Best year Explorer for towing or should I just get an Expedition?

I'm thinking about buying an SUV for towing and people/stuff hauling. It won't be a daily driver (I hope) and I estimate I'll put 7000 miles/year or less on it. The main towing usage will be for a two-axle open car trailer with up to a 4000 lb car on it or an enclosed trailer that's around 12 feet long and carries our Boy Scout troop's gear on camping trips. I assume the car trailer is by far the heavier load of the two. One other factor is my 14 year-old, 6 foot tall and growing, son. He's going to have to ride in a back seat of whatever I get so I'd like something with some decent rear leg room. I don't own a pickup truck, so it would be nice if what I get can also carry some cargo now and then.

I was initially thinking about getting a 2000-2001 V8 Explorer with low mileage for the year and the factory towing package. They seem to be available in the $5000-$6000 range. I looked up towing capacities and found that the 2002+ Explorers have a higher maximum towing capacity. I've done some reading on the site and now I wonder if I wouldn't be better off with a 2004-2005 V8 Explorer w/factory package because of the higher max tow rating, the factory brake controller, and the better geared 5-spd auto trans plus some of the improvements that were made over 2002-2003.

The longest trip towing with it is likely to be from Richmond to Carlisle, PA and back. There's a possibility of going through some smaller mountains occasionally. I think an Explorer will handle 95% or more of what I want to tow and gets good enough gas mileage that I could drive it daily if I had to. I'm not sure it's worth stepping up to an Expedition to cover that last 5%, although given the low annual mileage it may not cost that much more to get an Expedition and not worry about it. The Expedition will also carry more stuff back from the hardware store and should have more passenger space. On the other hand, I have a preference for the Ford 5.0 engine vs. the modular motors just because I'm more familiar with it and would rather work on the 5.0 than the 4.6. If I get the Expedition, I'm definitely getting the 5.4.

So I guess I've got two questions. Explorer or Expedition? If Explorer, 2nd gen or third gen? I'm trying to keep the purchase price at $10,000 or less unless I come across an incredible deal just too good to pass up.

Thanks for your input.

 

[Dannyboy]

I know this is and EXPLORER forum, but my vote is for the expedition. Welcome to the site. I'd also look at crew cab F150s as they may fall in your price range and everybody loves having a pickup truck right?

 

[rileyrs]

if its down to explorer or expedition, the explorer will be cheaper, but i would say for your needs the expedition is best.

if you can find one, an older excursion, like 99 or 2000 will be able to tow alot! and have tons of room.

i hate to direct you anywhere other than an explorer, since i love them, but i think something a little bigger will fit your needs better.

good luck!

 

[yellowford]

Personally I would find a tow rig with a solid rear I haven't towed much with my current Explorer but it seems like the solid rear would be much better for towing, I used to have a 96 and that 5.0 could tow it deffinetly had the torque to get a load moving where as my 4.0 feels gutless compared to it even with the heavy duty towing package.

 

[mark-va]

Thanks for the replies. It's interesting that everyone's voting Expedition on an Explorer forum. I'll have to take another look at the mileage numbers and how they translate into annual operating costs. Usually, I can do some research, pick out the key factors and the right choice will fall out pretty easily. For some reason I'm having trouble with this decision. Maybe because there are too many key factors and some of them conflict.

While I'd love to have a 7.3 PowerStroke Excursion, that's overkill. That would also come in at the top of the budget range, probably overbudget. I could go with a gas engine Excursion for a lower purchase price than a PS, but the mileage would be in the toilet for sure then. I probably need to keep this between the Explorer and the Expedition. I haven't test driven either yet, which could also influence my decision.

No one has a preference between the 2nd and 3rd gen Explorers?

 

[johnnyozone1]

Hi, I just purchased a 2006 Explore XLT. (my chevy pickup had 253K miles on it) I plan to pull our 23' kodiac camper, we are going to florida from connecticut in October. any advise out there? I do notice I can't see behind our trailer, does anyone make side view mirrors? John

 

[TinwoodyII]

Having driven both Expeditions and Explorers, my choice here would be the Expediton. While it's larger than the Explorer, it doesn't drive "big" as some other large vehicles do, and the safety factor is greater. While the mileage is less, it's not that much less when towing. I wouldn't worry about IRS and towing, it will do the job. And big kids fit better in the Expedition. We use one in our Boy Scout Troop without any problems, and it pulls without fuss.
Just my two pennies worth.
Bill W

 

[FordLover]

I tow a 21 foot travel trailer that weighs about 4,500 and have no complaints. I don't tend to believe that the 5.0 V8 would be a 'better' tow vehicle, the '02 and newer are wider, longer wheel base, and I believe are generally better years to tow with. I also have towed several 16' and 10' utility trailers while moving or whatever, and they are hardly even noticable behind the truck unless they are loaded down. My explorer is rated at 7,000 lbs, but I wouldn't feel comfortable towing that much weight very often.

Around here it can be difficult to find a 2002-2005 explorer with the tow package, but the same goes with expeditions.

I would shop/consider both, and if you find either one with the right miles, right equipment and condition, for the right price, grab it.

