My trailer is just a 25ft, about 5000lbs.... anyone pulling with a 5.4 ?

 

I've pulled a camper that size with a a 4.6 F150, you'll be fine.

 

Used to tow a fleetwood Redwood tent camper, 14' box with a e99 5.4 with 3.73 gears. About 3500 pounds. What a dog. Little missouri hills had it screaming in 2nd gear to try to maintain 60 mph. Overdrive was useless unless going downhill. Had to kick it to the curb.
My 7.3 ps hauls a 264bh in the same locations at 70 mph and 2000 rpm in overdrive. Not saying you can't, just saying it may not be a pleasant experience. Just brought home a 6.7 ps yesterday, can't go back to a gasser. Torque is addictive.

 

The EX has 4.10 gears, correct? I think all of the 5.4 4X4 wagons came with those gears, if so that should help some for towing. I think dragging the 5K trailer (is this a TT or some other type of trailer?) should be fine with a healthy 5.4. Just be realistic in your expectations, it will get you to the destinations but may not be the first one there or to the top of the next hill.

 

My previous truck was a 2007 F-250 5.4L 3V with 3.73 gears. I towed a 28 foot enclosed car hauler all over the Midwest without any problems. Normal trailer weight was around 8000.

Don’t be afraid to spin the engine. A 5.4L likes to sing when it it works. As mentioned, be realistic. Cresting the mountain pass at 4000 RPM in second gear makes some drivers cringe, but for a Triton V-8 it isn’t a big deal.

 

The 5.4 was rated around 7200#.

Go to town.

 

I think the key is a healthy 5.4 . If it already has 200,000 miles on it and hasn't had phasers and chains done, then it's probably not as healthy as a healthy one.

After that, yes it will do it. Let it rev, but not wide-open-throttle rev all the time.

Is the cooling system in good shape?

Is the transmission in good shape?

There are a few reasons that most of the Excursions that are left in the world are diesels or V-10s. All you have to do is keep that in mind while you're asking your 5.4 to do that job.

 

Dafuq? Why is this even a thread? Minivans have been rated for around 5000lb since the 1980s. Sure, a travel trailer is a little more demanding because of thew wind resistance but you have a 6000lb 3/4 ton SUV ffs.

Just mat it and go and stop asking dumb questions. If an extra 5000lb causes problems you'd have had those same problems daily driving it anyway.

 

Because that's what buyers generally opted for and what dealers stocked. The people who were buying one of the biggest most expensive SUVs in the height of the SUV craze weren't trying to save a few pennies on gas.

These are mostly 2v 5.4s we're talking about. Sure, not as powerful as a 3v but basically none of the issues either.

 

ALL gas powered EXs came with the 2V motors, both 5.4 and 6.8.

 

Yeah, I was hedging my bet because I wasn't sure about the '05 model year.

 

I've always wondered what the production numbers were for the Excursion by engine, do you have access to those numbers?

The buyers of 5.4 Excursions were often looking for a good deal on one because it was a status symbol at the time, and were likely told of all of the advantages that the 5.4 had on that platform by their "trustworthy" sales rep . . . and I bet one of those advantages was fuel economy, especially because there was no actual EPA rating to prove them wrong.

I remember back when the Excursion was in production, I'd go on a sales lot and find that almost all of them on the lot were 5.4s and had been there a while. The 6.8 and diesel units sold pretty quickly per a couple of sales reps that I asked about it.

Same thing happened in the used car market years later. The 5.4 Excursions were always a huge discount versus 6.8's and especially 7.3 diesels.

Except cam phaser and chain guide issues.

- Because a 6.8 will hold up for hundreds of thousands of miles of heavy use
- Because a 7.3 diesel will hold up for hundreds of thousands of miles of heavy use
- Because 5.4s do not have a significant following of folks that talk positively about how great they are in heavy duty applications
- Because many 5.4s have been ruined by working hard right up until they have oiling and/or timing chain issues that often ruin engines and always cost big money to have repaired (covered extensively at FTE)
- And yes, because that's what buyers generally opted for if they could and if they actually knew the difference

@MoBill122's Excursion is a 255HP 2001 model with over 226,000 miles on it. We here at FTE have no idea how it has been used and maintained over the years. Maybe it's in perfect condition, only ever driven to the market on Sundays in temperate weather by a little old lady, and with every maintenance need and repair being done expeditiously its whole life. Maybe it got the bare minimum and was beaten its whole life. We can't tell from here. I bet he's asking about this because he's pretty sure none of us will be there to fix everything for him on the side of the road when it gives up.