I have read a lot of discussion on the weights people have pulled and regulailty do pull, but im looking for some feedback on the Ex's performance and handeling when pulling an enclosed trailer as far as length.

I am currently trailer shopping and looking at 20-28 foot enclosed trailers. It will only be used 10-20 times a year). I will be pulling it with my 00 v10 LTD.

What are your experiences pulling enclosed trailers? Is there a huge diff in how the truck will perform/handel/manuver on the road pulling a 24ft vs a 28ft? How is it on the highway? Stable? How bad is the sway?

 

Well I tow a 32 foot toy hauler if that counts. I had a 27 foot travel trailer and I towed great. Once I got this toy hauler the sway is way out of contorl. I just bought a equilzer hitch and that should help. I hope this helps,
Nick

 

way shorter than what you're looking at but I tow a 7x16 enclosed dirt bike trailer (maybe 3-3.5k loaded) and it tows like a dream for the most part. No sway or anything to speak of... The mileage isn't great, but thats to be expected.

 

canadianfordguy,

I've towed over 11,500 miles the past two years with my Ex. I tow an RV which is obviously enclosed and high frontal load wind area. I've towed a 27' (30' ball to bumper) 7500# one thru the Black Hills, Big Horns and Rockies. I currently tug a 31' (34' ball to bumper) 9000# one and tackled the Appalachians this year.

What does it take to make the Ex tow an enclosed trailer 'well'?

As you elude to...there are differences between low profile open utility trailers and high wind profile enclosed trailers. What is good for you is that a car trailer will likely be lower overall than a travel trailer and the frontal area likely less and lower is a major PLUS.

The things to look at for your Ex (or any vehicle for that matter) to tow ANY trailer well are trailer loading and balancing. It is crucial that the trailer be in proper balance and present sufficient tongue weight. For a tag behind trailer (i.e. rear bumper area) pulled trailer, you MUST have 10-15% of the loaded weight appear as tongue weight. This has to do with the center of gravity (CG) of the trailer as well as rear overhang of the ball on the TV. Each trailer and TV will have an 'optimal' tongue weight percentage. It is a function of tire force, TT's yaw moment of inertia, distance from axles to CG and distance from CG to ball coupler. By properly choosing the location of the axles, it is possible to make the two components of coupler acceleration cancel each other. The result is zero lateral force exerted on the ball by the coupler (lateral force in my definition = sway force). That is why I said loading 'correctly' to properly locate the CG based on TV and TT configs (axle position and ball overhang) is what is critical.

What in the heck am I trying to say?...well all this is trying to say that there is no substitute for finding that 'optimal' tongue weight on any ball pulled trailer...couple that with the high side wind profile associated with an enclosed trailer and the associated yaw forces it will exert on the TV and further complicate that with the added leverage a LONGER trailer enjoys to exert that force...well you start to understand how longer heavier high profile trailers begin to affect the TV.

So...how does the Ex handle things?...well...you notice my TT is 9000# and 34' ball to bumper. My Ex is also not in 'stock' form...but I haven't made too drastic of changes either.

Do you know if you have 3.73's or 4.30's in your Ex? Depending on the weight of your trailer...if it goes much above 7500#'s IMO...you should begin to think about 4.30's if you plan on towing in areas with steep grades on a regular basis. IMO the 4.30's are the perfect gearing for towing applications on the V10. It puts the motor smack dab in the sweet spot. It isn't needed for most that stay at or below 7500#'s and for those that rarely tackle big climbs as with the 3.73's you simply lock out OD and you are fairly close in 3rd gear to the sweet spot and can tow most roads comfortably in 3rd with 3.73's. On occasion you will drop to 2nd and for REALLY STEEP grades you may find 1st...for a point of reference...this year with my 9000#'s on 7% 5 mile grades on I-64 in West Virginia/Virginia I could maintain 70MPH in 3rd at 3200RPMs...drop to 3100RPMS and I would have to drop to 2nd gear to maintain 60mph at 4200RPMs...both of which I felt were more than acceptable performance.

Next rear end. The Ex's are not the most stiff rear ends around. Ford attempted to compromise the rear end to soften it up for the 'family' use. But when they did that they created issues those of us that attempt to use a truck as a truck and TOW with are constantly fighting.

