Looking for advice on towing

[Excalibur07]

Hello there fellow Explorer owners. I am new to this site. I have owned my explorer since 2004, when I bought it with 45,000 lbs. on it. It is a 1999 Edde Bauer with the 5.0 V8, including the tow package. The acle ratio is 3.75 I believe. The vehicle has been fantastic. I use it to tow my boat in the summer. to get to ski hills in the winter and most days of the year for general getting around. Every year I tow my boat to a lake about 300 miles from my home. I live in British Columbia, which has large mountains and so has some long and steep hills. On my annual trip to the lake each summer, I tow my boat through these mountains and some of the hills are formidable. One hill is almost 30 miles long and the steepest part of the hill is at the very end and is at about 4,000 feet above sea level (fyi, my trip starts right at sea level in Vancouver). For the last part of that hill (about 3 miles worth) I have to put the truck in Low gear - not enough power in 2nd. gear at that point. I keep the engine spinning at about 3,000 RPM, going about 20 mph or so, with my foot not quite on the floor. Now I have been very impressed how the Explorer does this without a hitch. The temperature guage does not go up at all - still I am worried that with all the miles I have on the Explorer now something - particularly the transmission might pack it in. I have read the the 5.0 V-8 engines have the same transmission as the F150 pick up trucks so that is reassuring. The weight of boat and trailer is about 6,500 lbs. in all (I weighed it on a truck scale). The Explorer has about 165,000 miles on it. I have changed the transmission fluid and differential fluid regularly (Last done last year - about 15,000 miles ago) and there has been absolutely no hiccup or inidcation of any problem with anything in the drive train at all.

I am wondering if anybody out there has had similar experience towing a trailer of any kind with this kind of weight and mileage on their vehicle. For around town I have no concerns at all. My main concern is my annual trip....Should I be worried? Am I nuts to do this? Any input would be most appreciated. Sorry for the long thread - just wanteds to get all the details out.....Thanks in advance!

 

[crunchie_frog]

Sounds to me like you are doing okay with what you are doing, changing the differential fluid and trans fluid regularly. I might consider installing a temp gage on your transmission fluid just so you can monitor it. You are at the weight limit at 6,500 lbs (6,460 is published max by Ford specs) but I would guess you are okay. I have two 2000 5.0 AWD and tow in hills with no problems either.

 

[Excalibur07]

Thanks for your reply frenchie. It's great that I can actually discuss this with other people with the same vehicles. It's been fine so far, I am just getting worried about the mileage.....I wonder how long these transmissions are good for??

 

[Excalibur07]

Sorry, meant my reply to "crunchie".....

 

[crunchie_frog]

No problem, it is from a monty python skit. As far as miles, your guess is as good as mine but overheating can kill it quickly.

 

[james t]

Keep the rpms up and give it hell. Even with high mileage that engine will take it. You can hold it at 4000 rpms all day long and as long as the temps are okay it will be fine. As others have suggested, a trans temp gauge and keeping up on fluid changes will be your best bet.