towing and loving my truck

[xltguy]

Just wanted to thank all those who helped me out with suggestions and advice last week as I prepared to tow a trailer with my 97 xlt 5.0L. The truck ran like a champ and made me proud in the Colorado mountains. The advice about target rpms on the big hills was really helpful and allowed me to pass up several "inferior" trucks while keeping my engine and transmission happy at the same time. Also, drug the trailer down a mountain backroad that was a quasi-4x4 road to find a great campsite (a couple of dings on the braces protecting the undercarriage of the trailer, but it was worth it). Thanks again for the help. This site is great and I have a new appreciation for the workhorse Ex.

 

[X24]

Welcome to the site! I'm sure you will stick around to learn (and mod)!

 

[Crankcase]

You're welcome. What speed did you end up doing on those hills? The Explorer will do those hills fine with no troubles if driven with care

 

[xltguy]

I averaged 45-55 on the biggest hills, with rpms in the 3200-3600 range generally, except for a few seconds around 4000 just before trans upshifted. None of the 4600 I posted about previously and, as predicted, I was able to maintain much more consistent speed and felt the strength of the motor much better at the lower rpm. I was most impressed with the low end torque (correct term?) as I pulled the trailer up a short, but very steep and rocky "road" when leaving our camp site. My brother-in-law doubted that I would get the trailer back up the hill to leave, but the Ex slowly and confidently walked up the hill dragging the 4000lb dead weight behind it!

 

[jjue]

Yeah, I love my '97 Mountaineer that I'm thinking of keeping as long as possible, and when the engine rebuild time comes, I'll buy another vehicle as a daily driver, or buy a 4x4 truck for hunting and rebuild the Mountaineer as an even more powerful daily driver. I'm glad did I didn't get rid of my 302 last year trying to buy a '99 F-150 4x4 Extended Cab.