I've had both as well. Have to give the nod to the Ex. Just loaded it with 6 sheets of plywood, table saw, compound saw, and other tools for work. Then came home, unloaded tools, quick clean, added the rear seat and took my Wife, 8 yo daughter and 5 of her friends for a birthday dinner.

Pretty amazing vehicle....and tows my toy hauler well.

 

The stock springs are garbage engineered towards soccer mom comfort and fitting in most garages. A simple swap with F250 springs helps a lot, as does adding the 30mm rear swaybar. The RAS (Roadmaster Active Suspension) is quite popular here as well and helps out a lot across the board (loaded or unloaded), but lacks the ease of adjustment that rear airbags have. Still a good system, and if you're towing the same load frequently and don't need to accommodate a large variety of weights and loads RAS will work perfectly. As always, a good WDH with sway control will be instrumental in overall great road manners for a TT or large load.

There's a ton of threads here, as well as in the Tech sticky at the top of this for that'll help with the springs. Take a peek up there or run a search for spring swaps and you'll find a ton of info. There's just too much to cover on them for me to make a concise, all inclusive post.
The basics are the V/B or X/C (read as front/rear) code springs add some height as well as stiffness and firmer ride. The first set offers a little bump in altitude and noticeable firmness and control, whereas the second set offers more height and as expected, more firmness. I personally have the V front's with modded B's (covered in nearly all threads on the subject) with a 2" hangar kit up front and the handling and ride are dramatically improved over stock. It's not overly stiff, it does NOT ride like an unloaded 1-ton DRW. It's just firmer than stock. I clear 35" tires just fine. Keep in mind that I'm running the 7.3 which weighs substantially more than the V10 you're wanting, so your height changes will vary.

Someone on here has a huge chart that depicts spring rates, as well as changes in height for each engine choice. Hoping they'll chime in as I cannot remember their name for the life of me. I do know it was recently discussed so it should be further down the first page on this subforum, maybe the second page at most (pending how you have you threads per page setup).

 

I bought an Excursion because I needed seats instead of a bed.
I have two kids and two dogs. They won't all fit in an extended cab or crew cab truck.

When you think about it, a bed isn't really useful anyway.
It's a pain in the butt to load and unload.

See here:




My butt was clenched so hard while driving the tractor up that my dogs were the only ones to hear if I farted. If the tractor would a fallen off, my butt would still be stuck to the seat.
I had to call a buddy to help with the bike. That crap will work on a $75 tractor, but not on a brand new 8 grand bike.

Then there was the time I hauled a bed load of dirt for my garden. I had to unload it all before I went to work, otherwise I'd be driving back and forth all week with a ton of dirt in the bed.

A 4x8 trailer is lower and easier to load.
A 4x8 trailer can easily carry 1500 to 2000 lbs.
Almost any car can tow 2000 lbs.
I can unhitch a loaded trailer and leave it behind.

I'd rather have a cheap 4x8 trailer than a bed any day of the week.

 

The reason I didn't get an Excursion when we got our Dually was because I thought I wanted to pull the TT with a golf cart in the bed... I safely loaded and unloaded the cart....until the ramps decided to kick out on me.

I dropped the cart, on two seperate occasions...with me on it...serious pucker factor. I was fortunate that both ramps kicked out and the cart fell flat on its wheels once and got stuck half was in the truck bed the other.

I now have a utility trailer for my hauling needs .

Thanks!

Jeremiah

 

It's a pain in the *** to tow a trailer anytime I need to haul something and a trailer cuts into the mpg, even my small 5x10. And yes the stock excursion springs suck plus it has a weaker front axle than a super duty. So it's not all wine and roses. Plus I rarely see an excursion on the Internet that doesn't have a decent size trailer behind it. People buy them to tow with the family. So I think that "plus" is probably a wash.

 

The v/b and x/c spring mods apply to 4x4 excursions NOT 2wd. It isn't always obvious to folks the 2wd has front coil springs (which are soccer mom soft too) along with the same rear leaf springs as 4x4, but 4x4 has 2" block vs no block 2wd.

Cheers

 

I get 11.1 mpg average with mostly local versus Highway driving. I have had over 30 vehicles in my 30+years of driving from large luxury cars, muscle cars, vans and trucks. The Excursion is the most enjoyable vehicle I have ever owned. The V10 is smooth and powerful - even off the line it moves this nearly 4 ton vehicle without effort. The interior is plush - even at 12 years old it still has a contemporary feel. Previous owner put a top of the line Alpine 7" touch screen radio with navigation and back up camera in mine which sweetened the deal. I would get one while you still can find clean and well maintained examples - you can still buy a new Super Duty Crew Cab and will always be able to get one with low miles. The Excursion is an epic vehicle that is no longer produced not to mention tens of thousands of dollars less than a newer 250 or 350.

 

Alls I know is I can add an 8 foot bed to almost any car, truck, suv, van... Hell, some motorcycles even have a hitch available. (Not mine)

However, you can't add seats to a pickup. The cops tend to frown on using ratchet straps to hold the kiddie seats in the bed a truck.

 

Yep, I had to haul some stuff to the dump this evening when I got home from work. Hitched up the utility trailer to the Town and Country in about 2-3 minutes, backed it up, loaded the junk up and headed off... Dropping the trailer took even less time.

Thanks everyone!!

Jeremiah

 

Yeah but my truck holds seven people fully loaded, and every crew in my price range seated six, so that's kind of a wash, too. Though sure mine will hold six more comfortably than the crew.

 

We drove capped duallie diesels before the Ex's we've had. Found the Ex less expensive to operate hauling more family than bed cargo. And unless you're pulling a 5th wheel an open bed for oversize items is the only advantage to a SD.

Never noticed floorboard heat on either Limited/Eddie B Ex in hot or cold weather.

Avg mixed mileage 14 over the life of the current Ex V10 which stays on the road for 99.9% of it's driving life. Towing light 11.5 heavy 9.5.

BTW - An Ex sits lower than the SD making it family friendly and tow friendly for hookups.

So, unless you need a bed vs a small trailer towed behind for the odd-ball large items or plan to pull a 5th wheel there is really no reason to go the SD route.

 

Yeah, F350 springs in some combo (lots of choices) and a rear sway bar (some year X's came with none! ) and you'll be good to go!

My wife and daughter haven't ever complained about floor heat, and they rarely wear shoes when traveling...

 

Great! I suspect it was the XL rubber floor plus very hot day plus bare feet... I am sure the carpet in an excursion will make things much more pleasant.

Thanks!

Jeremiah

 

I went the excursion route due to the need to haul my family safely and legally. It is tough to find anything that will comfortably fit 4 car seats, get decent mileage, have 4x4, and a decent tow capacity (along with affordability upfront) and the excursion fit that niche for me. Good luck with your choice and happy driving!!!!

 

I got an X because I have kids and a dog and like to camp. Would have been tight in a truck, even a crew cab. In the X we have plenty of room and could even haul a couple more people (and do from time to time).

Anything you put in the back stays dry and warm. Stuff like that.