A little towing insight please?

[smushicollects]

Hi there!
So, I've been creeping on this forum for years and well, finally, I've found myself needing to post and ask for help! It's came in handy when it came to our Mountaineer (which made it to a whopping 432,000 miles), but that aside; I recently purchased a 2005 Ford Explorer XLT - transmission's been changed, alternators new, and I've just swapped out the brakes. It is a rear drive vehicle with 4X4.

I have a 1994 Jayco King Series 6 Pop Up Tent Camper that measures at 14 feet when closed. We're planning a two hour get away to the Thousand Islands and maybe later on in the summer a cross country road trip. It weighs about 1925lbs and I've never towed with one of these before and would like some insight. My father suggested to only hit the 4x4 when needed but that it should be smooth sailing as long as I don't speed or take any sharp curves without reducing first.

I've gone camping before and seen some people with PUPs and Explorers and they seem fine. While I've read in other forums that it's risky and dangerous. What are some tips? What about braking and sway? What are your suggestions?

Some side info:
- Previous owner drove it cross country and proudly showed off how he's also explored all of the north eastern side of the USA. Thus, proving she's reliable. Plus, NYS requires inspections of all vehicles so that helped to see it was current.
- I've pulled the pop up camper in our drive way to adjust it and it was very smooth. Barely felt it tug. I was honestly impressed
- I'm a pretty skilled driver and quite mechanics savvy so don't be afraid to break it down.
- It has already a towing package attached - so it's a hitch, plug in and go.
- Looking into a pick up truck is right out of the question. It's not happening. My husband won't allow me to purchase another vehicle when we have four already in the lot!

 

[Mbrooks420]

Your biggest issue will be the crappy transmission. Add the largest cooler you can fit in front of the condenser, and if its hilly keep the OD off. 2,500 pounds isn’t that bad, and since it’s out of the wind it’ll pull fairly easy.

I’d change every fluid before setting off.

 

[fordysenior]

You don't say what engine size you got, but mine is a 4.6L with factory tow package and it's rated at 6980 lbs for towing. I don't know if yours is a factory package or not.
You say you have a rear wheel drive with 4x4 -- mine is a 4x4 also. On the dash, there are 3 switches -- "4wd Auto", "4wd high", & "4wd low". The 4wd auto is the standard to drive around in -- it's more like an AWD vehicle then. And that makes these things very sensitive to tire issues if they don't match.
You've read in other forums it's risky -- maybe people are thinking of the old Ford recall when towing U-hauls. And the recall seemed to be based on certain tire manufacturers. It was in the late 90's.
I've towed a nissan pickup up a long freeway hill past a ski resort and passed people with no problem. I did 65 the whole way.
If you do have a 4.6L, check this link out to make sure it won't be a problem -- Have a 4.6L? Here's a problem I bet you all have...

 

[Mbrooks420]

You don't say what engine size you got, but mine is a 4.6L with factory tow package and it's rated at 6980 lbs for towing. I don't know if yours is a factory package or not.
You say you have a rear wheel drive with 4x4 -- mine is a 4x4 also. On the dash, there are 3 switches -- "4wd Auto", "4wd high", & "4wd low". The 4wd auto is the standard to drive around in -- it's more like an AWD vehicle then. And that makes these things very sensitive to tire issues if they don't match.
You've read in other forums it's risky -- maybe people are thinking of the old Ford recall when towing U-hauls. And the recall seemed to be based on certain tire manufacturers. It was in the late 90's.
I've towed a nissan pickup up a long freeway hill past a ski resort and passed people with no problem. I did 65 the whole way.
If you do have a 4.6L, check this link out to make sure it won't be a problem -- Have a 4.6L? Here's a problem I bet you all have...

The recall had zero to do with uhaul, OR towing trailers. It had to do with too low of tire pressure.

 

[fordysenior]

I did not mean to imply that it did have something to do with Uhaul or towing -- but Uhaul took the step and refused to rent their trailers to Explorer vehicles after that. I'm not sure if they still ban them.
Here's more on the tire issue -- Firestone and Ford tire controversy - Wikipedia

 

[smushicollects]

You don't say what engine size you got, but mine is a 4.6L with factory tow package and it's rated at 6980 lbs for towing. I don't know if yours is a factory package or not.
You say you have a rear wheel drive with 4x4 -- mine is a 4x4 also. On the dash, there are 3 switches -- "4wd Auto", "4wd high", & "4wd low". The 4wd auto is the standard to drive around in -- it's more like an AWD vehicle then. And that makes these things very sensitive to tire issues if they don't match.
You've read in other forums it's risky -- maybe people are thinking of the old Ford recall when towing U-hauls. And the recall seemed to be based on certain tire manufacturers. It was in the late 90's.
I've towed a nissan pickup up a long freeway hill past a ski resort and passed people with no problem. I did 65 the whole way.
If you do have a 4.6L, check this link out to make sure it won't be a problem -- Have a 4.6L? Here's a problem I bet you all have...

