All;
Taking a vacation next week. Towing a 25' trailer with a V10 Ex. We want to take the 101 up the coast from Santa Barabara to San Francisco with a stop in Pismo. Has anyone done this? Are there any areas where the grade challenges the Ex. I have 35" tires with 4.88 gears. Thanks for any tips.

Michael

 

you did not tell us a key fact - how much WEIGHT are you going to be towing in that box trailer ? You have 4.88 gears in your Excursion ? Hell..with that gear ratio, you could remove the V-10 or Diesel, put in a Honda Prius power-plant, and tow large locomotives AND small buildings...that's not the issue - we need to know if you have equipped your Excursion with the mechanisms to active your trailer's air brakes...

You are pulling heavy loads ? HOW HEAVY ? Hmmm..let's see - U.S. Highway 101 between Santa Barbara and San Francisco...with an Excursion that has 4.88 gears...LISTEN UP..dont you DARE try that "killer" grade out of San Luis Obispo with a pound over..oh..let's see... about TWENTY TONS or 40,000 lbs.

C'mon, guy, let's be serious ! What kind of question is this ? Are you that ill-informed on road systems ?

U.S. Highway 101 was the major north south highway on the west coast for many years ( I used to drive a truck up and down it ) until they put in the Interstate 5 east of the "Coast Range". Of COURSE it is suitable for heavy towing. And I mean HEAVY. You will still see a lot of "18 wheeler" traffic on it making local deliveries (long distance "over-the-road" traffic is now on I-5).

Question for you. Why go up 101 ? Why not have some fun, see some REAL scenery, and go up "The Kings Highway" - Calif. State Sign Route 1. You will find some of the most breath-taking views in North America. It is two lane, and yes, it is dimensioned out to 1930's standards, so there will be places where you will not feel comfortable towing much over 30 mph. But it is such a "treat" visually, I can't imagine why you'd take U.S. 101.

4.88 gears and he is worried about towing..?

 

I couldn't find a really REALLY sharp, really REALLY "mint" ulta low V-10 ( I did NOT want a diesel for reasons I noted earlier in another "thread") except in the "Limited" model, which, as most of you know, came with WAY too soft rear springs, and NO rear sway bar AND 3.73 gears, on TOP of which it has a fourth or "over-drive" gear ratio.

We just came back from taking our boat to Lake Mead. Our boat weighs about 7,000 lbs, and its heavy-duty three axle trailer weighs a good 3,000 lbs more.

With air- bags to control the riding height, a Hellwig sway bar, and standard "bar-spring" type equalizer hitch set-up, the trip was a delight. No, I couldnt keep up with the diesels on the grades coming "up the hill" to Prescott ("up the hill...to you "flat-landers", is the series of grades that take you from near sea-level at the Colorado River, up the infamous "Kingman Grade" to our favorite Chinese Restaurant at about 4,000 ft., then another 2,000 ft. to the Seligman area.).

And yes, I leave it locked out of over-drive - in third, I can go 65 mph at approx 2,500 rpm. Fuel mileage over-all works out to about 8 mpg (of interest is that the car's computer was dead accurate on the OVER-ALL fuel mileage-pulling some of the steeper grades I saw computed mileage go down to THREE mpg, and on the straight stretchs when I COULD use over-drive, up to 10 mpg.

 

101 has a lot better things to see than I-5 But like the man said Route 1 is like old 66. It's a vacation in it's self. Winding slow, and the way It used to be. And chances are ya will see more Classics on it than either of the others.

 

6686L;
If you looked at my signature you should have seen I'm not an idiot. Of course I have a brake controller. I also have airbags, good shocks, good tires, good gearing, WD hitch, EBC yellow brake pads, MagHytec diff cover with Redline synthetic gear lube, etc. I doubt that many guys spend the bucks to install 4.88’s with ARB lockers front and Rear but don’t install a $150 brake controller!

You must have a completely different V10 that I do. I think it basically sucks. I would give anything had I bought the 7.3 instead. I live right at the base of the Cajon pass and in my opinion it REALLY struggles to pull it. With the 4.88's I'm in 2nd gear at 4000+ RPM for the last section. Same thing when I’m on my way to the river or up the grades outside of Baker. I don’t understand why you would say “I can’t keep up with the diesels” towing 10K and then say I shouldn’t tow over 40K! Obviously a 25 foot tag trailer doesn't weigh 20 tons. The last time I had it weighed (loaded for a trip) it was around 8500 pounds. I would think that most 25’ travel trailers are in this range. That is why I didn’t post the weight.

What I meant was are there any sections that are particularly steep and winding or under construction or in bad condition that I should avoid. I reread my post and realized that I was not very clear. And to make matters worse I meant highway 1 not 101. We want to stop at Big Sur and the Hearst Castle.
Michael

 

http://www.dot.ca.gov/dist05/

Here is the link for Hwy 1 through the central coast. There are a few small grades (nojoqui grade) but nothing near the Cajon pass or Grapevine. You do need to stop in to Solvang, CA to eat Ableskeevers for breakfast. http://www.solvangusa.com/.
Then stop at the Madona inn to use the restrooms http://www.madonnainn.com/index.asp
You should have no problems just take it slow and easy, Hey, its a vacation right?

