I am looking to trade my 98 3/4 Suburban for and Excursion and have a few questions. I keep reading about all the upgrades people are having to do to tow with the X and wonder if it is personal preference or necessary? My Suburban tows my 31 bunkhouse TT very well with out any mods. The only reason I am looking to trade is I am having some problems with the engine and don't want to put a bunch of money into it right now. My concern is the X will cost more than my trade and I don't want to have to put extra money into getting ready to tow, if that is the case I can fix what I have. I tow with my F350 and performs flawlessly and my hope is the X can do the same. Thanks for any info you guys can pass along.

 

if ya yanked it wif a burb, you wont have any problems with an x-the mods are improvements, not a necessity

 

pbr man,

The mods most do to an Ex are truly dependant on size of trailer.

Get much over 7500#'s OR 1000#'s on the tongue and "some" mods are needed.

First it is my opinion that no matter how much you TOW...two things that really need addressed are:

1) If the Ex does NOT have a rear sway bar, you can add one for under $180 from JCWhitney..the Hellwig...BUT hold on this for a minute...

2) Receiver hitch...earlier model Ex's had lower WD mode ratings for tongue weights...my 2005 has a 1250# WD tongue max...you should check the receiver as it will be stamped...not sure when they went from 1000 to 1100 to 1250 (I think that is how they went)...the DOWNSIDE is that there are very FEW options for aftermarket receivers for the Ex due to the fact that Ford clasifies the the receiver as a "BLOCKER" for LOWER vehicles...(this is my opinion why) aftermarket mfg's don't want to get involved in the "potential" liability lawsuits of a neon driving under the Ex and someone getting injured...

NOW...after you determine where you stand above...here's my thoughts on mods.

First the REAR springs on the Ex are REALLY soft...the underpinnings on the Ex are the SAME as an F250 and F350 SRW...axle is rated at 7000#'s AT GROUND, wheels, tires, drive shaft, etc...the DIFFERENCE are the soft springs.

To tow HEAVY requires a little help for the drooping butt of the Ex. There are a couple of ways to go. Most go AirBags to supplement the springs. This way when unloaded, you can deflate to about 10psi and return to the (cough cough) comfort ride of the stock springs. (side note here...if you go air bags, you may NOT have to do the Hellwig if you run 20psi per bag all the time...the air bags "can" reduce some of the body roll due to the soft springs and alleviate the need for the $180 for the Hellwig...end side note).

If you don't want to go airbags...you can simply have a spring shop in your area add to the leaf stack and beef up the springs...this has the advantage of once and done...BUT your ride will be harsher ALL the time...not sure how much this would cost though.

My TT is a 31' double slide (JayFlight 31BHDS) that goes 34' ball to bumper and has a GVWR of 9200...the way I load...it has a heavy tongue...so what have I done...

Well I had the Hellwig with my last TT so it is still under there but I have air bags that I will install next weekend to supplement the rear and utilize MORE of that MASSIVE axle back there.

I've also JUST upgraded my 3.73's to 4.30's...so if you are looking to BUY an Ex with a V10?...if V10 do NOT get 3.73's for heavy towing...the 4.30's mate up so much nicer to the power band of the V10. If PSD...then 3.73's are FINE.

Next brakes...the SD brake rotors for some reason are PRONE to warping...mine have had to be turned once already and I am EASY on my brakes...meaning I use lots of RPMs on the down side of a grade to keep speeds at bay...so many upgrade to cryo rotors...

Steering box on Ex's are EASY to adjust but many find them needing to be adjusted!...that's good that it is easy to do!...I've been lucky with mine...

So for me the real upgrades I did were to improve the rear springs and body roll and the gears to better utilize the V10...

The Ex is an INCREDIBLE TV...it WEIGHS more than the Burb so it is a MORE stable TV all around.

You didn't mention sway control, WD or brake controller...IMO the Equalizer and Reese DC are the minimum you should be using for a 31' TT. Sway control is not needed under 99.9% of the towing experiences on a PROPERLY loaded TT...that .1% situation in a down hill, sweeping curve, cross wind, semi passing, situation is WHERE YOU NEED IT!...and when sway happens...it is too late to go get better sway control!...so we haul around the equipment for all that time for JUST that moment. A Hensley is another EXCELLENT but EXPENSIVE choice...IMO not needed for the wheelbase (138") on the Ex as the Hensley is marketed for shorter wheel based vehicles and LONGER TT's...but that is a personal choice if you want one...they are IMPRESSIVE.

