My Ex had 3.73's when I had my 7500# TT. I pulled thru the Black Hills, Big Horns and Rockies with that setup...

The biggest limiter in that setup is the 4 speed trans and the wide spacing on 1st and 2nd gear...I climbed each and every hill (okay mountain) up to 9700' with that setup...I had to figure things out with her though and I posted sometime ago about my 'tricks' I used back in the mid-late summer 2006.

I changed my gearing to 4.30's this past spring after I got my heavier TT. The 4.30's as Mark says...DOES allow me to run OD more of the time...in fact a LOT more. And this summer when climbing some 5 mile long 7% grades on I-64 in W. Virginia at 70mph in 3rd gear...I KNEW why I made that change.

Would I buy another 3.73 V10...yes...for your 7500# TT there is NO ISSUE as evidenced by my travels thru some of the HIGHEST peaks we have here in the US. In the future...if you decide you want deeper gearing...for a 4x4...it will run you $1500-2000 to make that change depending on your shop. 2 wheel drives are more than 1/2 that as the rear axle is much easier.

If you CAN find a 4.30...go that way from the start...it is my opinion that the 2V V10 (the only ones the Ex got) and 4.30 make for a PERFECT match with RPM range...but the 3.73's got me to, up and back from some SERIOUS grades at some SERIOUS altitudes...I wouldn't turn one down knowing what I know now...but as I said...I had to figure out how to treat her...baby her and you will be disappointed...she likes to rev as she was designed to do...don't be shy and you will smile from ear to ear...try and save fuel...and as cptSD says...you won't be happy! I suspect many fall into that babying category...I find myself experimenting as I drive to find the right combinations...I'm a tinkerer And a happy one at that!

I suspect you WILL FIND mostly 3.73's out there from the factory...but that's just a hunch...

An interesting tid bit...when I swapped to 4.30's I actually get about 1mpg BETTER around town than I did with 3.73's...it shifts very quickly with the 4.30's...lower overall RPMs around town...I don't generally drive unloaded on the highway...so I do not have data on that configuration...sorry...

Good luck!
joe.

 

I have the 3.73's and do not have any complaints. If you want a worry free stress free drive just drop the truck out of OD keep it in 3rd. You will run all day long at 62-65mph 2500-2700rpm right at the bottom of the sweet spot. When you need a little power to pass or pull a hill just give her a little gas and she will pull all day long for ya. Dont fear the RPM's

Carl

 

Yea I was loaded heavy last summer going on a weeks long vacation vacation when I hit the scales. I ended up with 6660 on the rear trailer axles and a TW of about 1300 so I was a right up against the GVWR of the trailer. 16020 GCWR...right at the limits of my Ex.

Thanks for the compliment. We love the camper..............BUT we made a mistake of walking in a new Jayco G2 32BHDS ..OMG I love that camper. I must resist temptation.....I thought my next rig would be a 5TH or a Class A but man I am really considering trading in on the new Jayco.

Rc

 

I hear you, we love our Rockwood, then we saw the Sprinter 311bhs, huge bunk slide

 

Well I did it! Thanks to all of the great advice to everyone. I got a screamin deal on a 2005 V10 with 45000 miles on it. Fully loaded, so the kids and wife like it too. Now, just waiting to see how it tows!

 

Congrats , hope you will be as happy as I was when we got ours!!!

 

Congrats on the new ride. What was the damage?

 

Bottom line, traded my 98 Expy with 110k miles on it and not in great shape, and $15k out the door. Pretty happy with the deal, especially after looking around and comparing the shape of this one versus others priced at the $21-23k range like this one was. They offered $5k for the Expy, which is what I was offered a year ago by another dealer. I didn't want to hassle trying to fix it up to sell it, so this worked out well. The previous owners of the Excursion took great care of it and it virtually brand new.

 

Yesprofit,

CONGRATS!

Now PICTURES!!!...please!

One thing to check on the Ex...poke your head under the rear of the Ex and look just in front of the rear axle...does it have a rear sway bar?

If you have the telescoping towing mirrors...there's a very high probability that you DO have the rear sway bar...but just take a look. If not, you will want a Hellwig...which REALLY improves the towing (and non-towing) characteristics of the Ex.

Also what weight distribution hitch and sway control do you currently have? If you don't have an Equal-i-zer or Reese/Drawtite Dual Cam (DC)...I would highly recommend you getting one. They will set you back about $400 BUT the sway control characteristics are very good. When I towed my 7500# TT behind this Ex...all I had was a Hellwig rear sway bar and a DC 1200# bar WD hitch...it towed PERFECT...

Tires...make sure that there are E range tires on the Ex. At 45K...you may have different than OEM tires...don't know...at 34K...my OEM's look GREAT...so you may still have the BFG Rugged Trail T/A's...if so...they should be E's.

Tire pressure while towing I have found to be a tuning **** most overlook. Many think just run 80psi in the E's and be done...I have personally found that high tire pressure messed up my Ex's handling...I found for my situation thru trial and error at 5psi increments that 60 front and 70 rear works best for me. From a load standpoint even with my 1100-1200# tongue on the Ex...I need LESS than what I run...I used the tires to 'tune' the handling some to my liking...so my message is don't assume more is better.

You will need to now go thru the whole re-setting of your WD hitch.

If you have never seen this over on RV.net...this thread does an EXCELLENT job of walking you thru that setup procedure.

RV.Net Open Roads Forum: Towing: Travel Trailer Hitch Set-up Procedure

If you have any questions...let me know.

Congrats again...and welcome to the V10 club!

BTW...you did good on price!

joe.

 

Need a little help with adding pictures. I'm sure there is a post somewhere on here.

 

Big Congrats!
Yeah, the wife and kids will love all of the amenities... I know mine do.

It sounds like you came out pretty good on the deal - 05, 45k on the clock and out the door for $15k... Not bad, not bad at all. I paid $10k for my 01, with 114k on it... but gas was cheaper then and they were a little more pricey.

Now - one inexpensive add-in that we all seem to benefit from - a RoadMaster Active Suspension set up. Rightnow you find them on ebay for under $100 -> read up and what others are saying here RAS Thread and find them on ebay here -> ebay RAS Sale

I just installed mine a couple of weeks ago and can tell the difference empty - We go camping this weekend and ready to see how much of a difference it makes.

 

Click on 'User CP' at the top, then you'll see 'Edit Gallery' on the left side.

 

RE: Load Range E

What would you guys do if you found a nice one, but it had Pro Comp Load Range D tires? They are only rated for 100 lbs less per tire, but can not run as high of a pressure.

Be sure to check that X thoroughly. All of the trucks I have found for that cheap have had some extensive bodywork done on them. One that didn't show up on a carfax.

 

Yesprofit....
I checked the carfax on that VIN in your other post. It was a rental vehicle, which can be fine. I have owned two former rental vehicles. The one thing you should know is that unless there is a police report generated for an accident, AND carfax gathers data from that police source, an accident may not show up on carfax.

Rental agencies have their own body shops and do not claim accidents through standard insurance process like private veicles. They will fix them and send them down the line.

Buyer Beware!

 

I might have not been clear on purchase price. It was $15k out the door PLUS my trade it of my '98 Expedition with 110k miles on it. Looks pretty clean, and had the door sticker from the last purchase, which was from a local Ford dealer. One question that I have is that the last purchase listed a Ford warranty through 2011 or 75000 miles. Are these tranferrable? How can I check if it is still active? The Honda dealer I bought it from did not know (of course).