The wife and I towed with our 01 XLT 4.0 SOHC and 4.10 geared towing package equipped Explorer about 2500 lbs from Seattle to Durham NC in the middle of Jan.. absolutely no problems with the Ex, plenty of power going over the Montana Rockies. It would shift from OD to 4th then the torque converter would lock back up and we'd continute up the steeper hills at 70 mph..

anyone that says you need a V8 to tow with, hasn't towed with the towing package equipped 4.0 SOHC's...

Amen. We tow my son'd Jeep on a flat bed trailer behind my SOHC quite often with no problems.

Just curious: what mileage did you get? Mine goes South when towing.

mileage was horrid, between 12 to 15 mpg. U Haul said it was a 4 door Taurus that towed it(in reality we used my brothers Ranger to rent the trailer then hooked it to my Ex for the trip across the country) it was a 5x8 single axle that was completely filled, and the back of the Ex was full with about 1.5" of rear suspension travel available with the tongue weight of the trailer on it..

I get between 18 and 19 towing the Jeep.

Well my dad has to have the 5.0 to tow 5400 lbs of boat + trailer. He gets like 11 mpg pulling it.

Isn't the V6 max around 3500 lbs?

I pull just under 6000 with the trailer and B2 and always average about 11 MPG. Never had a problem except for those long gradual grades. The most mph I have ever lost on a hill is 15. Its the tranny you have to worry about, not the HP.;)

.

The 4.10 axle makes all the difference towing. However, there is not much air drag/frontal area with a U-Haul. The 4.10 is a great towing axle!

Hook up to a square frontal travel trailer and it will be like dragging a large heavy piece of plywood down the road. Then you will see a big difference in gas milage, regarding of tow vehicle.- Mike

Originally posted by C5 Pewter Coupe
It would shift from OD to 4th then the torque converter would lock back up and we'd continute up the steeper hills at 70 mph

My understanding, limited that it is, is that OD is supposed to be locked out when towing. Apparently you had no problems towing in OD?

T113

I tow in OD most of the time.

Originally posted by MikeTEC
The 4.10 axle makes all the difference towing. However, there is not much air drag/frontal area with a U-Haul. The 4.10 is a great towing axle!

Hook up to a square frontal travel trailer and it will be like dragging a large heavy piece of plywood down the road. Then you will see a big difference in gas milage, regarding of tow vehicle.- Mike


Ha, Ha I tow this thing in the summer time which approximates your heavy piece of plywood. It weighs approx 1800 empty, 2200 - 2500 loaded with camping gear and water in the 30 gal tank. I have gotten 10mpg on two different trips while traveling 60 -65 on slight uphill grades. The climb from Sac to this site at Ice House Reservoir is about 5200 feet elevation change in about 60 miles. When the "Check Gage" light comes on to indicate that the fuel is low, I take it seriously. ;)

Dogfriend: And the trailer in your pic has more of a rounded front, which facilitates air drag.

My wife and I have been towing travel trailers 35 plus years. Hook up a typical 18'-23' travel trailer that has a square front which weights 4k-5k lbs, loaded, plus gear in your explorer and you will REALLY notice your gas gausge in "free fall".

Mike

LMAO, look at dogfriend's passenger window, the dog is thinking c'mon get in the truck, i can not feel the wind!!!

Well since everyone is posting pics.....

http://mywebpage.netscape.com/JL%203x12%20Xplorer/ready+to+tow.jpg

Originally posted by trooper113
My understanding, limited that it is, is that OD is supposed to be locked out when towing. Apparently you had no problems towing in OD?

T113

Didn't have any problems in OD.. when I had to slow down to under 60(not too often) I'd take it out of OD, but normally just left it in..

Originally posted by JL 3x12 Xplorer
Well since everyone is posting pics.....


holysnikes...that boat makes your explorer look like a toy car

MAN how well does that X pull the boat out of the water? The ramps around me are steep as hell

LOL...I am king of towing with explorers...I once had to tow a double car hauler, with 2 cars on it, probably somewhere in the neighborhood of 8000 + lbs, with the 91...it towed it okay, but was definatly stressing it a little...I didnt take any pics tho :( Luckily I only had to tow that rig about 30 miles, and I think I got somewhere around 7-8mpg doing it. Most I have towed with the '97 was my Corvair project car on a fairly light trailer, probably somewhere around 4000 lbs. Averaged about 14mpg with this. And I have a pic so ill post it...

