More towing questions

[wcoleman]

After reading the sway control post it is obvious there is a great deal of towing experience here, so I have a few questions. I have a 4x2 2006 Ford Expedition. I have a T-30F Sunline, picked up 1.5 months ago at GSA auction. I am wondering if the Expedition can tow this vehicle safely. I did tow the TT 200 miles when I picked it up, and it seemed ok. I am not really sure if I exceeded the GW of my towing ability. Inside the medicine cabinet it showed the empty weight to be under 5000 lbs., with a GVW of 7000 lbs. So I felt that it was safe at the time, as the TT was empty. The max trailer towing and tongue weight on the Expedition shows 6000 lbs and 600 lbs, respective, when you read the actual printing on the hitch. There is also a 8950 lbs and 895 tongue weight using a weight distribution hitch. Does sway control count as weight distributing?

I am new to this whole deal, but loving it of course! Could someone please clarify these numbers and help me fiqure out the real towing capability of my vehicle and the real weight of my TT?

Thanks.

[Sunline Fan]

Hi Wayne,

What engine and rear end do you have in your Expy? I don't see any reason why it wouldn't tow it, but just to make sure, let me know. I don't think you'll have a problem since you towed it home without a problem. A sway control is technically part of the whole WD setup, but it wouldn't count for the tongue weight figure of your truck, because it doesn't hold any weight and is not required. I'm surprised your hitch figures don't match, but you can always upgrade your hitch to a HD hitch. My parents had a '97 2653 and two ('98 and '00) Navigators and that towed it fine, so I think you will be fine. I've seen many Expy's pulling large (>30') trailers with slide outs, apparently without a problem.

Jon

P.S. I spoke with Dale Zimmerman recently and he mentioned the F does stand for FEMA. Also, he gave me a production total, but I can't access my E-mail right now to give you the exact #. I will also be leaving for Florida this afternoon, so I might not be able to respond right away.

[wcoleman]

Thanks for the reply Jon. i am not sure what you mean about figures matching...could you elaborate? My Expy has the 5.4L with Class III towing, don't know the rear end, not listed anywhere I can find. Now I understand there is more involved with the WD setup, thanks.

Thanks for the info, and also thanks for following up on the FEMA info.

Wayne

[Mark]

Get your VIN number from the Expedition, and call a Ford dealer.

They can tell you all about the axles ratio---- and any other options you have.

[PTHutch]

Hi Wayne,

The 2006 4x2 Expy with the 5.4L engine is rated to tow 6,000 lbs w/ 3.31 gears and 8,900 lbs w/ 3.73 gears.

If your Expy has the 3.31 gears, your TV will struggle on hills and you probably will exceed the TV's tow rating once all passengers and cargo are loaded in the TV and Trailer.

If it has the 3.73 gears, you should have no problem pulling your trailer.

As Mark indicated you'll be able to find out what gears / rear end you have from your VIN.

Get a good hitch set up, with WD bars and sway control and you'll have not problem. Make sure the hitch is set up right.

Also remember, that the weight of passengers and cargo carried in the TV will reduce the weight of the TV's tow rating by an equal amount.

Hutch

[wcoleman]

Thank you all for the great input. I feel much more educated now. I really only plan to tow it back and forth to the farm where I boondock with it ( about 70 miles each way, not to hilly, just N. MS driving on HWY 7, so I wonder if i drive her easy, if it is necessary to get higher gear ratio?

Any thoughts?
Thank,

Wayne

[PTHutch]

Wayne,

My suggestion would be to try towing it a few times and see how it handles and how you feel towing with it.

The most important thing is safety - yours and others on the road.

Get the right hitch equipment and get it set up properly, you may be ok with what you have.

You're probably going to want 1200 # WD bars and sway control. Get the angles of the hitch set up so the nose of the trailer is slightly lower than the back.

We're on our 3rd Sunline and all three have towed extremely well. Our previous Sunline was a T-2670, which had similar weights as your trailer. We towed it with a Ford E-150 Conversion Van with 5.4L engine and 3.55 gears. Never had a problem, even when we took it out west over the mountains. The 5.4L Triton is an excellent engine. So I don't think you'll have any problems towing your trailer.

Hutch

[wcoleman]

thanks Hutch, sounds like sound advice.

[JohnB]

Wayne

GM's have RPO codes in the glove box that tell you every thing in your truck including the rear end ratio. However I do not think Ford does it exactly like this. I'm not a Ford wizard so I can't tell you exactly but what I heard is their "packages" are on the original bill of sale or the window sticker if you still have it. You might find the rear axle ratio there.

If you are really into it, you can jack up the truck rear end and count the revolutions of the drive shaft verse tire revolutions and find it out that way. But maybe the window sticker or dealer with the VIN number might be easier for you.

A point to bring up as the 1/2 Ton Expedition has a light rated receiver. And as you listed it as only 895# rated in WD mode. That means your receiver is only rated to hold up a 895# tongue load in WD mode.

Before you think of a upgrading to an aftermarket receiver, which will fix that problem, is the rear axle and tire ratings to check.

The weak link in the ½ ton SUV’s are the rear axle ratings and heavy tongue TT’s. You may be able to fit into your pull ratings, but may trip the rear axles rating (GAWR-RR) or the GVWR. If you are in this situation, do not feel alone. My prior 2002 1/2 ton Chevy Tahoe had the same issue. Basically my T2499 ate my Tahoes rear axle ratings for lunch. So I ended up getting a used ¾ ton Suburban because of it. Did not realize it at the time until I knew where to go looking.

Now how to figure this out. You need to find out the loaded tongue weight of your camper. Then look inside your driver side door sticker for the Rear axles ratings. And then you need to do some math on the truck’s rear axle ratings and see if the truck can hold it up. A WD hitch will greatly help, but the rear axle is still taking the blunt of the weight even when the WD is set up properly.

See this sticker off of my drivers door. You are looking for the GAWR-RR rating. Ford may use a slightly different letter set. But the GAWR-RR stands for Gross Axle Weight Rating – Rear.


And if you do not want to do the math, then go to a truck scale and weight axle by axle loaded ready to go camping.

I’m not saying you are overloaded, but you will most likely be close if not over. Sunline has always built in good tongue weight for stable towing TT’s and your F series camper, I can’t figure out how to find any specs on it to help look it up for you. You will have to keep most any extra gear out of the Expedition. Put it in the TT. And hopefully you do not have a family of 5 inside as it eats into your GVWR. Might have to take 2 vehicles if you have a full family. To the truck, people are cargo…and add weight.

Just a friendly heads up to check this out. And overloaded axle or tires can have negative results even towing 70 miles.

Good luck and let us know if you need more help.

John