Trade in Expedition for Excursion?
 

Folks,

We bought a 2007 Expedition EL this past winter, then bought a new travel trailer (4100lb, 25 foot with 520lb hitch weight). We have 6 kids (most under 10). We knew we had to watch the hitch weight capacity of the truck with the kids and gear and for now will be OK. But on our first trip I was amazed at how hard the Expy had to work to tow the trailer (2800rpm to 3000rpm at 55pmh with OD off) and the gas mileage was dismal at 9mph (I think likely evey a little less). The $300 CDN gas bill for a 670km return trip was a shocker (guess it should not have been).

95% of our driving with the Expy is 10 minute drives to town or I use for work and drive about 250km max 2-3 times a week. Question is, would it be worth trading in on a diesel Excursion? We do plan on taking a couple of long haul trips to both the maritimes and British Columbia. The diesel Excursion would out perform the Expy at the gas pumps and on the hills towing, but is it really worth getting such a big rig in the Excursion when for the daily commute, the mileage would be better in the Expy, let alone short duration trips not being that great for a diesel. I wonder though, am I going to blow something in the Expy, even on a short trip, given its performance so far?

Decisions, decisions.

What you save on gas by staying with the Expedition is what you're going to spend in repair bills and then some. If you prefer the size of the Expedition over the Excursion, why not just switch over to a Navigator with the 4-valve engine! You'll get about 10% more horsepower and MPG.

I second the Navigator. My '03 Navigator pulls a 30ft 7500#(weighed at the scales before a trip out) Crossroads Cruiser, and I dont have any problems at all pulling it. Of course I wont win any races but it runs about 2500rpm at 60mph, and I get 9.1 mpg with it. (just checked that on a trip to the west side of the state) The towing was done through rolling hill area too, so not bad for such a heavy load.

So Im sure if you upgraded to a used Navigator, that you , with the lighter trailer, would get better gas milage than I do.

One note though, I did do some mods to my Navy to get better fuel milage. They are listed in my sig below, and didnt cost a whole lot of money to do either.

I'd recommend that you keep the Expedition, add a K&N filter, cold air kit, and if you really want to get fancy get a Hypertech Max Energy Power Programmer or something similar from JET, Superchips, Gale Banks etc.. and run synthetic fluids all around if you aren't already.

For that few hundred bucks you can get around 15-30 more HP and Torque, plus you can adjust the tune as you see fit for max MPG while at home, and max towing power when you haul the trailer.

In my opinion, Excursions are nice but they are awful big to drive around town every day, and the fuel mileage when you look at really it isn't all that much better. It's going to take quite a few years of increased mpg to pay for the difference in cost between the Expedition you already own and stepping up to the Excursion, plus everything on them costs more to maintain.

I've got both a 99 5.4l Expedition and an 06 Navigator. While the Navigator looks nice, I think the interior layout of the Expedition is much more functional and the carpet, seats, and interior trim seems to wear much better on the Expedition. Even the Navigators gas mileage with the fancy 6 speed trans is only 1-2mpg better than the Expedition (not very impressive when you think about it)

Either way at the end of the day, I'd say life is too short, get the car you really want (within your budget of course) and have fun with it.

I had the same situation as you about four years ago, only I had the smaller, non EL Expedition. I was also torn, as I really loved my Expedition, but decided to get an Excursion. I have never regretted the decision. You state you are concerned about the "bigger" Excursion around town, but it really is not much bigger than your EL. If you are unhappy with the towing performance, I say GO FOR IT! You will not regret it, in my experience. Keep us posted!

Just make sure you have a vehicle fits your needs. The Excursion will seat the same but you have more interior room even with the spare tire in the back. Sounds like you are maxed out when towing with the Expy. Don't forget the Excursion hasn't been made for a few years now so anything you find will have some miles, wear and tear and maybe a repair needed. The other posts are correct about the repairs. Personally, I would stay away from the 6.0L diesel engine. I am not a fan of that one with the problems they had with them and the expense to fix them. The 7.3L diesel is a good work horse but is older. The V10 is a good gas engine but dont expect fuel mileage from it. It will get about the same as your Expy when towing. Depends what you are looking for. Buy what you need, not what you "want". I say keep the Expy and try it on another trip. See if there are things that you don't need to bring with to lighten your load. Figure out how much diesel is where you live and estimate your cost. Don't forget to add the upgraded cost of a diesel in the Excursion - 4-5k more. Is it really worth the increase. In all honesty it will never pay for itself so don't expect that. Good luck.

I'm in the same boat (although with a boat & trailer instead). My 2000 Expedition isn't great for towing, especially when we have to go over a mountain pass (about twice a year). I have to drive up really slow or max it out in 2nd gear. I let it rev like that one time all the way up and got about 160 miles to my tank of gas (vs. over 300 usually!). I have test driven some of the newer f-150s (which have increased towing capacity and the newer ~30 hp increase) and wasn't impressed. Still feels like the same engine and I will be surprised if it makes any noticeable difference when going over the passes.

The other thing I've considered is to get some lower gears installed. This would cause decreased gas mileage most of the time but it will be much better for pulling. Still on the fence, but I don't think any upgrade (or move to navigator) will make a big difference. Going to a diesel or V10 excursion will definitely help. I used to have an F-350 with the V10 and with 6 people + camping gear in the back for 5 days + towing a boat which was also full to the brim with gear I literally barely noticed the load. It pulled right up to and on past the speed limit and any other cars I needed to pass (even going uphill). Gas mileage was better all around (although it was a 2005 F-350 w/0 miles on it vs my 2000 expedition w/165k miles on it).

I've been watching craigslist and autotrader for V10 excursions (or low mile 7.3 diesel ones) for months and have found none that meet my criteria: 1. relatively clean in & out (I don't mind minor repairs but I don't want to be sitting in a trash heap or campfire), and 2. relatively low miles (I am looking for < 100k but have found nothing at all with this restriction).

I may end up with a regular pick up truck instead of another SUV.

Just some ideas - I realize nothing is perfect and maybe these don't fit condition or price for you - first example is snow and rust country, but: Another interesting site is yahooautos.com.

Good luck with your options

Mike

Ford : Excursion | eBay

Ford : Excursion | eBay

Ford : Excursion | eBay

Ford : Excursion | eBay