Originally posted by TheRookie
MAN how well does that X pull the boat out of the water? The ramps around me are steep as hell

It does alright, its AWD and has the 3.73 LS rear end.

Why the &*() are you guys pulling a trailor in OD. That is the quickest way to burn the transmissoin up even if you are geared at 4.10.

Impressive. If you pull any distances, you might consider some air bags, helper springs, or a weight distribution hitch to help with sag on the rear.

A weight distribution hitch distributes the rear hitch weight, takes it off the rear axle and spreads it evenly to all four vehicle wheels and the trailer wheels. Plus it will keep your headlights aimed properly and help with overall control.


You did not mention trailer brakes, but I presume you have some. If not, you will have a situation where your load is heavier than the vehicle, resulting in a condition called " tail is wagging the dog" and the load actually pushing the tow vehicle. Nice Explorers and boats!

Hey everyone. Great topic. I do not want to take sides, but, once you tow with the V8, you wont go back. My brothers V6 worked fine. For me, the ratio of the limit to what you can tow vs. what you are actually towing makes me feel less stressed when towing a 4000 boat.

Trailer brakes are a must. Period. I usually tow with the truck in OD until I come to a hill or incline in the road, then I pull it out. If it is a light trailer (less than 1000 lbs) I just leave it in OD all the time, and the tranny will downshift when it needs to.

Oh and I usually use the instant MPG feature built into the trucks console computer to let me know when to pull it out of OD. If the MPG drop below 11mpg, I know that the engine is starting to lug, and I hit the button...Handy trick for you guyys that have the console computer...

Originally posted by plrs x45
Hey everyone. Great topic. I do not want to take sides, but, once you tow with the V8, you wont go back. My brothers V6 worked fine. For me, the ratio of the limit to what you can tow vs. what you are actually towing makes me feel less stressed when towing a 4000 boat. I have to agree. I have both v6 and v8 Explorers. And I have towed heavy loads with both. The v8 has way better torque.

Eventhough the my v8 Explorer can tow better, I'm still modifying it to make sure I don't run the engine and tranny into the ground doing it.
Things I've already done:
Tekonsha Electric Brake Controller
Weight Distributing Hitch
Aux Tranny Filter
Tranny Temp Gauge
Water Temp Gauge
B&M Super Tranny Cooler - in addition to the stock tranny cooler

Future mods:
4.10 gears
Add a Perma-Cool 8" fan to the B&M tranny cooler with a manual switch
Catback Performance Exhaust
Headers
E-303 cam
Oil Pressure Gauge
Things I'm considering:
Air springs - I have the load leveling air shocks, but I wonder how long they will last.
Air hitch
Engine Oil Cooler
Slotted Brake Rotors

talking with the wife today, and for our next tow vehicle, we won't have any of these worries.. going to get in about a year, either a F150 King Ranch or the Lincoln Mark LT(dressed up F150) with the 3 valve 5.4 SOHC..

I hope you guys who are towing in OD are changing your tranny fluid often

Mmm... V8 power :p


http://www.explorerforum.com/data/503/10114image004.jpg

well the boat is not offocially hooked up to the truck, but you get the idea :D

http://images.cardomain.com/member_images/1/web/445000-445999/445913_4_full.jpg

I have been towing my Mustang for 6 months now which adds up to be around 4300#'s with the trailer. Im doing this with a 97 SOHC w/3.55 gears, 2 tranny coolers, and electric brakes. No problems yet. If im on the highway cruising at 70 with no big hills ill put it in OD till a big hill comes around.

Well, this weekend was the first time towing my Sport Trac with my Limited for a long distance. We went from my Mom's house in Las Cruces, NM to home here in Houston, TX. Which was about a 760 mile trip. It went really well. Like I've said, the v8 has torque! There were plenty of hills on I-10 where the tranny didn't even have to downshift to pull the hill. Keeping it between 65 and 70 was not a problem on the hills.
Only a few hills required getting the tranny to downshift to 2nd gear. On those hills that required 2nd gear, the tranny temp gauge would start climbing until I kicked it in 2nd. Then it would start to go back down.

I do know now that I still need to add the puller fan. When we started hitting more stop and go traffic when we got closer to home, the tranny temp gauge would go up around 180 until we got back up to cruisin speed.

Since my last post I have added a performance catback exhaust and headers are on their way.
The next priority mods will be the puller fan and 4.10 gears.

We stopped in Fredericksberg, TX for lunch on Monday. And this old church made for a good photo op. :D
http://www.explorerforum.com/data/2/410702160006.JPG