I have an 01 EX that handles excellent (no wandering)! I tow my 06 Jeep LJ Rubicon (4500 lbs) that is on 35" tires with a Ready Brute tow bar. I use a 10" drop hitch (reversed) to get the tow bar level and my tire pressure is 65# front and 60# rear. It handles nice on level, uphill and mild downgrades. When I am doing steeper downgrades (I-70 in Colorado) it tends to want to push my rear end to the point that I am really fighting the back and forth feeling. If I slow down to about 50mph it steadies out.

I'm thinking that part of the problem might be the slop in the hitch. What I mean is that with just the hitch installed I can rock it back an forth in the receiver about 1/2 to 1". When I start downhill instead of a steady transfer of weight I get a "bump" as the weight shifts which contributes to the handling problems.

Is there anything I can do (other than wood shims) to get rid of the slop in the hitch? Any other suggestions as to what my problem might be?

Thanks...

 

So your slop is in the square tube or the receiver where it bolts to the truck?

 

There is slop where the drop hitch slides into the vehicle receiver and also where the tow bar fits into the drop hitch receiver...

 

Fixing the slop may help some, and bumping your tire pressure up a bit in back might, too, depending on what tires you have. You do have a 4500# unbraked weight back there, though, and it's gonna push. I tow a 4900# 4Runner on a 1900# trailer over those same climbs, also with an '01 (PSD) X. If you can swing it, trailer towing is a lot less stressful.

Mark

 

Do you use the tow haul mode? Try raising the tire pressure?

 

No such thing on an '01, though DP's tow tune is really close. Still one gear short of your 5R100, though.

Beau, tell us about your Excursion's mods, if any, and tires.

Mark

 

A pic of your setup would be helpful. I'm wondering if it's trying to lift the back end of the EX on the downhill with the angle of the hitch.

 

I think this is the majority of your problem. If possible, have a machine shop weld steel onto your draw bar and then machine down to a much tighter fit. I think two (2) strips about 1" wide and up to 1/8" thick all around the draw bar would do the trick. One strip would be at the 'front' of the draw bar (front end) and the other would be at the 'tail' (at the back just inside the receiver tube).

You need to leave a very small 'gap' all around the draw bar. I would estimate a 1/64" gap would be sufficient.

When towing a vehicle with a draw bar, there is no hitch weight. The tow bar should be level, but there will still be lift/downforce depending on where the centerline of the ball is compared to CG of the towed vehicle. When running downhil, the CG of towed vehicle is probably below the ball and causes a mild 'lift' as it pushes on the rear of the EX. This amplifies the situation. If you used a less dramatic 'drop'/'rise' and moved the displacement to brackets on the towed vehicle, this may also improve things.

 

I had this issue and installed a Lille thing called a hitch-vise, made by the hitch-rider company. Solved all my hitch related sloppiness issues. $30
www.hitchrider.com

 

I agree with the others here that taking the slop out of the drawbar/truck reciever connection should help, I had to weld on some shims to keep my utility trailer's drawbar snug in my Honda CR-V's hitch, the rattling was driving me nuts. What type of connection do you have at the tow bar to drop hitch that has extra play in it? Most tow bars I've seen use a regular ball hitch, that shouldn't have play in it.
Once you get all of this extra play out of the towing hardware you may find that you still have some rear push going on. As ScaldedDog pointed out you do have 4500lbs of unbraked weight back there giving you a push, add in the additional lever effect of the distance from the hitch to your rear wheels and that's a lot of force being applied to your rear suspension. I had a serious problem with my ToyHauler pushing our rear around, first trip out with it just 3 miles from home going into a downhill curve the trailer pushed us out of our lane and into the left lane, kinda scary! I said if I couldn't get the issue worked out that the EX would have to go and we would move onto a larger truck. So I dove into the problem with mods, every one has made an improvement in towing manners. Hellwig rear sway bar was first, followed by modded B code rear springs. These two mods got this situation pretty much under control, my upgraded WD/sway control hitch and shocks finished out the mods and now it tows like a dream. You may need to add a little muscle to your rear suspension to really keep that Jeep under control, a sway bar and heavier springs or RAS might be in your future.
Good luck!

 

I agree. The only solution I can think of is to lift the Excursion.

 

The only mod I've done is the Helwig rear sway bar. Tires are stock size E rated Bridgestone Duelers. I've been looking around the web and think I'll try these clamps to tighten up the slop. I can't get pictures of my setup right now but the picture in the link below is almost exactly the same setup I have...

Roadmaster Inc. - Tow Bars, Braking Systems & RV Accessories

 

Those might do the trick. I'd consider trying higher rear tire pressures. I know you don't have any tongue weight, but 60psi is pretty low, at least for the BFG AT flavors I've run. All tires are different, though, and you might have tried higher pressures already, so I'll stop harping on it.

Is your truck a PSD or V10?

Mark

 

Its a V10 gasser

 

Is there any way to modify the brackets on the Jeep to eliminate the 10" drop hitch bar? Especially after looking at the picture, I still think it's too much leverage pushing the back of the EX around causing the problem.

That said, I would try the free option of playing with tire pressure, and then the clamp to get rid of the slop.