Posted this in the Expedition forum, but didn't get much response. Thought I'd put it here for discussion with the towing crowd. I'm well aware of the tow ratings of the different trucks and SUV's and I wouldn't tow something beyond the rating. My main use is city driving with me and one kid in the vehicle, so something smaller for sure fits the bill. I have a WDH and I always check my weights at the nearby CAT scale to ensure I'm loaded right.

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I used to own a 2000 Expedition, and I really liked it! Didn't tow with it, but my family was smaller and I went camping a lot. Since that time, I've been using F150's or other pickup trucks to tow a couple of different camping trailers.

My current trailer is a Jayco 27BHS, which is around thirty feet long and weights around 7000 lbs fully loaded. I think the tongue weight was around 700 lbs.

Anyway, wonder who's towing a "decent sized" travel trailer, and how the expedition platform (2007+ model year) handles it?

If I'm looking used, what do I need to look out for? My budget probably puts me around the 2010 model year, definitely not anything new enough to get the EcoBoost. I'm very familiar with that 5.4L Triton engine, and I figure with the 6-speed transmission that'll have enough jam for me to get around. I don't drive that fast.

I remember my 2000 Expedition had air suspension that was kind of problematic. Is that still a feature? Is it still failure-prone? I do remember that it gave an awesome ride on rough roads when it was working.

So, looking for tips about this model in general, and about using it for towing in particular. Thanks in advance.


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Thanks everyone!

 

Not sure if this is useful or not, but I had a 2005 Expy 4x4 Eddie Bauer with 5.4L that I towed a 6K (loaded) open car trailer with. TW was around 750-800 and a WDH was pretty much mandatory. The Expy did ok, got me where I was needing to go, but it struggled at times. Hilly highways it did not like too well, constantly would drop a gear or two to try and maintain 65mph. When we sold the open trailer and went with an enclosed, weighing just under 8K loaded, the Expy really struggled, especially on hilly highways, just didn't have the torque to do the trick. A year after getting the enclosed and realizing the Expy was not the right truck, we traded it in and got the F150. It pulls effortlessly and was a good choice.

 

Hold out for an EL...or I think the "'eh" boys get the Max..... The longer distance (wheelbase) between the steer and drive axles, the more vehicle leverage.
I've towed with both a regular and log wheelbase expedition...... hold out for the longer.







And stay away from the air suspension. It is very prone to failure. Also, more difficult to dial in a WD hitch.

 

Which models had that air suspension?

Yes, in Canuck-land it's the Expedition Max. We're special like that.

 

It was a stand alone option if I am not mistaken.
I think up to MY '13. I believe in '14 they started putting in the mechanical load leveling shocks. Those weren't any better.... Mine failed on me at 14k miles in the '15 expy.

 

2009 and up got the 6r80 transmission, so I would (personally) avoid 07-08 with the 6hp. the 6hp's may be good, but I would feel much more confident with the 6r80.


no select shift in the expedition until 2015, so you are stuck with just "tow/haul" and "D,3,2,1" which kinda stinks but seems to work OK.


my next one will be the EL. better for towing and much more room.


supposedly the 2014 self leveling struts can be retro-fitted to any 2007-2014, but I haven't put the time in to personally confirm. as stated above, in 2014 ford axed the air ride and went to the self leveling struts which they felt would be more reliable.

 

Thanks for the thoughts. I really need to figure out my budget for this seasons towing. I keep dreaming of buying a brand new F150, but since these days I'm eitehr self-employed or underemployed, depending on how you look at it, I've got to watch my pennies.

Always annoying running multiple vehicles, which I did last year with a beast of a CCLB 3/4 GMC and my little Honda Fit urban runabout. The hassles of that size of vehicle are one of the things that has me thinking the expedition would be good for me. So much shorter, which always helps when backing into tight camping spots. I know long wheelbase is helpful for highway stability when going forward.

Am I right in assuming that the factory trailer brake control wasn't an option on the expedition? I'm fully comfortable installing something aftermarket, just wondering.

 

No factory brake controller, but they do have a pigtail under the dash for a plug and play for your chosen brake controller. My prodigy plugs right in on my '08 exp EL. Also, camp grounds will be of no issue for you since I can easily back in my 30' trailer with my 350 cclb.

 

Some Expeditions do have the factory controller. I know it is available in 2015+ but it was first available some time before that. I think 2012 or so.

 

Our 2014 had the built in controller. We towed our RPod with it, no issues. BUT.. When we bought our lance, we did a couple short trips, then off to SC for the holidays. (2000 mile round trip)

The eX did "pretty good", but we both felt an EL would do better. Went shopping for a new one.. but after looking at several, and some numbers.. bought a F250 instead.

 

Never did find an expedition in good shape for a price I was happy with. Picked up a 157" WB 2009 F150 supercrew, and so far it's driving nice, although won't be hooking it up to the trailer for a few weeks.

Hopefully this thread is helpful to someone else with the same questions.