stay closer to 6k dry and <700 dry TW. That will likely end up right at ratings. That Expy has a ton of power so it will pull very well. It's more of a stability/comfort level.

Thanks, the dry weight on the one we had wanted is 6,544lbs. Just a darn heavy tongue at 835lbs.

Also remember that just because it has a high dry tongue weight doesn’t mean it will be even heavier after it’s loaded. You need to mod the trailer properly to get the 12% TW. There is no reason an 8k lb trailer should 1200lbs of TW. It’s all in the loading!

It is interesting that you said that. The dealer is telling me that the weight distributing hitch is the solution to the problem and if loaded properly there is no reason the tongue weight has to increase by 200-300 lbs. But I was under the impression if you didn't have 10-15% of the weight on the tongue it was more likely to sway and be unstable in the wind...
dodge_guy
Explorer II
May 10, 2019
A WD hitch will put some weight back on the trailer axles. But not much. Probably less than 100lbs. And yes even 10% can cause sway issues. 12% is the number too shoot for when the trailer is loaded. I had to move stuff in my trailer to get the tongue weight to 1200 lbs from the 1450 it weighed before. And yes with the higher tongue weight I had stability issues. Putting the tongue weight at the 12% number made a huge difference!
BarneyS
Explorer III
May 10, 2019
Your dealer is blowing smoke! The WD hitch does NOT reduce the tongue weight. All it does is move some of the weight off of the rear axle and moves it back to the front axle and some back to the trailer axles. This does not change the tongue weight at all. It stays the same and if it is too light to begin with the trailer will have a tendency to sway. If too heavy you could break things on the tow vehicle. The WD hitch's main job is to restore the weight back to the front axle of the truck that was removed when you put the tongue weight on the ball that is located some distance behind the rear axle (think fulcrum)

Take a look and study the first post in this thread for information on how a WD hitch works so you will be armed to let that dealers salesman know he doesn't know what he is talking about. All he is interested in is selling you a vehicle.
Barney
rrupert
Explorer
May 10, 2019
I have a hard time believing anything a car or RV dealer/salesman has to say about towing.
IdaD
Explorer
May 10, 2019
Drought Buster wrote:
Grit dog wrote:
The new expy will tow it fine.
80k miles on your Suoer Duty and you’re not sure how long it’s going to last?? Lol

I get what you are saying. Obviously I am not a tech type guy (if you knew me it would be much more obvious), but its not the mileage that concerns me (I realize it is very low for a truck this age), it is the fact that its 11 years old and has been towing a 12,000lbs fifth wheel the whole time (its just about the only thing I use it for). Worried things will start to go wrong and wouldn't want to have that happen while on a trip.

Unless you beat on the thing your truck should be fine for quite awhile. 10 years isn't that old for a modern truck, or even a Ford, and 80,000 miles is low for that age.
BarneyS
Explorer III
May 10, 2019
I traded my 2002 F250 7.3PSD a few years ago with over 350,000 miles on it, mostly towing miles, and it still ran like new and looked like new.
They can last if you take care of them.
Barney