I am in the market for a travel trailer and want some advice on what size I should be looking at. The RV sites have a staggering number of different opinions about what I can tow. I have a 2004 Expy with HD tow pkg and want to get something that I can tow safely without worrying a lot (a little is o.k.).

I want to know what real owners are doing.

Please weigh in with your experiences.

 

Just remember that you will end up putting things like bedding...dishes..H2o..lanterns other goods/food into the camper. That stuff can add up easily as far as weight goes. Some shady dealers have been known to get you to buy the biggest trailer your rig can handle...until you load it.

Dont forget that your rig will be able to pull quite a bit af weight but must stop it as well. Trailer brakes may be an option for your Expy.

I think my tow rating for my 2000 is around 6500 but it seems to have a problem pulling a 3200lbs boat.

I guess Im saying dont overdo it because you can. Take the camper for a test drive down city streets and the highway of course.

Actual towing limits depend on towing speed, highway grades, elevation, desired acceleration, miles towed per year, tow vehicle loading, frontal area of trailer, sway resistance of trailer, etc.

Also, towing an upright trailer with large frontal area at highway speeds can damage a transmission even if the trailer weight is below the tow rating.

Adding options, batteries, gear, fluids can increase loaded weights as much as 1000 pounds above the base weight of a specific trailer. You should add 500- 1000 pounds to the base weights to estimate the actual towed weight.





Have fun.

 

Towing a 1975 23' Airstream. Weighs in at 4,400 lbs fully loaded and ready to go. Tows pretty good. I have 3:73 gearing.

I would say stick with about 80% of whatever your towing capacity is. Like MPBTim says, add about 1,000 lbs to the weight of the dry trailer. And be careful, a lot of trailers will list the dry weight before necessary options such as propane bottles or an awning.

Don't forget a good anti-sway hitch, such as the Reese Dual Cam or the Equalizer.

 

Just a question. How are you having problems towing a 3200 lb boat with your expedition??? I towed a 4200 lb boat with my 1997 mountaineer V-8 5.0 liter through the mountains with no problems at all. Unsure of your problem...

My parents have a 1999 Ford Expedition Eddie Bauer 4x4 5.4 liter and tow a 24 foot camper weighing in around 5000 lbs with no problem at all. Just make sure get your weight distribution bars.

 

The boat was swaying and I shold have told you all that I wasnt pulling a level trailer. she was nose up. A drop hitch of 3" was in order and it cut it way down.

When you say weight distribution bars...do you mean a weight distributing hitch? Or anti sways?

It also may just be me....I was pulling it with an 05 F150 and never had an issue. New car to me...new feel as well.

 

I tow a Cherokee 28A w/ my Expy. The truck is an 04 4x4 w/ the tow pkg. I put a Reese Dual Cam anti-sway and a prodigy brake controller in and they all seem to work well. My trailer is 5xxx lbs empty and is within the weight limts of the truck. With that said, I would definately not go any bigger. I haven't weighed the trailer loaded, but I suspect it is way over 7000 lbs. We do have allot in it, but don't tow it often.

Towing - the truck seems to pull it fine, starting up is slower, but not a problem. The truck does work hard on decent grades, and will drop down to 2nd gear on some steeper hills. I have not and will not pull it in the mountains... I don't have any problems maintaining 55mph on the grades, but it really works the engine, and I will usually let it slow down to no lower than 40 on the steeper hills. I average about 7.5 - 8.5 mpg towing this thing.

Braking - I am using a prodigy brake controller w/ this setup. It works well and seems to stop the trailer with no issues. According to the setup of the controller, I should be able to lock the trailer tires when manually applying trailer brakes fully. I can only do this on gravel roads. Regardless, it seems to stop at the same rate as when the vehicle is unloaded.

Swaying - I have not had any problems with this. My trailer is about 30' long and is pushing the "suggested length limits of the Expy". I spent extra on the sway control to be extra here. I have passed/been passed by oncoming big rigs in decent wind situations. The trailer has never felt out of control. Don't skimp on the sway control!

Overall, the Expy is a decent tow vehicle. I would focus on the lighter-weight trailers and buy good equipment to go w/ the trailer and tow vehicle.

Let me know if you have any questions...

 

For what its worth. I tow a 16 foot open trailer with my 93 Cobra on it. Weight distribution hitch came with the trailer and I dont have any problems towing anywhere. But then again I am not in and extreme hurry to get anywhere when my car is on the trailer.

 

I tow a 26ft 6000lb travel trailer and it does alright. More power would be nice. I'm hoping Ford puts a bigger engine in the Expedition EL or small diesel would be great. In the meantime my current 03 is getting the job done.

 

Hi there...

I have a '98 Navigator with the 5.4 engine.

I tow a 7,000 pound 18' cargo trailer for my work on a weekly basis. I probably tow it an average of about 100 - 150 miles a week - all of the travel stays pretty local, for the most part. The Nav does a good job of this, but if I could do what I'm doing with about a 5,000 pound trailer, I'd enjoy it more.

It's not so much about going slower up the hills... for me, it's more about me not wanting to do the big hills around here and burn up my brakes coming back down!

I am buying a 20' Surveyor travel trailer this year ... and I was very conscious of weights while shopping for this trailer. I wanted something that would be a couple of thousand pounds less (loaded) than what I'm currently towing for work. After all, I want to have fun... and I was kinda hoping a little better fuel mileage and less "work" on the hills here in Colorado would add to that "fun".

My suggestion is that you'll probably appreciate going a little on the light side unless you're planning on just short trips with your trailer... and especially if you're tangling with mountains and such.

For what it's worth... I would NEVER tow the maximum my truck is rated for... the 7,000 pounds I'm towing is plenty. (IIRC, my Nav is rated for 8,000 or so)

Personally, I wouldn't want to tow anything heavier than 5,000 pounds for any distance unless I had a diesel. Just my opinion.

Have fun,

Sally

 

This is my set-up with a 2k expy. The trailer weighs about 1300 lbs and the car is a bit under 3300. I use an equalizer hitch and it tows awesome. I also have an anti-sway but have yet to install it because I havent felt as though it was needed. Generally I tow with the OD off and so far have seen over 12 mpg and the trans temp has never been over 170* on the highway.