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Old 11-01-2012, 02:26 PM   #1
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Towing with a Ford Expedition

Any one out there tow their TT with a Ford Expedition? We are new to all of this and we are looking at a TT with a dry weight of approx. 4200lbs. The Expedition can handle over 8000lbs with either a 4X2 or 4X4.
Thanks.
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Old 11-01-2012, 02:40 PM   #2
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Hi, We tow a Rockwood 2304s with our 2003 expedition 4x4. It is 4500lbs dry weight with a 675 hitch weight. We have the equalizer hitch and sway control. Been towing for 2 years now and have not one complaint on how it tows. We travel hilly parts of Ok and have been through mountains in Ark and it never seems to struggle, get about 8-9 mpg. Good luck on your search don't know what your needs are but we love love love our 2304s!
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Old 11-01-2012, 03:38 PM   #3
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Yep, we tow our Tracer 3150 with our Expy. According to PT's website, Unloaded Vehicle Weight is 6955, dry hitch weight is 706. We are pretty much maxed out on what we are pulling, but it still pulls well. We switched over to the Hensley hitch and I absolutely love it. Before I was always stressed pulling because the TT would sway when going past semi-trailers. Now, I don't feel it at all. According to the chart from trailerlife, I can tow 8,600 with my 05 Expy. http://www.trailerlife.com/wp-conten...Guide-2005.pdf
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Old 11-01-2012, 04:11 PM   #4
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I tow a Tracer 3000BHS with a 2007 Expedition. Do you have the HD tow package on the Expedition?
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Old 01-17-2013, 09:28 PM   #5
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I have a 2005 Expedition 4x2 with the standard tow package, according to the ford manual, that gives me a tongue weight of 600lbs and a total trailer weight of 6000lbs. We are in the process of buying a 2013 Shamrock 233S, which according to Forest River has an unloaded vehicle weight of 4351 but a tongue weight of 647. This combination seems a bit odd, since everything I have read and heard is that tongue weight in general is 10% of trailer weight, so 647 seems a bit high, but I am presuming the numbers are correct.


So I was thinking I need to get a weight distribution system, so that I can handle the extra tongue weight (over and above the 600lb Ford says the Expedition has). I spoke to the guys at eTrailer.com today and they told me that I cant pull the Shamrock with my Expedition and no weight distribution system would help me.

This seems really odd to me, but being new to this, I wanted to get some other input and see what everyone thought.

Thanks
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Old 01-17-2013, 10:27 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TheLimey View Post
I spoke to the guys at eTrailer.com today and they told me that I cant pull the Shamrock with my Expedition and no weight distribution system would help me.

This seems really odd to me, but being new to this, I wanted to get some other input and see what everyone thought.
Welcome to the forum!

Did the people at etrailer indicate what their concerns were?

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Old 01-18-2013, 06:43 AM   #7
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TheLimey, If the limit with a weight distribution (WD) system is 600 lbs and the tongue weight is over 600 lbs, no, you can't legally tow the trailer. Is it 600 lbs with a WD?
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Old 01-18-2013, 07:52 AM   #8
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Originally Posted by TheLimey View Post
I have a 2005 Expedition 4x2 with the standard tow package, according to the ford manual, that gives me a tongue weight of 600lbs and a total trailer weight of 6000lbs. We are in the process of buying a 2013 Shamrock 233S, which according to Forest River has an unloaded vehicle weight of 4351 but a tongue weight of 647. This combination seems a bit odd, since everything I have read and heard is that tongue weight in general is 10% of trailer weight, so 647 seems a bit high, but I am presuming the numbers are correct.


So I was thinking I need to get a weight distribution system, so that I can handle the extra tongue weight (over and above the 600lb Ford says the Expedition has). I spoke to the guys at eTrailer.com today and they told me that I cant pull the Shamrock with my Expedition and no weight distribution system would help me.

This seems really odd to me, but being new to this, I wanted to get some other input and see what everyone thought.

Thanks
Mark
It looks like with a WD your hitch has a 8,950 lb max trailer weight with a 895 lb max tongue weight. https://www.fleet.ford.com/showroom/...05_hitches.pdf

But, if you have the 3.31 axle you're still limited to 6,000 max trailer weight. 8,900 lbs with the 3.73 axle.
https://www.fleet.ford.com/showroom/...005_escape.pdf
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Old 01-18-2013, 08:42 AM   #9
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We pulled our Jayco 304BH with 1997 and 2003 5.4L Expeditions with the HD towing package. GVWR was 7600lbs. Both handled the trailer pretty well but screamed like a Banshee with the pedal to the metal when going up steep hills.
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Old 01-18-2013, 09:56 AM   #10
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Expedition tongue Limit

Thanks for all the feedback.

