How much can I really pull?

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HotRodTortoise

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So I'm in the market for a toy hauler so I can take my family around south-western US for the next 6 months or so and I am trying to figure out exactly what size trailer I can really pull. I have a 4X4 2012 Ford Expedition EL Limited with the HD Tow Package. Specs claim it can pull up to 8,700 lbs but I am hearing a bunch of mixed stuff from people about what is reality. I've been looking at 32' trailers with dry weight in the 6,500-7,000 lb range and GVRW of no more than 9,000 lb (goal to stay at or below 8,500 lb max). Some of the people in the trailer FB group are claiming that the 1/4 tons can't handle it but most of them are pulling with GM and I don't know squat about their set up. So what have y'all experienced? Can the Expy really pull the advertised 8,700 lbs on a true road trip? Mine has the:

5.4L SOHC V8
6 speed automatic
3.73 axle ratio
HD Tow Package
Transmission cooler
Air shocks
7 pin connector
Class IV tow hitch

Thanks everyone!
 
I had an Expedition set up pretty much like yours (gave it to my daughter and her family) and the tow rating was 7400#.  You need to go online and check the tow rating and the GVWR of the trailer.  It looks like you are going way beyond the safe numbers.
 
Look at the yellow tag on the door jam. It gives the correct numbers for that truck as it left the factory. On line numbers tend to be for a stripped truck with all towing options and are usually wildly optomistic for normally equipped trucks.

Ernie
 
SUVs of all sorts can be maxed out or nearly so with just family and gear on board.  What does yours weigh loaded ready to go?  Subtract that number from its posted GVWR.  That gives you available payload.  Translate that to mean max tongue weight.  Since we know a TT tongue weight is between 12 and 15% of its total weight a bit of simple math will get you your answer.  Remember to NOT look at or use the advertised dry weight.  Instead use the trailers GVWR as your base line.
 
I know friends of ours that  had one it would pull but had independent rear suspension and just ate the rear tires up pulling. Not sure if yours still has independent rear suspension or not. They were under there two rating.
 
HotRodTortoise said:
So I'm in the market for a toy hauler so I can take my family around south-western US for the next 6 months or so and I am trying to figure out exactly what size trailer I can really pull. I have a 4X4 2012 Ford Expedition EL Limited with the HD Tow Package. Specs claim it can pull up to 8,700 lbs but I am hearing a bunch of mixed stuff from people about what is reality. I've been looking at 32' trailers with dry weight in the 6,500-7,000 lb range and GVRW of no more than 9,000 lb (goal to stay at or below 8,500 lb max). Some of the people in the trailer FB group are claiming that the 1/4 tons can't handle it but most of them are pulling with GM and I don't know squat about their set up. So what have y'all experienced? Can the Expy really pull the advertised 8,700 lbs on a true road trip? Mine has the:

5.4L SOHC V8
6 speed automatic
3.73 axle ratio
HD Tow Package
Transmission cooler
Air shocks
7 pin connector
Class IV tow hitch

Thanks everyone!

As mentioned by others, you should look on the driver's door pillar or door for the sticker that tells you the vehicle's GVWR.  This is the maximum that your vehicle can weigh, period. It may be yellow or silver, but is attached at the factory according to VIN. Any after sale additions to the vehicle that add weight need to be added to that value.

From a Ford owners guide:
"GCW (Gross Combined Weight) ? is the weight of the loaded vehicle (GVW) plus the weight of the fully loaded trailer. GCWR (Gross Combined Weight Rating) ? is the maximum allowable weight of the vehicle and the loaded trailer ? including all cargo and passengers ? that the vehicle can handle without risking damage.
(Important: The towing vehicle?s braking system is rated for operation at GVWR, not at GCWR.) Separate functional brakes should be used for safe control of towed vehicles and for trailers where the GCW of the towing vehicle plus the trailer exceed the GVWR of the towing vehicle.
The GCW must never exceed the GCWR."

So, with that said, you should contact a Ford dealer and have them look up the GCWR (Gross Combined Weight Rating) of your Expedition, using your VIN #. The GCWR value is not likely found on your door pillar with the other info (GVWR) and tire loading. Manufacturers like to use "cargo" weight and "dry" weight in their sales brochures and there are several interpretations as to what they mean.

The GCWR value is the maximum legal weight limit of your loaded Expedition and the attached loaded trailer. Exceed that number and have an accident, all bets are off whether your insurance would cover you and how unsafe you would be to others on the highway. It doesn't matter what a dealer says or what the brochure says, it's what the tow vehicle is allowed to weigh as a combined "package" that really sets your limits for what you can pull down the highway.

It will cost you about $10 to go to a CAT weigh scale and weigh your Expedition with full fuel, cargo and people. Also, you need to add to that scale weight the weight of a weight distribution hitch (you'll have to look that up to get an estimate if you don't already have the hitch).

Compare the scale reading to your GVWR from your door panel and hope that your scale weight is not at or over the GVWR for the Expedition.
Now take that SCALE weight number and subtract it from the GCWR you got from Ford and you will have the maximum GVWR of a trailer you can tow.
Shop for a trailer based on the trailer's GVWR, not on the trailer's brochure dry weight.  Looking at the GVWR (usually located on a sticker on the driver's side of the trailer) was the first thing I would do, and if it exceeded my maximum trailer weight allowance I set, I would just move on to the next one and only look at the interior if the trailer GVWR was below my limit.

Sorry for the long post, but just giving my 2 cents.





 
Your Expedition is indeed rated for UP TO 9200 lbs towing (but somewhat less if it's a 4x4 or the EL submodel). However, that's with no option add-ons and no passengers and gear in the SUV, so the practical limit is going to be lower.  The door post placard will give some further info on payload for your specific Expedition, but it's probably no more than a couple hundred lbs difference.  Besides optional equipment in the vehicle, you need to allow for factors such as the weight of your family, gear in the SUV, and the weight of the WD hitch (around 100 lbs carried by the SUV itself).  Those combined are likely to reduce the remaining tow capacity by 400-600 lbs.  Regval described how to determine that, but a reasonable estimate is to simply reduce the spec tow capacity by 10% to allow for those all those factors.  By that I mean reduce the brochure number (9200) by 10% (920 lbs)  and make that remainder (8280 lbs) the upper limit of the GVWR of any trailer you plan to buy.  That says the 8500- 9000 lb upper limit stated in your initial message is somewhat optimistic.


The rest of the analysis is highly subjective because it involves your comfort, performance expectations, and ease of handling in less-than-ideal conditions. The Expedition may be able to physically tow a trailer without imminent mechanical failure, but that doesn't necessarily mean you will enjoy the drive. If you are the type who gets frustrated by slow moving vehicles, or gets nervous on windy days, you will probably want more truck or less trailer.
 

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