Towing: Whats the most weight you have towed? | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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Towing: Whats the most weight you have towed?

TMack2300

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January 19, 2014
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City, State
Livonia, Michigan
Year, Model & Trim Level
2014 Explorer Sport
Has anyone towed anything at or above the rated 5000lbs?

I have to take a car from Detroit to Tennessee and the car weights 3200.
Not sure what a trailer will weight but I'm sure i will be at the 5k mark...
Should i have any concerns.
I have a tow tune from LMS I'm gonna run.

Thanks in advance for any positive feedback.
 



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Has anyone towed anything at or above the rated 5000lbs?

I have to take a car from Detroit to Tennessee and the car weights 3200.
Not sure what a trailer will weight but I'm sure i will be at the 5k mark...
Should i have any concerns.
I have a tow tune from LMS I'm gonna run.

Thanks in advance for any positive feedback.

Use a tow dolly if you can and you'll be within 5000 pounds.
 






Use a tow dolly if you can and you'll be within 5000 pounds.

I cant use a tow dolly, would be nice if i could tho. Its a historic vehical and i need it on a flat bed.
 






Has anyone towed anything at or above the rated 5000lbs?

I have to take a car from Detroit to Tennessee and the car weights 3200.
Not sure what a trailer will weight but I'm sure i will be at the 5k mark...
Should i have any concerns.
I have a tow tune from LMS I'm gonna run.

Thanks in advance for any positive feedback.

Will it stop it? Hopefully you're planning on trailer brakes. Also, hopefully it's western TN, it's gonna be a tough pull if you're taking I-75 to TN from Cincinnati.
 






Keep the Over Drive off and take it easy and slow.

Hopefully your trailer has electric brakes. The hills in TN and gonna be tough.

Anyway to plan your route to take alternate routes rather than interstate?

The interstate is where all the crazy, inconsiderate drivers hang out.

I have towed the boat, which is right at 5K without any problems. My trailer is old and has no brakes. I can feel the "push" going down hill. I wish I had them.,
 






Will it stop it? Hopefully you're planning on trailer brakes. Also, hopefully it's western TN, it's gonna be a tough pull if you're taking I-75 to TN from Cincinnati.


Yes i have a brake controller installed

Why do you say a tough pull?
I have a X Sport that has been tuned. I have way more than enough power to pull 5,000 lbs.

I think the concern here is, no frame... Unibody.
Just curious to see what people are pulling and how close to the rated limit.
 












What about I-69 to I-65 South out of Indianapolis.

I don't remember that stretch being too bad although it might be a bit out of the way.

Second thought.

You may want to google something like Classic Car Transporters.

Could be a little expensive but they go door to door and have all of the proper stuff to do it.

It would keep you from tearing up your rig.

A friend of mine priced it out to get a Jetta for his daughter from Brookhaven, MS to Jacksonville, FL and it was only $800.

Cheaper than a transmission.
 






OK...don't shoot me but just want to ask.

If the 16 Sport and Platinum's with the 3.5 Eco-boost is at 365hp, 360ftlb torque, and rated to pull up to 5K with a recommendation of a weight distribution hitch, why is it such a problem? Why is it hard on the tranny, etc if Ford designed the vehicle with this towing capacity rating?

I would expect braking, etc is also designed with this capacity in mind for safety. (also understand at the high end rating, some type of trailer brake is recommended)

Just curious.
 






True, It is designed to pull that kind of weight but your at the edge of the stress limit.

I don't think that it was designed to do that for hours at a time.

I could be wrong.

Also pulling that kind of weight uphill or braking down hill increases the applied load exponentially.

Safety is the key concern. IMO.
 






The fact that a NA V6 and Ecoboost V6 are both rated to tow 5,000lbs shows that it is the body of the vehicle and not the motor that is the restriction.

I'll never recommend towing over weight as the manufacturer states that for a reason. Now granted I'm sure there is a margin of error that but it's pretty clear why it is rated (both motors) for the same towing weight.

Looking at something like this, you are at 2,200lbs dry before the vehicle goes on.

https://www.uhaul.com/Trailers/Auto-Transport-Rental/AT/
 






Trailer brakes, wdh (required to get to the max 5000lb rating), engage tow/haul mode and go for it. I'm not so sure about the tune. I'm assuming the tune is meant to hold gears longer? With tow/haul mode engaged, you'll get to peak torque band pretty easily...almost too easily depending who you ask. My wife's explorer likes to hang out at about 3500RPM towing 2000lb utility trailer.

