Making a hard towing Expedition
Thread Starter
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Posting Guru
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 1,079
Likes: 2
From: Fort Wayne, IN
Making a hard towing Expedition
Next year I'm going to have to start some heavy towing regularly. Weights will vary from 3,000-8,000lbs.
Truck: 2004 Expedition 4x2 Eddie Bauer, 5.4L 2v V8 stock, Flowmaster 50 series Delta Flow exhaust, HD towing package.
The only things i see on my side is it does have a HD tranny cooler, and the class IV/V trailer receiver. I have a matching class V receiver hitch to go with it (damn that was expensive
).
I know that first of all, the 4 flat trailer harness has to go. I need 7way round plus 4 flat back there. Any ideas what kind of cost it would be to have this installed?
I need a brake controller. I hear alot about Prodigy but I haven't looked into them. Any recommendations there?
I am thinking I'm going to go with a Scanguage II for monitoring unless someone knows there's something else with a better value.
Finally I'm thinking of ditching the clutch fan and going with dual 16" Troyer Performance e-fans. Would the stock electrical system be able to handle this? Do I need an alternator upgrade?
There will most likely be other issues, so bear with me as i learn all this
.
Truck: 2004 Expedition 4x2 Eddie Bauer, 5.4L 2v V8 stock, Flowmaster 50 series Delta Flow exhaust, HD towing package.
The only things i see on my side is it does have a HD tranny cooler, and the class IV/V trailer receiver. I have a matching class V receiver hitch to go with it (damn that was expensive
).I know that first of all, the 4 flat trailer harness has to go. I need 7way round plus 4 flat back there. Any ideas what kind of cost it would be to have this installed?
I need a brake controller. I hear alot about Prodigy but I haven't looked into them. Any recommendations there?
I am thinking I'm going to go with a Scanguage II for monitoring unless someone knows there's something else with a better value.
Finally I'm thinking of ditching the clutch fan and going with dual 16" Troyer Performance e-fans. Would the stock electrical system be able to handle this? Do I need an alternator upgrade?
There will most likely be other issues, so bear with me as i learn all this
.
Senior User
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 155
Likes: 0
Hi,
What gears do you have? Most have 3.73s. If you go with those 20" wheels that will decrease your effective gear ratio by a fair amount. If you are doing lots of towing I would consider changing gears to 4:10s or even higher (4:40s if available) would be required if you go with the 20s. Since it is a 4X2 it shouldn't be too expensive to do, maybe $500?
Gary
What gears do you have? Most have 3.73s. If you go with those 20" wheels that will decrease your effective gear ratio by a fair amount. If you are doing lots of towing I would consider changing gears to 4:10s or even higher (4:40s if available) would be required if you go with the 20s. Since it is a 4X2 it shouldn't be too expensive to do, maybe $500?
Gary
Senior User
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 321
Likes: 1
From: Hollywood, FL
I addition to trailer brakes I highly recommend upgrading the stock brakes. I towed a 23' boat a few times without trailer brakes. Lets just say the stock brakes did not stop me. It was comparable to just using just the e-brakes. Side story, I drove my wife's Honda Odyssey 2,000 miles last week. I jumped in my truck and after a week of driving a car with good brakes, dam near drove through the first red light I encountered! The stock brakes on the Expy leave much to be desired....
IMHO, Put on those 20" wheels and you would be a fool not to upgrade the brake system.
IMHO, Put on those 20" wheels and you would be a fool not to upgrade the brake system.
Thread Starter
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Posting Guru
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 1,079
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From: Fort Wayne, IN
Sorry, I hadn't updated that sig in awhile.
I got rid of the desire for 20's. After seeing this summer how sexy the truck is put to work i decided to forgoe the street look and go for the more agressive look. So stock 18" wheels, thinking of putting some Michelin LTX tires on soon (current tires are about out of their safe effective mileage range).
3.73 gears on this truck.
