I recently purchased a new to me 2001 X 2WD with the 7.3. The PO did nothing but maintenance to it so it is a clean slate to work with. Although I would love to spend my next 5 years of income doing mods to it already, I have to prioritize adn do what I can as I can.

Having said that, my primary reasons for buying the X are first for towing a boat that will come in around 10,000# (fully loaded) and second to use it as a full family vacation vehicle when we hit the road. When towing the boat I will be towing between 25-100 miles one way but mostly the 25 mile mark. I may take the boat on an extended road trip (under 1000 miles one way) once or twice in the next several years only.

I was have not yet towed a boat that comes close to that weight becasue I have not purchased a new boat yet. I did tow my 5000# boat and did not know it was back there except for when I looked in the mirrors.

My question is, and I may be a little premature here (not having towed yet), but is there anything that I am going to need to do to the suspension to SAFELY tow a boat of this weight? I will have my family with me when I tow so safety is a MAJOR concern. I will not be using a WD hitch because all the boat guys tell me that when towing a boat a WD is not much of a help because there is less tounge weight issue than with a camper. I assume I will need to upgrade the class III tow hitch that came stock on the X though.

I have been reading and looking for information on possibly getting springs (V & B codes) for my X but it seems like most of the posts that I find are geared towards 4WD X's. Will these work on a 2WD and if so is there anything I will need to do other than just switch them out and buy new bolts and nuts? I would like to stiffen the ride a little bit when unloaded but not to the point that I feel like I am driving a tank. I am planning on purchasing some Rancho RS9000xl's all around and maybe the wireless controller so I can tweek the ride without too much trouble. Will the Rancho's alone be enough to do what I am looking for?

I am on a tight budget and would have to do things one at a time and am not the DIY type. Are the springs something i should be looking at? Is there anything else that will help me tow safely that I need to be looking at? If there is then what is the best order to do things in since I have to do things one at a time?

Thank you all in advance for all of your posts and the information. Being on here has helped me alot! I just want to be sure that when I start messing with the suspension and towing that things have been done right and I will not have any problems.

 

Have you researched Air Bag suspension systems? I've seen lots of F250's & F350's with them added to supplement the factory springs..

 

Sniper I have considered those. I am not even sure that I am going to have to do anything to the suspension as of yet. That is kinda why i put this post here. I am sure that I am going to have to go out of town to get a boat and would like to be sure that the X will tow ok before I go. If not then can the B & V code springs even be used on the 2WD X and will it help with towing (and I would get a little lift too! )? Would it be better to go another route? Would the Rancho RS9000xl's be enough to do the job without the springs, bags, or something else? All I have been able to find on here about towing has to do with campers and boats are totally different than campers when towing.

I was considering the V & B code springs because i can prob find them cheaper around here than anything else.

Any help would be welcome. Thanks for your help though Sniper

 

You can tow up to 10,000 lbs without any worry at all. I have a 2002 V-10 EX and I just bought a 2001 7.3L diesel. I put a Hellwig Sway bar on my V-10 and I feel like it is like a sports car! If you tow that much weight, I would just invest in a Helwig rear sway bar. Look at JC Whitney.com for a good deal. Not too hard to install. The 7.3L will take care of itself. The Diesel will pull until the cows come home.

Welcome!!!

 

Thanks for the help Exman. I assume that when you say install a sway bar you are talking of a rear one. Does it actually help to have a front sway bar also or is that just overkill? Does a steering stablizer do the same thing as a front sway bar?

Sorry if all these questions seem like stupid ones. I am NOT very mechanically inclined. When I was in high school I knew a lot about lowering trucks (minis) but that was 20 years ago and a lot has changed since then. Of course we did not worry about safety back then either. If it looked good then who cared how it got done!

Now that I have kids and a wife to worry about I want to make sure things are done VERY safely.

I have to admit though, I was really wanting to hear that I NEEDED the spring switch so I can justify doing it. It sure would be nice to add a little hight to the 2WD and make look a lot better! I am not even sure if the spring switch can be done a 2WD but if it can then maybe...........

 

V codes denote a leaf spring. You cannot use them on your 2wd.

If anything, I would tow your boat first and then determine where you feel the weaknesses are.

There are a number of proven choices to beef up your rear springs. Add-a-leaf, Air bags or RoadMaster Active Suspension (RAS).

A rear sway bar is a good addition but not really needed on a 2wd (due to its lower ride height) especially if you do an add-a-leaf or RAS.

 

IIRC, that size "Big Ole hole in the water you dump money into" will have multiple trailer wheels, 6 or 8 ? and so tongue weight can be just enough to limit pogo fun...
so you are correct, you shouldn't need a WD...

but FYI, the sway bar actually did help my 02 ex's handling....
IIRC, my 2002 and 2003 had a front bar and so needed a rear bar ..
but it was more of going to a better handling car and a more sports car cornering than for towing.... (not that I towed anything heavy with it)

will let the experts add to my opinions

A rear sway bar does just that - stops the side to side 'twsting' of the axle when say your right wheel hits a dip and your left doesn't.... the sway bar 'slows' down the reaction to the right side dip....

does nothing for towing capacity, but will help with cornering, etc....


considered going by a local dealer and test towing a similar load ?