Towing Tips

[MikeTEC]

After close to 30 years towing trailers, last 8 towing with my Explorer, I thought I would share a few things which I have learned along the way. First , be careful of the trailer you choose. Your Explorer will be rated for a maximum weight trailer, but what they fail to mention is frontal area size. Pulling a full size 8' wide trailer with a large frontal area, regardless of weight, is like dragging a piece of plywood down the road. The new lightweight 7' wide trailers are great towables for Explorer and mid-size trucks. Mike

 

[Robert]

They (assuming Ford?) didn't fail to mention it. In my manual on page 138 it lists the maximum frontal area of the trailer to be 50 square feet for all '97 Explorers regardless of engine or axle. I have read that the narrower 7' trailers do tow better though. The only thing I have towed behind mine was a 5'x8' enclosed trailer that had about 30 square feet of frontal area. The less surface area you have sticking out to the sides or the top the easier it will be to pull it. Good advise.

 

[MikeTEC]

Thanks, Robert. My 93 manual does not list frontal area, although I believe Ford in the past has printed some towing brochures for all Ford trucks listing maximum frontal area for towing. For sure, RV salespeople will sometimes fail to mention frontal area in order to make a sale. Too, 7' wide trailers allow better use of side mirrows on our mid size Explorers. It is impossbile to see around an 8' wide trailer w/o mirrow extentions. Safety is a very big factor in towing. Mike

 

[JJack]

A towing question for MikeTec....

I've got a 2k AWD V8 which I tow a car with. I have an 18' open car hauler which weighs roughly 1800 so with the car and gear I'm towing a little more than 5k. This thing sags in the rear somethin' fierce! I've done as much as I can with the load leveling hitch and adjusting the position of the car on the trailer. I'm gonna guess I've got a tongue weight of ~500. I do haul gear in the back as well but I try to position it as far forward as possible. I have the towing package...course that means $300 for wiring but I did get the 3.73 LSD.

I was thinking of putting a set of Bilstein HD shocks all the way around but I don't think that's gonna do it. I considered doing the Add-A-Leaf kit but this is my wife's vehicle and she probably won't appreciate the ride change....I assume it would be quite a bit rougher. The other option is the air bladder. Does anyone have any other suggestions or experiences with this? Anyone run the Bilsteins?

Thanks for any help or suggestions!

 

[RTStork]

so with a 500lb tongue and 5000 lb load, the reare was sagging heavily? I could have sworn I read in my manual that says we can tow 1000lb tounge and 10,000lb load with a hitch. Any ideas on this?

 

[Michigander]

Originally posted by RTStork
I could have sworn I read in my manual that says we can tow 1000lb tounge and 10,000lb load with a hitch. Any ideas on this?

No way... the most I've ever heard was 750 lbd tongue and 7,500 total weight... and that is only with a load leveling hitch.

 

[jjue]

I have Bilstein shocks on my '97 Mountaineer V8, and it does hook a little better on take-offs and is firmer than OEM. I haven't had the opportunity to tow a heavy trailer since installing the Bilsteins, but sag definitely is worse than when I had a '94 Explorer. I've been thinking about a Roadmaster Active Suspension as it would handle rough terrain better than air bladders, but I haven't due to money. I have also pulled a car (roommate's '67 Mustang) with the Mountaineer, and I do remember having to take it easy due to a lack of braking power while the truck's brakes were at the end of their life cycle and the trailer didn't have brakes.

 

[JJack]

According to the manual, and the specs, the V8 AWD is rated for 6820 towing capacity. A load leveling hitch is required for anything over 500lbs tongue weight. With a load distributing hitch the tow rating doesn't change but the tongue weight can go to 700 I believe.

Either way, the suspension on this thing is terrible for towing. There's no way I'm towing near the capacity, especially tongue weight and it sags terribly. Oh, BTW, I've only towed about 8-10 times total over the last year and the vehicle now suffers permanent sag, even unloaded, I'd say as much as 2". I'm going to be taking it back to the dealer to have them do something (like replace the springs maybe) because this is not right.

Heck it sags even with a small amount of weight in the back.

The funny thing is that I'd bet I only have ~300lbs of tongue weight too. I can't lift the front of the trailer with it loaded but I can move it a bit, more than expected if it had 500lbs on it.

So, anyone have a suggestion regarding the use of Add-A-Leaf and Bilstein shocks?

Thanks.

 

[mountaineerman]

I tow a 4000lb boat w/350lb tongue weight and had a similar sag problem. I installed a set of air lift springs for $180. http://www.airliftcompany.com/ridecontrol.htm They have worked out great. I leave 20lbs of pressure in them when not towing (this actually improved my ride and handling) The best part is you keep adding air until the ride height is where you want it (in my case about 50lbs) The ride with the trailer in tow is as good as with no trailer - no sagging or bottoming out. I would highly recommend these air springs when towing any kind of heavy load.

 

[mahughesnh]

Towing Experience

Before we bought our camping trailer, I posted on this board looking for suggestions and hints. I would like to take this opportunity to again thank MikeTEC for his help and knowledge.

Here is what I have learned in four towing trips this summer and fall with our trailer.

First, we are towing with a 2001 Sport. Our trailer is about 3600 lbs empty and 4950 fully loaded which it never is. It is a Jayco Kiwi 23B which is one of the new hybrids that are part tent trailer and part full trailer. A 23 footer.

We had an equalizing hitch installed with sway control. There is no way I would have towed it without either one of those features. It sags so bad without the equalizers installed it really looks like it is dragging the rear bumper. And the sway control really helps on the highway.

On the straight and level there are no problems. But that 4.0L SOHC is just not really strong enough for the hills. It really bogs down. But while it is slower on the hills, there are no real problems.

The brakes seem to be up to the task. But the dealer spent very little time helping me learn how to deal with the trailer brake unit. Thankfully, I like to read the manuals and experiment. We had some real problems at first but figured out how to adjust our way out of them.

Even with a 7ft wide trailer, the mirrors do not stick out far enough. So we got extenders. Much better.

Overall the experience has not been to bad, but I would not recommend doing it with the 2 door. The wheelbase is just too short and it has a tendency to porpoise in irregular roads. Not badly, just disconcerting. Go for a V8, I will with our next one!