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jimh406's avatar
jimh406
Explorer III
Mar 21, 2017

2006 Explorer 4.6 v8 has no power to tow up mountains?

I intended to use my 2006 4.6 v8 Explorer to tow my driftboat/trailer with a few tires over the Cascades and Rockies this weekend. I hadn't even made it from Seattle to Snoqualmie Pass before I decided to turn around.

My guess is the driftboat/trailer with tires was still no more than 1500 lbs and probably closer to 1000. Those of you who tow with yours, should I expect high revs to maintain 65-70 going up mountains with this type of load? How many RPMs should I expect up to 6000 ft?

If not, what should I check? My 2006 Limited is AWD with 18 inch wheels. The tires are slightly larger than stock size.

NOTE: I took it to Montana using a F450 instead. Obviously, a bit overkill for a light towing load.
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  • Sam_Spade's avatar
    Sam_Spade
    Explorer
    Mar 21, 2017
    jimh425 wrote:
    should I expect high revs to maintain 65-70 going up mountains with this type of load?


    YES.

    BUT.....you should NOT necessarily expect to maintain the posted speed limit when ascending a steep slope.

    If the "big trucks" are going 45-50, fall in line. The transmission may still downshift but hopefully not as much.

    If you normally "cruise" at or below 2,500 RPM, then on a steep slope with a load 3,500 to 4,000 would be perfectly normal.....especially if you insist on maintaining your speed with the cars.
  • jerem0621's avatar
    jerem0621
    Explorer II
    Mar 21, 2017
    You are not letting the Explorer work. You are not use to letting it rev to 4500-5,000 RPM to climb a grade. Let it work. That's what it was designed to do.

    I pull much more than 1,500 lbs with my Minivan and it does a great job but I let it work.

    Let it rev...you are not going to hurt it. If your F450 had a V10 it would be running 4,500-5,000 rpm to tow up mountains too...it's the nature of a gasser.

    Thanks!

    Jeremiah
  • coolmom42's avatar
    coolmom42
    Explorer II
    Mar 21, 2017
    jimh425 wrote:
    I intended to use my 2006 4.6 v8 Explorer to tow my driftboat/trailer with a few tires over the Cascades and Rockies this weekend. I hadn't even made it from Seattle to Snoqualmie Pass before I decided to turn around.

    My guess is the driftboat/trailer with tires was still no more than 1500 lbs and probably closer to 1000. Those of you who tow with yours, should I expect high revs to maintain 65-70 going up mountains with this type of load? How many RPMs should I expect up to 6000 ft?

    If not, what should I check? My 2006 Limited is AWD with 18 inch wheels. The tires are slightly larger than stock size.

    NOTE: I took it to Montana using a F450 instead. Obviously, a bit overkill for a light towing load.


    I would not expect any 6 or 8 cylinder engine to tow much of anything up a mountain pass without some high revs, at 65 mph.

    It's not a big deal to get in the right lane, shift down, and slow down. There's no need to run every mile at 65 mph.
  • downtheroad's avatar
    downtheroad
    Explorer
    Mar 21, 2017
    When we had the combination, our Explorer did ok towing our Fleetwood Sea Pine pop up....We bought a small hard side travel trailer and it was horrible.
    Just our experience, others may differ.
  • time2roll's avatar
    time2roll
    Nomad
    Mar 21, 2017
    2700 - 3000 rpm running down the flats would be normal.
    3200 - 4200 rpm climbing would be normal.

    You may need 4.30 or 4.56 gears to keep the rpm up without running in 1st and 2nd all the time. The larger tires are killing you.

    And yes I have run my older 5.4 at 3000+ rpm for 10 hours straight.

    Otherwise if you want to run 2000 rpm you will need a diesel.
  • mkirsch's avatar
    mkirsch
    Nomad II
    Mar 21, 2017
    I would expect high RPMs to maintain 65-70 on high mountain passes even without the trailer.

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