I got rid of the desire for 20's. After seeing this summer how sexy the truck is put to work i decided to forgoe the street look and go for the more agressive look. So stock 18" wheels, thinking of putting some Michelin LTX tires on soon (current tires are about out of their safe effective mileage range).
3.73 gears on this truck.
Senior User
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 155
Likes: 0
I put on Michelin AT2's and they have been great. Aggressive enough for a Colorado winter but quiet enough on the hiways. 8000 is a lot of weight to tow for an Expy. You can do it as long as you are local and not heading into high elevations. Here is Colorado the Expy loses quite a bit of power in the Rockies at 7k to 10K feet. I towed a 6K lb trailer but could barely make some of the hills!
Good luck.
Gary
PS: If you want to learn a lot about towing check out www.rv.net.
Good luck.
Gary
PS: If you want to learn a lot about towing check out www.rv.net.
Fleet Owner
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 20,634
Likes: 37
From: Lost in Pa.
I have the Michelin LTX and think there the best all around and the actual footprint is a tad wider than most ( mine are 17") and as far as the trailer harness you should be able to order from Ford and add your self come with 7pin connector and harness that plugs in underneath just forward of rear bumper, disconnect the old and install the new. As far as brake controllers I have the Prodigy and the P3 both by TEKONSHA which came highly recommended and both work well, the P3 has a nicer display and easy to understand diagnostics
Senior User
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 106
Likes: 0
Depending on the tongue weight, you might consider getting a Weight Distributing Witch (WDH). This moves the tongue weight to the front wheels of the TV and to the teailer wheels. I have been towing travel trailers for 5 years now and I would not tow without one. I also had custom coil springs made (from www.CoilSprings.com) and they really create a solid/planted feeling when towing. My springs are calibrated to add an additional 750lbs of load carrying capacity in the rear.
Anyway, get the WDH, it is a must have for safety. It will keep those front wheels properly loaded so you can actually turn in an emegency situation. If the fronts get too light you'll continue to go straight even thought the wheels are turned...very bad situation indeed!
Anyway, get the WDH, it is a must have for safety. It will keep those front wheels properly loaded so you can actually turn in an emegency situation. If the fronts get too light you'll continue to go straight even thought the wheels are turned...very bad situation indeed!
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Posting Guru
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From: Fort Wayne, IN
The cargo will be on flatbed/rail/dump trailers. Cement, bricks, dirt, and tractors. The hauling will be averages of 10 miles one way, the dump trailers will be about 30 miles one way. The tractor could go as high as 110 miles one way. The tractor weighs just over 5,200lbs with a Big Tex 14pi 16' flatbed trailer weighing 2,310lbs. It could also use a skid steer running at 4,500lbs plus the 2,300lbs trailer. The dump trailer is a big tex 70sr carrying 5,000lbs payload and weighing 2,000lbs itself. The final trailer is a 2,000lb vanguard trailer with a capacity of 5,000lbs, but I think it will rarely see over 3,000lbs.
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Thread Starter
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Posting Guru
Joined: Aug 2007
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From: Fort Wayne, IN
More Turbo
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 667
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He beat me to it, My 03' has the HD package with Both 4 and 7 pin connectors from factory. Could be true ford just slapped on the parts they had. I dunno really but I coulda swore the HD package had both standard...*shrugs*
Thread Starter
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Posting Guru
Joined: Aug 2007
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From: Fort Wayne, IN
Got some piccies
Ok to show people what I got so they can decide if I got it, here's some piccies.
Class 5 (says V-5) hitch with 8,950lb towing limit. (as per the tag i took the pic of).
Current 4-pin plus taped up blue Brake Controller Wire.
OBDII and Brake Controller Port under the steering wheel.
Wire cluster of unknown use between the driver side front and passenger door on the frame rail. I couldn't tell if the trailer wiring tied in here or not.
Transmission cooler on passenger side
Cooler on unknown use on the drivers side. I think it's for power steering.
So that's everything.
Now I also emailed troyer.
This was their reply.
