FYI for the pups we use these harnesses- makes it easy to help them in and out and also gives a great way to anchor them down in case of accident. Since we have the 3rd row out I connect the anchor to the hold downs.

Ruffwear Web Master? Harness | Supportive, Multi-Use Dog Harness

 

Lots of good info and advice so far in this thread.
We have an '05 4X4 EX with the V-10, it is our dedicated large group people mover and tow rig, it doesn't see any daily driver use.
When we bought it at 65k miles in 2010 it was still stone stock and it typically saw 14-ish MPG in mixed driving unload with a best ever of 15.5 MPG mostly highway with a few small coastal towns on a trip in Maine with 6 adults onboard. In that stock condition (with the factory 3.73 gears) we towed a 31' toyhauler trailer that scaled at 9,500lbs, it spent a lot of time in 3rd gear as it would downshift from OD on any grade and we got 6 to 7.5 MPG towing.
Since then I have added a set of Banks headers, Hellwig rear sway bar, custom tunes from 5Star Tuning, new springs that give approx. 4" of lift, 35" tires on 18" rims and most importantly deeper 4.88 gears. We also upgraded to a new 41' 11,000lb travel trailer. With all of these mods completed it now gets 13.5 MPG highway at 65 MPH on cruise control unload and 8 to 9.25 MPG towing the 11k TT on the highway at 60 to 70 MPH. It's like a totally different truck with the mods we have made to it, so much better!

The V-10 is ultra reliable and pretty easy to work on if needed, during the 6 years and 45k miles of my ownership I have had to replace the fuel pump, wiper blades and one light bulb, that's it honestly. I do keep up on the regular maintenance schedule with 5k oil changes (Mobil1 and MC filter from Walmart for about $32) and all of the other fluids have been changed out. All of my mods were focused on making the EX a better tow rig and we have been very pleased with the results.
Keep looking till you find the best condition, best maintained, newest lowest mileage EXample that fits into your budget and you should have a long and happy relationship with it. We have had ours for 6 years and we have every intention to keep it as our tow rig for another 7 to 9 years until we retire and I have every confidence that it will continue to serve us very well until then.
With a little bit of work (and some great advice and guidance from this forum! ) the V-10 Ex can be an Excellent tow vehicle even with a large heavy trailer.

 

Not much more I can add here other than I love mine, wouldnt get rid of it for any reason. Great do it all vehicle, add 3rd row seating for up to 8 adults, and still have cargo area, take out 3rd row, fold down second row and slide in a full 4x8 sheet of plywood....flat

 

Wow, sounds like you've done a lot to make your X a better tow vehicle. The gear ration you are referring to, is that the rear axle? I'm not sure what the ratio is on the local one for sale, but I am going to assume it is 3.73. Does anyone know what the tow capacity is for that? Right now we have a small 21 foot 4500 lb TT, but we might upgrade in the future. I imagine the stock axle would handle that much weight fine, but for the future, I'd like the option of hauling a bigger payload. How hard is it, and how much does it cost to upgrade? I know we looked into it with our Durango, but it would cost like $2K and was a difficult job.

Once again, thanks everyone for the great advice and info. The X is looking more and more attractive.

And BTW, I checked out your Jayco TT, it's a beaut! I could totally see us and the three dogs in there at some point in the future.

 

There are several mods to do to make the X handle & tow well. The 2 stock gears are 3:73 & 4:30. More that likely you will find 3:73s BUT 4:30s are out there. Tom (we3zs) is running larger tires & has dialed in the BEST tow rig ever. You'll pull the smaller TT fine with either gear set. Gears are X2 so you will be looking at 4K + to change them out.

 

You ARE looking at 4X4 X's, Correct ??

 

We recently bought our Ex to tow our 27 ft Jayco tt which has a GTWR of 5995#. We don't load it to the max though. Tows like a dream with the Ex. A very nice match. We got lucky and found one that already had the 4.30 gears. Was not advertised and the dealer didn't seem to realize it. If you go look at the one you are interested in you can find out what gears it has by looking at the sticker in the driver's door jamb under axle code. C1 is 3.73 and C3 is 4.3.

Also, our 7 year old lab can jump in no problem but the Beagle needs help as it's too high for him. 4X4 sits a bit higher. Older dogs may need a boost.

 

It shouldn't cost $2k per axle to change gears.

Here's what I did to the suspension on mine:

V/Mod-B springs
Hellwing adjustable sway bar on the tightest setting
Bilstein shocks

That's it, and it handles the trailer tongue weight without a problem. It sits completely level when hooked up, even with the 1000# WD bars attached. It feels very stable and safe going down the road. Mine is diesel and it has all the power I need and it's a fairly stock motor. I've heard that the V10 tows just as well but I plan on spending a lot of time in the mountains and the gas motor struggles more at high altitudes.

 

Thanks, we really do love our EX!
Yes, the gear ratio is what's in the rear end (and front also if 4X4) and the cost to have the gears changed typically runs between $800 and $1100 per axle, my local quote was for $2000 to do both front and rear, but I got lucky (with help from a forum member who tipped me off to the deal!) and bought a set of axles already changed over to 4.88 gears for $1200 and I'll be able to sell my stock ones eventually to offset that even more. . The important thing is to find a shop that has done lots of gear setups and has a good reputation, check with the local off road crowd for recommendations.
The Jayco (338RETS) is a monster but very comfortable, we have been out in it with 5 (our son and four buddies) 18 year old guys and our two dogs for 2 weeks and everyone survived!

 

yes, it's a 4x4 we are interested in. We are going to check it out this weekend. Will be prepared to crawl around underneath and ask lots of questions.

This thread and the camping and towing thread has got me real excited about this truck. Ive gone from a skeptic to being super excited. I really hope it works out!

 

It's good to hear you're excited and hopefully will own the king of SUVs. If it helps any, I sold a perfect conditioned 2005 6.0 and regretted it everytime I went on a road trip.

 

Not too much I can add that hasn't already been said. Many of us have upgraded the original soccer mom suspension to F250 / F350 spec stuff for better towing manners. I tow a 24 ft 6500lb TT with ours ...... 3 of us plus 1 dog. I can't imagine any vehicle being better suited for camping duty. Very happy with our Excursion.

 

How do you like your Bullet? We looked at those too. We would've been twins.

 

Spent 28 nights in it last summer and so far, still lovin' it. We looked for a full year and bought exactly what we were looking for. I like the floor plan in your Jayco.

 

Thanks RockHounds4x4, I'm going to be looking at some Ex's this weekend and really leaning towards it over the 'burban, especially after what you told me! I'd love to get my hands on a diesel but they are a bit out of my price range so the v10 it is. Have you thought about doing any performance tuner or chip? I'm trying to find out if there are any good ones on the market that make sense for their price tag. Although 16.8 mpg's going through the passes in and out of Durango isn't anything to shake a fist at, my Commander won't do that on a good day!