Ford Explorer Sport with ecoboost

[Melanie83103]

Hello -

I think we have finally decided on the Ford Explorer Sport with the 3.5L ecoboost as our next tow vehicle (an upgrade from our current tow vehicle, a minivan). Anyone have experience towing with this one? Any input? My mechanic has only good things to say about the Explorer, but this will be our first Ford and I'm a little nervous...

Thanks!

Melanie

[Fast_Mopar]

A new Ecoboost Explorer Sport will fill this role perfectly. Some people are afraid of unibody vehicles. I am not. The new Explorer is better in every way than Explorers of the past. I have not driven the Ecoboost Sport model, but I know people who have and they all have great comments.

I will intentionally not say anything about someone's comment on how good the old Explorer Sport Trac was as a tow vehicle.

[rjstractor]

My stepmom tows a 6x12 enclosed cargo trailer with a loaded weight of 3000 pounds. She went from an early 2000s Chevy Astro van to a new Ford Explorer. The Explorer beats the Astro in every way- mileage, power, handling, ride. Hers is the non-turbo V6 so the Ecoboost will have even more power.

[Mike_Up]

A minivan has higher payload and a longer wheelbase. Both are car based unibody vehicles that have little strength to tow. The Explorer has a higher rated hitch and tow rating that means 'nothing' as it's still to low to tow a small travel trailer.

Now that "we know" that the trailer is super tiny and smaller than many pop ups, we can say that the Explorer "might" be able to handle it as long as the family and gear aren't heavy enough to take all the GVWR and leave none for tongue weight.

Also that the tiny trailer won't be over loaded beyond it's under 500 lbs of payload. Then it still needs to be weighed to make sure the design doesn't have a very heavy tongue weight as many 'single' axle trailers do.

I would not buy the New Crossover Explorer to be a Tow vehicle. The old Explorer, body on frame, made a great tow vehicle.

[APT]

Did the first two responses even read the whole post? I cannot think of any way in which the Explorer Sport would be a downgrade from a minivan except fuel consumption. Should be a great match for any single axle 3500GVWR trailer.

Her prior posts for backgroud.

[Fordlover]

Melanie83103 wrote:
We have a small trailer - an amerilite 16bh. It's light and has a low hitch weight. We just bought the trailer less than a year ago and don't plan to buy a new one anytime soon. We also have a small boat and could possibly see buying a new boat in the foreseeable future, but it would weight less than 4000 pounds. So we're not hauling heavy loads.... I basically want something that will do well towing the camper long distances. I have not been happy towing with the minivan, even though it is rated to tow the camper and then some.....

Thanks for the info guys!

Melanie

What about the mini van's towing performance have you not been happy with? Reserve power?

[gijoecam]

Without know what you're towing, I'd say it'll make a great tow vehicle as long as you stay within the limits. I had one for a work vehicle and put about 10K on it in the last 18 months. It was a little firm for highway touring, especially on our awful roads here in the upper midwest, but it ran like a scalded dog!! On-ramps and country roads were a blast!!

I wasn't a fan of the flappy-paddles though... It required two hands (one for up and one for down). I prefer the Limited for cruising as the seats are more cushy and the sport (semi-manual) mode is controlled by a switch on the PRNDL stick instead.

[Mike_Up]

Melanie83103 wrote:
We have a small trailer - an amerilite 16bh. It's light and has a low hitch weight. We just bought the trailer less than a year ago and don't plan to buy a new one anytime soon. We also have a small boat and could possibly see buying a new boat in the foreseeable future, but it would weight less than 4000 pounds. So we're not hauling heavy loads.... I basically want something that will do well towing the camper long distances. I have not been happy towing with the minivan, even though it is rated to tow the camper and then some.....

Thanks for the info guys!

Melanie

With that small and short of a trailer, you 'should' be okay. Just weigh everything out and make sure your within your weight limits.

Good luck

[rexlion]

You'll be good to go! I have towed 16' and 17' trailers with my '08 Highlander for years, and the Explorer Sport should be every bit as capable in handling plus way more power. The turbo will be a dream come true when you climb long grades, even at high altitude.

[Melanie83103]

Forgot to say - yes we do have the weight distribution system and the sway bar and plan to use it with whatever we replace the minivan with.

Melanie

[Melanie83103]

We have a small trailer - an amerilite 16bh. It's light and has a low hitch weight. We just bought the trailer less than a year ago and don't plan to buy a new one anytime soon. We also have a small boat and could possibly see buying a new boat in the foreseeable future, but it would weight less than 4000 pounds. So we're not hauling heavy loads.... I basically want something that will do well towing the camper long distances. I have not been happy towing with the minivan, even though it is rated to tow the camper and then some.....

Thanks for the info guys!

Melanie

[rexlion]

Melanie, the big question is: what will you be towing?

I can't see any problem with towing up to the 500 lb hitch weight limit, which as a practical matter probably limits you to about 4000 lb trailer weight more or less. Most TT's will have 12%-15% (or sometimes more) of their weight on the hitch by the time you add LP, battery, water, gear, etc. As long as you stay within your allowed hitch weight of 500 lb, and keep the TT length less than about 24', the Explorer Sport should handle it just fine. Best to use an anti-sway hitch with a longer TT, of course, as the Explorer's wheelbase isn't as long as a pickup's.

I test drove and considered this vehicle myself. But I'm gravitating toward the Jeep Grand Cherokee V8 instead. I don't want black interior (gets too hot in the south) and I do want skid plates and high ground clearance.

[FishOnOne]

Lessmore wrote:
I road tested a 2015 Explorer with the 3,5 non turbo. I like the vehicle quite a lot, but I found the 3.5 liter non turbo not very powerful....in solo form. I think it might be a case of too much weight. Other than the power issue (Non turbo 3.5 V6) it was a very nice vehicle.

I don't know what the turbo 3.5 V6 performs like. I would think given the power to weight ratio...it would have a lot of punch. How it would tow, I don't know.

The EcoBoost Explorer Sport runs like a scalded dog... That thing will run and has all wheel drive because of the engine power.

[Home_Skillet]

The Explorer is rated to tow 5000lbs.

LINK

[Targa]

To bad that its capacities are a bit low, that is a very nice looking SUV. Seems like it would be well suited for boats or a very small tt.

[DaveF-250SD]

The other folks are giving you great advice. The new Explorer is simply a Taurus station wagon, nothing more. It has a car platform, and a low payload/towing capacity. A half ton pickup or a full sized van would be worlds better, and a safer, more capable towing platform.