thinking of buying an Expedition or Navigator cause we dont need the cargo box anymore.

Questions:
-are Exp and Nav basically same but just more options/status on the NAV?
-with a 5.4, is the towing capacity as good as a 5.4L F150? Have a 19' boat.
-are both available with 4x4?
-are there any other considerations before switching from a truck to this type of SUV? We use it mainly for highway drives from Canada to Florida and are tired of wet suitcases in the back after trying several types of box covers. They all seem to leak eventually.

Comments appreciated; owned 4-F150'S and wife is tired of em.
(anyone need a wife---cooks pretty good :-)

 

I have a 2001 F150 SuperCrew and love it, drives great, 107,000 miles and it doesn't burn a drop of oil. It use to eat brakes till I went full metal, other than oil and fluid changes, I've not spent much on it.
I just bought a 2011 Expedition El, and after two weeks I really like it. My F150 was and XLT, this one is an XLT Premium (use to be called Eddy Bauer). I have less than 400 miles on it and only 90 of that is highway so it is just starting to get broken in, but it is quite, rides well and is smoother than the F150. The weight to horsepower ratio is not as good as the F150, the F150 is more fun to drive the expy more relaxing to drive.

Both have 4x4 as an option, as far as towing is concerned different models have different capabilities. I gave up some towing to get the El, but that extra space is well worth it to us.

Oh, I already had three Fords in the driveway but considered other vehicles, after driving a rental Suburban and dealing with the wind and road noise knew that it would not be a Chevy.

 

Big-Red-Lariat - your situation was pretty much exactly like mine almost two years ago. My vehicles are below and I was only supposed to be driving the Expy until my wifes lease was up and then I would go back into a truck. I absolutely love our Expy. So much that when her lease was up - I told her to go pick something else for a while because I was not done with the Expy. I threw a cargo liner in it and it hauls similar to the stuff I hauled in my truck (I am only a weekend warrior though for home repairs). i have towed my buddies 23 contender (boat) with both the f150 and the expy - the f150 towed better, but my expy does not have the tow package or limited slip either. I am actually in a bind now because not sure if I will go back to a truck or get another Expy when the time comes. I am considering just buying a little cargo trailer for when I need a bed. The expy is the most comfortable vehicle I have ever traveled in - and has decent road manners. I am still amazed at how many times I have actually used the third row seats also - I thought they would never get used. Good luck with your choice, I don't think you will be disappointed, Mike.

 

I think you'll like the Expy. I was strongly considering an 07+ this summer when looking, but ended up with the F150 because the wife put a little budget crunch on me and the 150 was a few grand less expensive than a comparable Expy.
I drove many EL's during my search, as we thought we needed the room, turns out we don't. They are a breeze to drive, manuever, and get around on a daily basis. The ride is far superior to the F150 as well. Much better road manners.
IIRC the 4wd system is 2wd, Auto4wd (works like an AWD shifting into 4wd when slip is detected - great in snow!), and 4wdHI. I cannot recall if there is a 4wdLow.
I believe that the towing capacity for the 07+ is around 8k-9k lbs. It's a little lower than the F150 because of the extra vehicle weight.

You can't go wrong with the Expy really. Great vehicle that will seat up to 8 adults (hard to do in a Tahoe/Suburban - third row is tight on leg room).

 

I actually traded in an 05 F150 for the 07 Expy. I love the Expy. I can't see myself ever getting rid of it.

 

I traded my 06 Lariat Supercrew for an 07 Limited, the step up was nice from the F-150, a few more perks, Navigaion DVD player for the kids, heated and cooled seats, 22" Ford accessory rims, pretty tri color white paint.

The downside I tow a 33 ft travel trailer that weights about 7K lbs, the Expy handled the weight just fine, the problem is the coil springs in the back are far softer then the leafs on a truck this lowered my tongue weight and left the rear end sagging more and felt squeamish on the highway. I added a Helwig larger rear swaybar that helped a bit.
I towed with it for 2000 miles but ended up going back to a Superduty. I miss the Expy for in town driving and hauling people but I wont miss it on the highway towing.

 

I will say I really like my 2011 over my old 07 expy. Ride it a lot better and turning radius is awesome. You can park this EL boat like a compact.

 

What are the differences between the 2011 and the 2007?