So to try and answer the questions, the guys at eTrailer.com indicated that because the shamrock has a tongue weight of 650lbs and my Expedition has a tongue weight max of 600lbs (as it has the standard towing package not the HD package) that adding a weight distribution system wont help with the tongue weight. My impression therefore is that the WD system only helps with the total weight of the trailer (which actually isnt an issue because it is 4351lb and my Expedition can handle 6000lbs with the standard towing package) not disbursing the tongue weight.

According to the actual hitch (which matches what is also in the manual) on my Expedition it says that with a weight distribution system it can handle a tongue weight of 895 and a total trailer weight of 8950 which I believe someone else also noted.

This is where my confusion is, I thought that a WD system enabled a heavier tongue weight to be handled by my Expedition and this is what Ford seem to be implying with the manual and the numbers on the hitch, but the eTrailer.com guys are suggesting otherwise.

Mark
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Old 01-18-2013, 11:05 AM   #11
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HeLimey

The gears hurt you the most. 3.31 gears are not meant for towing. I got 3.73 in my Liberty and thinking about 4.10 to keep he engine in its sweet spot in 4th gear.

On rv.net, there is a forum about towing in the 60s and 70s (for me 70s and 80s). Makes me remember back when I was a kid and camping (we tent camped) and seeing people with their wagons and cars and some vans pulling into the campground with trailers. Some, I swear the bumper was dragging. Bet you no one worried if they were 50lbs over. Go have fun with your camper. Drive safely and get there and enjoy life.
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Old 01-18-2013, 11:13 AM   #12
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you can't go by what's stamped on the receiver. you have to look at what the specs of your Expy are.
the numbers on the receiver, are what it's rated for, no matter what vehicle it's been put on.

you need to rely on your owner's manual specs. without the HD tow package, i'm afraid you have the lower number.

but you need to find out which rear end ratio you have. a ford dealer can tell you based on the VIN.

that's the problem with SUV's, big engines but poor payload numbers.
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Old 01-18-2013, 11:27 AM   #13
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Dan

The numbers stamped on the receiver are the same as the ones in the manual (actually the numbers havent changed even for 2013 Expedition...it is still 600/6000 for standard tow package and 895/8950 for HD tow package).

I dont know what the axle ratio is so I can find out from Ford what that is. Even if it is a 3.31 how does that factor in, as I have towed popups before with no issue?
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Old 01-18-2013, 11:39 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TheLimey View Post
Dan

The numbers stamped on the receiver are the same as the ones in the manual (actually the numbers havent changed even for 2013 Expedition...it is still 600/6000 for standard tow package and 895/8950 for HD tow package).

I dont know what the axle ratio is so I can find out from Ford what that is. Even if it is a 3.31 how does that factor in, as I have towed popups before with no issue?
Popups vs TT are 2 different animals. There is umpteen times more frontal area on a TT. Example on weight vs frontal area... One dude I know in the CRD forums tows 7000lb generators and gets better fuel economy than me towing a 4500lb TT.

The question that I would be asking, me being more open minded is, between the Std and Hd, are the hitches different (besides the sticker) and is the suspension different. If they are the same, I'd go for it. Again, this is coming from someone who use to tow 42ft race car trailers with my 91 F350 and never went over a scale to see how overloaded I was.
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Old 01-18-2013, 02:32 PM   #15
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From talking to the guys at eTrailers.com and also to the RV dealer (RVdirect) I am getting different answers as to the purpose of a weight distributing hitch. The eTrailers guys are telling me that a WD hitch allows extra trailer weight to be handled and distributes that weight to the front of the car, however it does nothing to distribute the tongue weight, so if the trailer (as in this case with the Shamrock – 647lbs) has a tongue weight over the car’s maximum (which it does as the Expedition only has a 600lb tongue weight) you cant pull that trailer regardless of whether you have a WD hitch or not.
The service manager at the dealer is saying that a WD hitch distributes the tongue weight and presumably the trailer weight (although he went on to say that using a WD hitch doesn’t allow you to tow a heavier trailer (you must still be within your car’s limit) but does allow you to tow a trailer with a heavier (i.e. > maximum for your car) tongue weight).
Does anyone have any idea which is right? I am inclined to believe the eTrailer guys as they won’t even sell me a WD hitch as they are like you can’t pull that trailer.
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Old 01-18-2013, 04:15 PM   #16
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Quote:
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Dan

The numbers stamped on the receiver are the same as the ones in the manual (actually the numbers havent changed even for 2013 Expedition...it is still 600/6000 for standard tow package and 895/8950 for HD tow package).

I dont know what the axle ratio is so I can find out from Ford what that is. Even if it is a 3.31 how does that factor in, as I have towed popups before with no issue?
good to know that the numbers match, that's not common.

as ChooChooMan says, low frontal popups and high frontal travel trailers are two totally different things.
it's the air resistance of a TT that affects mpg more than the trailer's weight and also additional torque needed to pull it.
it's always called pulling a 5000lbs. barn door through the air.
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