Another Expedition Towing thread...
 

Ok, so we've finally decided to bite the bullet and start looking for travel trailer. We could use my 2000 gas F250SD4X$ short bed Ext. Cab. With 3 kids now, that's not really an option unless it's a short drive.

The wifes 2010 Expy EL 4X4 XLT will be the likely tow vehicle.

The travel trailers we're considering will be 28'-31' single slide outs. I've been trying to stay at a max dry wgt. of 6000lbs. I understand that doesn't include anything loaded into the camper. I know I have to worry about MGVW which of IIRC is 9000lbs. I know that max includes the tow vehicle and its contents + the trailer and its contents. Then there's tounge wgt.

I need advice from some of you experienced towing guys.

I need some "do's"..."DONT's" and "gotcha's".

Is there a specific tow guide that Ford put out for the Expy's with the HD tow package?

I bought the vehicle used, how do I know for sure if I have the "Full Monty" HD tow package??

I'm obviously a towing noob so even some of the obvious hints and tricks will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Check to see if you have a 7 blade tailer connecter by the hitch below the rear bumper. If so, you should have a HD tow package. You certainly can tow up to a max of 9000 lbs, but it doesn't mean you should. You have to keep in mind total vehicle weight combined with the camper, and towing near or at max CVWR quite often isn't fun. You may also want to check your rear axle ratio. 3.73 would be a much better option than a 3.31 for towing such a heavy trailer. Just my $.02.

BTW...max towing capacity for an Expe with HD trailer tow is usually 9000 lbs. That is not max CVWR. Also, with a trailer that heavy a weight distribution hitch would be necessary.

I have a Trailcruiser 30qbss which is a light weight 31' trailer with a single slide. Interior height is only 6'4" but because of it's lower height it greatly reduces the wind profile. Weight is not everything, but it is a huge factor. I weighed it at #5,500 loaded, dry weight is about #4,800. I would not want it to be heavier as it would make me want to have a more powerful tow vehicle.
Weight distrubution and sway control are a MUST as are trailer brakes.

I finally found a little time to do a bit of digging.

I have the HD tow package and the 7pin receptacle at the receiver.

The 2010 Expy EL 4X4 has a max tow capacity of 8700#.

Not sure of the gear ratio. Have to check when I get home. If I have the VIN, can I find that info online??

I found two online tow guides from Ford...

2010 Expy Towing Guide PDF - click here
Complete 2010 Ford Trailer + RV Towing Guide - All Vehicles
Listing of Complete Towing Guides 2002-2012

I need to add a brake controller.

I need to add some towing mirrors (maybe the snap on rather than replace our $300 a piece heated power mirrors)

We have a deal on a 2007 Crossroads Zinger 27BH no slide. Dry Wgt of 4800#. Well within our towing envelope with room to spare so we shouldn't have too much troubles crossing the hills here on the east coast. IIRC, it does have trailer brakes.

Hope I've uncoverd a few resources for others to use in the future.

Thanks for the info gents.

If you have the EL they only came with 3.73's. The regular length came standard with 3.31's and optional 3.73's


Matt

Well, thank goodness for small miracles. You learn something new every day!

JetFuelBurner,
If you're interested in a copy of your window sticker to see what options it came with, use this link below and just add your VIN after the = sign.

Untitled Page

The HD tow package would have shown up on this.


Matt

Cool. Thanks.

Link doesn't seem to work. Then again, I'm using a mac. I'll try to use my pc when I get home...

Disregard. I see...you enter the vin at the end of the URL and up pops the sticker. Very cool!

Thank you again...

There's an axle code on the data plate in the drivers side door jam. I don't have them handy but someone here probably knows them by heart and will reply!

I've used the same set of McKesh (brand) towing mirrors for 11 seasons. Different trucks. Different trailers. Set them 6" wider than the camper on both sides. If the mirrors fit, the trailer will fit. Before EZpass they'd brush back the toll collectors as well.

Tekonsha (brand) Prodigy P2 or P3 electric brake controller. The only choice in my experience. Proportional braking. Avoid the dealers "best selling brand" as it's probably a cheap time delay controller.

Equalizer (brand) weight distribution hitch includes sway control. No chains, friction bars or other nonsense. Do the final setup after the trailer is loaded. Switch the air suspension OFF while doing this. Switch it back on later to take the last 1/4" out of the truck being level.

-- Chuck

I don't think this is accurate for every model year.

Just going by the Ford literature. Do you know of an EL that has 3.31's ?



Matt

Pretty sure all ELs come with 3.73s, i don't think there is another choice.

Based on data in the towing guides the EL has never been offered with the 3.31 axles.

The 2010 Ford Towing Guide (that's a link), the guide for your year, also only shows the 3.31 axles for the non-EL models. EL and all Navigators show the 3.73 axles which are optional on the short wheelbase models like mine.

The 3.73 axles may have been part of the HD Tow or other option as it doesn't show on my window sticker.

-- Chuck

Chuck what I find interesting in that Tow Guide for 2010 is the regular length 4x4 Expy with 3.31's the max tow capacity is 8900lbs but in 2008 it was 9000lbs. :-huh Hmmm interesting.


Matt

The GCVWR still 15,000 pounds? If so it means the 2010 truck is 100 pounds heavier than the 2008.

-- Chuck

I used to tow a 28' travel trailer with our '08 expy, 5.4 with the 3.31 rear end.

It was ok, stability was rough with winds and passing trucks. Make sure your weight dist hitch and sway control equipment is nice and beefy. You need to practice towing, get used to the way it reacts to winds, bumps, swells in the road, and of course stability when stopping from high speed. I believe the key is just gaining experience so you are comfortable anticipating things rather than being taken by surprise. You won't be cruising on mental "auto pilot". The trailer will push you around. Your EL wheelbase will help, basically you have an f150, which is good.

