Ford Expedition

[Tulare54]

I am pulling a 2014 Keystone TT with my 2008 Expedition, great on the flats, struggles on the hills. Heading over the Grapevine/RidgeRoute on Interstate 5 next month. Will I have enough power with a less than full load?

[tkoden]

What model trailer are you towing? What year is your expedition? Is it an EL or a standard length? I am looking to get a trailer and am always interested in peoples towing experiences with expeditions and lager TTs.

[EB_Expedition]

I recently towed our 30Ft travel trailer (~6,500GVWR) over 5,000 miles up to 9,000Ft elevation (visiting Western National Parks). I had a 2010 Expedition with the HD tow package. Yes, we did slow down going up steep grades, but no issues with the towing capability of the Expedition. If your's has the tow shift package, just put in towing mode when starting out in the morning and you should not have any problems. We live in Northern California and have driven over the Grapevine several times, again, no issue towing our trailer. You will slow down, the vehicle will down shift, and the engine will rev-up and eat a little more gas. Have a great and safe journey.

I would also verify that you are not at your towing limits of the Expedition.

PS> We recently sold the trailer and Expedition for a Class A and a small tow car.

[APT]

Should you go F-150, I recommend Ecoboost, max trailer towing package at a minimum. HD payload even better!

[Tulare54]

If anyone was wondering, trip with Expedition over the Grapevine to SoCal was not a problem, but still going to buy pickup, probably Ford F150

[Tulare54]

Thanks all, and Jerry9n

[Jerry9n]

With all the economy, gearing has tried to get the rpms at cruising speed as low as possible. We tend to get excited when an engine goes over 2,000 rpm. These are small block engines(5.3 and 5.4 are about the size of the old Chevy 327's). We ran the heck out of them. We also had a lot of higher ratio rear ends.

So, don't worry. Unless you have a diesel or and Ecoboost that produces torque and hp in the 2,000 rpm range, use the gearing to get the performance which will involve getting the engine, as it has been said, into the upper rpm ranges.

The days of the big block torque monster engines I'm afraid are gone.

[Tulare54]

Thanks Dodge guy. Feeling better about the Expedition.

[dodge_guy]

Nothing like the sweet sound of a gas engine at peak HP/RPM! don`t worry about 4500rpm it loves it!

[Tulare54]

Thanks to all, feel better about the Expedition now. "Struggling" meant high rpms but able to keep speed 45-50. Towing 6500 lbs. Keystone Springdale.

[APT]

Your engine makes its peak torque around 4500rpm. If you want to maximize speed while towing an RV uphill, then that's where you'll want to keep the engine. That is not struggling unless maybe its in first gear at 4500rpm and speed is still dropping.

[jerem0621]

Mitch is dead on here.

I had a F150 nearly identical to his except mine was a 2wd. I had a 31 ft TT that weighed about 7000 lbs loaded. I pulled it all over the hills of Tennessee. I was under all my Axle weights but about 50 lbs over GVWR.

I remember going up a 7% grade in second gear. Never into first, truck slowed down, but it was not struggling. It pulled great.

Regretted getting rid of that truck. I "upgraded" to a Dually because we wanted to put a golf cart in the bead and we got a crew cab as a bonus.

I took a lot of time to make sure that the F150 was set up right, and after getting behind the wheel of the dually the change was ... not significant. My F350 had a V10, so the RPM range was about the same for the motor.

If you feel the 5.4 is struggling at 3400-4500 ish rpm's... its not.. its doing its thing. It will run at that RPM all day long.

Thanks!

Jeremiah

[tankgod82]

Define struggle please.

[Lantley]

How big of a trailer are you towing? Are you within your towing parameters?
Performance will suffer as you exceed your parameters.

[Terryallan]

Yeah. Don't expect it to run uphill like it does on the flats. Even the big trucks, slow down on hills