Temporary towing with Ford Explorer

Clockman wrote:
Also. UHaul wont let you tow their trailers with a Ford Explorer! Its in their fine print!!

This was true when they had the Tire fiasco when no one was checking their tire pressures. Ford redesigned the Explorer twice since then and U-Haul hasn't changed their contract. what`s funny though is you can tow one with a Mountaineer or Aviator.....a rebadged Explorer!

FWIW my 01 has a tow rating of 6600lbs in AWD configuration and 6800lbs in rear WD.

I had a 95 4.0L with a 5k lb tow rating and towed a 25ft Award TT with no issue, granted the trailer weighed in right at 5k lbs.

Also. UHaul wont let you tow their trailers with a Ford Explorer! Its in their fine print!!

As far as I know rental trucks are equipped to tow trailers with surge brakes. I don't think they have brake controllers for trailers with electric brakes.

As far as your explorer, tongue weight could be your problem. As stated it's a unibody. That would be my concern.

OP, I get what you are trying to do, many have been there before.

But why not go to the local CG you want to go to and just start asking around for folks with trucks and see if someone is willing to tow your TT there. If it's only a few miles, I'll bet you'll have no problem finding someone to help. After all, most campers are a friendly bunch.

afidel wrote:
Huh, perhaps it is a regional thing, I was told I could not tow my own trailer with their equipment, only their trailers or dollies.

Sounds like a local franchise wanting to rent you a trailer too.

Huh, perhaps it is a regional thing, I was told I could not tow my own trailer with their equipment, only their trailers or dollies.

boulderado wrote:
Thanks for all the great feedback. Yes, I would be towing only from storage to a couple of different local CGs that are 3-5 miles from our storage lot. The plan is to eventually get another proper tow vehicle (F-150 or a Yukon/Suburban). In the meantime we would like to enjoy some camping, even if it is super-local. I will check with a hitch installer to see what they think. I already have a Blue Ox WD/anti-sway hitch, but not sure I even would need that for a short distance. Thanks again.

If you had read through the Ford Towing Guides that I linked to above, you would see that; with the Ford Class III towing package, a weight distributing hitch is necessary for weights of 3000-5000 lbs. for towing.

I guess the thread title and the first post should have tipped me off to the fact that the OP is going to try this with his 2017 Explorer, any good advice to the contrary. Some folks just can't be bothered with any additional encumbrance when the convenient way is available. I won't be any where close to this when it's tried so it is really of little import to me. It's just a shame that some folks will try to stretch the boundaries of physics and luck just for convenience. But look at the thread about the folks stranded near the Grand Canyon for what convenience and stretching your luck can bring.

carringb wrote:

afidel wrote:

U haul will NOT let you tow your own load with their trucks,

Unless its a regional restriciton, U-haul lets you town anything. 5,000 pound with a 10' truck and 10,000 pounds with trucks 14' and larger.

The newer trucks (starting '09-ish) all have a 2" receiver for using your own hitch, and a 7-way wiring connection. The only real restriction on their part, is their optional property damage coverage only extends to towed vehicles, not towed personal trailers.

And if you rent a U-Haul pick-up truck they allow towing anything that does not exceed the ratings of the truck. I've rented U-Haul pickups and towed trailers all over the country.

Here's a page from their web site that lists one of the uses of a U-Hual pick-up for "Towing your boat"

TOW YOUR BOAT WITH A U_HAUL

TOW YOUR TRAILER WITH A 15' MOVING TRUCK

PS - I don't doubt the Explorer would move it ok, but I'm not a fan of overloading hitch equipment, and I would not go further than around the block without a good brake controller

afidel wrote:

U haul will NOT let you tow your own load with their trucks,

Unless its a regional restriciton, U-haul lets you town anything. 5,000 pound with a 10' truck and 10,000 pounds with trucks 14' and larger.

The newer trucks (starting '09-ish) all have a 2" receiver for using your own hitch, and a 7-way wiring connection. The only real restriction on their part, is their optional property damage coverage only extends to towed vehicles, not towed personal trailers.