Ford Expedition 2012 EL Limited 31 foot Trailer

[linchat]

Hello all, new to the forums and new to RVing. Have a small dimemna. We purchased Ford Expedition 2012 EL (131" Wheel) with Tow Package allow for 8900# towing. We are looking at Cougar 31SQB at 7200#.

Do you think it is a good marriage? Any thoughts? Thanks.

[SprinklerMan]

Terryallan wrote:

SprinklerMan wrote:

Terryallan wrote:

SprinklerMan wrote:
I pull a 30 ft sunset creek with a v10 excursion . Its a 3/4 ton truck basically . My truck is rated for 10k towing , camper weighs 8400lbs loaded .I know its back there. What always concerns me when towing is braking , I can stop with the 3/4 tons brakes , I wouldnt trust a 1/2 ton vehicle with towing weight with family on board .

Again. Neither the brakes on your Excursion, OR a 1500 truck , are rated to stop the trailer. The brakes on the Ex are only rated to stop the GVW of the Ex. Not the TT. That's what the TT brakes do.

Don't be fooled in to thinkin a bigger truck is rated to stop a bigger tailer. It's not. Anything over the GVWR of the TV, the TT brakes have to stop.

He Did , his trailer connector came loose , no brakes on a 15,000 lb tripple axel fifth wheel . he had to replace his brakes and dry off his seat.


They may not be rated to but they will , The brakes and calipers are bigger on my excursion vs my old f 150 , yes the ex has a greater curb weight . but it will stop both rather well with out the trailer brakes. Accidents happen , as well as mistakes , a friend had his trailer plug come loose on his tripple axle 5th wheel pulling with a f 350 dually , going down an good incline , he stopped safely , found a parts store spent the next 2 hours replacing all the brakes and front rotars. Bigger brakes , better stopping .

Overloaded barkes are overloaded brakes no matter what they are on. As for the down grade. I use very little brakes on a down grade. I let the engine hold it back, Touching them only briefly for turns. Sounds like he rode his all the way down.

[sga_jed]

I have a 2006 Expy and I tow a 2010 Keystone Laredo 291TG. The Laredo is 31' and weighs 6,400lbs. I invested in a ProPride hitch about two years ago and the combo tows great! The ProPride is a little expensive (approx $2k) but I would not tow without it.

Best wishes!

[Terryallan]

SprinklerMan wrote:

Terryallan wrote:

SprinklerMan wrote:
I pull a 30 ft sunset creek with a v10 excursion . Its a 3/4 ton truck basically . My truck is rated for 10k towing , camper weighs 8400lbs loaded .I know its back there. What always concerns me when towing is braking , I can stop with the 3/4 tons brakes , I wouldnt trust a 1/2 ton vehicle with towing weight with family on board .

Again. Neither the brakes on your Excursion, OR a 1500 truck , are rated to stop the trailer. The brakes on the Ex are only rated to stop the GVW of the Ex. Not the TT. That's what the TT brakes do.

Don't be fooled in to thinkin a bigger truck is rated to stop a bigger tailer. It's not. Anything over the GVWR of the TV, the TT brakes have to stop.

They may not be rated to but they will , The brakes and calipers are bigger on my excursion vs my old f 150 , yes the ex has a greater curb weight . but it will stop both rather well with out the trailer brakes. Accidents happen , as well as mistakes , a friend had his trailer plug come loose on his tripple axle 5th wheel pulling with a f 350 dually , going down an good incline , he stopped safely , found a parts store spent the next 2 hours replacing all the brakes and front rotars. Bigger brakes , better stopping .

Overloaded barkes are overloaded brakes no matter what they are on. As for the down grade. I use very little brakes on a down grade. I let the engine hold it back, Touching them only briefly for turns. Sounds like he rode his all the way down.

[SprinklerMan]

Terryallan wrote:

SprinklerMan wrote:
I pull a 30 ft sunset creek with a v10 excursion . Its a 3/4 ton truck basically . My truck is rated for 10k towing , camper weighs 8400lbs loaded .I know its back there. What always concerns me when towing is braking , I can stop with the 3/4 tons brakes , I wouldnt trust a 1/2 ton vehicle with towing weight with family on board .

Again. Neither the brakes on your Excursion, OR a 1500 truck , are rated to stop the trailer. The brakes on the Ex are only rated to stop the GVW of the Ex. Not the TT. That's what the TT brakes do.

Don't be fooled in to thinkin a bigger truck is rated to stop a bigger tailer. It's not. Anything over the GVWR of the TV, the TT brakes have to stop.

They may not be rated to but they will , The brakes and calipers are bigger on my excursion vs my old f 150 , yes the ex has a greater curb weight . but it will stop both rather well with out the trailer brakes. Accidents happen , as well as mistakes , a friend had his trailer plug come loose on his tripple axle 5th wheel pulling with a f 350 dually , going down an good incline , he stopped safely , found a parts store spent the next 2 hours replacing all the brakes and front rotars. Bigger brakes , better stopping .

