How close to tow ratings do you dare go?

[RaydaKub]

Hi guys. I've got an '03 Expedition 4x4, 5.4L engine. She's getting a little long in the tooth at 158,000 miles, but still runs and drives well. Minnesota winter salt is taking its toll however. Ford rates it to pull up to an 8,900 trailer with an 800 lb tongue weight, obviously with a weight distributing hitch. The 2003 was when they changed body styles to have independent coil springs on the rear end instead of leaf springs.

My wife and I are getting the itch to buy a camper again after not having one for 6 years. But we want a few more amenities than the old popup did. There are a couple used ones at a decent price nearby. These are 26 footers (31 with hitch) that run 6-6500 lbs dry. The tongue weight is listed at 780 lbs.

20 lbs is not a lot of margin. Do you think this would be a safe combination? Or should I wait until I trade the Expedition for something else?

 

[RNeumann]

The vehicle weight can handle getting near the max weight. It's your 5.4l that will be working. With a good inertia type brake controller and a good weight distribution hitch and some common sense you should do OK.

You seem sensible (based on your concern) but I'll expand anyway..... make sure the vehicle is mechanically sound with high load range, good quality tires. Make sure the cooling system is in good shape with a good radiator. Trans with cooler in good shape. Brakes in good shape with a quality maybe even upgraded material. I've had excellent success with Bilstein shocks.
The trailer will need good brakes that are inspected regularly. Be smart about adding weight etc. No need to put 100 gals of water in it before a 10 hour drive over an 7000' pass when you can get water at the camp ground. I would also skip the "trailer" tires in favor of DOT rated truck tires that are the same size- trailer tires aren't worth putting on anything of value- especially something you want to take on an enjoyable vacation. The RV industry is famous for putting the minimum axle, tire, brake and rim combo together to make them pass inspection.
These folks have, BY FAR, the best hitch on the market. The engineering is simple, yet genius! I haven't heard a negative review yet and I love mine.
Weight Distribution Hitch | Anti Sway and Anti Bounce Hitch Kit

 

[RNeumann]

You can also check tongue weight as you load the trailer-

DIY Trailer Tongue Weight Scale - YouTube

 

[George2615]

Keep in mind that depending on how far you tow you are going to be making an engine, trans and rear end with 168K work a lot harder than they ever have.
Plus what RNeumann said.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Hi guys. I've got an '03 Expedition 4x4, 5.4L engine. She's getting a little long in the tooth at 158,000 miles, but still runs and drives well. Minnesota winter salt is taking its toll however. Ford rates it to pull up to an 8,900 trailer with an 800 lb tongue weight, obviously with a weight distributing hitch. The 2003 was when they changed body styles to have independent coil springs on the rear end instead of leaf springs.

My wife and I are getting the itch to buy a camper again after not having one for 6 years. But we want a few more amenities than the old popup did. There are a couple used ones at a decent price nearby. These are 26 footers (31 with hitch) that run 6-6500 lbs dry. The tongue weight is listed at 780 lbs.

20 lbs is not a lot of margin. Do you think this would be a safe combination? Or should I wait until I trade the Expedition for something else?

I would not worry about the truck itself. I tow all the time right upto my tow limit.

What I would do is update your 14 year old hitch. That salt has had to taken its toll. I like Curt and Putnam. For about $150 you can get a unit that is upto the task and safe. I have personally seen 4 or 5 15 year old hitches fail. At that point safety chains and brake away's do you no good.

Chris

 

[TemporaryKubotaOwnerMark]

What I would do is update your 14 year old hitch. That salt has had to taken its toll.

Yep. Especially if it's powder-coated. Rust can hide very well behind that stuff, eating away at the metal while maintaining a very nice external appearance.

Yeah, that strong point of powder-coating, the durability? It's the worst thing about it. It hides deep rust very well. With old-fashioned paint, it will surface rust and look bad long before there's any compromise of structural integrity. That way you know you need to clean up the rust. With powder-coating, it hides until serious damage is done.

