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miller2540's avatar
miller2540
Explorer
Apr 21, 2017

Who flat tows a Ford Explorer ?

We tow a 2013 Subaru Crosstrek. My wife hates it because a Subaru has to have a standard transmission to be towed. We are looking at a 2017 Ford Explorer. Does anyone have experience towing one and what are your impressions?
  • Towed an 08 Explorer for six years then bought a new 2014 three years ago before that we towed an 04 Suzuki. Love the Explorers but found them quite a bit heavier, just something to keep in mind. Things like my old tow bar system would not work on the Explorers. Only other real problem I encountered was with the 2014, in the manual they say to start the engine and run it every 6 hours. Problem was by that time the battery was already dead. Had to install a charge line from the coach to the toad to keep the battery charged. Other than that you just put the transmission in Neutral with the key in the first position and go. About as easy as it gets.
  • Expecting delivery of a 2017 Explorer XLT on May 23. Will be flat towing it. To flat tow requires 4WD and either the 3.5 engine or the larger ecoboost which is not available in the XLT. Check the owners manual on line for details.
  • I have a 2017 Ford Explorer XLT fwd I tow 4 wheels down, you do not have to have all wheel drive to tow 4 wheels down you can flat tow either. The XLT comes standard with the 3.5l V6.

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