 

WestTNTrucker;
Thanks! We definitely plan on stopping in Solvang. I will check out the DOT link. I never thought about that! I always take it slow when the trailer is behind me. I actually obey the 55 MPH limit in CA.

What part of TN are you from? I was in Knoxville 1 week per quarter last year. I took the wife and boy on the last trip and they loved it.

Michael

 

Hi again Michael !

O.K..NOW your "post" makes sense - sort of - assuming you are unfamiliar with Calif. State Sign Route 1. Never hurts to ask questions - you are forgiven for making a typo error on the routing !

Your plan to go sight-seeing up Route 1 is a good one! Will NOT be a problem technically. There is so much rich history and scenery to see. I do NOT think your post was THAT stupid - just couldn't resist "pulling your chain", since, as you note, you gave us a wholly different route that, as you know, was THE major north-south heavy truck route in years past.

I have not pulled a trailer over the I-15 /Cajon Grade for some years now, so I cant comment intelligently about your being unhappy with V-10 towing performance at that particular point. I can tell you that I never saw my speedomoter go under 40, and never exceeded 2,800 rpm, "pulling" the grades up from the Lake Mead area (U.S. Highway 89's long up-grade to Kingman from the Temple Bar Marina cut-off - then I-40 "up the hill" to Ash Fork where we turn off for Prescott. As I noted, I have a "Limited", so I am 1) cursed with the 3.73 gears, and 2) I was pulling about a ton more than you do (see above for weights).
? ? ?

 

I live in Selmer which is in the south west part, 100 miles east of Memphis, 15 miles north of the Mississippi line. Have lived here for 13 years. I grew up in and around Ventura county in California.
Got tired of the whole mess out there and decided i was not going to raise my children out there (personal choice). Back is here is more laid back, less laws about emissions. But you cannot go down to a 7-11 at 2 am to get a hotdog. They roll the sidewalks up here at night. Traffic is more than 3 cars in line at the local burger joint.

 

typo error folks - ( just in case one or more of you knows western Arizona, and is wondering if I was sniffing some of our desert flowers....!) The highway south-east to Kingman from the Boulder Dam area turn-off to Lake Mead is NOT 89 ! I should have typed 93 ! 89 (which changes, in points, from being a U.S. Highway to a State Sign Route) is what connects us in the Prescott area up to Ash Fork.

Oh...by the way....just out of idle curiosity - this "Monsta" fellow who lives on the Hawaiin Islands??? You say "long trips"...? You referring to DRIVING from, say the "Big Island" to Maui...? Dosnt that get your Excursion a little damp ? How do you protect the sheet metal from salt water damage ? You catch many fish en-route ? What about horny whales who think your Excursion is their girl-friend..?

 

Please explain, on what information you are basing the above statement, regarding other trim levels of the Excursion having different springs than the Limited model.

Stewart

PS - Michael, I wouldn't hesitate to tow my 28' TT on 101 (or Hwy 1 for that matter) from NorCal to SoCal and back.

EDIT: I just read your post number 5 above. I am unaware of any grade issues you might encounter on 1. I must state however, that even though I've lived my whole life here on the Central Coast (born right here at the old Fort Ord) and have traveled Hwy 1 many, many times, I have never "looked" at it from a "trailering" point of view.

As for Highway conditions and restrictions, I believe you can check the Ca gov website for that info.

 

Watch out for landslides and falling rocks!!

 

RE: differences in the 2005 model of the Excursion.

Best way to double check this is FoMoCo parts books.

Obviously, major trim differences as you spend more. I personally prefer the chromed grill over my painted one. Funny, you pay more for a PAINTED grill ? Yup !

Obviously, thruout the '05 Excursion line, major suspension parts differences between the two wheel and four wheel drive versions, and transmission diff. between my V-10, and the much neater tranny the "big spenders" get with the diesel.

The difference relevant to my use, is the softer-rate REAR spring AND THE DELETION OF THE REAR SWAY BAR. I dont know this for a fact, but I PRESUME the heavier diesel engine gets a slightly higher FRONT spring "rate".

As I noted earlier, cannot imagine what FoMoCo was thinking, marketing the Excursion with that very nicely done heavy-duty rear trailer hitch and connections for trailer electrical systems, AND NO REAR SWAY BAR ? ? ?

Both my boat trailer and car trailer are set up properly (approx 10% tounge load), and in both cases, when I tried it out, the tounge weight just about SINKS the Limited down to the rear limit spring bumpers. Because the vehicle had such terrible road manners unloaded (body roll, sway, directional instablility) I didn't even bother trying to tow anything with it until my rear air bags and Hellwig sway bar arrived.

Thanks to this excellent web site, and the great comments you people provide, I knew pretty much what I was getting into, and what I needed to do to make my Ex. road-worthy for towing.

 

All;
Thanks for the replies! The wife is very excited about the trip.

WestTNTrucker, I know what you mean. I grew up in rural Ohio and the parents were from Wise county, VA. I do love the desert though, my 11 year old and I spend a lot of weekends camping and riding in the high desert.

Slayer1, that's something I didn't think of, thanks for the heads up.

Michael

 

I deliver to the coal mines in and around wise county. The product i deliver is what they use to blow up the mountain to get to the coal. (i'm not thrilled how they do it, but it's my job and it pays well. And they'll do it if i'm not around.))