After a year of working on the Beast I think I finally have her at a point where she can tow exactly what I am looking to tow. I have a fully loaded 31 foot jayco which probably weighs in at just under 10k fully loaded. Throw in the wife, 4 kids, bikes, possibly canoes/kayaks and you get the picture. To be honest I was a little surprised that it could not tow it well stock. No worries as a few mods have put her right.

Hellwig Rear Sway Bar
RS9000XR with remote
V/B upgrade (modified with the "B" spring having an extra thick Dually bottom leaf)
Propride Hitch

My wife tried towing with it for the first time on this trip and within an hour we were hit with a quick prairie thunder storm which brought a short burst of rain with 30 mph side wind gusts. Not only was she not worried about driving during the storm - neither was I which was saying alot. I am excited to use this vehicle for the next 10-15 years.

Next Up
Steering gearbox rebuild
aux midship fuel tank
2 new Trojan Transpower ST1000 deep cycle agm batteries (to augment the golf cart batteries in the RV)

Under Carpet Sound proofing and heat tape for the new exhaust
Perhaps once I am out of the factory warranty I will chip it.

 

I like your thinking; mid ship aux tank for the 1000 mile trip!

 

Youre still in warranty?? Lucky

 

Congrats. We tow a TT weighing 10500lbs loaded with the Propride. Have many of the same suspension upgrades. It does tow rock solid.

I am curious about your B code. How did you modify yours? I did the standard two small leafs from the Ex. It is working well and has a great ride.

 

After towing over 1,000 miles with my new TT ( 9,400 lbs on CAT scale), I was quite surprised at how well mine tows stock. I am even wondering if the previous owner added some suspension upgrades. I have no steering wander and with the e-qualizer hitch I have very little sway or sagging.

CPTMidnight,
When you say a year, did that include all the mods?
How long have you had the pro-pride? What were you using previously?

I will need to add a 6.0l tranny cooler, towing mirrors, and possibly a RAS this winter. Throw in a honda generator and the wallet starts getting light.
My current E-Qualizer is only rated at 10,000/1,000 lbs so I will need to upgrade to the 14,000/1,400 lb hitch. I would like to get the propride but am trying to decide if the additional $1,500 can be justified with the other mods I will need.

We are planning a trip next year and from MN-Denver-California, and up the west coast and back home through the northern states. I have not towed in winds greater than 25 mph but have had minimal sway. I don't notice semis passing either. It has towed almost flawless with the current setup. I'm just a little concerned with what might happen in 30-40 mph winds that can be encountered in the mountains with the E-qualizer.

I'm trying to convince my wife that the pullpride would allow her to pull the TT worry free.

 

Looks to me like your hitch needs adjusting. Usually the goal is to have the weight distributing bars parallel with the tongue when it's dialed in.

 

I purchase both the V/B springs used. The B Spring stacks were purchased from a guy who only had 2000 miles on them and then put a lift on his truck. He kept the bottom overload spring off the stack which is the thick strait one on the bottom. I checked with a local spring shop and they had the bottom overload leaf (new) but for the same stack on a Dually. It is a little thicker and longer. That is the only difference. The only time it comes into play is under severe load and provides a little more support.

 

I purchased the Ex last June (2010 3 years into service and 30k miles) and did the Hellwig rear sway bar upgrade to start. We then took a short trip to test it and it seemed fine. After loading up the camper and heading to Yellowstone (MN to CO to WY) last year we started to experience some slight problems and needed to shift gear, empty the water tank and really crank down the standard weight distribution hitch to take some of the weight off the hitch. Even then you could feel trailer yanking you around in the wind or due to passing vehicles. I could handle it just fine but you needed to pay attention to driving and when a Semi passed you needed both hands on the wheel and to be very focused. Even so without wind I had no complaints but would not be real comfortable letting my wife drive it - I drove the whole trip.

On the way back from Yellowstone (WY SD MN) we encountered 2 days of sustained 30mph winds (with gusts 40+) out of the north making that part of the trip miserable. The swaying was so violent that the stairs that normally fold out would kick out after a few miles of driving and I needed to actually secure them from unfolding. The friction sway control was clearly not able to handle it. At that point I promised to do the necessary mods to make it right.

This spring I did the V/B swap and the Shocks and shortly therafter purchased the new hitch.

Now in that same 30 mph side wind in SD I would not be afraid to have my wife take that leg of the trip. I can pass semi's in the wind doing 75 with one hand on the wheel and chatting with the wife without thinking about it. I could tow with it before but now I can relax while towing. It sounds like yours is working reasonably well so if you have a limited budget you might want to skip the propride for now...

It looks like you are in MN. Happy to show you the mods and the hitch somtime or even help you put the propride on your vehicle. (I might have way to find you a discounted propride)

 

CPTMidnight-

We ended up at almost the same place as you with our mods. I also have the V/B springs, but used RAS instead of extra leafs to get spring constant "up". I have had our Hensley hitch (which to my mind is the same basic hitch as the ProPride) over 8 years on 3 trailers. We have >10,000 miles towing in all sorts of wind/weather with this particular Excursion set-up and Hensley. It is our 2nd Excursion and is our best riding and handling setup yet. Trial and error is a good teacher--if you survive the lesson.

I've also installed Hellwig rear bar and replaced ball joints, brakes (Powerslot cryos and Hawk LTS), and replaced the steering box with "RedHead". We have Bilsteins shocks.

Like you say, it is now possible to tow without stress. Friction sway control on regular hitches simply did not work for us.

I am curious about the additional fuel tank you are considering. Who offers that?

 

Here is the only one I have found made for the Excursion for $950. I am not sure if anyone has experience with them or even if they still sell them. They also say they sell a neck and cap for another $550. I am hoping to work with a local shop to get it in.
Excursion Underbody - Biofuels Technologies

You can see a picture of one being installed here.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/6...cursion-2.html

I understand if you can get the same pump you might be able to get the fuel gauge to show the level of the AUX tank when switched. Not sure where I will want filler neck either...

P.S. I love the Hawk LTS pads also