It is fairly simple (IMO) to correct what we have been given. First and foremost...poke your head up under the rear of your Ex...if you do NOT have a rear stabilizer...install a Hellwig. It really dampens body roll by tying the frame to the axle. JCWhitney sells these for $180 delivered to your door and it will take you less than 2 hours to install.

Next the rear springs themselves. Depending on how heavy you tow and how heavy your tongue weight is...will determine my next advice.

It is my opinion that if you have 1000#'s or UNDER of tongue weight...your WD hitch will sufficiently balance your tongue load...that is provided you don't have a family of 6 with 4 sons that play line on the football team!!!...if that is the case we need to talk a little off line.

But if you can manage to stay at or under 1000#'s tongue weight an Equal-i-zer hitch with 1000 or 1200# spring bars is the way to go. http://www.rvwholesalers.com/catalog/product.php?productid=268&cat=0&page=1 . Also brake controller is key...I recommend either the Prodigy or P3. I prefer the P3 for the added monitoring of the supplied current...but I have a Prodigy and am very pleased. http://www.rvwholesalers.com/catalog/product.php?productid=60&cat=6&page=1

NOW if your tongue weight is OVER 1000#'s...well that's where things will get interesting.

Your options are one of about 3 as I see it.

1) Airbags - easy to install, ~$200, provide flexibility in loading, but can and will wear out over time.

2) RoadMaster Active suspension - This is what I chose. A little harder to install as you need to unbolt your rear axle (not very hard at all), ~$300, is active in that it kicks in to add rear spring capacity as you load up the rear of the Ex. It does stiffen the rear up quite a bit...case in point...I had 850#'s in the rear cargo area and I got less than 1" of spring compression!...so it does stiff it up.

3) F250/350 spring pack - Harder to install but not impossible by any means, ~$?, stiffens the rear all the time but I don't view that as a bad thing what-so-ever.

Any of the above items can accomplish the same task in different ways. Some provide additional benefits (I believe) in that the last two also help stiffen up the rear springs to help resist axle wrapping which any leaf sprung vehicle is prone to and the larger the space block that separates the springs and axle (longer lever arm) the more prone. The Ex uses a larger spacer block with softer springs...so as the TT PUSHES on the rear of the Ex in an uneven manner...the passenger and drivers side spring packs deflect/wrap differently. Many on here swear by the LandYot Radius rods as a means to control that. I firmly beleive that the LandYots DO control that...but the do NOT add any rear spring capacity...of which I NEED as do others. So I feel that personally if someone wanted to retain the (cough cough) soft ride and only hauled people...the Radius Rods would be a good option. For those that want to drop near 1200#'s of tongue weight on the rear of the Ex...well another option is in order (IMO).

So...hopefully I haven't confused you at all.

The Ex can handle all types of enclosed trailers with relative ease...the thing to watch is the rear sway bar, proper WD hitch and depending on tongue weight...you may need to supplement the rear spring pack...oh yeah...watch your air pressure in your tires...oops...speaking of tires...make sure you have load range E tires on your Ex. I've found 60psi front and 70psi rear on my BFG E-Range tires to be optimal for towing my trailer. But my rear axle comes in at just over 5500#'s when the tongue weight is on there...so tires are important. I learned this year that more tire pressure is NOT a good thing. Use what you need for your load and if needed to 'tune' the ride/handling...go UP from there...don't assume you need MORE to start...your truck will tell you what makes for the best stability while towing...don't be afraid to experiment a little...and don't be afraid to ask some questions.

Let me know if I rambled and didn't answer your question...

joe.

 

CanadianFordGuy,

We pull a 24 foot enclosed Haulmark car trailer. When it's loaded with our 1931 Buick, the gross trailer weight is about 9500 pounds. Our Excursion is a 2000 Ltd. 4 x 4 with the 7.3 PSD. We have Michelin E rated tires on the truck and that's the only difference we have made from the original stock configuration. The trailer has an anti-sway damper on it and we have a weight distributing hitch. We load the car so that the weight distribution is mostly balanced with a slight bias toward the hitch. I had to make a little adjustment to the weight distributing hitch angle because of the higher ball location. I installed a Tekonsha Prodigy brake unit and really like it as well.

When hitched and loaded, the Excursion sits completely level and tows absolutely rock solid and I don't have any issues with sway or handling. As a matter of fact, it tows so effortlessly that I have to remind myself to allow for extra room when changing lanes and to allow for more stopping distance because you can almost forget that there is a trailer behind it.

