Check his sig. He has a 2003 F350 CrewCab. Is that the vehicle you mean, DMP437 ?

 

I was surfing on ebaymotors and came accross this:

on a 2003 7.3 X: http://i20.ebayimg.com/01/i/07/f4/06/54_12.JPG

and this on a 2004 6.0 X: http://www.image4u.org/deanaferguson1/excursion12.jpg

It seems that since the max tow rating was upped to 11K for the 2002-2005 MY, Ford had to accomodate that rating by upgrading the hitch to a Class V; as opposed to the Class IV that came on the 2000-2001 MY X with a rating of 10K. Mystery solved.

 

So, does that mean a 2001 can have the class V reciever installed? I don't see a reason why not if it comes from the manufacturer.

 

To be perfectly honest, me either.

They probably strengthened the frame to accomodate the 11K rating in addition to the class V hitch. However, the X was probably capable of towing 11K all along. It's just that Ford was keeping it as a secret weapon in case the competition jumped out with something better; which Chevy did when they announced that the 3/4 ton 'burb was capable of towing 12K. So in order to close that gap, Ford announced that the X could now safely tow 11K for the 2002-2005 MYs. You COULD mount the class V on your X, but I think it's at your own risk. If you decide to, I'd get a bigger and better tranny cooler as that's one of the things they probably upgraded to get the rating to 11K.

 

Anyone know what they did to strengthen the chasis? After all, I thought the 6.0 Cooler came in the 6.0 motor not the 7.3. If the hitch itself is the same, why go thru all the hassle to get the different sticker??

 

Keep in mind that only certain configurations of the Excursion are rated at 11K.

Diesel 2wd and V10 2WD w/4.30 rear end.

There was no stengthening of the frame or anything else when that change came out. All they did was put on a different sticker.

 

Just putting all the info I have into one place. Hope it helps.

All of the following info was gleaned from the Ford tow books. Each year book was checked.

2000 and 2001 year Excursions have Maximum loaded
trailer weights of:

6.8L v10
Axle Ratio-------GCWR--------4X2--------4X4
3.73 ------------17000-----10000-------9600
4.30 ------------18000-----10000-------10000


2002 year Excursions have:

6.8L v10
Axle Ratio-------GCWR--------4X2--------4X4
3.73 ------------17000-----10100-------9600
4.30 ------------20000-----10500-------11000


2003 Through 2005 year Excursions have:

6.8L v10
Axle Ratio-------GCWR--------4X2--------4X4
3.73 ------------17000-----10000-------9600
4.30 ------------20000-----11000-------11000

Remember, even though the hitch sticker may say it has a Weight distributing max tow capacity of 12500lbs, and 1250 toungue weight, the published maximum allowable weight limits for hitch as installed on the Excursion are as follows: (This is valid for diesels and gas)

2000 year through 2001 year
MAX capacity-------tongue weight
10000----------------1000


2002 through 2005
MAX capacity-------tongue weight
11000----------------1100


The 2000-2002 towing books only list the maximum allowable weight for the hitch/truck combo.

The 2003 -2005 towing books list the above, but also list the maximum RATED capacity of the WD hitch.

 

As you see, changing the axle ratio changes the amount of weight you can carry or tow. The gross weight numbers are for performance and warranty issues NOT safety.
If you put a bigger ( higher rated) hitch on your vehicle, it will not preform to the standards that Ford felt most people wanted. And it is possable that something will wear out sooner or even outright fail if you take it to the limit.

 

still confused! i have a kty plant x and it says i have a class V hitch. anybody got any ideas where a person could go to find out how much tongue weight a trailer really has? who would have a scal that small to measure that much?

 

What year is your Ex?

You could go to a trailer shop or say a commercial scale and put the stand on the scale with the wheels off the scale. That will give you tongue weight.

 

Go to a truck scale & get the axle weights with the trailer hooked up. Then reweugh with just the truck. difference in the weights will tell you trailer weight, tongue weight, truck weight, & gross combined weight. All for the cost of the first scale ticket. (Reweigh's are usually free within a few min.)

 

If you go to a gravel yard or a scrapyard, you can get the thing weighed for free.

 

just looked at the hitch on my 01 limited 4x4 v10. v5. and its a factory ford hitch.

 

My 2001 2WD 7.3L is clearly marked class V with maximum rated capacity of 12,500. I never received a manual and since I was shopping boats when I bought it I specifically asked about towing capacity. The Ford dealership had no problem confirming that it was capable of routinely towing 12,500 without further modification or performance issues. They showed me an F350 dually with exactly the same hitch and motor that was rated even higher (I think it was 16k) and they explained that the excursion was capable of doing the same but that it was marked at 12,500 because of tongue weight issues and legal liability. Now maybe the dealership is full of it but they specialize in Ford trucks and at the time had two of only three X’s with 7.3’s listed in the state of FL. Either way, as long as you stay under the limits which are clearly stated on the hitch itself wouldn’t ford have 100% liability for any failure or problem it caused?