Factory Towing equipment questions....

[WE3ZS]

Hello group, Brand new member but a frequent reader of these forums as I have been selling the bride on the idea of an Excursion for the past year. I think she has finally seen the light! Now that I'm looking to buy for real....AT LAST I have few questions that I've been unable to answer via searching. Nearly every For Sale add lists "tow package" or some such discription. I know every EX came with a reciever style hitch but what exactly should I be looking for? Was there an extra "tow package" above just the hitch and wire harness? I have been looking using the possibily incorrect assumption that the "factory tow" models have the 'big' mirrors and the 'small' mirror models may be less equiped for towing. Does the package also include a larger trans cooler, beefed up trans or engine oil cooler? Or any other goodies? I'm sure this info has been covered here before but I've not had much luck searching it out. And I'd rather have the correct info to aid in my shopping around as opposed to what I THINK is correct (happens a lot....). I've seen some of the trailers that you folks are dragging around and WOW! Some of you guys are either brave or nuts My goal is to pick up a clean lower milage '04-05 V-10 4X4 for use mostly as a people mover for outings and trips, Tow Vehicle and very little commuting. Towing duties will include our 23' SeaRay CuddyCabin boat, 24' x 102" 7k enclosed car hauler and a 30' (or so) toybox camper (comming soon...) approx 10k. With these in mind I'm thinking I should start off with the best Ford offered. Any and all info is welcome. Thank you, Tom

[X_Hemi_Guy]

Tom,

First off...WElCOME to FTE and hopefully you will know first hand SOON how great the KING of SUV's is by owning one yourself!!!

Next...when Ford says "Tow Package"...they basically mean two things were added...one you are dead nuts right on...the big extendable tow mirrors...and the other was the addition of the rear sway bar in that package.

BOTH of these are EASY mods to do yourself so don't worry if the Ex you find doesn't have either...mine didn't and for a few $$$ it does now!

As far as what you are looking for...an '04-05 V10 4x4...well that is what I tow with.

I can say...if you can find one with 4.30 gears for a 10K# trailer...you will be much happier...but again...for about $1500 you can have a good shop swap out the 3.73's for 4.30's like I did...

The 4.30's are a DREAM to have behind the V10 with stock sized tires. IF (big if) you plan on going bigger on the tire diameter...and you have to change gears...my advice is to keep the final drive as close to the 4.30 number as you can...so that would mean deeper gears (such as 4.56) to offset the larger diameter tires.

I've towed my 9000# 35' hitch to bumper TT ALL OVER this beautiful country. I've been thru the Rockies twice so I know first hand how this V10 performs...

Good luck to you on your search...if you have any questions...just ask...you will get answers.

There is a thread in here somewhere that outlines the areas you should watch out for when looking for an Ex.

In particular things like ball joints wear out on our Super Duty platforms. Also door lock actuators wear out on our Ex's...so bone up on these items BEFORE you sign on the dotted line.

Also you can post the VIN here to get a look at how your prospective truck lived its life under Ford's warranty program...typically how it started life is how it lives life (in general).

Again...WELCOME to FTE!

Joe.

[tdappleman]

Welcome to FTE. The Ex makes a fantastic tow vehicle and will easily tow the items you mention. I have a Sea Ray 270 Sundancer with twin 4.3's and the V10 tows it like a champ. Good luck in your search!

btw - if you aren't already aware - clubsearay.com is a fantastic resource for our boats.

[WE3ZS]

Thanks for the quick replys gents!
Joe,
Thats all good news, I was worried that the paddle mirror rigs were much worse off. Nothing a little $$ and wrench spinnin can't fix. The mirror threads really have a TON of great info! And an upgraded Hellwig out back should be a snap.
I'll be sure to look for the 4.30 gear axle code (C3), reading several threads it doesn't really seem to hurt the milage much if at all. You made a good point about taller tires and deeper gears that I was aware of and have helped others with in the past. It usually gets overlooked till after the tire swap when the owner "feels" their effect. This brings up another issue that I don't have any personal EX-perience with. How greatly would an Ex's towing abilities be affected by a 4 to 6 inch lift and slightly taller tires (aside from the gearing)? I would assume that the higher center of gravity and longer/taller springs would degrade the "solidness" of the TV and allow it to be pushed around more easily. Am I on the mark here or is the impact not that great? Some of the nicer rigs I have looked at in the area have had lifts, and while they do look good I was skeptical of how they would perform with a heavy trailer in tow.
I have searched and read many of the "What to watch out for when buying" threads here, mucho good info in them! I'm a real pain when going over a used car normally, now I'm armed with even more ammo, it drives some sellers nuts.........
Thanks for the Oasis report reminder, I will post the vin when think I may have found "THE" one. I am a patient buyer but the anticipation is brutal.

Thanks again for the warm welcome and valuable info!
Tom

[WE3ZS]

Originally Posted by tdappleman

Welcome to FTE. The Ex makes a fantastic tow vehicle and will easily tow the items you mention. I have a Sea Ray 270 Sundancer with twin 4.3's and the V10 tows it like a champ. Good luck in your search!

btw - if you aren't already aware - clubsearay.com is a fantastic resource for our boats.

Thanks for the welcome!
I have actually read several of your posts about your EX and SeaRay in the past, your Ray caught my eye! How do you like the 4.3 x 2? It seems like it would be good match for it. We really enjoy our '89 220CC with full camper canvas. I have recently repowered it, went up from 260 to 325 hp, runs like it should now! Thanks for the club tip also, never been there, looks good!
Tom

[tdappleman]

Originally Posted by WE3ZS

Thanks for the welcome!
I have actually read several of your posts about your EX and SeaRay in the past, your Ray caught my eye! How do you like the 4.3 x 2? It seems like it would be good match for it. We really enjoy our '89 220CC with full camper canvas. I have recently repowered it, went up from 260 to 325 hp, runs like it should now! Thanks for the club tip also, never been there, looks good!
Tom

Love the 270 - fantastic layout and does everything we want it too. The twins are fantastic - easy to maneuver and pivot - plus the power is great as well. I cruise at about 29-31mpg at 3200RPMs and hit about 42 at WOT. Have had a couple of instances where one engine went out on a trip and we could go back to the dock on the other at anywhere from 6-9 mph depending on conditions.

Nice HP jump on your repower! I bet it does run nicely now! My boat weighs probably twice what yours does and only has about 75 more HP! Can't ever have enough power though! Where do you boat?

[WE3ZS]

We do most of our boating in the upper Chesapeake, usually based out of the Sassafrass River (Georgetown MD). We have hit the road with it to Raystown Lake in PA, Lake Anna in VA and Ocean City MD. When we vacationed down in your neck of the woods (Avon OBX) we just took along the inflatable (Soft-Chell) Achilles (10.5' w/8hp Merc) to play around in the Sound. The SeaRay (Chell-fish) was bought new in '89 by my wife's sister's family, those kind folks let us use it for vacations from day-1. When they upgraded to a 37' 10 years later we bought the 23', and have been lovin it ever since (except when dumb Dad (me) popped the motor........twice!). Now it runs great and I've been foergiven. It has a huge cockpit for a boat it's size (small cuddy is just big enough) with a very roooomy layout and the 6'6" camper canvas really makes it!

By the way, wanna take a guess at my bride's name.........