Towing my rallye Car with my explorer???

[FRANKYPOO]

Hi!

I know my explorer can tow about 3500 lbs according to my owner's manual. My question is can I safely tow something around that weight for a long run without risking any damages?

I have a rallye car that weights around 3000 lbs, the trailer weights around 400 lbs and I have to drive around with 4 adults and lots of tools and parts... If I have to drive about 500 miles with that load each way about 5 or 6 times a year will it cause any damage? what should I modify in order to avoid breaking?

My explorer is a 96 with the 4.0 V6 engine and a 5 speed tranny and around 40K miles on it... it's in great shape and I've never towed anything except for moving from my appartement last year!

Thanks a lot! It would be really sad to miss a race because the truck broke on my way there!

 

[SprinklerMan]

gears

What kind of gears do you have, 3.73's should be sufficient, 4.10's would be great, although I've never seen a 5-speed come with 4.10's.

 

[TODD92XLT]

Do you have the towing package?

 

[toad]

Hey Todd92xlt looks like we have similar taste and names . I also have a 92 xlt and a 84 mustang rag top lowered 1 1/2 IN. 289 all done up. Great taste in vehicals must come with the name !

 

[FRANKYPOO]

According to the door sticker I have the 3.27 gears... So I guess that won't be enough

I don't think I have the towing package... I bought it used so is there a way I can be sure I don't have it?

Is there a lot of work involve if I want to make my truck able to tow my car? Can I "just" change gears or add something? I know how to work on my car but I've never worked on the Explorer... And I really don't know anything about towing stuff!

 

[Dannyboy]

Don't be too scared by this because I think my mechanic was a knob but I had a tranny rebuilt twice in a year, only paid for the first one but still that's not something I'm happy about. I have added a hayden external tranny cooler (about $80) and it is a easy install if you work on cars already. This will help the weakest part of using this to tow, the tranny, last longer by running cooler. I also have a class 3 towing hitch which I highly reccomend. I have pulled some pretty big boats and if the trailer has hydralic brakes, it slows down nicer than my little 17 ft sea ray so they are a bonus also. Those gears sound little but if you run stock tires and don't mind a slow take off you may benifit on HWY fuel economy. Good luck and go buy a tranny cooler yesterday MY ADVICE!!