Towing a Travel Trailer

[imagehound]

I've searched on this topic and gotten sort of an idea of what is possible, but I think I'm asking a lot of my truck and was hoping for some opinions from folks here who actually own Explorers and have tested these limits.

I am planning within the next six months to a year to go fulltiming in a medium-size travel trailer to move to Los Angeles from my current location in north New Jersey. That's a little over 2700 miles with significant elevation challenges, and I'm wondering if my truck can really handle it. Even more fun, I'd like the ability to continue traveling at will if LA is not for me, so this is not a one-off.

I have a 1998 XL 5spd 4dr 4.0 OHV with the 3.73/LSD and ControlTrac. This configuration is officially rated for a 2700lb towing capacity, but I get the feeling the ratings are lower than autos (more like 5000lbs on autos) because Ford wanted to reduce bad drivers' clutch replacements under warranty. I'm trying to decide whether to pour a few thousand dollars into setting this truck up right or if this is foolish and I should try to find a quad cab F250 or Excursion.

My prime candidates for trailers are the KZ Spree Escape and Sportsmen Classic series, ranging from 18 feet (Sportsmen Classic 17RBS // 2700lbs dry) to 24 feet (Spree Escape E200RBS, 3500lbs dry). They all have the typical 8 foot width and 9 foot height with no aerodynamic improvements. The shorter ones have a single axle, which makes me nervous - the 24' has dual axles and a lower tongue weight. Much as I'm tempted by good values in used, few have slideouts for floor space (dog space!) or low weights like these, not to mention formaldehyde construction concerns.

I figured that between an K&N intake / JBA exhaust / tune, class III Hidden Hitch, Equal-i-zer weight distro/sway, and a good brake controller, it should be fine, but I'm thinking it needs a clutch as well - I would upgrade to a Stage III clutch from Clutch Masters in the hope it'll handle towing better. It gives me problems selecting first gear and, when it's cold, any gear after that until it warms up. Creepy. Might even need a rebuild.

So what I'm coming down to is... If I have a rebuild and clutch done at around $1500 and add those $2000 worth of upgrades, I'm inching closer to what it would have cost me to get something with a 7.3li diesel like an F250 or an Excursion, and I'm not sure the Explorer is competent with such a load. It's definitely way over the frontal area specification, and it's not really made for this duty over indefinitely long periods of time. I may end up traveling constantly. Plenty of people here have hauled stupid crazy loads with their Ex but none spoke of so many thousands of miles at once.

Should I just bite the bullet and reluctantly get rid of it for a diesel? It took me so long to find a 5spd Ex this nice, aggghhh!! And I want the decent gas mileage to drive to jobs at my destinations. And I've never bought an automatic transmission before. If the 7.3 Excursion ever came with a 6 speed -- well. IF ONLY.

 

[amigodana]

I have a 98 rebuilt 5.0 with a cam, port and polished heads, 4:10 gear ratio, lower stall speed torque converter, a shift kit in the tranny, secondary tranny cooler and other minor modifications to the igniton system and its basically designed for towing in the mountains. I would not tow that much on a continuous and daily basis, especially in a 6 cylinder. I would try it on short quick trips but nothing more!!! Good luck if you try.

 

[Robman]

Don't bother hooking the 24' up to your explorer.

I used a 4x4 '97 4door 4.0 OHV auto w/3.73s to haul my 24' only a few miles and I can firmly say that anything more than a few miles on flat ground will be too much for it.

I'd bet that even the 14' through the mountains would have you second guessing things.
But hey! Atleast you don't have a 5r55e. If that were the case I'd say don't even hook a piece of paper to the back of it

Good luck with your trip man.. If you want to keep your Ex, go with the 14 footer.

 

[imagehound]

Thank you both, amigodana and Robman, for your responses; I've come to agree with you, but perhaps for different reasons. As a result I'm planning to sell my Ex... Already... Gah DX

I went through many ideas trying to make it work, looking for different campers shorter than 20' and well within weight limits, using flattestroute.com, considering all sorts of upgrades, the Trailer Toad ... but it all comes down to trying to squeeze too much out of my tow vehicle when I really should be OVERestimating the demands of these trips. Why risk safety and break a perfectly good Ex over a job it shouldn't be taking on?

I'm looking around for Expeditions and Excursions. If I buy one it'll be the first automatic transmission I ever owned -- and will not be an ideal commuter vehicle at my destinations. Oh well!

