Towing

Hey everyone,
i was recently given a boat and i would just like to know if the explorer could pull this one. What class hitch would i need to get installed? and what is the weight that the explorer can pull??

 

[gijoecam]

jUST HAD TO CHIME IN AFTER READING ALL THIS...
For GIJoe and JRowe the fifth wheel is NOT mounted directly over the rear axle. Having been present for several professional installations of Gooseneck and fifth-wheel mounts on our farm trucks, as well as pulling several loads with all sorts of tow vehicles, the proper mounting of a gooseneck ball and/or fifth wheel center is slightly foreward of the centerline of the rear axle.

Not always... I have several coworkers that have 5th wheel and goose neck hitches installed in their beds. Due to the design of that particular run of Fords, the hitch actually has to go just aft of the axle centerline to for the mounting bolts to clear one of the fuel lines. That seems to be unique to their particular trucks though. I would agree that in general, it *should* be slightly in front of the axle centerline to provide some additional weight distribution to the front end, but in some cases, it's just not possible or practical (thinking crew cab, short bed, with a 5th wheel camper).

Oh, and my handwriting looks worse near the end because my hand was starting to cramp up. It's been a while since I had to write out two pages of problems at a time... Been out of school for too long, apparently.

 

[LVmounty]

I say give that one back!

 

[jrford]

i've been reading this with interest, great info and maybe someone can answer if this is doable or not,

thinking a '09 Sport Trac V8/AWD crew cab, ultra short bed, 7k tow 1,390lbs payload.
towing
a very small 5th wheel camper goose-neck (total weight 3k/ 300lbs tong weight).

just guessing, to do this, the hitch would have to be at the end of the bed mounted to the box frame directly, due the short bed moving the hitch over the axle the 5th wheel wouldn't clear the cab. i've found hitches that actually adjust based on a cam system during turns. . .

Yea a F150 would be great but 350 days out of the year it wouldn't be towing, might be a little over kill. . .A Ranger is ideal for the size and weight but no crew cab thus Explorer Sport trac.

any thoughts or ideas?

 

[jonlax]

The sport track might be your best bet. I would just make sure the bed sides and tail gate are not too tall. Could cause some damage if not the right size. Also come to think about it i have never seen a sports track with a 5th wheel, EVER!

Make sure it has brakes or you will have problems. Also remember that 1390 pay load is with out towing something. If your towing something you need to figure that into the equation or you could end up in some serious doo doo down the road.

Jon

 

[Al from SC]

gijoe came up with something that looks like one of the statics problems I give my students. Maybe there is a purpose to that.

 

[sjdowlin]

That's a BIG, HEAVY boat. I think you are going to be outmatched in just about any Explorer.

 

[jrford]

The sport track might be your best bet. I would just make sure the bed sides and tail gate are not too tall. Could cause some damage if not the right size. Also come to think about it i have never seen a sports track with a 5th wheel, EVERJon

i haven't either, i wonder if if just not doable or i'm just
. . .been looking at hitches there are options. . . .bed sides might be an issue tail gate can come off, but the bed might be too short to fit a hitch; i just can't back ST up and compare.

kinda of thinking it would be an ideal 'green' camping setup, instead of 8mpg maybe 12mpg and it would be still fun to drive the rest of the year. .

 

[gijoecam]

i've been reading this with interest, great info and maybe someone can answer if this is doable or not,

thinking a '09 Sport Trac V8/AWD crew cab, ultra short bed, 7k tow 1,390lbs payload.
towing
a very small 5th wheel camper goose-neck (total weight 3k/ 300lbs tong weight).

just guessing, to do this, the hitch would have to be at the end of the bed mounted to the box frame directly, due the short bed moving the hitch over the axle the 5th wheel wouldn't clear the cab. i've found hitches that actually adjust based on a cam system during turns. . .

Yea a F150 would be great but 350 days out of the year it wouldn't be towing, might be a little over kill. . .A Ranger is ideal for the size and weight but no crew cab thus Explorer Sport trac.

any thoughts or ideas?

I probably wouldn't recommend it, though I've seen stranger things... I saw a guy a few years back with a camper about like that pulling it with a standard cab, manual trans, 4-cylinder Ranger.... Talk about over the capacity!

(on a side note, what kind of camper is it that's a 5th wheel, but only 3000 lbs gross?? My popup weighs more than that!!)

As you realized, your biggest problem probably won't be the weight or the size, but how to attach a 5th wheel to a stubby Sport-Trac bed. IMHO, the Sport-Trac just isn't designed for that... I'm not sure how the stability control programming would react either. IMHO, it's just not the right tool for that sort of trailer.

That's a BIG, HEAVY boat. I think you are going to be outmatched in just about any Explorer.

