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.