What can I tow safely - not just what the manual says

[unpredictable1]

My wife is hell bent on thinking our Explorer can't tow any more than its own weight with passengers. I try to convince her otherwise but to save myself from wasting my breath can someone tell me what they tow on a normal basis? I know the hp is low and you'd notice the trailer fairly quickly in driving...

The reason being is in the near future I want to buy a travel trailer or a tent trailer. She doesn't think the Explorer would tow it. Even if you have pictures of your Explorer at work - please post them.

I'm not talking about high risk short distance towing (ie towing a larger vehicle that has broke down). But the typical road campming trip with a trailer...or boat..anything!

Cheers,

lbrowne

for instance would I be able to tow something like this??

Travel Trailer

 

[gluvsave35]

well if this will help my buddies has a manuel s10 and we hooked up a 31 foot mobile home and it held its own so i think an explorer will be fine

 

[Vanquish502]

Well I think you should just take a dive, and pretend you were wrong. Reason being, towing with an A4LD is a bad decision.

 

[Vanquish502]

Sorry but just to answer your question, yes it would pull it, and it would definitely surprise you. I pulled a nissan pulsar about an hour from here, and it did much better than I thought it would.

 

[fishtruck]

I Towed my 21' drift boat loaded with gear 2500 miles from Washington to Alaska in two and 1\2 days with my '91 Ex and it's 190,000mi A4LD. 22hrs straight one day and not even a hiccup. Towed my boats all summer too. Good luck trying to get your wife "clued in" on the prowess off the mighty Ford Explorer.

Peace

 

[ma96782]

I'd use another vehicle to tow with. The auto trans in the 1st Gen. FORD Explorer is a weak point.

Now.....as for the travel trailer or pop up.....IMHO consider: the weight of the trailer, then add more lbs. for your stuff.....then, think breaks......is your FORD wired for elec brakes.......do you have the right hitch......factor the tongue weight......how about a wt. distribution hitch......and back to the 160 hp. 4.0L.


Observations (from another post of mine):

When going over the mountains......this vehicle is a "dog." If I had known before the purchase that it would be that hard to keep a reasonable speed (55-60 MPH) going up what is about a 5-6% grade (that is what the sign says going down) I would have gone with MORE HP (another vehicle). The 4.0L ohv (at 160 HP) in this vehicle doesn't cut it........you have to floor it just to maintain the speed while going uphill (mountain).........but, traveling around town (flat areas) it's OK.

That was my observations without towing a thing w/my '94 Explorer, 4.0L, 4x4, 3.27 gears, auto trans. and only my wife and 8 yr old were in the vehicle at the time.

Aloha, Mark

 

[unpredictable1]

I'm shocked as for the most part this is the opposite of some threads I've read over the years concerning what people tow or have towed with their 1st gen Explorer.

 

[Gatorblazer]

Ive towed 16 ft trailers full of Bermuda Sod, and havent had any trouble.

 

[Jason94sport]

I'm shocked as for the most part this is the opposite of some threads I've read over the years concerning what people tow or have towed with their 1st gen Explorer.

Cause it's different for everyone. Depends on what your towing, how your towing, what terrian your going over, what HW speed, what gears you have, tires sizes, tranny condition, weather conditions, & how your X is setup to tow(brakes, hitch, helper springs etc)

I'd never tow anything over long trips with a 1st gen X. Short, local, non HW tows I'd do. But as stated a 1st gen has enough problems getting over hills with a head wind. Now imagine towing something that weighs 4K lbs.

 

[Maniak]

A light travel trailer (pop-up) style shouldn't be a problem IF you have the right gear ratio (e.g. 3.27's and lots of hills won't be fun) And you Must have at least a tranny cooler if you have an a4ld (auto) transmission. I'd also put in a trans temp gauge so you can stop before damage is done if things start to get hot. The newer travel trailer (popups) are pretty light, but I'd still put them on a receiver hitch, not the bumper.

Here is what I towed.. The explorer wasn't happy about it, and yes I was overloading the explorer, but it did tow it.. (I had to put it in 2 wheel low once when I stopped at a stop sign facing uphill.. I couldn't get moving in 2 wheel high)..

 

[ma96782]

Cause it's different for everyone. Depends on what your towing, how your towing, what terrian your going over, what HW speed, what gears you have, tires sizes, tranny condition, weather conditions, & how your X is setup to tow(brakes, hitch, helper springs etc)

That right there, is some good advice.

WARNING......your mileage will vary (and I don't mean MPG).

Alot of folks have said they tow a boat w/o a problem....but, a small boat is usually light by comparision to a travel trailer. Pop ups are usually lighter and areo dynamic (compared to a travel tralier).

I'd be worried about the auto trans.........IF it goes.....it's a BIG expense to fix.

well if this will help my buddies has a manuel s10 and we hooked up a 31 foot mobile home and it held its own so i think an explorer will be fine

A CHEVY S10 is lighter and has more hp (example:4.3L-195hp in 1993 model), than the Explorer.

Aloha, Mark

 

[unpredictable1]

I have 3.73 gears and also the larger hitch under the rear bumper. I beleive I looked up my VIN or some door jam code before and I have the tow package. I'll see if I cna find all that info.

I have the stock sized tires too.

 

[96limitedX]

we towed a 5k TT with our '94 with 3:73s and auto...did just fine that was about 300lbs less then the max rating for our truck w/its options.

 

[Maniak]

You have decent gearing for towing then.. And it sounds like you have a reciever hitch (instead of using the ball on the bumper)..

The tow package should have the tranny cooler (not a big one, but at least it has one).. You can see it in front of the condensor (looks like a small radiator on the drivers side of the grill)..

Assuming all is well, towing a light aerodynamic trailer shouldn't be that bad...

~Mark

 

[westcovinajoe]

I have seen some X's towing on the street before, sorry no first hand experience though.

I know more about wives.

There are two kinds. Those who are always right and ex-wives.

Decide which yours is and procede with caution.

Joseph.

 

[unpredictable1]

So the tent trailers would probably be a safer bet then. They're cheaper too I would imagine their lower profile producing less wind resistance might help too

 

[alexefron]

pop up tent trailers are signifigantly lighter, and have a ton less windage area. Check to see that you do infact have a tranny cooler. Also changing the fluid before you start doing any kind of towing would be a good idea.

 

[unpredictable1]

I know in a lot of cases this doesn't matter but I'm the second owner of this vehicle and the previous owner religiously had the tranny serviced at Ford (fluid and Filter etc)

I'll look for this tranny cooler hopefully tonight. There is something there resembling a smaller radiator but I always thought it was for the AC....

 

[96limitedX]

for referance..here was the trailer we towed with ease..no trailer brakes either.
dry weight like 4,500lbs..and yeah thats my truck in the pic..but we towed it with my moms '94.

 

[Glacier991]

I'd definitely recommend adding a shift kit to your transmission, and an extra aux cooler if I was serious about towing. Also treat the A4LD like a 3 speed and do not tow in overdrive (unless you have a long flat or downhill stretch with the wind at your back.)