Be prepared to make frequent fuel stops. Horrible towing mpg and the small gas tank (specs say 18.6 gallons but I've never come close to putting that much in) means you'll probably never see a gas station you won't like. Good luck.
 






Take it slow and easy. The mountains in Tennesse are pretty rough, but semi trucks take them all day long. So just back off the gas pedal and don't kill the transmission, you'll still be flying by the big rigs.

Some of us with the older Explorers have towed 2X the tow rating. Not fun at all but they'll do it long as you go sloooooow.
 






Take it slow and easy. The mountains in Tennesse are pretty rough, but semi trucks take them all day long. So just back off the gas pedal and don't kill the transmission, you'll still be flying by the big rigs.

Some of us with the older Explorers have towed 2X the tow rating. Not fun at all but they'll do it long as you go sloooooow.

No disrespect but comparing a BOF explorer to a uni body explorer is an Apples to Oranges comparison.
 






The older Explorers are body on frame construction. I would not recommend trying 2X the tow rating with a unibody vehicle.

EDIT: blwnsmoke beat me to it :)
 






The fact that a NA V6 and Ecoboost V6 are both rated to tow 5,000lbs shows that it is the body of the vehicle and not the motor that is the restriction.

I'll never recommend towing over weight as the manufacturer states that for a reason. Now granted I'm sure there is a margin of error that but it's pretty clear why it is rated (both motors) for the same towing weight.

Looking at something like this, you are at 2,200lbs dry before the vehicle goes on.

https://www.uhaul.com/Trailers/Auto-Transport-Rental/AT/

I am in no way recommending that someone tows over the rated capacity. I am just asking if the Ex, Cargo, tongue weight, trailer are all withing "ALL" specified ratings with all recommendations Ford has described for our vehicles why is it a huge concern?

I have a boat that is close to the max rating and I am choosing not to use my Ex to pull it just because I feel differently about the uni-body structure however I am still within the limits that Ford applies. It's just my choice not too.

I would have to assume that when Ford puts the ratings on their vehicles they know that people will tow right up to max ratings. The design of the vehicle should've taken into account for that rating to do it safely. (Engine, Trans, Brakes, body structure, etc and to do this frequently. That's why in the maintenance section of our owners manual they list the frequency of maintenance with, without towing, environment etc.

If over capacity some is over a legal limit. Laws are in place for a reason. Safety
 












I am in no way recommending that someone tows over the rated capacity. I am just asking if the Ex, Cargo, tongue weight, trailer are all withing "ALL" specified ratings with all recommendations Ford has described for our vehicles why is it a huge concern?

I have a boat that is close to the max rating and I am choosing not to use my Ex to pull it just because I feel differently about the uni-body structure however I am still within the limits that Ford applies. It's just my choice not too.

I would have to assume that when Ford puts the ratings on their vehicles they know that people will tow right up to max ratings. The design of the vehicle should've taken into account for that rating to do it safely. (Engine, Trans, Brakes, body structure, etc and to do this frequently. That's why in the maintenance section of our owners manual they list the frequency of maintenance with, without towing, environment etc.

If over capacity some is over a legal limit. Laws are in place for a reason. Safety

I'm not arguing with you. I agree, it is rated at 5k and you can tow 5k. That is why they added an oil cooler, a duct at the bottom of the bumper to send cool air up to the coolers and a different transmission with the tow package option. They did it so it can handle the 5k and there should be no negative effects.

All I was saying is that it isn't the engine that is the limiting factor with the explorer, it is the unibody.. otherwise the Sport/Platinum models with the Ecoboost would be rated higher.
 






No disrespect but comparing a BOF explorer to a uni body explorer is an Apples to Oranges comparison.

I'm well aware of the differences lol I was just simply stating since the OP asked what everyone is towing.
 



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I'm embarrassed to say, and of course do not try this at home, but I recently pulled a 16 foot trailer with a huge over the back fork lift. Even though it was only 5 or 6 miles Diamond rental told me not to do it. The weight was over 10k, toung weight I'm not sure of but had the fork lift over the back axels so the xsport wasn't sitting low. Couple of rolling hills and I didn't go over 15 mph. Slow to get going and slower to stop but That was back in October 2015 and I haven't had any issues.
 






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