Towing with a Ford Expedition

[Dean]

Does anyone have any experience towing with a later model Ford Expedition? My '88 Ford Diesel van is getting a little long in the tooth and I'm looking for something a bit more user friendly. I've got a 22' enclosed trailer with an equalizing hitch. Trailer loaded should not be over 7000#. The Expedition with the 5.4 sohc engine and tow package is rated at 8500#. Will be towing mainly in the flatland's but may have to occasionally have to to through the mountains.

 

[JasonIsley99]

Does anyone have any experience towing with a later model Ford Expedition? My '88 Ford Diesel van is getting a little long in the tooth and I'm looking for something a bit more user friendly. I've got a 22' enclosed trailer with an equalizing hitch. Trailer loaded should not be over 7000#. The Expedition with the 5.4 sohc engine and tow package is rated at 8500#. Will be towing mainly in the flatland's but may have to occasionally have to to through the mountains.

We have two of them... First is a 2001 that we have had since almost new, now with 204k on the clock. Spent a lot of time towing with this, but only once with an enclosed (28'). It is great with an open trailer, but with a big box you could easily get into a situation where the trailer is pushing the SUV around, the wheelbase is just a bit short. Our other is a 2007 EL, and the extra wheelbase makes it noticeably more stable, the extra power the newer model has does not hurt either. Great rigs, very happy with both of them.

 

[Jay Lutz]

Dean,

Not sure I agree with Jason advice.....really a pretty poor tow vehicle (and this is coming from a guy that towed a Sprite on an un-braked open trailer with oodles of spares first with a short wheelbase Aerostar and then later the same stuff with a long wheelbase Aerostar...boy do I have stories).....almost entirely associated with the short wheelbase.

Later I towed a 20' enclosed trailer with lots of spares with a 98 Expedtion and at times the silly thing would get to swaying back there in a funky and most alarming manner. I really never towed faster than 70, usually 65 cause above this speed I felt that I no longer had much control of the silly thing. Although I had a nice load distributing hitch a friction sway control device did seem to handle 50+% of the problem.

My opinion....anything over a 20' trailer with a good hitch and sway control.......you're really asking for trouble when the winds pick up or a semi passes you. I also had the 5.4L Expedition engine that was just BARELY adequate power wise....but you can work around that shortcoming. No working around the wheelbase issue. Of course the mileage sucked but no surprises there.

Now have a 2004 F150 PU with the Triton 3 valve engine (beware of spark plug issues) and it tows like a dream (20', SM, reasonable spares) without much more power than the Expedition. Night and Day.

 

[VWRalf]

I had a 98 Expedition and a 20' enclosed trailer when I first started racing. Loaded in the enclosed was my 2100 pound VW Golf, sleeper sofa and a small tool box. Driving to St Louis from Omaha on I-70, it had difficulties keeping a set speed going up the hills in Missouri. Since I didn't have sway control, passing or being passed by the big trucks caused the trailer to sway quite a bit.
I now tow with a VW Touareg and an open trailer and have no difficulties despite a smaller tow vehicle.

 

[Sandro]

Do you already have the expedition, or are you thinking of purchasing one?

 

[dhrmx5]

If you are looking at purchasing an Expedition, seriously consider the Licoln Navigator. The engine in the Navi makes a huge difference in power and mileage. I own both, and also have several Powerstroke Fords,dually and single wheel. The Navi is by far my favorite and and has towed multiple car trailers with ease. The airbags in the Navi do a great job of keeping the load level.

 

[Dean]

I'm just considering my options at this point. I had a chance to get an Expedition and passed on it. I can still use my 88 E350 diesel for a while. I've got a friend with a 2002 Ford F250 V10 that I've borrowed and its great but I'm looking to consolidate and get something that I can use as a part time daily driver. The F250 gets lousy mileage and is a pain to drive and park in the city. Since I only tow 5 or 6 time a year there is no easy cost effective solution.

Dean