 

[RaydaKub]

The vehicle weight can handle getting near the max weight. It's your 5.4l that will be working. With a good inertia type brake controller and a good weight distribution hitch and some common sense you should do OK.

You seem sensible (based on your concern) but I'll expand anyway..... make sure the vehicle is mechanically sound with high load range, good quality tires. Make sure the cooling system is in good shape with a good radiator. Trans with cooler in good shape. Brakes in good shape with a quality maybe even upgraded material. I've had excellent success with Bilstein shocks.
The trailer will need good brakes that are inspected regularly. Be smart about adding weight etc. No need to put 100 gals of water in it before a 10 hour drive over an 7000' pass when you can get water at the camp ground. I would also skip the "trailer" tires in favor of DOT rated truck tires that are the same size- trailer tires aren't worth putting on anything of value- especially something you want to take on an enjoyable vacation. The RV industry is famous for putting the minimum axle, tire, brake and rim combo together to make them pass inspection.
These folks have, BY FAR, the best hitch on the market. The engineering is simple, yet genius! I haven't heard a negative review yet and I love mine.
Weight Distribution Hitch | Anti Sway and Anti Bounce Hitch Kit

Well, I try to be sensible. :laughing:
I insist on top of the line tires on my vehicle. I can't say I've crawled underneath it, but when I bought it, it was listed as full factory trailering package, so it should have tranny cooler. I upgraded the brake pads last time they were changed. Makes sense to run with an empty water tank, used to do that even on the popup. Not too many mountains in Minnesota. I know what you mean about the tires they put on. The popup tires wore out at about 13,000 miles. Most trips with a new rig will be a few hundred miles for a weekend, tops. I've pulled close to 4k lbs with it a couple times for short trips and it's handled it nicely.

I used to drive a pickup & 5th wheel grain trailer up to 30k lbs, so I'm well acquainted with heavier loads.

Watched the video on that hitch. That thing looks really sweet. Way easier to use than the old torsion bars. Turns out the one RV dealer with one of the units is also a dealer on that hitch system.

Oh, and that video for measuring tongue weight is a great idea.

 

[Gunny]

I wouldn't plan on anything using the dry weight of the camper, it's often wrong and any options aren't taken into account when they throw out the dry weights.

Examples would be if you towed with any amount of water in the tanks, the weight of the water and the area where the tanks are located would throw off your guesstimated tongue weight. Just exactly how much weight are you going to be putting the camper? where are you going to distribute that weight. Cooking utensils, LP gas, water, coolers, food, beer, clothing? All of that stuff weighs something and it's going to affect total weight. Where it's placed in the camper is going to affect tongue weight.
How much stuff will you have in the Expedition? What is the payload capacity of the Expedition? That affects how much tongue weight you have left to tow with.

To be exactly sure, you need to know the weight of the trailer, loaded up and ready to go, and the weight of the Expedition, with all passengers and stuff loaded in it, before you can make an educated guess on where you stand with the tow rating capacity.

If the camper is 6250 pounds dry (assuming the manufacturer is close) then your tongue weight is 1% of camper weight. If you add 500 pounds of stuff then you're up to 6750 pounds total with a tongue weight of 1012 pounds. And from my experience, it's not hard at all to add 500 pounds of weight when you started carrying foodstuffs, cooking utensils, tools, firewood, leveling and blocking materials, etc.

I'd wait for a bigger vehicle or a smaller camper.

 

[CobyRupert]

TBN needs a "Redneck" forum where the question would be: "How many multiples of the tow rating do you dare go over by?"

 

[Heywood Jannockitov]

While you are replacing the hitch, I'd replace all the brake lines too. They especially rust out where they are secured to the frame rails. The truck is reaching the age that brake lines will start to fail on you. The rubber ones should be inspected for surface cracking.