When we purchased our enclosed trailer, it had 3500# axles under it. We had chronic tire issues and the braking wasn't very good. After 3 years, I pulled the 3500# axles out from under the trailer and replaced them with 5200# axles (both were Dexter TorFlex). This allowed for larger tires and it also increased the size of the brakes.

I also pull the same trailer with our 2000 E350 SuperDuty Econoline. It also has the 7.3 PSD and the trailering package. It doesn't quite have the pulling power of the Excursion (no intercooler) but still does a great job of towing.

Ironically, I get almost identical fuel mileage whether the trailer is loaded or empty, so wind resistance seems to be the biggest factor for fuel economy. I have one of the strap-on deflector wings and it makes about 1 -2 mpg improvement in towing mileage when I use it.

I'd recommend picking out the best trailer to suit your needs. If you project that you'll be near the maximum gross weight of the trailer, think about getting one with increased weight capacity because you'll also get larger tires and brakes. Also longer-lower profile trailers seem to pull with more stability than shorter-taller trailers (we've had a couple of friends flip theirs). After your trailer purchase, set up your weight distributing hitch properly and then give your rig a try. Then you'll find out if you need to make any modifications to your Excursion.

Hope this helps.

Bill J., Lexington, KY

 

whjco-

Where did you find the strap-on deflector wing? Is it hard to install/ easy to remove?

I have an 18' car hauler that weighs about 8.5K loaded. I haul tall off road rigs and the rear door is 7'2" tall. The overall trailer height is 9'6". Do you think the wing will help on a trailer this tall? Like you, I found little difference in mileage if the trailer was empty or loaded so the wind is a major issue.

 

I have towed a 21' 5k travel trailer and and I now tow a 29' 10k toy hauler. The 21' was a piece of cake, no wander smooth as silk.........THe 29' 10k toy hauler was all over the road, the 6.0 diesel handled it no prob but the Ex was horrible! So I installed air bags adjusted the tire PSI front to 65 and rear to 80 adjusted the Equalizer hitch a lot and got it improved a ton!! I still wouldn't say it tows good, I would say it tows OK, it's not dangerous like it was at first!

You gotta have the Firestone Ride Rite airbags, and a weight distribution hitch! I also installed a dual steering stabilizer for the wandering. Those things are a must. You also have to have the trailer tounge weight almost perfect for no wandering!! Once it's dialed in though it tows the weight....

 

whjco makes a good point...that I should have been more clear on...LENGTH does play a big part in the 'push' effect. A 9000# 34' ball to bumper travel trailer will impart more 'effective' PUSH on the Ex than a 27' ball to bumper 9500# car hauler. The distance from the ball coupler to the rear axle on the Ex is the same in both cases...what is different is the distance from the ball coupler to the trailer axles...the longer the lever the more it can 'push'. Think about how you multiply your force when 'prying' a boulder...a longer 2x4 really helps you lift a heavy rock. A shorty 2x4 means more man strength...that longer 2x4 gives you mechanical 'advantage'!

So Bill is right on in his assessment...I didn't cover that very clearly...I tend to think larger RV's and their high wind load...my RV is 11' to the top of my A/C unit and about 10' to the top of the wind wall frontal area. So wind resistance coupled with a long lever really tends to push around the softer rear of our Ex's...a shorter lever does NOT enjoy the advantage.

So to the OP...stick with the stoutest but shortest enclosed trailer you can find to reduce some of the trailering issues many Ex owners have fought.

If you were to do a search on 'wander' or 'rear-steer' or 'sway' on this forum...you would have your night full of reading...

Good luck,
joe.

 

Wow. Thanks for the great responses and feedback. I have to admit i spent a good 3 hours last night reading feedback on hitch, suspension setup, tires...its all so new to me, but SO MUCH great info here!

Being a new excursion owner i dont want to get caught up in the "my truck is the biggest ..therefore it can do anything" mindset. I'm happy it will do what I need, but i want to ensure i do it safely and properly.

For the trailers there is not a huge difference in price between the 24 and 28 so im have a hard time making the call as to just getting the larger trailer.

As far as countering the weight distribution x hemi guy spoke about.....does anyone have feedback about the equalizer hitch?? Is this the best option for hitches?

I'm fortunate enough to have the 4.3 rear, but wont be doing a huge amount of towing or any hauls over 4-5 hours.

