Towing with a Expedition


cooneyjr

New Member
Hello I hope this subject is not too wore out. I have a 260 hp 5.4 v8 Ford Expedition
it is rated to tow 8950 and under I am in Louisiana and most of my travel will be in the flat south and just a tad of hill maybe once a year. I am going to put either air bags or air shcoks on the rear as well as a equalizer hitch with anti sway. It is pretty much just going to be my and my wife towing this travel trailer. The question is how far back should I be behind the 8950 max wgt I realize that I have to facter in water and personel belonging maybe a 1000 lbs so far my expedition to last and not wear out should I buy a trailer in the 5800lb range 6800 lb range or would I be ok with a 7400lb range I would prefer the heavier ones but I don't want to have to buy a new vehicle in 6 months.

Thanks
Butch
 

cooneyjr

New Member
RE: Towing with a Expedition

p.s. I do have the heavey duty trailer tow package on the vehicle with the 7 pin wiring hookup
 

hertig

Senior Member
Re: Towing with a Expedition

The 8950 tow rating is for a completely empty truck. No passengers, no cargo, no accessories, no dust or dirt, just a 150 pound driver and a bit of gas. And it is for a flat bed trailer with 'no' wind resistance. It is probably for a particular speed and on flat ground too, but I don't know for sure.

So. First subtract anything you will have in the truck from that value. If you don't know, 1000 pounds is often a good (and safe) guess. Then take 80% of the remaining tow weight. So a fair guess of your target weight might be about 6300 pounds.

And when you look at trailers, do not use 'dry' weight. This is not reliable (does not take into account any changes made after it left the factory) and is not useful (since you will probably never pull an 'empty' trailer, except possibly on the way home from the purchase). The GVWR of the trailer is a much safer, reliable number to use to match to your truck. Although, if you always travel light, it is possible to get by using 'loaded' weight for the trailer instead of GVWR.

Always a good idea to get the entire rig weighed before hitting the road for each trip, to ensure you haven't snuck over any weight limitation.
 

cooneyjr

New Member
Re: Towing with a Expedition

Thanks for the respnse John
I took most of your advise I just bought a 6870lb camper a lil more than you suggested but I hope my Expedition will do the trick if i stay on flat ground and keepthe load down I have a limited slip rear end with a 3.73 rear end I will have a equalizer hitch with anti sway bars. Am I ok ? I sure hope so cause I just bought the Trailer.
Thanks again
 

hertig

Senior Member
Re: Towing with a Expedition

The only way to tell for sure is to load up the truck and the camper as you would for travel, and take it to a scale. That way you can ensure you don't exceed the GVWR of the trailer or the truck, or the GCWR, or the front or rear axel weight of the truck. If you are over any limitation, remove or rearrange stuff until you are below all maximums.
 
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