Towing question

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Papaw14

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Sep 6, 2007
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I think I know the answer already but I will ask here anyway.  I have a 2005 Explorer Sport Trac, 4.0 engine, 4 wheel drive, auto transmission and I think a towing package, I know it has a transmission cooler.  The owners manual states the towing capacity is 5300 lbs.  How big of a travel trailer with brakes could I pull safely.  Friends say that I cannot safely pull anything big enough to be called a RV. 

I love this site even though I do not have a RV.  You have been very helpful. 
 
I think I would listen to your friends.  While the tow rating is there, I can tell you from personal experience (not that truck, but a similar smaller SUV) that once you hook up a TT to it, and start towing, what seems like a lot of power in that truck will be sapped into nothing.  The little trucks and SUV's are just not made to handle TT's.  You could probably get by with a pop-up or a Hi-Low (or Trailmanor), but if you want to get into the travel trailers, you really need a more capable truck.  There are many threads on this subject throughout this website.  If you really want to get into the TT scene, do yourself a favor and get a bigger truck.  A real truck.
 
I have a 2006 Explored 4x4 with the 4.0 and towing package. I tow a 20' boat that is about 4100lbs and have no issues with either power, handling or breaking. The boat trailer is a single axle with disk surge brakes. If you stay with the lighter smaller units that are well within you towing capacity you will be ok. Do not push the upper limit as you will not be happy with the towing performance. If you are looking to go with the larger TT's you will need to go to a larger tow vehicle.
 
Papaw14 said:
I think I know the answer already but I will ask here anyway.  I have a 2005 Explorer Sport Trac, 4.0 engine, 4 wheel drive, auto transmission and I think a towing package, I know it has a transmission cooler.  The owners manual states the towing capacity is 5300 lbs.  How big of a travel trailer with brakes could I pull safely.  Friends say that I cannot safely pull anything big enough to be called a RV. 

I love this site even though I do not have a RV.  You have been very helpful. 
Click to expand...

Your Explorer has a tow rating of 5380 lbs according to the Trailer Life tables.  East of the Rockies that would translate into a maximum trailer GVWR of 4842 lbs.  allowing a 10% safety factor.  In the west and west coast that number would be 4304 lbs. allowing a 20% safety factor.

What that means is that your unit is pretty well limited to tent trailers, Casitas, and Hi-Low units.
 
Thanks for the answers.  I thought that would be what I fwould find out.  A salesman just told me that my truck was great for a 3200 lb trailer, I told him I knew it would pull it but would it be safe and he said it was safe.  He really wanted a sell. 
 
Actually the 2005 Sport Trac 4x4 is only 5080 lbs, per the 2005 Ford Towing Guide. Only the 4x2 model is 5300. The GCWR is 9600 lbs, so that is the max weight of the Explorer, trailer, hitch, passengers and ALL the gear carried in both of them. You an weigh the Explorer with driver and passengers, estimate the gear and hitch weight and what left is for the trailer.  But as a rule of thumb, we say you can take the max tow capacity and reduce it by 10% and that should be close. Make that 20% if you plan to tow in the western mountain regions - those long steep grades and high altitudes are hard on a small block gas-powered tow vehicle.  Using that rule of thumb, that says you could look at trailers that have a GVWR of up to about 4500 lbs. That's probably in the 21 foot range unless it's a hybrid or or a fold-down type (e.g. Trail Manor or Hi-Lo).

2005 Ford Towing Guide
 
Papaw14 said:
Thanks for the answers.  I thought that would be what I fwould find out.  A salesman just told me that my truck was great for a 3200 lb trailer, I told him I knew it would pull it but would it be safe and he said it was safe.  He really wanted a sell. 
Click to expand...

Was that 3200 lbs GVWR or the usual base/dry weight.  Go with GVWR, the base weight is approximate at best and does not include fluids or your gear.
 
3200 (dry) is about all I would be willing to tow with a Sport Trac. That's probably a GVWR in the low 4000 range and hopefully its actual loaded weight is a bit under the max. A Sport Trac is a really nice ride but not exactly a hauler.
 
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