[Buck50HD]

This one might be more of question of short wheelbase vs trailer length, rather than tongue weight vs GVWR. Depends on your threshold of comfort along with distance and type of terrain.

My opinion is 2k lb less trailer and 26-28' max based on towing a 6300 dry 26' with a standard 1/2 ton truck with 145" wb. It was great when conditions were favorable but when the wind picked up, not fun.

[Terryallan]

linchat wrote:
Hello all, new to the forums and new to RVing. Have a small dimemna. We purchased Ford Expedition 2012 EL (131" Wheel) with Tow Package allow for 8900# towing. We are looking at Cougar 31SQB at 7200#.

Do you think it is a good marriage? Any thoughts? Thanks.

Personally I believe a 7200lb dry TT, with be too much for a 8900lb tw capacity. Unless you only load less than 1000lbs into the trailer, and less than 700lbs including the family into the EXpe.

[linchat]

Well, I have been feeling I might be pushing it. Looking to see if I can pull another 1000# out of the TT looking at diff models. Problem is, finding something with good height in TT. I am tall, allot of TT's have low ceiling, the Cougars have decent height in it.

Looking for something with queen / bunks in separate rooms, good ceiling height, I suppose around 6200#.

Any idea's on models/ mfg that make TT's with good interior height at abour 28-30' long?

[Terryallan]

SprinklerMan wrote:
I pull a 30 ft sunset creek with a v10 excursion . Its a 3/4 ton truck basically . My truck is rated for 10k towing , camper weighs 8400lbs loaded .I know its back there. What always concerns me when towing is braking , I can stop with the 3/4 tons brakes , I wouldnt trust a 1/2 ton vehicle with towing weight with family on board .

Again. Neither the brakes on your Excursion, OR a 1500 truck , are rated to stop the trailer. The brakes on the Ex are only rated to stop the GVW of the Ex. Not the TT. That's what the TT brakes do.

Don't be fooled in to thinkin a bigger truck is rated to stop a bigger tailer. It's not. Anything over the GVWR of the TV, the TT brakes have to stop.

[dodge_guy]

Is the 7200lbs dry weight or gross weight? If it is dry figure on adding 1200-1500lbs to the dry weight!

[SprinklerMan]

I pull a 30 ft sunset creek with a v10 excursion . Its a 3/4 ton truck basically . My truck is rated for 10k towing , camper weighs 8400lbs loaded .I know its back there. What always concerns me when towing is braking , I can stop with the 3/4 tons brakes , I wouldnt trust a 1/2 ton vehicle with towing weight with family on board .

[Desert_Captain]

linchat wrote:
When you say you can't / shouldn't is it safety, or damage to vehicle. Where are the concerns? Just trying to figure out biggest I can safely tow. Getting bigger is not ego related :), have 4 small kids.

Thanks.

Here is a quote from the Trailer Life Magazine 2012 Towing Guide:

"The gvwr figures are neither guideline nor estimates; they are limits, and there are numerous valid reasons the manufacturer arrived at these figures. If you think the figures are "close enough" or have a fudge-factor percentage built in, think again. Your warranty coverage, and your safety may be at risk."

Running at or near your rigs limits is, IMHO, a fools errand. There is simply no good reason to do so. That much trailer will probably have the tail wagging the dog in all but the best weather and flattest roads. This obviously is mere speculation on my part but I would urge caution. What is your TV's max payload and tow capacity? You will very likely exceed your GVR long before you get to the tow capacity even though you will probably be under your GCWR. :C

[subversive]

linchat wrote:
When you say you can't / shouldn't is it safety, or damage to vehicle. Where are the concerns? Just trying to figure out biggest I can safely tow. Getting bigger is not ego related :), have 4 small kids.

Thanks.

The biggest issue is likely to be the payload on the expedition. Max payload on a 2013 Expedition EL is just around 1600 pounds. If your trailer has a tongue weight of, say 1000 pounds, that only leaves you 600 for all the passengers plus all the cargo you want to carry in the vehicle. With 4 kids you'd probably need a 3/4 ton to properly handle that trailer.

[linchat]

When you say you can't / shouldn't is it safety, or damage to vehicle. Where are the concerns? Just trying to figure out biggest I can safely tow. Getting bigger is not ego related :), have 4 small kids.

Thanks.

[Desert_Captain]

Ignore the 7200# dry weight as it is a joke. The GVWR is 9,000# which will generate nearly 1200# of tongue weight. That much trailer is nothing I would want to tow with a 131" wheelbase and I suspect you will be out of payload before you load much in the TV. You can probably do it if you load very lightly and leave most of the family home but it won't be much fun (without them and towing). Good Luck! :W

[subversive]

Might be borderline, but impossible to say without weights and payload numbers.