Sorry about that, the model I have is a 4.0L - V6. I do see the 4x4 option - this is my first time owning a 4x4 (our Mountaineer was AWD and all other vehicle's I've owned were stick). All my tires match and everything else is pretty good looking aside of rust here and there. We've just changed the rear tire rods and brakes. We aren't driving cross country without stops and will be pulling over in different cities for several days - maximum drive each day is six hours.

That being said, you've put me a bit at ease. Thank you! I just didn't want to be a roll over statistic and I don't want my transmission to blow from heating up. It was recently replaced.

 

[smushicollects]

The recall had zero to do with uhaul, OR towing trailers. It had to do with too low of tire pressure.

If that's the case - what am I looking at for tire pressure? I've been going based on the manual...

 

[Mbrooks420]

32-35psi. 6 hours is more than enough time to roast your transmission, it’ll be at max temp under an hour.

A rebuilt transmission is only as solid as the guy who rebuilt it.

 

[Mikerider]

What's your motor and diff gearing set up? I just got home from a 2400mile road trip pulling my 4000lbs camper from Seattle to Moab, UT and back.

 

[smushicollects]

What's your motor and diff gearing set up? I just got home from a 2400mile road trip pulling my 4000lbs camper from Seattle to Moab, UT and back.

I've got the 210-hp, 4.0-liter V-6. I'm only towing 1,960lbs. The diff is stock, rear drive 4x4. That's all I know. I'm highly concerned about overheating. As someone commented earlier they said it'll probably overheat within the hour which I am hopping is an over-exaggeration. Everything on this vehicle is stock. I do have the towing package and I have hitched the pop up camper to the explorer and barely even felt it pull, but whoa did that lassy did pull! I was able to shift the pop up camper just fine in my drive way.

Any suggestions and tips help!

 

[Mikerider]

I've got the 210-hp, 4.0-liter V-6. I'm only towing 1,960lbs. The diff is stock, rear drive 4x4. That's all I know. I'm highly concerned about overheating. As someone commented earlier they said it'll probably overheat within the hour which I am hopping is an over-exaggeration. Everything on this vehicle is stock. I do have the towing package and I have hitched the pop up camper to the explorer and barely even felt it pull, but whoa did that lassy did pull! I was able to shift the pop up camper just fine in my drive way.

Any suggestions and tips help!

as long as your rig is in good shape and well maintained you should have no issue, just slow down if your pulling any big hills. a gauge (like a scan gauge) is valuable to monitor your water temp and trans temp.

 

[Mbrooks420]

These came in different gear ratios. If you have a factory towing package you’ll have 3.73s, a limited slip, and small transmission cooler. It didn’t include any hitch.

 

[smushicollects]

These came in different gear ratios. If you have a factory towing package you’ll have 3.73s, a limited slip, and small transmission cooler. It didn’t include any hitch.

So time to find a larger transmission cooler then, huh? Yeah it was the factory towing package.

 

[smushicollects]

Hi there!
So, I've been creeping on this forum for years and well, finally, I've found myself needing to post and ask for help! It's came in handy when it came to our Mountaineer (which made it to a whopping 432,000 miles), but that aside; I recently purchased a 2005 Ford Explorer XLT - transmission's been changed, alternators new, and I've just swapped out the brakes. It is a rear drive vehicle with 4X4.

I have a 1994 Jayco King Series 6 Pop Up Tent Camper that measures at 14 feet when closed. We're planning a two hour get away to the Thousand Islands and maybe later on in the summer a cross country road trip. It weighs about 1925lbs and I've never towed with one of these before and would like some insight. My father suggested to only hit the 4x4 when needed but that it should be smooth sailing as long as I don't speed or take any sharp curves without reducing first.

I've gone camping before and seen some people with PUPs and Explorers and they seem fine. While I've read in other forums that it's risky and dangerous. What are some tips? What about braking and sway? What are your suggestions?

Some side info:
- Previous owner drove it cross country and proudly showed off how he's also explored all of the north eastern side of the USA. Thus, proving she's reliable. Plus, NYS requires inspections of all vehicles so that helped to see it was current.
- I've pulled the pop up camper in our drive way to adjust it and it was very smooth. Barely felt it tug. I was honestly impressed
- I'm a pretty skilled driver and quite mechanics savvy so don't be afraid to break it down.
- It has already a towing package attached - so it's a hitch, plug in and go.
- Looking into a pick up truck is right out of the question. It's not happening. My husband won't allow me to purchase another vehicle when we have four already in the lot!

** UPDATE **
So we did our cross country trip, we used a Tier III Towing hitch which worked wonderfully. We changed nothing at all. Legit drove the 2005 XLT Explorer for 6-8 hours a days with stops here and there. We were able to hit up 65 mph but I decided to cruise at 55mph and 60mph for safety reasons. There were moments where I thought I would feel the 1,950lb pop up behind us when going up hills, but we didn't. Everything went smoothly! I made sure that we were topped up with coolant when needed but the need was very rare.

I guess I can say I'm happy with my Explorer and I'm glad I did go for it. It's a beast! Now to do some after trip maintenance! I've attached a pic of our explorer's first stop with the pop up open!