Advice please...towing my new boat with 97 Expy??

[Kevlar3031]

I plan on towing my (new to me) fish and ski about 250 miles this weekend for the first time..with my 97 Expy.

FWIW: I haven't even hooked the boat up to the Expy yet to try it out, but will this evening..

My 97 is a EB, 2wd, 5.0.. 118K miles

I believe it may have the towing package, as is has a small transmission cooler in front of the main radiator, and a connector under the rear bumper for a trailer.

I believe the boat to be in the neighborhood of 1600 lbs, and the motor to weigh less than 400, for a combined weight of approx 2000 lbs.

There will be 5 of us in the Expy, with lots of misc. clothes and gear.

The route to the lake is flat for the first 100 miles, and then rolling hills with some good climbs..

I'd like some advice on what speed I should tow at?

Should I tow with the O/D off?

Where can I get a connector to connect the trailer harness to what is provided under the back bumper of the Expy??

Any precautions or advice I haven't mentioned would be appreciated as well.

Lastly, can my Expy handle a boat of this size safely, without tearing up the tranny?

 

[section525]

You can get the trailer light adapter from Ford for around $8 - $15 I believe. It taps in right behind the bumper on the passenger side of the license plate. You'll see it. You should have no problems towing that boat with your V8. I'd tow with the OD off. I actually just towed my Nautique up to the lake this weekend for the first time with my '98 Mountaineer 5.0L (usually use my 'not stock' '96 5.0L) and it did great.

 

[Kevlar3031]

Thanks a bunch for the quick reply..

Anyone else have any experience towing a 2500 lb or so trailer with an explorer?

Any more advice??

 

[410Fortune]

Yes. You will be fine.
I tow a 4500# full loaded boat and trailer with a 5.0L powered BII and a 96 explorer.

Your boat will be alot less work.

If you plan to tow this new boat alot you will want to start getting some upgrades for your truck, espeically with 118K.

Keep OD off, until you hit flat ground at higher speeds, then it is allright to use (70-75 small rolling hills = OD okay)

Hill climbs, dont let is go into OD.
The key is that you control the OD, dont le the tranmission hunt between 3-OD on its own.

Does that trailer have brakes?
Loading the boat and vehicle properly is very important to safely towing.


You can do a search to find out what upgrades people do to the ex for towing heavy trailers....

 

[Tom G]

The total weight will be way more than 2000lbs. You need to add trailer, gas, batteries, gear...

Make sure you have enough tongue weight, so the trailer won't sway

Allow more braking distance.

OD off, you'll be fine.

 

[Skibug]

Yep, that boat and trailer combo looks to be a bit more than 2000 lbs. I tow a 19ft ski boat and I top the scales with a total weight of 3800 lbs. This includes trailer, boat, full tank of gas, and supplies.

But that being said, I tow my boat all over with no problems. I tow it to a lake 300 miles away once a year. I have an Aux. tranny cooler, beefed up leaf springs and a nice hitch. A nice set of firm shocks in the rear help also for bumpy situations.

I also pulled my boat when my Sport was bone stock also. It handled it fine. I just added the extra equipment for added protection and safety.