A few months back I got rid of my 05 F250 and picked up a 99 EB Expedition.

I tow my off-road truck on an open car-hauler and just wasn't going as much as i used to and couldn't justify the SD payment and fuel economy anymore.

I enjoy driving the Expedition and all of its creature comforts. It's a pretty nice truck and was rust proofed so there is not one spot of rust anywhere on the body and all the underside it pretty decent too.

I'll post a few pics

Still @ the dealer




Since buying it I have upgraded a few things in attempt to make sure it has every advantage in towing. Things like Firestone Ride-Rite air bags BFG load E tires and brake controller.

From my research it has the HD tow package equipped with 3.73:1 gears the larger trans cooler and p/s cooler. Hitch is rated for 8300lbs on the sticker w/weight dist. (which I use a WD hitch)

My trailer wieghs 1700lbs empty and my truck weighs 5200lbs last time i scaled them. So all in all it will be over 7000lbs with gear, tools and whatnot.

I already know this will not tow like my V10 did so please don't remind me.

My question is mainly with the difference in wheelbase. I'm concerned about trailer sway. I have yet to tow the truck but will be this weekend so I'm asking for all of your predictions and we'll see how it does.

I've read about a bunch of expeditions towing large campers at close to 7000-7500 lbs and the response is mixed as to some say it was great and some say it was scary. Before my SD i towed with a 2wd 3/4ton suburban and before I used my WD hitch it was scary but after the hitch and some new tires along with a trans cooler and a few other things that truck towed great. I believe it was somewhat to do with the wheelbase being longer.

I know that the only way to know is to hook up to it and see what it does but I think with the airbags and load E tires it should do OK for the 1-2 times a year I tow it 400-500 miles.

 

Looks like I'm gonna get a small test earlier than expected. A friend called and needs a tow. Her 02 Kia Rio snapped a T-belt. Hello side job!

It won't be a very good indication of towin ability as it's a small car but might give me a slighltly better idea of how the truck is gonna handle the weight

 

I was pretty impressed with the truck's towing ability when towing a car. Could use OD but I just left in in 3rd mostly. Had a bit of sway in windy spots but that's to be expected.

Handled the weight just fine with my airbags and WD hitch. no squat at all and I had the car loaded as far forward as I could and still chain it.




May make a more permanent tow rig than I first imagined

 

We had a '98 years ago. It didn't tow great, but that's because we didn't have her set up right. She was my wife's daily driver.

The keys are the right tires and rims. I see you don't have those aluminum rims. That's good. The air bags and WDH will help. With that setup, you shouldn't have any handling issues.

You may want to get a temp gauge on your exhaust. It's easy to overheat the exhaust manifolds and break the studs. It's a pain in the nether regions to replace them.

We had 100k miles on our Expedition when my wife decided to trade her in. I wish she hadn't. It was a great truck.

 

It tows great, I was impressed going from a SD that would tow anything you put behind it and you wouldn't really know it was there, to this truck that I set it up as best as possible and am so far happy with the result. Still have to tow the big truck and see how that goes.

It's already had the RH manifold replaced and left one isn't too rusty so should be ok.
I want a trans temp guage though

 

Oh I almost forgot - BALL JOINTS!!!

The '98 had non-greasable ball joints that went bad about every 18 months. I had found aftermarket ones that had grease fittings, but she got traded before I could try them.

FYI

 

I basicallly did the same thing as you TenHoles, Went from an F350 to an f250 to a 2000 Navigator, I am very impressed on its ability to tow so far. I pull a trailer full of lawn equipment and a camper and honestly it tows just as good as all of my superduties but of course im not pulling alot of weight. Mine seems very stable and hardly no sway at all. Best of all is the benefit on my bank account with an older/smaller vehicle. so far no regrets, looks like you got a mint 99.......nice ex!

 

already did the lowers and the uppers were replaced recently

Thanks. I will likely replace this with another f250 but for how life is right now this expo is getting the job done

 

I saw that your Expy posted on Craigslist a few months ago. Dealer had it listed in Milwaukee or Madison? Can't remember. Wasn't that thing priced at $8000. Nice truck though. Good luck with it. F250's are plentiful, you will find one someday.

 

I have the same set up except stock bags and a 2 wheel drive. I tow a 16' cargo trailer which is 7' wide and tall.... On a CAT scale and full tank ( 30Gallons) the EX was 5995# and the trailer is 6017# for a total of 12,012# ... Look at the DOT laws for that weight going down an Interstate.. Anyways I use a HD Reese hitch and a Sway Control and that takes care of all waggles... without it holy hell.. hang on tight.

 

Yeah I did not pay 8 for it. I got it for a great deal. Dealer did a great job of working with me on everything. It's in above average condition and i paid below average price. It needed some stuff when I got it but I'm a mechanic so getting all done wasn't a big issue just had to buy some parts and fluids.
If I do replace this I am really undecided as to what will be it's replacement. My F250 was nice but not all that practical. I'm hoping to get my off-road truck done more and start using it again so if I'm towing a lot I want a diesel. However, I'm not exactly sure but I'm thinkin I don't want a ford diesel

I have never used the sway control before. MY hitch has the tab for the mount. I don't know much about the sway control. Anyone care to explain how it works

 

The sway control attaches to the hitch and to the trailer frame. It had a set of friction pads (brake Pad) that you crank down tight to the steel bar that has enough resistance to stop it from swaying... Kinda crude but hope it helps.

 

A question of ignorance: I always though swaying was due to insufficient tongue weight, are there other causes as well? (Besides the obvious 50 MPH crosswind.)

 

Sway can definitely be caused by inadequate tongue weight or improperly loaded trailer. There will always be some sway, its just vehicles with longer wheelbase or DRW handle it better and it goes unnoticed. Shorter wheelbase and top heavy vehicles like the expo don't control the sway on their own as well even with a properly loaded trailer and the trailer can affect the way it handles quite a bit so they need an anti sway device.

That's my opinion on the collective research I've done. It may not be accurate but its the way I understand it.

So far I don't have any problem with sway but when I haul the big truck that may change.

 

My 2000 Navigator has pulled a 1800 lb. trailer with a military surplus diesel K10 at speeds of 65-70 mph with no sway or problems for 300 miles and a month later I pulled a 9500 lb. concession trailer nearly 300 miles with the same results. Expiditions and Navigators can handle towing with no problems if the tongue weight is right. My Navigator got better than 17 MPG by the Lie-o-meter too.