I currently have D load tires..are the E load tires required?

Thank you very much to X hemi guy and whjco for the detailed replies.

 

I would recomend the Reese Dual Cam W/D sway control system (Reese Straight Line) it keeps my 8500lb 35ft. TT directly behind my X. no sway and plenty of power.

 

I towed my 27' TT with a DC as 1 Ex camper does now and many do. It is an extremely effective WD and sway control hitch. I linked to the Equal-i-zer only for one reason. It is a little less expensive (for spring bars OVER 1000#'s) and it is IMO easier to set up depending on the trailer configuration. A top ball mounted coupler and a thick frame can produce clearance issues on the spring bars and cam lobes or spring bars (trunion style) and frame. Tight backing maneuvers up or down compound angles are worse...I had a challenging setup on my old TT but it wasn't something I couldn't solve...just took some time...so I usually recommend the Equal-i-zer ONLY because of setup issues (not that it doesn't have its own characteristics). BOTH are very effective in what they do.

You are INDEED fortunate to already have the 4.30's...they make all the difference in the world behind the V10!...most people have never experienced the shear grunt a gas motor has to offer...you have!

Not required IMO unless you load your rear axle ABOVE 5400#'s when hitched (the max load 'usually' on D range tires to make sure what the MAX load rating in #'s or Kg's is). My rear axle when loaded with my TT goes over 5500...so for me the E range IS required. A trip to the scale after loading will let you know if you need to upgrade the tires. E range tires 'generally' will get you a stiffer side wall to resist tire induced sway...but I would not say required for your application unless you exceed the load ratings on the E. In fact I only run 70psi in the rears of my Ex and 60 in the fronts...so I'm well BELOW max pressure...I've found (and posted) that higher pressures in the tires of my Ex cause BAD handling characteristics...

You are quite welcome. This truly is a great forum for information. Each of us has something to contribute and I enjoy the open and civil discussions here. I have learned a bunch from the folks that frequent this forum. I enjoy to share what I have learned in the way of trailer WD setups and different tricks for our 'beasts'!

Good luck and don't be afraid to ask questions!

joe

 

The load E tires aren't necessarily a requirement, but I would say that they are a good idea. Figure it as they are built tougher and designed to withstand a heavier load. Would you really want one of your rear tires blowing out on you while you're towing? Sure, you could probably handle it fine, but if you were in a situation where your control wasn't that great, that could be the difference between making it with sweat on your brow and flipping your whole setup over. I have known people who had load D tires on their trucks and, even towing a normal load, the tires blew out on them. If you're talking about a pretty heavy load, then why risk it?

I haven't towed anything with my Excursion, but a few general bits of advice: As has been stated, your balance is of great importance. If you have the center of gravity of the trailer too far back, this can create an unpleasant sway situation. This has happened to me more than once, generally in situations where the car was missing an engine or there was some other issue where the weight wasn't far enough in front of the trailer axles, etc. Even if this happens, you can usually be fine so long as you keep your speed slow enough, but it's unsafe and you don't want to be driving like that.

I've never used a WD hitch, but everyone I've talked to who's used them swears by them. So, it's probably worth considering.

HAVE A GOOD BRAKE CONTROLLER! I use a Tekonsha Prodigy, and have installed it in 4 trucks, it's always been great. Everyone has their own preferences, but make sure you have a good brake controller that is properly adjusted. One of the things I like about the Prodigy is that it has a convenient manual switch, so that you can always manually choose how much braking force goes to the trailer, if you get in a situation where you suddenly realize that you didn't have enough. Brakes are very important with a trailer.

You probably don't need to go right ahead and do any upgrades (other than the tires, I would put Load E tires on). Once you get the trailer that fits your needs, you can figure out pretty quickly if you'll need to make any changes. I'd do them at that point.

 

I tow a 31' Airstream TT, I also like the Prodgy Controller, and cold not tow without the Reese weight distribution hitch set up. Mine is an older set but works really well.
I find the rig stable and tows smooth. Braking is no problem.
Just getting into and out of some of the smaller gas stations is a real challenge.

