Travel Tow Capacity for Ford Expedition EL

jaycocreek wrote:

That 5.4L doesn't have enough muscle for the weight. It's sucks a lot of dead dinosaurs, and really works hard climbing big hills. And small hills too.

The 5.4 has more ponies than the old 454 which was used in very large motorhomes and trucks. I can't believe how the RV mind set has changed so much.

Then I'd say the 454 was wussy too! Pulling through the Canadian Rockies with my 5.4, we were having trouble climbing the mountains. We had to stop a couple of times to let everything cool down, and kept losing speed. It's frustrating being backed off to 60km/h with a long line of pissed off people stuck behind you,

Beachums wrote:

intheburbs wrote:
Well, looking at a 2014 Expedition EL online, these are the numbers:

GVWR: 7720
RAWR: 4250
FAWR: 3700
Payload: 1435

The payload number is surprisingly low, but probably because it's a loaded Limited.

Doing the math, that sucker has the same curb weight as my 2500 Burb. At least I get a 2088-lb payload. Is Ford still that clueless?

Well, comparing apples to oranges would make me wonder who is clueless. Maybe it's me.
What year is your Burb?

Also, the Burb has a live rear axle, while the Ford has a fully independent rear suspension. This could explain the perceived weight disparity that you speak of.

I guess I should have expected at least one Expy owner to be butthurt.

My Burb is an 08, as shown in my sig.

So the Expy has a fully independent rear suspension. Thanks for the commercial. I don't care - I'm just looking at weights.

I don't see it as an apples/oranges comparison, because these are the best SUV options for tow vehicles from Ford or Chevy. Yes, the Excursion is an awesome TV, even superior to the Suburban 2500, but the newest Excursion is now a 9 year old truck on an even older platform. So if you want a Ford that's newer than an '05, the Expy EL is your only choice. So is it fair to compare to the best Chevy offered until 2013? I think so.

Here are the numbers:
Expy EL above: 7720-1435=6285 curb weight
Suburban 2500: 8600-2088=6512 curb weight.

So, the Suburban is only 227 lbs heavier on curb weight, but offers 653 lbs of additional payload. That is the disparity that I was addressing with my "clueless" comment. How can Ford build such a whale with such a low payload?

And since payload is really all that matters on an SUV TV, which is the better choice? Trailer weight rating is a meaningless number on an SUV, because it is almost never the limiting number. Most folks don't tow solo with no cargo.

And going back to the OP's question and some of the comments - a good WDH does nothing to address the vehicle's payload capacity. Yes, it will help reduce weight on the rear axle and make the rig more stable, but it doesn't change the 7200 GVWR. If the trailer tongue weight causes the GVW to exceed 7200 lbs, it doesn't matter. I honestly don't understand how some folks don't understand this.

mcruz wrote:
Are then any SUVs you know of that would work to pull (and carry) the weight associated with the Tracer 292bhd? Your feedback is appreciated.

Cars.com shows 3 new 2013 3/4 ton Suburbans in stock. Should be good with any PrimeTime Tracer model.

The Expedition and burb are the top new SUV's for towing. If you want used They made a 2500 Burb and Excursion that can pull more weight. Chevy has a van with the D-max that will pull more weight then the current Burb and Expedition. Welcome to the forum.

mcruz wrote:
. . . . And as an FYI, the OP (me) has not gone off and stuck HER head in the sand. I was looking for experienced, intelligent RVers to give me their feedback and I got it. I was not looking to hear - exceed the limits to give me permission to make the purchase. To the contrary, we have chosen NOT to make the purchase of the heavier, longer trailer - until we get a vehicle that is well within the limits of towing it. Again, thank you for your feedback. It has helped us make an informed decision. We are traveling with two young daughters . . . we would never skimp and put our most precious "cargo" in harms way. Thanks, again, for all of the great feedback.

Thanks for your post. There are some real condescending people on this board and I'm sorry that your first impressions of this site have been tainted by them.

There are helpful folks on this site with knowledge to share...you just have to get past the jerks.

. . . . And as an FYI, the OP (me) has not gone off and stuck HER head in the sand. I was looking for experienced, intelligent RVers to give me their feedback and I got it. I was not looking to hear "exceed the limits" to give me permission to make the purchase. To the contrary, we have chosen NOT to make the purchase of the heavier, longer trailer - until we get a vehicle that is well within the limits of towing it. Again, thank you for your feedback. It has helped us make an informed decision. We are traveling with two young daughters . . . we would never skimp and put our most precious "cargo" in harms way. Thanks, again, for all of the great feedback.

Okay, RVers. We so appreciate all of the feedback. We knew we were approaching the max for pulling with this vehicle and we had also figured stats that put us over, which is why we presented the vehicle and trailer to the RV community for feedback. Looks like we will stick with our KZ Sportsmen 242bhs (4200 lbs. dry weight). We love this Tracer and still would like to purchase it but not using the Expedition now. Are then any SUVs you know of that would work to pull (and carry) the weight associated with the Tracer 292bhd? Your feedback is appreciated.

That 5.4L doesn't have enough muscle for the weight. It's sucks a lot of dead dinosaurs, and really works hard climbing big hills. And small hills too.

The 5.4 has more ponies than the old 454 which was used in very large motorhomes and trucks. I can't believe how the RV mind set has changed so much.

We had a Expedition EL towing a 7,250lb dry travel trailer. 37'6" long. With a GOOD WD hitch, it tows very nicely. It did have some issues though.

1. That air suspension isn't meant for towing. You have to put it into "lock mode", wherein the suspension doesn't try to fill itself with air. We didn't know that, and blew the end off of the compressor while towing. NOT A FUN EXPERIENCE!!!

2. That 5.4L doesn't have enough muscle for the weight. It's sucks a lot of dead dinosaurs, and really works hard climbing big hills. And small hills too. You'll be pushing the limits of your truck in more than to the weights and capacities.

We replaced it with an older, 2005, Excursion diesel. Wow! I love this truck!

For someone who must have an SUV, I have 4 kids and a dog, the Excursion is the best. I loved driving the expedition though. It's a much more well rounded SUV. Just don't push it too hard, it's not meant for that and it will oush back.

Get a good hitch, better tires, beef up the suspension, etc etc if you'll be towing with it. When an emergency happens you'll be glad you did!

The trailer isn't pushing the limits, it's exceeding them. There are two sets of numbers for the Expedition limits. with and with out a WDH. The numbers seen here are with and are the higher. Personally I don't see what difference it makes which limit is exceeded, it just takes one.

As I said payloads are all over the place and you have to check the numbers on the door. My 03's both had 1545 pounds payloads while the 07 is rated at 1745. The 07 can't tow more, it has the same tongue weight limit as the 03.

It's not like there are not big trailers that can be towed with the Expy, there are number of people here that do so. Some have tried and have had bad times of it. Pushing it isn't just a safety issue, parts big and small on the truck will wear and fail sooner.

I do know how the OP feels. We couldn't wait to stop at the RV lots after buying our 03's. The first shop would have been happy to sell us a trailer that weighed 9000 lbs and said nothing about it. I didn't know the difference, all I knew back then was the tow limit touted by Ford.