Do you use your X for towing?

I bought mine with towing in mind, not necessarily to the extent that I use it now, but I use mine regularly. I use a hitch basket to haul some things, pull 18ft tandem axle trailers, and my 23' travel trailer. I have a brake controller installed and did a custom mount of the plug in the back bumper.

 

[cybergasm]

i have a 18 ft boat and 20 ft utility trailer that i pull with my X on a regular basis

 

[410Fortune]

Yes, I voted heavy duty because my 19' inboard/outboard boat weighs about 3250# with trailer fully loaded with gear, I know the Ex is capable of towing more, especially with the 5.0L and 4r70w, but I would not want to pull more then this with it, especially in the rocky mountains.

I have a hidden hitch and hard wired trailer plug, it tows the boat very very well, even with 4 people and all the gear we need for a weekend+

I cannot wait until next summer, I plan to haul the boat to Utah and Wyoming and it will be so nice with the new 2wd/4x4 transfer case, no more AWD sucking up the MPG and power

Towing mods thus far:
KKM intake, intake spacer, e cam & RR valvetrain, large B&M trans cooler, TM headers, custom exhaust, 2wd, rancho RSX shocks, warrior shackles (to fight spring sag)

Soon: IFS disconnect front axle, 4.10 gears, trans temp gage, poly sway bar bushings, computer tune

 

[Dopler174]

I tow stuck cars/trucks out. That and the worlds smallest tongue trailer. Other than that, nah. I don't even have a hitch. I just use the bumper for pulling the trailer and tow hooks for pulling cars.

 

[Turdle]

Never towed a thing--but hey, why not?
I'll give it a shot if needed.

 

[JIGAWHAAT]

I tow my work trailer a couple times a week. Putting my 33's on soon. So I better re-gear pronto If I plan to continue towing.
trailer pic is here:

 

[rowekmr]

Yeah I tow with my bone stock 98 Ford Explorer 5.0. I bought it for towing after selling my 98 Exp SOHC (after putting in a new motor :-( a year ago. I searched this site to find recommendations and what little I found was adding a trans cooler, using synthetics, changing lubricants often along with most not wanting to tow much over 6K. I found one pic and that was with an Exp towing a car on trailer with extreme sag so I bought some Monroe rear air shocks and replaced the front with the Monroe Sensatrac (didn't know whether to get these or the Reflex model). I was in a time pinch so I couldn't order the proper Reese hitch so I went to Uhaul and had them instal theirs with a little prodding because they didn't think it would bolt up since I already had a ball mounted on the bumper. I had the air filter changed and the trans fluid flushed and drove 250 miles to pick up my 25' boat (Regal 258 Commodore) on a dual axle trailer with one axle of drum brakes. I did read on this site to disengage the overdrive so I made the Middle East happy with the gas I burned on the way back. Everytime I stopped people were amazed the truck could pull it and although I didn't go through mountains there were pretty good extended grades I had to go up and down.
I kept the boat/trailer on my driveway and drove it every time I put it in the water sometimes using some pretty steep ramps. The boat has twins (4 cyls) and I keep a lot of junk in it and I would take all 4 family members, coolers, junk, etc. even using the A/C on the expressway and taking it out on days it was pretty close to 100 F. I had zero problems (this truck has a warranty) and it has never disappointed me. I would guestimate that the boat/trailer were close to 7000# and another 500-600 in passengers. There is zero sag with the air shocks because I pump up the pressure to 100-125 psi loaded but see they aren't that necessary cause the trailer isn't tongue heavy. Those boaters with the 18-23' boats using 3/4-1 ton duallies laugh when they see me pull up. Most of the times the guys with 4X4 must not engage it cause I hear an occasional tire spin on the dry ramp but I put the rear tires in the water (and muck) and of course it never spins with the AWD. One thing I learned is to make sure it is in D or D1, when in D2 the trans is in 2nd gear and loses its pull power. I don't know how to post pics but you can request them from rowekmr@aol.com and I still welcome any comments/critisism.

Joe

 

[Explorer96xlt]

I tow our 22 foot wakeboard boat with my '96 5.0. Fully loaded with gas and gear it wheighs about 5500 lbs give or take 100. It tows it great, a little shaky up the ramp.. but on the road it is a dream. We towed it from orlando, to NC no trouble at all.