Brake controller...IMO only three choices are Prodigy, Brakesmart and Jordan...

I know I answered MORE than you asked for...sorry...

So is the Ex a WORTHY TV...YES...the interior room is incredible, the platform needs a little help to stiffen up the rear soft springs...but WELL WORTH the mods!

Plus you can pick up a V10 Ex for a lot less than a 3/4 ton 8.1L Burb...now PSD Ex's...there is a large premium over a V10...for me the 4.30's and V10 will pull most ANY TT out there up ANY hill I will encounter for just a couple MPG's LESS and a bunch $$$ LESS...but these are just my $0.02

Good luck...let me know if you have any questions on what I wrote/said.

 

What engine are you getting? psd or v-10?

 

We went from a 1999 Suburban to a 2002 Excursion and absolutely love it. Don't want to go back so I don't know what we're going to do when this Ex dies in the (hopefully) far away future. We don't tow a lot but you should have no problems. As was said above, if you pulled it with the suburban, you'll be able to pull it with the Excursion.

 

The only mods I made to tow my 7klb 28.5' travel trailer were the Hellwig sway bar (<$200) and tightening up the steering gear box. Before the mods, it was white knuckle driving, but very relaxed after. Everything else on the truck is pure stock.

I've not had my tongue weight measured ... the ball drops 3" when hitching, but rises back up 2" after engaging my Reese Dual Cam W/D hitch. So, I don't feel the need for airbags at all. Bigger trailer or more tongue weight or mountain towing, I'd swap my 3.73 gears for 4.3 and add the airbags. Since you haven't bought yet, I'd make sure to find a truck with 4.3s. (as X_Hemi_Guy said)

Good luck.

Doug

 

Yeah what they said!! I have a 1990 burb that was not up to the job not enough power, bought the X and never regreted it, still have burb its my loaner to the Kids but it had drooping butt syndrome and I had Oregon Spring retemper and add a leave to its sring pak and that was ten years ago and it still looks great. That could be done to the X but I added air bags and don't think its needed and it took out a lot of the sway( note if you do bags plumb them seperatly or with check valves so the air doesn't "roll " from side to side in corners- one bag to the other. Thats really the only must have if, big if, your easy on the throttle if you like to hammer it and be the first one up the hill then maybe gages, or at least a tranny cooler there will be lots of opinions here and most are very knowledgable, take it all in and make up your own mind. Good luck

 

Never done anything to the suspension on the Excursion, 170K miles. The other day it towed the 15K lb dump trailer pretty good. Sure it squats but so does the dually with that kind of tounge weight! Towed around 18K lbs once with the Excursion and that was a bit too much for it. Don't do too much towing with the X though, mostly small trailers under 5K lbs. The tranny is original which has isn't bad for 8,000 lbs and 170K miles.

Air bags would help with the squatting and the Hellwig would be nice.

 

[QUOTE=dougger222]. Don't do too much towing with the X though, mostly small trailers under 5K lbs. The tranny is original which has isn't bad for 8,000 lbs and 170K miles.

{/QUOTE]wow 170k on original trans!!!??? thats HUGE

 

Okay I will be 100% honest with you, many here won't like my opinion on the Ex.

1. If you are buying the Ex because of towing ability, you will tow a trailer with much more control and lack of effort if you tow with a Super Duty pick up vs. the Ex. I love my EX BUT in stock form it's all over the road with the 26' Attitude toy hauler. I am using an Equalizer hitch and it is setup correctly and I am dissapointed with the towing. Not the power though, don't get me wrong the 6.0 cruises no prob power wise! It just that when you get 8,000-10,000 pounds behind an Ex it doesn't track well while towing. I have found it very stressful while towing.