 

CanadianFordGuy,

Yes, you absolutely want both a weight distributing hitch and an electric brake unit on your Excursion if you're pulling a trailer of the size you're proposing to purchase. I've got a Valley Tow Rite distributing hitch that I bought back in 1988 that I have used on several trailers and it works great. I'm sure that there are some more modern type distributing hitches available now, but I absolutely wouldn't tow a large trailer without one. As I said in my earlier post, I have a Tekonsha Prodigy brake unit and love it. It took less than 1/2 hour to install using the Ford supplied pigtail brake connection.

Also, your new trailer will undoubtedly come with an emergency break-away battery/brake. If by some slim chance it doesn't have one of these, you'll want to add it. I had a friend of mine who was saved by his when someone stole the pin out of the receiver of his 2" distributing hitch. He made it about 400 miles and was exiting the Interstate when the trailer brakes applied hard enough to pull the hitch out of the receiver. The breakaway brakes set up holding tension on his safety chains and he was able to safely stop the rig.

My Excursion had D rated BF Goodrich A/T's on it when I purchased it. They were nice tires, but a little noisy and the wet road traction wasn't very good. I sold them and installed Michelin M/S E rated all season radials and they're great. The ride is quiet and smooth and the wet weather traction is excellent. The E rated tires have more substantial side-wall construction which will hold up better when towing. We had an E250 Econoline van for which we purchased D rated tires because the van was well within the weight rating of the tires and they were less expensive. The van was actually unsafe and unstable and waddled all over the road, so two days later we had them remove the D rated tires and put E rated and that fixed the problem. You can also run higher rear tire air pressure (up to 80 psi) on E tires when towing which will result in less side-wall flexing and heat which is a destroyer of tires. I fully agree with FordCrusher's advice.

As for the trailer size itself, I don't know what use you're planning for your trailer, but I pull a 24' trailer and it's been more than adequate for my antique cars, supplies and luggage. A 24' trailer is certainly lighter than a 28' and will be more maneuverable around the fuel pumps and will fit better into those RV/Bus parking places at in-route restaurants, etc.

As to the removable wind wing, I bought ours 12 years ago from JC Whitney. Any wind wing that will either raise the slip stream above the trailer or create turbulence thus keeping static air from slamming into the blunt front of your trailer will help with both performance and fuel economy. This is why most of the road tractors pulling box trailers now have deflectors mounted on the top of their cabs.

One other safety tip is to replace your trailer tires roughly every four years regardless of use and tread thickness. These tires are subject to more heat and side-wall stress, particularly during tight turns. Heat, sunlight and ozone break them down and I've had two belt separation failures that resulted in the complete loss of the fenders on the trailer, one on each side (in two separate incidents). I'm religious about maintaining proper tire inflation pressures and the tires were not overloaded. They failed due to age-related mechanical belt separation within the tire. These were also the proper "ST" type tire that should be used on trailers.

Your V10 Excursion is a capable vehicle that will be an absolute beast when towing. I think you'll be amazed at how effortless it will handle your new trailer!

Bill J., Lexington, KY

 

HI I am Considering an Ex as I am expecting a 4th kid and the excab truck wont seat us all, 6 with wife, we currently have a 94 F250 ex cab Dually conversion with front captains chairs so only seats 5, it does have the big 460 gasser and a beefed up E4OD tranny with a tugger kit installed, and 355 rears yeah I said 355, LOL and I have been impressed with the way it tows, obviously not the fuel mileage but the fact that I have 0 sway problems, or any thing like that, I Had a suburban when I bought my current TT wich is a 33' with two large slides, and weighs in at about 8500#s emty, 9000-10000 depending on how its loaded and if the tanks are emty or full, with a 12500 GVRW on the trailer, how ever I have never loaded it that heavy, the suburban was a joke, let me say with a 20ft boat the suburban towed out standing and had a supposed 9000-10500 rating depending on configuration, first off the tounge of this camper set the burb on the blocks, so I added wt. dist. hitch well leveled it and just off the blocks but the rig swayed like crazy, so I added sway bar, helped a touch, then coil rite air suspension, and helped a bit too, then I dumped the burb and got the current ford f250, and let me tell you Just sitting on the ball no sway bar or spring bars installed, it pulls like a semi, no sway straight as an arrow, my question here is and the opinions I am trying to get is that towing a large travel trailer with slides and 28-35 ft over all length and 8500-11000 pounds range, with the Excursion and towing experience with other rigs where would you rate it, dont want to buy it and find out after wards the the 11000 pound rating is like the suburban and not realistic. thanks for your input.