hello all! My name is Tyler and we own a 2004 excursion!

We we use it as my wife’s daily driver and just recently finished a f-350 spring swap. It now drives way better!

we use it to tow our 32’ camper that’s pushing 10k loaded.

What mods are everybody doing to help with towing?

F-350 blocks?

bigger swap bars?

Air bags?

Tuner? ( 6.0 with 147k, egr delete, upgraded oil cooler, blue spring, stock exhaust minus cat and a cheap banks muffler, not by me)

Thanks in advance!

Love my tunes from Gearhead Diesel. Makes a big difference in power and shift points. I also changed the fan to the 7.3 mechanical fan as opposed to the PCM controlled fan. Has helped keep from spiking temps before the PCM decides the fan needs to run though a ton of our towing is in the “mountains” of Kentucky on backroads. My engine is studded but Gearhead does offer tunes for non-studded engines as well.

This is the fan setup I use.
https://www.bulletproofdiesel.com/me...p/90201099.htm

Will be installing new Pro-Comp springs on the suggestion of Pirate4x4 who from what I’ve read knows more about the suspension on these than anyone I’ve read.

Our trailer is right at 10k for a long weekend. You should also listen to WE3ZS on these especially with regards to towing.

For handling and control I recommend the Hellwig front & rear anti-roll bar set, try them for awhile and see if you need anything more.
Definitely upgrade the aux trans fluid cooler to the 5R110 cooler with 1/2" lines.
The 2008+ diff cover will help lower the rear axle temps, too.

For me it was.......
tightening up the steering box
installing a Hellwig rear sway bar
i installed air bags because I had them, only run them at 25psi when towing, probably doesn’t need them.
4.30 gears, really makes towing easier
custom tunes from 5 star
a good sway control hitch, I highly recommend the Reese Dual Cam
good stock size “E” rated highway tires

Welcome to the EX forum and family!

Before everyone starts throwing out what they have done to improve their personal towing situation (every case is different) can you share with us exactly where you feel that your combo could use some towing help? Is it doing something that you don't like, trailer sway, too much bouncing, too much rear squat, odd braking reactions or performance?

Mine pulled and handled like crap when it was still all stock with a 9,500lb TH on the hitch, I too swapped in F-350 springs (plus a little extra) and a rear sway bar. Most of my other mods were focused on making my V-10 perform the needed task more effectively, which wouldn't directly transfer over to your PSD.
Have you scaled weighed your combo loaded up for a trip on a 3 pad truck scale yet? The CAT Scales that you see at highway truck stops are the ideal tool for getting your WD hitch and trailer loading dialed in to the best it can be, that will improve any towing situation. They are cheap to! About $12 for the first weight (EX and trailer with WD set as you run it typically) and then $2 for each of the subsequent weighs that same day (second weigh in is with the EX and trailer but with the WD completely untentioned and the third weigh is the EX only). You will ideally want the EX and trailer as they would be for your typical trips with family and all their gear along for the adventure and be sure to spot your front, rear and trailer axles (tender TT axles together) on the proper steer, drive and trailer axle scale pads (the pads are pretty well identified on the scales), the hardest part of the operation is reaching up for the intercom button on the scale, even with my 4" lift and 35"s I still couldn't reach up high enough, had to open my door and stand on the running board. With those 3 weight readings we can see exactly what the TT weighs, what the EX weighs, what the TT tongue weight is and how much of that TW is getting distributed back to the front axle ( the whole idea behind a WD hitch). With all of that info in hand it's easy to see if you need to make some adjustments to improve the situation. Please take a side picture of the EX and TT hitched up and ready to travel and post that along with the scale numbers.
Before you go to the scales ensure that you have your hitch height set to have the TT riding either level or slightly nose down ( the new springs may require this adjustment). Which WD hitch are you using and are you comfortable with setting it up and making all the adjustments to it?
What size, load range and air pressures are you running on both the EX and TT? How old are the TT tire's?
Which Trailer Brake Controller are you using? Do you like how it's performing?
Do you have the larger towing mirrors on the EX?
What model and year is the TT, any add-ones like a rear ( or front) platform with genny, bikes or cargo?

There are a lot of folks here with tons of EX towing experience that can help, but the more you can fill in the blanks the better that info will be focused on your indibual situation.

I see that you are in TN, we will be in Pigeon Forge all next week, if you are local to there I'd be happy to go over my EX and TT setup.

To Toms point,

Stock 7.3 on 4” lift with 37s towing almost 9000lbs trailer weight with 1200 lb tounge weight,( old trailer was 14,000 Get the weight and balance correct and you don’t need many “mods” or added doo dads, Get your Ex in perfect working order when not towing and it will tow great. Mine tows 70 mph in a cross wind and passing semis with total comfort 2 finger steering.

What I don’t have
no front sway bar, no rear sway bar, no steering damper, no air bags no weight distribution hitch. ( ok, I have a WD hitch but do not need to run the load bars )

what I do have, And consider crucial to towing.
correctly working steering and suspension, proper air pressure, 5* caster, 6.0 trans cooler,trans temp gauge, P3 brake controller, stock, IR Temp gun, trans temps run 150* Rear diff temps run 145-155* Tires 110*

Thanks for all the help.

We we are about 45 minutes form pigeon forge...might take you up on that.

It it will take awhile to fill in all the blanks.

What i dont like is all the swap from the wind turbulence and the lack of weight on the front end. Sqats a little too Much in the rear I think.

I have a Reese sc load distribution hitch. Rated for 1500lbs.

Load range e tires, 285/75/16

tow mirrors

springs came from junior at Ats, b mod rears.

Swap bar links could use replaced. Can here them rattle every now and then

thanks again, and looking forward to more discussion

Stainless brake lines, Powerstop rotors and pads and freshen up that gear oil. I also added a 6.4 pan so I could fit a 6.4 trans filter which supposedly filters better than the 6.0 filter and added a Dieselsite high pressure transmission filter system and a Hellwig BigRig rear sway bar and X and Modifued C code leafs.

Correction.

C code rears...spent a lot of time researching this. You would think I knew it by heart

OK, trailer sway is a very serious condition that needs to be addressed as a priority. To better understand what may be causing that trailer sway we will need to know what the weights are as I described above. Too little trailer tongue weight will allow for sway as will too high of a tongue compared to the rear of the trailer. It can also be an issue with how the WD hitch was setup.
What method did you use to setup that Reese Sway Control WD hitch?
How much higher than unloaded does the front end ride when hitched up ready to travel? As measured at the front wheel well arch.
There will almost always be some amount of rear squat when towing a heavy trailer, mine drops a few inches when hitched up, I don't recall the exact amount but I can measure it later this week when we hitch to the TT, it simply the nature of how suspension systems work but a properly sized and adjusted WD hitch should restore some of that squat and reload some if not all of the lost front axle weight.
Have you scaled this EX and trailer combination, and if so what were the axle weights?

I have a 6.0 with the 5R110W, I don’t think you can swap to the 6.4 filter and pan.