What do you tow with your 5th gen. Explorer?

[twentygb]

Just keep in mind Chris that the legal tow rating is still 2000 lbs.

Peter

Peter, Conversely, are you saying that the 5000 lbs. tow rating is only legal if its a factory tow package?

 

[twentygb]

You definitely want a trans + oil cooler if towing anywhere near 5000lbs

I only saw a few guys mention towing travel trailers.. I was looking at possibly towing a small one but they all seem to have a tongue weight of 500lbs which is the max the X can handle. Plus most trailers easy creep up on the 5000lb max weight. On a side note, I did buy an 80" air mattress that fits perfectly with the 2nd and 3rd rows down haha

Yes. I'm looking into to this. But so far I haven't found good instructions specific to the explorer. From what I can tell, the hardest part to me seems to be removing the front fascia.

 

[Odrapnew]

Peter, Conversely, are you saying that the 5000 lbs. tow rating is only legal if its a factory tow package?

Correction to my previous post.

Answering for Peter, but that is correct.
Legally you can only tow 5000lbs (max) if you had FACTORY installed tow package and use a weight distributing hitch.
If not, you are legally only able to tow 2000lbs (max).

Mechanically, I bet you wouldn't have much of an issue towing 3000lbs, maybe more for short trips, but if you get into an accident at more than the legal weight, there's the possibility of bigger liability issues.

 

[peterk9]

Peter, Conversely, are you saying that the 5000 lbs. tow rating is only legal if its a factory tow package?

Yes, as Odrapnew stated, that is correct. Once the vehicle leaves the factory, the tow rating is set and cannot be changed. Among other items included in the tow package is a different transmission.

Peter

 

[Odrapnew]

I corrected my previous post.
Should have stated factory installed tow package, not dealer installed.