Confused about my 2015 Expedition EL regarding towing capacity

Yes it was towed with my 2008 Expedition EL 4x4 (28' pursuit cuddy with twin 225 Optimaxs). I towed anywhere from Apollo Beach to Vero to Miami to the keys. No problems except once when I lost trailer brakes on the alley in traffic, even a F-350 would have struggled stopping that load.

Tire Tech Information - Load Reduction of Euro- & P-Metric Tires on Light Trucks

http://www.nexentireusa.com/cms_fil...ETIN___REPLACING_LT_TIRES_ON_LIGHT_TRUCKS.pdf

Unfortunately ford is exceptionally deceptive in their marketing and towing. While GM and Toyota have followed the new J2807 tow rating ford has been very slow to follow it and almost every truck lost towing capacity when they did go to the standard. I haven't read if the expeditions are J2807 compliant or not so it's a real crap shoot. I towed a lot between 8000 and 10,000 lbs and never felt worried with my expedition.

ManUpOrShutUp said:

According to Ford, the EL 4x2 is only available in 3.73.

Maximum trailer weight for a weight-carrying hitch is 6,000 lbs on the 2015. You should definitely be using a weight-distributing hitch at 7,000+.

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I read that on their spec sheet, but the code on my sticker inside the door gives the gear ratio at 3:31

Confused.

Yes, it IS an EL model. Ford specs for 2015 EL 4x2 says it is supposed to be 3.73, but sticker code says 3:31

Typo?

montecarlo31 said:

Yes it was towed with my 2008 Expedition EL 4x4 (28' pursuit cuddy with twin 225 Optimaxs). I towed anywhere from Apollo Beach to Vero to Miami to the keys. No problems except once when I lost trailer brakes on the alley in traffic, even a F-350 would have struggled stopping that load.

Tire Tech Information - Load Reduction of Euro- & P-Metric Tires on Light Trucks

http://www.nexentireusa.com/cms_fil...ETIN___REPLACING_LT_TIRES_ON_LIGHT_TRUCKS.pdf

Unfortunately ford is exceptionally deceptive in their marketing and towing. While GM and Toyota have followed the new J2807 tow rating ford has been very slow to follow it and almost every truck lost towing capacity when they did go to the standard. I haven't read if the expeditions are J2807 compliant or not so it's a real crap shoot. I towed a lot between 8000 and 10,000 lbs and never felt worried with my expedition.

Click to expand...

That's good to hear. I tow at 65MPH always, leave plenty of room between me and other vehicles, and try to be very safe. Slow starts from stop lights, etc. Tires properly inflated and monitored, I even check my wheel hubs and tires on the trailer and truck with a laser thermometer at every stop.

Once I find my total weights, tongue weight, etc. I will see if I can adjust the ball height so as to attain 5% tongue weight and see how that feels at 65mph before attempting a highway trip.

2wd el has the 3.73 as an option.
makes ZERO sense.

3.73 should have been standard.
seats 6...plus tow a huge load...and all that gear
might be on the build date..15s went through a few running changes

on the build website at ford..they have 2017s up...
two wheel drive EL is a 3.31 open diff
3.73 for 4x4 EL

and no new body style ??
or engine options .
didnt really see any new items, on the quick peak

powerboatr said:

2wd el has the 3.73 as an option.
makes ZERO sense.

3.73 should have been standard.
seats 6...plus tow a huge load...and all that gear
might be on the build date..15s went through a few running changes

Click to expand...

It does not tow a huge load and haul (implied by seating 6) a huge load. It is rated for 15,200 lbs GCWR and 7,750 (or ???) GVW. If you seat six 200 lb people you only have about 300 lbs of cargo capacity remaining. That is the issue with these trucks, you run out of load capacity long before towing capacity. Even if you use the average weight of a person which is 80 KG you are still left with just ~450 lbs of additional cargo availability.

So, did some measuring before I dropped the boat/trailer off for yearly service.

When NOT hooked up to the trailer, with 44psi in the tires, the measurement from the bottom of the tire to the outside bottom of the wheel well was 35 3/4" for the front wheels, and 35 1/4" for the rear. When the trailer is loaded on to the truck/ball hitch the front wheels measured 36 1/2" (so it raised the front end by 3/4") and the rear is 34 1/4" (so it lowered the rear by 1")

Got up to about 55 mph heading to the boat mechanic and never felt any sway.

Ball height w/o the trailer was 25", with the trailer it was 23".

Talked to the trailer guy at the dealer and it was determined that my actuator may be fried along with the solenoid that is supposed to cut off the brakes when I put it into reverse. Instead of spending big $$$ on EOH, I'm going to have them replace the actuator with a new model (one I had, even though the trailer was built brand new in 2013) was apparently an older, not-to-reliable Titan model). With my setup the guy said I shouldn't be getting that hard thunking and clunking. We'll see how things go - they are also going to measure the tongue weight and hopefully we can get things dialed in for 5%-7%, which if my weight calculations are correct, will be 400-550 pounds tongue weight when all is said and done.

quick tip to cheat the brake system when backing, put the safety chain hook into the slider, it will keep the trailer from pushing back and engaging the brakes without the need for electronics.

sounds like you have it solved pretty well, 1" drop is not bad.
i had the solenoid gizmo on my tandem boat trailer...all the ramps we used went downhill towards the water, so i would unplug trailer lights connection and just back normally

at home i had a slight incline, and sometimes it would work, and sometimes it would not,
i liked the pin in the slide to stop the brakes manually as well,
one day i twisted it on a weird incline at the boat shop, so it stopped working in reverse
and chunked in forward while braking. It got replaced with a smoother model but cant remember what brand
its been awhile
the trailer brand was "perfomance"