Towing Capability of Expedition

Question

We have owned one Class C and two Class A motorhomes. We sold the Class A a couple of years ago and bought a house down south for winter months. I am relating this to say that we know about camping and RVs to some extent - but we do not know about travel trailers. I need a little education...

We have been missing our traveling and camping, and are thinking about buying a used pull behind travel trailer to pull with the Expedition. We were tired of tow cars and the Class A maintenance and all that.

The ExpeditionEL has a 5.4L gas engine, a 9000 pound tow rating, and heavy duty tow package option and was bought to sometimes tow a boat. It has a six speed transmission and a tow/haul mode. It does a fine job of towing the boat, but that is NOT a travel trailer.

I need some help because we really don't know trailers very well and don't want to be sold something at the dealership that we will regret. We always had good experiences with RV dealers but our reliable dealer has gone out of business and I don't trust salespeople a lot other than them when they were in business....What would be the maximum weight, length and so forth that some of you experienced TT people would recommend? Also what are some of the lighter weight trailers that are well built that we might want to consider? Any other advice would greatly be appreciated.

mbutts · Answer

My general rule of thumb about Expy towing is keep it less than 6,000 lbs (loaded, not the dry weight listed in the brochure) and under 30'.  I found my Expy to be a bit too wiggly in the rear when we upgraded to a larger trailer.

ryanw821 · Answer

mbutts wrote:My general rule of thumb about Expy towing is keep it less than 6,000 lbs (loaded, not the dry weight listed in the brochure) and under 30'.  I found my Expy to be a bit too wiggly in the rear when we upgraded to a larger trailer.All very good advice, I would also add: Get a weight distribution and anti-sway hitch setup, and if you can afford, it get a nice setup like a Hensley or ProPride hitch, those are top notch, but spendy.  It will really help keep the wiggles to a minimum.

pucampin · Answer

Short answer, stick with 6500lbs loaded max, or around 5300-5500lb dry. The Expy EL generally has enough payload with a family of 4 onboard to fully utilize the maximum tongue weight for the receiver.  My yellow Tire and Loading sticker states a maximum of 1672lbs passengers and cargo. So with a 900lb maximum tongue weight at 13-14% is around 6500lb fully loaded.  More and you are probably going to exceed the receiver rating and overload the rear axle shortly there after.  This weight will also most likely dictate your maximum length, too long will probably be to heavier.  I am very pleased with the performance towing my 22ft 5200lbs loaded TT with 6 people in the EL. I have a Reese Dual Cam weight distribution and sway control that keeps it all in line, and a Prodigy P2 brake controller. Good luck in your search!

apt · Answer

As far as I know, all 2007-2014 Expeditions are rated the same for towing. Here is the towing guide for 2011. Page 24 states your tow rating is likely 8700 pounds for 4WD, 8900 for RWD. It also states:

Ford Towing Guide wrote:

Trailer tongue load weight should be 10-15% of total loaded trailer weight. Make sure vehicle payload (reduced by option weight) will accommodate trailer tongue load weight and weight of passengers and cargo added to towing vehicle. Addition of trailer tongue load weight and weight of passengers and cargo cannot cause vehicle weights to exceed rear GAWR or GVWR. These ratings can be found on the vehicle Safety Compliance Certification Label.

So there are other ratings you need to understand when towing, especially when it comes to travel trailers which are probably the most difficult to tow for their given weight. Frankly, the receiver limit which is likely near 900 pounds, or maybe 950 pounds will be one I think you'll hit first. That's 6500-75000 pound loaded TT, or close to 6000 pounds dry. The other one is payload if you have a larger family. If the vehicle has 1400 pounds available and the family weights 700 pounds, then you have 700 left for loaded TW. So use your numbers as estimates.

rustycamperpant · Answer

We have a 2009 Expy that we pull our KZ301 bunkhouse with.  The TT is 29' of actual trailer plus the added length of the hitch.  I think the dry wieght which I know doesnt mean anything is around 6,400#.  We travel light with no water and our three kids are still young and small.  Even with my Equalizer dialed in, (and it took me awhile to get it right). I still have about 1 3/4" of squat in the back that I cannot get rid of.  The tow is solid and I do not have problems with semis passing.  I usually tow at about 63 MPH, this seems to be the sweetspot.  The 5.4 is adequate for power, but you need to let it rev on the hills ... in the 4K-4.5K range and this is with the 6 speed tranny.  I would be much better off with a 3/4 ton platform, I know this, but I cannot get a different tow vehicle.  There is no way I would want to tow anything bigger, I am OK driving my current rig, but a larger TT would bring me many white knuckle trips I imagine.  Good luck in your TT search.

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Towing Capability of Expedition

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