Ok,so I had been using my 2003 Expedition to tow my 7600 GVWR 33' TT, and had alot of guys tell me I am NUTS for getting so close to my payload capacity of 1615 pounds. So, I bought a 2003 Excursion diesel, I was looking last night, and it's payload is actually slightly less as 1500 pounds, but I see plenty of people pulling monster trailers way bigger than mine(in the 35 to 40 foot), which we all know weigh alot more than my current trailer, but I never hear anyone say anything to Excursion owners they are over payload. What gives?

i haven't towed yet with my Excursion, only owned it about 3 weeks and probably won't be towing with it until spring. I will probably put air bags on it just to help out. But that doesn't increase payload capacity. Just wondering why the hype of knocking me Expedition payload, but the Excursions are just fine? (I notice how some bash the new F150's constantly about only having a payload of 1600ish pounds) Please help me out, and answer why? Trust me, I will be getting a bigger trailer soon and will be using my Excursion to pull it. But just curious why the 1/2 tons get such a bad wrap?

 

The diesel engine is heavier than the gas engine. At least on the Superduty, the 6.7L is 800 lbs heavier as I recall.

 

gas vs diesel issue is part of it and there are plenty of people who dont know what their payload capacity is. if they do, they dont care and just say the diesel still pulls fine and it is under rated for cargo capacity. Id rather be safe then sorry personally.

 

I'd rather be legal than sorry financially. It's scary to see what people hitch up and never consider. Could my truck pull a trailer with a 16,000lb GVWR? Absolutely, but I'm 800lbs over the truck limit and if something bad happens, guess who is liable?

 

The biggest difference is the Excursion has larger brakes, heavier frame, larger differential, wheel bearings etc. The Expedition can do it but with more wear and tear.

I took the same rental TT on the same trip in 100*+ weather with my 2003 Yukon XL and 2005 Ex. The diff in the Yukon overheated and puked out most of the gear lube. The Ex takes it in stride.

 

Anytime you are over the payload capacity, you are automatically over the GVWR of the vehicle too. And seriously, it doesn't matter whether it's an Expedition, an Excursion, a F150 a F250, 350, 450, anything. It's never a good idea to be over ANY of the rated capacities of any vehicle.

Part of the reason for the F150 truck's getting a bad rap is not the truck itself. It's the people that know little to nothing about towing dynamics and rated load capacities of the vehicle they own. They purchase a F150 with let's say a 1600 lb payload capacity then hook up to a fifth wheel camping trailer that puts 2000, 2500, lbs of pin weight on the truck....then post up on a forum and talk about how great it tows their trailer. They are overloaded and many times, (don't even know it or worse, don't care) and then start a new post on the forum....."What's the Best brand of Air bags or helper springs". Every vehicle has a limit, actually, several limits....and it is the owners responsibility to know the truck's limits and hopefully, abide by them.

 

My grandma used to say: "When someone is jumping into fire, that doesn't mean you should too" And she was right. Payload and GVWR are there for a reason. The reason is called safety and reliability. It never is about what call pull how much... once a trailer is in motion, even a human might be able to haul it for a bit. It's about what your combo can handle, if it's getting close, and how long your gear can stand the abuse.
Been there, done that, hauled horses with a tow vehicle which could nominally pull the load, but boy, the transmission went fast.

 

Payload = Gross Vehicle Weight Rating(GVWR) - truck curb weight
This tells you how much people and cargo you can carry in the truck, including the tongue weight of a trailer.

Similar trucks will differ. For example my F250 small block has a payload of like 3,100 pounds. Mom's F250 big block, flatbed has a payload of around 1,000 pounds. The trucks have the same axles, springs, brakes, and tires and the GVWR is the same, but Mom's truck is so much heavier it has a much smaller payload. This is also why an F150 may have a bigger payload than an F250 diesel: GVWR - curb weight.

What you get with the Excursion is a higher Gross Combination Weight Rating(GCWR).
GCW(missing the "R" on purpose) = truck curb weight + trailer curb weight + payload(all people and cargo in the truck and trailer)
GCWR is the maximum sum of the previous equation a truck is rated to tow.

So (pulling numbers out of thin air for illustrative purposes) the Expedition may have a GCWR of 14,000 - 16,000 pounds, and the diesel Excursion may have a GCWR of 18,000 - 20,000 pounds. It's easy to see the advantage here, even if the payload is less on the heavier truck.

Towing 7,600 pounds GVWR your tongue weight should be less than 800 pounds. Well within your payload rating. According to the specs on this site, '03 Expedition maximum towing capacity is 8,900 pounds. The Expedition was fine to tow that camper.

The hype of bashing the Expedition is simple ignorance: Expedition Small. Excursion BIG! Grunt,Scratch,POST - and not always in that order.

Legal liability is real when going over ratings, but very basic things the legal beagles miss...and are often guilty of: Anyone bumper towing over 5,000 pounds (or 6,000 depending on hitch class) needs a weight-distributing hitch or you are legally negligent in an accident. Anyone towing a trailer over 10,000 pounds Gross Vehicle Weight Rating(GVWR) needs a Class A CDL - that's Rating (what it can weigh), not actual weight.
(This is why so many big trailers are rated at 9,900 pounds GVWR or have a 9,900 pound suspension option)

 

I agree with you 100%! I was just asking the question. I do agree alot of people will buy a new F150 or something like that and expect to tow a 12000 pound trailer cause either the camper place or auto dealer said they could. I am amazed(well not really anymore) of people's ignorance of what they can safely pull. I have seen plenty of them pulling a trailer WAY to big for their vehicle, but continue to do it cause they can. I got my Excursion 1, because I have always wanted one, 2, cause its better to be safe than sorry and to be able.to tow further without any worries, and 3, cause eventually we will be getting a newer bigger trailer( our current trailer is a 2018 Outback 293UBH) and didn't want to buy a truck just to have to go buy another one in a year or two.

i was just asking that question to see what answers I got. I have seen plenty of even bigger trucks overloaded too. Was just curious, that's all.

 

Agreed. I think the biggest abuse in towing these days are the 250, 2500 diesel series trucks that are pulling very large 5th wheels which exceed every aspect of the trucks capabilities. I see it all the time.

 

For the majority of people on here, you're probably right. But here in Ontario, it's different. Our standard 'G' license allows us to drive a max combined weight of 11,000 kgs (24,250 lbs) and max towed weight of 4,600 kgs (10,141 lbs). Now, here's the kicker, If the trailer is a 'house' trailer attached via a fifth wheel connection, then the max 4,600 kgs limit doesn't apply, only the 11,000 kgs combined limit. My F250, with passengers, hitch, tonneau cover, etc.. weighs in at 8,025 lbs. I could theoretically tow a 16,000 lb fifth wheel with my current license and my current truck. I wouldn't, because the pin weight of a 16,000 lbs fiver would be through the roof, but I theoretically could.

Now, I realize this is the bumper pull section and not the fiver section of the forums, so most of that doesn't apply to the trailers being towed here, but I wanted to make sure the clarification was out there, incase people though they needed a CDL for 'any' trailer over 10,000 lbs.

 

agreed I’ve seen it too. I saw an F150 pulling a good size 5th wheel and based on the brand he had to be way over payload.

 

A 7,600 lb trailer is nothing for a diesel Excursion, they will handle 10-12K easily. The GVWR is just Ford's rating your legal rating will vary based on what state you live in.

 

Lies and BS, are you making this stuff up or what?

I love it when internet know-it-alls come on spouting stuff off and are wrong or making stuff up.

I find it rather humorous.