 

[IAmTodd]

I have the equipment to do it, but mine is just an oversized wagon. I'd be much happier with a Volvo V50

 

[Charlie's_93EB]

i tow med. Not little nor heavy. I tow my 19 SeaRay. I works my ohv some to put it in the back yard. But in 4 low backing thru and up the ditch makes it easy.

 

[aldive]

I tow my son's Jeep on a tandem trailer.

 

[FERRET EXPLORER]

Hi All

We tow a caravan in the summer,just love holding up all the traffic on the little country lanes.in the UK

Andy

 

[camaro_guy_z28]

just a small 5x8 trailer to haul my dirt bike

 

[Maniak]

I tow a 5x8 to the dump once in a while (only about 1500 lbs total)..

When the well would go dry I would tow 1600lbs of water in the trailer 3 times a week.

I have towed way too much once. I don't plan on doing anything like that again.

Since then I got a chevy 1 ton dually to pull the X (or anything heavy).. It won't go anywhere fast, but it'll move a house.

~Mark

 

[scootr2200]

Does anybody tow with a lifted X?

We plan to get a 5.0 AWD Mounty and I would like to lift it with a TT/153 but I would like to know what that will do to the towing capacity. Also, how much strain would it be on say a 30"-31", stock gearing, and a #3000 pop up? It wouldn't be taken more than 3-4 hours away tops, it would mostly be 1-2 hour drives.

Thanks for the help.

Mickey

 

[MountaineerGreen]

Does anybody tow with a lifted X?

We plan to get a 5.0 AWD Mounty and I would like to lift it with a TT/153 but I would like to know what that will do to the towing capacity. Also, how much strain would it be on say a 30"-31", stock gearing, and a #3000 pop up? It wouldn't be taken more than 3-4 hours away tops, it would mostly be 1-2 hour drives.

Thanks for the help.

Mickey

The camper I posted above I now tow with a 5.0 4" superlift up front, F150ish leaf packs and shackles in the back.

The picture above is TT/ Shackles and 32's. Dry weight on that camper is 4400 lbs.

The popup will be easy pulling. I pulled one for a while with mine before I bought the travel trailer.

 

[Brian_B]

I guess you could say light towing only. If I need to tow anything heavy I go get my old 88 f-150 4X4 (dads now) which has trailer brakes and all that.

 

[thegoon543]

yeah, i used to have an 18', 2500lb boat i just towed to the boat ramp at the coast about a mile away. then, even with 160K, it pulled with without much hesitation, even on a steep boat ramp. didn't need a hitch, just a trailer ball on the bumper was all it needed. i now have a 17' hobie cat to pull, but it pretty much stays at the coast on the trailer. ill prob only tow it back to raleigh when there is a hurricane or something.

my truck came with the factory towing package so that helped. i kind of attribute part of the longevity of my transmission to the tranny cooler that came with the towing package.

in my opinion, i think its strange how a lot of new SUVs come with hitches standard nowadays, but they are hardly used.

 

[SnakeCharmer]

I use my Sport Trac to pull my boat. I have the factory tow package. I used to pull my old 14' aluminum v-bottom with the bumper. Didnt even know it was back there. When I bought my new boat, I installed a nice reciever hitch before I picked it up. Cant remember the brand but its a nice round tube style that tucks up under the bumper real nice. The new boat is probably about 2000# loaded with fuel and gear. My truck pulls it no problem but not in OD. It really screams with the 4:10's in drive on the highway and MPG is nonexistant. I hate the factory weather resistant trailer light plug though. I bought a nice 6-pin round one with a bracket but I think I am going to try and remove one of my liscence plate lights and install it there in the bumper. Thats my project for this evening.

 

[DisneyExplorer]

We very specifically searched for an bought a v8 4WD with the tow package. These are not to easy to find in So Cal. In fact we got a leftover 04 at the beginning of 05, and it was the last 04 V8 4WD tow pkg in So Cal. Wanted the v8 and tow pkg for a trailer, we have a 22ft fleetwood weighing in at 5100lbs ready to camp and we love traveling, and wanted the 4WD for "exploring" The control trac 4WD offers the added beniefit of being similar to AWD when in the auto mode. No slipping or wheel spin pulling onto a highway with the trailer, just point and go.