Guess I'll be taking off the radiator shroud and seeing if i can measure that thing. But I may just save $$$ and go the 14" kit if it's not too much of a performance hit. I just do alot of long idles to generate power for an inverter and I want to make sure the engine doesn't overheat in 100+ weather.
Class 5 (says V-5) hitch with 8,950lb towing limit. (as per the tag i took the pic of).
Current 4-pin plus taped up blue Brake Controller Wire.
OBDII and Brake Controller Port under the steering wheel.
Wire cluster of unknown use between the driver side front and passenger door on the frame rail. I couldn't tell if the trailer wiring tied in here or not.
Transmission cooler on passenger side
Cooler on unknown use on the drivers side. I think it's for power steering.
So that's everything.
Now I also emailed troyer.
Code:
Hello, I have a 2004 Expedition Eddie Bauer with the 5.4L 2v V8. I am having a lot of people tell me that you can fit two 16” fans into the Expedition, and that you have to use 2 14” fans. Is this true? The people that said that only have 4.6L V8’s. I am very eager to get my project underway, and one of the first parts is this fan conversion. Please tell me which model I need for my truck.
Code:
Hi Casey, There are two options 1 is the 14” dual kit and the other is the 16” dual fan kit. In order to determine which (and I apologize upfront), we need the dimensions of your radiator. Fin to fin, vertical, horizontal and diagonal. This will determine which kit is right for your vehicle. Often the 16” kit will fit bit the fans need to be “staggered” on the radiator. Let us know what you have and we will work forward from there. Thanks!
Freshman User
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 33
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Ok to show people what I got so they can decide if I got it, here's some piccies.
Class 5 (says V-5) hitch with 8,950lb towing limit. (as per the tag i took the pic of).
Current 4-pin plus taped up blue Brake Controller Wire.
OBDII and Brake Controller Port under the steering wheel.
Wire cluster of unknown use between the driver side front and passenger door on the frame rail. I couldn't tell if the trailer wiring tied in here or not.
Transmission cooler on passenger side
Cooler on unknown use on the drivers side. I think it's for power steering.
So that's everything.
Now I also emailed troyer.
This was their reply.
Guess I'll be taking off the radiator shroud and seeing if i can measure that thing. But I may just save $$$ and go the 14" kit if it's not too much of a performance hit. I just do alot of long idles to generate power for an inverter and I want to make sure the engine doesn't overheat in 100+ weather.
Class 5 (says V-5) hitch with 8,950lb towing limit. (as per the tag i took the pic of).
Current 4-pin plus taped up blue Brake Controller Wire.
OBDII and Brake Controller Port under the steering wheel.
Wire cluster of unknown use between the driver side front and passenger door on the frame rail. I couldn't tell if the trailer wiring tied in here or not.
Transmission cooler on passenger side
Cooler on unknown use on the drivers side. I think it's for power steering.
So that's everything.
Now I also emailed troyer.
Code:
Hello, I have a 2004 Expedition Eddie Bauer with the 5.4L 2v V8. I am having a lot of people tell me that you can fit two 16” fans into the Expedition, and that you have to use 2 14” fans. Is this true? The people that said that only have 4.6L V8’s. I am very eager to get my project underway, and one of the first parts is this fan conversion. Please tell me which model I need for my truck.
Code:
Hi Casey, There are two options 1 is the 14” dual kit and the other is the 16” dual fan kit. In order to determine which (and I apologize upfront), we need the dimensions of your radiator. Fin to fin, vertical, horizontal and diagonal. This will determine which kit is right for your vehicle. Often the 16” kit will fit bit the fans need to be “staggered” on the radiator. Let us know what you have and we will work forward from there. Thanks!
Looks just like everything I have except for the 7 pin connector. Just an FYI...hopefully this will work for you.
eBay Motors: 99,00,01,02,03,04 F250 trailer wiring harness 7-4 pin (item 140267291480 end time Sep-21-08 18:52:40 PDT)