The main reason I broke is for Sunline trailers. They are positively fantastic units, well-built enough that I feel comfortable buying older ones used. They've been low-formaldehyde for a long time, crucially important as I'll be fulltiming with asthma and with my dog. The floor plans are brilliant and efficient so I don't have to build a huge rig; maneuverability/manageability is important to me.

Unfortunately, they have unusually heavy tongue weight figures. As far as I can tell, 2nd gen Explorers don't take more than ~600lbs on the rear axle, weight distribution hitch or not. The Sunline 195SR is a unique floorplan I'm very attracted to, and it only weighs 4700lbs dry -- and yet the tongue weight is 750lbs. I can get the last ones ever made in 2007 for ~$10,000 in mint condition.

So you'll be seeing my Ex up in the For Sale forum as soon as I put a catback on it and get some decent pictures.

 

[Robman]

Well, you could pile most of your stuff towards the rear of the camper behind the axle(s) to try and lessen the tongue weight, hehe.

Some airbags on the rear of an Explorer would be cool

 

[imagehound]

Yeah, I thought about it just as cheekily... And I considered adding leaves to the rear suspension. But I just felt like I'm doing it wrong by trying to stretch a tiny truck like that. Not to mention how absolutely ridiculous it looks to tow a full size TT with an Explorer... Looks scary. xP

 

[Robman]

So... gonna get some solar panels for your camper setup?

I highly recommend it.

 

[imagehound]

Been part of the plan for a very long time... Five years actually. I failed super hard on the first try, though, bought an old trailer that hid terrible water damage. Hope to be Doing It Right this time.

After I get settled, I'll buy some panels full of blemished cells, some deep cycle batteries, charge controller, inverter, bonded LTE... mm. Dry camping doesn't have to be disconnected camping.

 

[Robman]

Yep, get LED everything... lights, TV.. Computer monitor, Laptop.
Can use an antenna and get free HD tv channels in most places.
Tether your cellphone or get a internet usb stick for internet.
I have 1500w worth of Monocrystalline panels.
I even put a small woodstove in mine, it's very doable.. I wish you luck.

 

[masospaghetti]

You could use the load leveling rear shocks with the integrated coilover to improve tongue weight capacity in your Ex. The way I see it, the 5.0 explorer is rated at about 7000 lbs towing capacity and uses the same brakes, suspension, and chassis as the smaller 4.0 models. Even the 4.0/automatic models are rated between 4000-5000 lbs. Thus the real limitation is in the manual transmission or more specifically, the clutch.

I tried towing an Accord on a dolly (~3100 lbs combined) with my 2000 Sport, 4.0 OHV, 5-speed manual, 3.23 gears. The only thing that concerned me was pulling away from a stop. It would very hard on a steep grade and I will be upgrading to a 3.73 gearset before I try it again. Once rolling, it was fine - even at highway speed.

Regarding other tow vehicles, IMO used Expeditions seem like an unbeatable value. The 5.4/4R70W is a reliable combination and they have become really affordable. Nice 2006-ish models go for around $6000-7000 in my area.

 

[stever40]

I pulled a search and this is the closes thread I think is reasonable so I apologize if this starts to Hijack the original intent.

What type/brand is everyone using for your WDH on your model with the 5000lb towing capacity and 500lb tongue weight.

I have a boat this is 4500lbs and need to pull it 1hr to and from my house(storage) to my cabin.

 

[Robman]

http://discounthitchcentral.com/20002000-c-178_1889_2055_2061/20002000-ford-explorer-hidden-hitch-trailer-tow-hitch-p-10812.html

Hidden Hitch.. I have one on my 2000 Sport 4.0L OHV 4x4 5speed.
Seems to be a pretty nice hitch, well made. The shackles come pretty close to it so I think you'd have a hard time putting longer shackles on it but that's about it.

 

[stever40]

http://discounthitchcentral.com/20002000-c-178_1889_2055_2061/20002000-ford-explorer-hidden-hitch-trailer-tow-hitch-p-10812.html

Hidden Hitch.. I have one on my 2000 Sport 4.0L OHV 4x4 5speed.
Seems to be a pretty nice hitch, well made. The shackles come pretty close to it so I think you'd have a hard time putting longer shackles on it but that's about it.

Thanks but I am looking for the weight distribution hitch (WDH). The Platinum is already set up with the receiver.

 

[Robman]

I wondered what the heck "wdh" stood for..