I have the 5.4 and I'm sure you do as well. Our expy did better with overdrive turned off cruising at 55-60 mph. Really struggled to go any faster. Mpg was around 8-10 if I remember right.

Make sure you have the right tires. Check your weight rating on the tires, move up to a load range E tire would be my advice. There's going to be a lot of tongue weight back there.

Also, check your trailer wiring circuits on the 7 pin connector. You may have missing or improper fuses right now if it has never been used. It's likely that you will need to install a trailer battery charge fuse, most of the time it is not installed from the factory. Get a spare supply of fuses, I usually run a 20 amp fuse for the charge circuit but if it blows you may need a 25.

Practice with the gain on your brake controller too and make sure you have the hand control easily accessible so you can use it to control sway. Use brakes, not the steering wheel to control sway!

Perhaps you don't need anything more than adjusting what you have.

Your dry weight according to https://www.granddesignrv.com/showro...s/2400bh#specs is 5725 and your tongue weight is 505. If you load everything evenly the tongue weight will remain <10% which isn't a good starting point. What is your actual tongue weight? Too light can be terrible.

A full tank of water is >400 pounds. Where is the tank located? Your other tanks are very large and when full can upset your tongue weight.

Going uphill the center of gravity's projection to the suspension (straight down) moves back, lightening the tongue weight. Obviously downhill reverses this.

If you know your actual LOADED tongue weight (and confirm that it is in the range of 10% - 15% of the total) then you can see if you have the WDH set up correctly. Also, is the hitch height set right?

There are folks here that know lots more than me about trailering. If I got anything wrong they'll jump in to correct me.

I was towing with Expy's since 2000, started with the shorter version and in 2010 went to an EL, then another EL in 2016. The trailers I was towing were equivalent or slightly longer and heavier than what you are towing and I can say there was a huge difference between the regular lengthy Expy and the EL, the added wheelbase was very noticeable in added stability. The best additions I made was going from P tires to LT tires, the added sidewall strength made a huge difference. We later upgraded our hitch to a ProPride hitch and that was probably the best investment I made, the difference was like night and day in terms of how the truck handled towing our trailer. Sidewinds and sway were no longer an issue and towing was a lot more relaxing. We now have an F350 Super Duty diesel and while I would not say towing was really bad with our Expy (the short wheelbase version was not that good), I will say that the difference again here cannot be compared. The F350 has a much longer wheelbase and weighs about as much as our travel trailer does. This truck combined with the ProPride make towing a very relaxing experience now and I would never go back to the Expy.
While I miss our Expy for some of the versatility with 3 kids and a large dog, with the amount of travelling we do towing, the F350 wins hands down. We went with an F350 instead of the F250 as I personally found it rode nicer (others may feel differently), and having the diesel, the payload was not penalized to the same degree as it would have been on the F250. If you are going to keep the Expy, definitely upgrade to LT tires, but I feel the shorter wheelbase is going to still work against you with that trailer, as it is pretty long and acts as a good sail driving down the highway. Consider the ProPride hitch as well for the Expy, it is not cheap but will also greatly enhance your current Expy's towing experience.

I moved up to E tires on my 2010 hauling a 5500lb trailer (dry, 6000+ loaded). It will ride harder when you change the tires. Be wary of getting stranded by the air system. Finally, acceleration is terrible and you can expect around 9 MPG on flat ground at 65MPH. Frontal area is a large consideration, especially on flat ground. Wind resistance increases with the square of speed, so the difference between 60 MPH and 70 MPH is 3600 vs 4900. 17% speed increase, 36% drag increase.

The biggest problem we've had is the IRS and the rear suspension. The limited has the air system on it, which is fantastic when it works. When it breaks down it's a very difficult field repair (have done it). With a traditional solid axle and springs you're able to divide the rear suspension needs between springs, shocks, AND airbags if you want some extra help. Much different than compressor, airline, solenoids (x3), airline tee, etc.

I’ll offer a few thoughts

you should try to stay around 7,000 lbs max GVW for the trailer. Anything more than that and you will have more tongue weight than your rear axle is rated for. Our camper is right at 7,000 loaded and 1200 lbs tongue weight with a battery and two 20lb propane tanks. It adds up fast once you put stuff inside without realizing. With the hitch adjusted to return all the front axle weight, the rear axle is carrying 1,000 lbs. that tongue weight and nothing else puts me within 50lbs Of my rear axle ratings. With the family on board I’m over the axle rating. Well under GVWR for the truck, but over on the rear still.

also, if you have the towing package you will have the integrated brake controller built into the dash. If you don’t, then you probably have a truck without the towing package and someone added the 7-pin plug. Also included in the towing package is an auxiliary transmission cooler. Look behind your grille and see if you have one. It will be in the upper right in front of the AC condenser. It should have 6 rows and be about 30 inches long. If you don’t have one, you will need one. Also if you don’t have one, you don’t have the towing package. If you need one, hit me up for some part numbers and I’ll get you drop in factory 9-row cooler.

get a good hitch. There are several good ones. I use the Reese straight line DC hitch and I would recommend it to anyone. Adjust your hitch and verify it with a truck scale. It matters. If not adjusted correctly, you will be massively overloading the rear axle with any significant tongue weight.

i also upgraded to 10 ply tires, but to be honest, I haven’t noticed that they are any different than the standard p rated tires I had before. The ride is the same and towing feels the same to me as well. I do air them up a bit to help with the extra weight but I haven’t noticed a significant improvement.

the EL is better in every way than the shorter expedition though. Huge difference between my 06 standard and 14 EL. Night and day better in every way
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