2. Modifications I have done: Fabtech dual steering stabilizer, Firestone Ride Rite air bags, and my Ex has anti sway bars front and rear. Since those additions I have towed only one time and I have to say I have seen very little difference from when it was stock. THe only real noticeable difference is that the rear does not sag as much with the air bags, the Ex still is all over the road and I am always having to put steering input in constantly to keep her staight and true.

3. Now I do have something to compare to since I have towed with my Dodge Mega Cab Cummins and it is the difference between night and day with the Ex. The Mega Cab rolls straight and true in bone stock form and I can relax while towing. But because I have 4 kids and need the room I opted for the Ex from here on...........

4. If you need the room go for it but don't expect it to tow like nothing is back there. If you are needing towing ability more than you need the room, get a Super Duty pickup all the way!!

5. Other than the towing issue the Ford Excursion is the best damn vehicle I have ever owned!! My Dodge was a cheap piece of crap even though it towed better.

6. It all comes down to towing ability vs. lots of room to stretch out.....I have also towed with an older 3/4 tonSub and while it was weaker in power and couldn't pull hills it did take the weight better as far as handling and towing feel!!

Good luck hope I did not step on any toes, just trying to be honest!!

 

scottman,

no gripes about your opinion ... kind of a "duh" if you ask me. Any 1 ton pickup ought to do better than the Ex. The 350 has less weight to haul around, for starters, and stiffer rear springs.

The only comparision the matters here is seating capacity! The 3/4 ton Suburban is the Ex's only real rival ... and the burb doesn't have the heavy duty chassis hardware the Ex has (however that 8.1L is a sweet motor!). But, living with the burb on a daily basis is a lot easier, imho.

Doug

 

Scottsman not raining on your opinion but I tow a heavy toy hauler 11K+ and do it all day with one hand and no problems mountain roads freeways straight and true,only time it sways is during push-pull when passing or being passed by a large rig. my suspension is still pretty much stock ( just airbags) . now maybe i'm just used to it but I got to say It sounds like you have a setup problem.

 

ditto with btt--all i got is a rear hellwig,but i did that for general stick to itness than for towing,i gotta 32" tt with a slide-round 9800 lbs and i aint white knuckling nuthin but my beer can

 

Well I don't know what else to do to my setup?? It's right on the money, in fact I was towing today and it's terrible how it wanders all over the road so much. I just put new tires on and that didn't help either, it handled the exact same with the original BFG rugged trails. I have my air bags @ 60 psi I re-torqued the Equalizer sway bar bolts to 47 ft lbs, which is 2 ft lbs tighter than recommended just to help with the sway even more. The Ex is sitting level in fact just a little bit high in the rear maybe by 1 inch or so. THe toy hauler is perfectly level. The weight dist hitch is distributing the weight exactly as designed and I have made a few differnet adjustments but nothing cures the constant inputs I am putting into the steering wheel! I also had the steering box tightened on 2 separate occasions by the dealer, they said my steering box is tighter than many older Ex's they have driven.
Maybe it's just that I used to tow with that 3/4 ton Dodge Mega Cab and it was solid as a rock going down the road and I just need to get used the the Ex?? I gotta make the Ex work because I need the seating that it offers. To me it almost feels dangerous how the Ex is pushed around by the toy hauler?? I don't get it??
The only other thing I may do is get the dually setup on the Ex, kind of pricey but with 4 tires on the ground in the rear I bet it would improve the Ex's stability. Make some suggestions cause I really wish this thing was rock solid and steady while towing. It is really bad when a semi passes, almost gets out of control.

 

ok this really sounds serious lets see if we can come up with something. now for sh*& and grins and I don't recomend it I had the Toy hauler out on the freeway today, loaded full tanks 65 mph and just let go of the wheel Nothing !! straight as an arrow down the freeway for a Qtr mile before she started drifting to the shoulder because of the crown of the road. now if you pass or are passed by a large rig the air displacment will push and pull as they go by. Think of it as the bow wave on a ship, it pushes in front of the ship and as it goes by the lack of mass in that space creates vacum = pull
but if your constantly all over the road?? I don't recall have you towed this trailer with a different rig ? how was that.? if its not tongue height or weight, maybe axle alignment, crabbing on you. any other ideas out there? the brother needs help