Towing Capacity of Ford Explorer
We are upgrading from a tent trailer to either a Hybrid or Travel Trailer. We have a 2013 Ford Explorer with the towing package - 5000 lb towing max. I am not sure how to determine the towing capacit...
Forum Discussion
Towing max is for a particular set of conditions, i.e. an base level vehicle, no options, full of fuel and weight allowance for driver. Anything else in the Explorer reduces what you can tow.
For what you can actually tow, find out your GVWR and GCWR in the Explorer. Find out what the Explorer will weigh when you are ready to travel, as the people and stuff get loaded. Subtract this from GCWR, that is actual towing capacity. Subtract the loaded weight from GVWR, that's what you have left to carry trailer tongue weight. For most vehicles in this class, tongue weight will do you in before trailer weight.
Went through this 2004-2005 when I came back to the U.S. needing a new car, got a Durango with 6000 pound "maximum towing capacity." when I worked out the numbers for typical traveling scenarios, I was down to 4000-4500 to tow, no more than 500 on the hitch. For the amount of living space (and quality level) my wife wanted, no trailers were to be found that were light enough for the Durango to tow. We needed a 3/4 ton truck. Rather than buy truck and trailer, found a nice used motorhome.
If you are carrying family and family stuff, I suspect that 5000 pound rating is going to work out to an actual towing capacity of 3500-4000 pounds, and you might not have enough carrying capacity left to handle a 500-600 pound tongue weight.
I think the trailer you are looking for is too big. I've seen smaller TTs than that flip Explorer-size vehicles. In our RV club, all a trailer that size need to roll over a Sierra 1500 with 8000 max towing capacity was one 1/2 lane swerve to avoid a tour bus merging poorly. For my son-in-law's father, trailer that size behind an Ecoboost F-150 rated to tow as much as 9000 pounds, all it took was a 25 sidewind gust; on that one, only the trailer rolled, truck didn't go too because the hitch broke off.
For what you can actually tow, find out your GVWR and GCWR in the Explorer. Find out what the Explorer will weigh when you are ready to travel, as the people and stuff get loaded. Subtract this from GCWR, that is actual towing capacity. Subtract the loaded weight from GVWR, that's what you have left to carry trailer tongue weight. For most vehicles in this class, tongue weight will do you in before trailer weight.
Went through this 2004-2005 when I came back to the U.S. needing a new car, got a Durango with 6000 pound "maximum towing capacity." when I worked out the numbers for typical traveling scenarios, I was down to 4000-4500 to tow, no more than 500 on the hitch. For the amount of living space (and quality level) my wife wanted, no trailers were to be found that were light enough for the Durango to tow. We needed a 3/4 ton truck. Rather than buy truck and trailer, found a nice used motorhome.
If you are carrying family and family stuff, I suspect that 5000 pound rating is going to work out to an actual towing capacity of 3500-4000 pounds, and you might not have enough carrying capacity left to handle a 500-600 pound tongue weight.
I think the trailer you are looking for is too big. I've seen smaller TTs than that flip Explorer-size vehicles. In our RV club, all a trailer that size need to roll over a Sierra 1500 with 8000 max towing capacity was one 1/2 lane swerve to avoid a tour bus merging poorly. For my son-in-law's father, trailer that size behind an Ecoboost F-150 rated to tow as much as 9000 pounds, all it took was a 25 sidewind gust; on that one, only the trailer rolled, truck didn't go too because the hitch broke off.