 

[CDW6212R]

Towing capacity is mainly about the transmission strength and gearing, plus the cooling capacity of the trans coolers.

The big Ford trucks have bigger trannies and coolers available, which makes them better towing vehicles.

The 2002 Explorers with the 4.6 have the 5R55W with better gearing for towing. The 1st gear is far better than the 1st gear of the four speed of pre-2002 models. That same five speed though is a weaker trans the older four speed 4R70W. The top four gears of the 5R55W are basically the same as the four gears of the 4R70W. That 1st gear of the 5R55W gives it an advantage in getting started, but at speed it's weaker than the 4R.

The V6 trucks have weaker transmissions, thus are weaker tow vehicles.

The Expedition and F series trucks can have either the bigger trans with the biggest engines, or the small engines have the same trans as the Explorer V8 trucks. Thus it's possible to have a 96-01 Explorer with better towing ability than a 4.6 Expedition or F150.

The trans coolers have to be increased in size to cool well enough for bigger loads. The V8 Explorer is rated well, but on long trips heat builds up faster than the coolers remove the heat. The answer is to install a much larger cooler.

Check out the trans cooler of a big truck, they often look like an AC condenser, huge.

 

[thepotroast]

For your purpose, Expedition hands down. I owned a 5.4 4x4 Expedition (2001) and currently own a 03 4x4 Explorer with the tow package. When I tow my 17' boat around with the Explorer I can "feel" it behind me. Sure the suspension is decent...my motor is the 4.0L but as said above, it's more about the tranny and ability for the drivetrain to stay cool.

The Expedition with the Triton 5.4L would be the way to go, for your purpose. Excursion is overkill...

 

[davesexplorer]

Expedition all the way.

Of course I'm biased

 

[CDW6212R]

... Excursion is overkill...

I'd love to have one of those, but I don't have any need for one. They are massive, from underneath they look like a big semi etc.

 

[mark-va]

For the Expedition guys, are there any years to avoid, or particularly good years? Assume the 5.4 and the factory towing package. Also, what kind of gas mileage are you seeing in everyday driving?

 

[davesexplorer]

Uh dont use me as an example, on 35's I'm averaging around 12-14 mpg.

 

[Al from SC]

Maybe an Excursion

They will be older, but are heavier than an Expedition. My brother-in-law has one with the turbo diesel and can get 20mpg out of it. It will pull his approx 22 foot camper at 80 mph and thinks nothing of it. If it is a tow vehicle, don't go small. I am happy with the way my explorer pulls, but it is a comprimise. I don't tow much, so the 20 mpg I can get is a big plus.

 

[mark-va]

I'm going to have to work up a spreadsheet that looks at acquisition and annual fuel costs for each of these vehicles, but if I buy a Ford, I'm starting to think I'll either go small with an Explorer or big with a diesel Excursion. The wild card is that GM put diesels into some smaller than Excursion-sized vehicles like the Sierra 1500 trucks and the Tahoes.

I really would like to have seen Ford build a smaller diesel engine with about 75% of the 7.3 PowerStroke's torque and put it into the Expedition. Maybe the market wasn't there at the time, but I think it would have made a good solution for a lot of people that need something bigger than an Explorer and still want good fuel mileage and great towing abilities without having to step all the way up to an Excursion.

 

[CDW6212R]

Yes, Ford had so many trucks and SUV versions that they missed a few. I think the duallie pickups were the intended towing trucks. I had a guy at a tire shop come back from an auction with a dark green Duallie Crew cab, extended cab, full sized bed, camper top, brush bars/lights, and leather interior. He said he got it for $9000, it was about four years old then. I only saw it once, but it was big and beautiful.

Get the diesel, don't get the V10 or other big gas engines for towing.

 

[mithesaint]

The wild card is that GM put diesels into some smaller than Excursion-sized vehicles like the Sierra 1500 trucks and the Tahoes.

Are you sure about this? I'd love a half ton with a diesel, but didn't think anyone made them. GM was talking about a 4.5L Duramax, but I don't think it happened with the whole bankruptcy thing.

I'd go expedition or excursion, whichever's cheaper. If it's not a DD, gas mileage isn't that important. You'll never look back when you're towing/hauling and wish you had a smaller truck...

 

[dkchrist]

The wild card is that GM put diesels into some smaller than Excursion-sized vehicles like the Sierra 1500 trucks and the Tahoes.

The older GM 6.5 and 6.2(half ton turd) diesels are somewhat problematic and very underpowered. Should you have to fix one they are considerably more expensive and difficult to work on. If I were me I would stick to Powerstrokes and Cummins if you choose a diesel in your price range as most Duramax diesels are probably overbudget.

 

[mark-va]

Are you sure about this? I'd love a half ton with a diesel, but didn't think anyone made them. GM was talking about a 4.5L Duramax, but I don't think it happened with the whole bankruptcy thing.

It looks like GM stopped putting them in the half-tons in the mid-late '90s. According to http://www.62-65-dieselpage.com/ they put diesels in some Tahoes too, but I can't find any listed for sale anywhere. The 6.5 diesels also seem to have a little more than their share of problems. Cracked heads, cracked block webbing, some other things. I'm not enough of a mechanic to want to get involved with that.