Just depends... Looks can be deceiving... I've posted pics of my Ex pulling my last boat... a 26' Bayliner. (and it was within the specs for the truck... by 50 lbs exactly!!)

i haven't either, i wonder if if just not doable or i'm just
. . .been looking at hitches there are options. . . .bed sides might be an issue tail gate can come off, but the bed might be too short to fit a hitch; i just can't back ST up and compare.

kinda of thinking it would be an ideal 'green' camping setup, instead of 8mpg maybe 12mpg and it would be still fun to drive the rest of the year. .

I wouldn't expect much more mileage than 8-12 even towing with a sport-trac. Wind resistance is going to be a major enemy, and I would think that's about all you'd get. My 10-year-old F-150 gets 14-16 when towing (depending on the terrain) and 18-20 empty most tanks. (I've squeaked 22mpg out of it, driving from Albion, RI to Trenton, MI on just two tanks of gas). I wouldn't call it miserly, but it's respectable. If fuel mileage is the only concern, I vote for the full size truck!

gijoe came up with something that looks like one of the statics problems I give my students. Maybe there is a purpose to that.

I guess I did learn a thing or two in that class... Statics was when engineering school got FUN!!

 

[jrford]

the small 5th wheel is a scamp, don't know these guys, just saw one driving down the road. . .http://www.scamptrailers.com/Showroom/19FifthWheelTrailers.aspx

i'm starting to justify the f150 super crew . . . .BUT thinking the sport trac comes with AWD (viscous) and the V8 which i like a lot on my Ex, also its better for wifey no levers. . .etc. and the adreneline looks better imho than the F150.

ST - 4.6L SOHC V8/Automatic (AWD), 3.55, GCWR 12000, tow 6,990, load 1,390
V8 - (SAE net@rpm) 292 @ 5,700 and (lb. ft. @ rpm) 315 @ 4,000 mated to the 6speed and the BW4410 AWD.

maybe back to reality and the full size . . .

 

[gijoecam]

You're going to run into the same problem with a SuperCrew as you would with a SportTrac... The short bed makes for tight cab-cornering clearance. Depending on the camper, you might be able to get away with it if you used a sliding 5th wheel hitch like you mentioned... But it'll drag a 3000lb camper around all day long and never break a sweat. Yes, you lose some of the convenience of the AWD on the ST, but aside from weather like we had this morning, how often is AWD really that much more useful than a 4wd system with one switch to flip?

Also, skimming through the factory service manuals for the '10 model year, it appears that *some* F-150s *may* be available with a one-speed 2wd/awd/4wd selectable transfer case. I've not seen it on an F150 (which makes me wonder what combination of powertrain/drivetrain it needs to be optioned that way?) but I'm probably the last to know about it. Might make for a viable option...

(looking at the details a little closer, it appears to function like the 4auto mode of the second-gen V-6 Explorers, not as a true mechanical single-speed AWD like the V-8's came with)

-Joe

 

[gijoecam]

Just finally looked at the trailer... On closer inspection, it shows a 400lb pin weight, and the goose neck extension. Even after loading it (being careful to maintain a good weight balance) it might be do-able with the ST... The goose neck extension looks to put the front of the camper a good foot or 18" behind the connection point. That, combined with the radius on the front of it, might just clear the cab of a ST under all but the most extreme cornering/incline conditions. In the video they have on their site, they actually show it being towed by a 2wd Ranger that appears to be a short-bed standard cab.

I'd be curious to get up underneath one with an ST... Given the design of their trailer, I'm starting to wonder if it might be possible after all?

 

[jonlax]

Just finally looked at the trailer... On closer inspection, it shows a 400lb pin weight, and the goose neck extension. Even after loading it (being careful to maintain a good weight balance) it might be do-able with the ST... The goose neck extension looks to put the front of the camper a good foot or 18" behind the connection point. That, combined with the radius on the front of it, might just clear the cab of a ST under all but the most extreme cornering/incline conditions. In the video they have on their site, they actually show it being towed by a 2wd Ranger that appears to be a short-bed standard cab.

I'd be curious to get up underneath one with an ST... Given the design of their trailer, I'm starting to wonder if it might be possible after all?

Joe does it clear the sides of the ST?

The new ST bed sides are HIGH!

Can't look at movies or pictures on this computer so i cant tell. I know a guy that had the same problem on his new F150 because the sides were too tall. He ended up taking it back to the dealer to get a 250.

 

[gijoecam]

I don't know about the ST... The one they were pulling it with was probably a late-90s Ranger... The added height of the sides on a ST seems like it shouldn't be too difficult to deal with... a slightly longer goose neck on the trailer would probably fix that...

 

[jrford]

Thanks for the feedback and ideas. . .
I pulled this from the owners manual of scamp,
"5th Wheel - 40 inches to top of Ball, If the sides of the truck are higher than 48" a raised Axle may be necessary. . . .Hitch cannot be more than 60" from the corner of the bumper."

attached is a pic of it, i hope they don't mind. . .