Confused about my 2015 Expedition EL regarding towing capacity

So, just moved from a 2008 F250 to a 2015 Expedition EL. Double checked the window sticker and included equipment and it supposedly has the Heavy Duty Towing package.

It has the electronic brake controller, transmission temp gauges on the screen, all the programmable towing menus on the screen, pretty much everything the Ford guide says it has to have as part of the HD Towing package.

Now according to the Ford Towing Guide:

http://www.ford.com/resources/ford/general/pdf/towingguides/16rvtt_ford_expedition_sep28.pdf

The Expedition EL has either a 3:31 or 3:73 ration axle, which allows it to tow up to 9200 pounds IF it has the HD Trailer package.

Mine has the 3:31 axle.

I am towing about 7000 pounds (boat) - tongue weight about 800 pounds. When I put the trailer on the hitch, it pushes the back end of the truck (at the rear tires) down 2 inches.

The tires are Michelin P275/65R18, M+S Radial X, 114T

Max load 2601lbs per tire, Max pressure 44psi

But the inside-the-door sticker says to inflate to 35psi

So, is this normal? Should I inflate to 40psi or 44psi when towing?

Last question - the towing guide says "Maximum loaded trailer weight requires weight distributing hitch" - given my "over 6600 but well under 9200" towing weight, would I really NEED a WD hitch?

if you are a 4x4 its 3.73 open diff in the EL models
the 2wd have the other axle 3.31 axle
if your squishing...check tongue weight. it should be 10 to 15% iirrc of trailer weight. for a 7000 lb boat. thats 700 lbs...which most likely exceeds your weight carrying portion rating of the hitch on the truck, 500 lbs is your dead weight rating for the factory hitch
tires when towing...has been max inflation pressure cold when towing or carrying heavy loads for me.
then later you could drop them to bring ride back in the more comfy setting
boat trailers generally you dont use WD set up, but you could since your over the dead weight (weight carrying capacity) of the hitch
i would see what your tongue weight is first. you may just need to move ballast around on your boat trailer to lower or raise the tongue weight
my last boat it was a simple matter of sliding the wheels fwd or back .
if yours are not adjustable, then moving boat fwd or back on trailer will change tongue weight, as will full load of boat., is your boat on a tandem axle trailer or triple
if you move back back..you need to move the winch as well to support your boat
remember..to light a tongue may result in fishtailing of towed trailer, to much also effects steering if wd is not used.
hope it helps

Couple of things going on here. Ford states the max tongue weight for non weight distribution is 600 lbs I believe (going off memory). In theory you should but I logged many thousands of miles in Florida towing a 28' boat that was quite a bit heavier and never used ones and never had any issues. You will have suspension compression with 800 lbs of hitch weight just like you would if you loaded four 200 lbs guys in the 3rd and 2nd rows. That being said 35 PSI is for the weight the truck shipped at, 44 PSI is for the maximum rated load. If I am not mistaken the tires are rated at 2,601 lbs less 10% due to the being mounted on a Light Truck / MPV. So you have a total rear axle tire capacity of 4733 lbs, still above the max rating of 4,300 or so (I didn't own an EL so I don't know if it get's a bump from the standard) but close.

That being said you should run the rear tires at 40-42 psi mark. This is a guess without my load chart vs psi but I guess your rear axle is about 3,200 to 3,300 lbs when empty. When loaded you are probably close to 4,100 lbs or 87% of the tires rated capacity.

Thanks for the information. I've done some recalculating, factoring in trailer weight, full tank of fuel, gear, hard top, motor, hull, fresh water, ice, dive tanks - holy crap, I think I'm closer to pushing 8000 pounds!

So at 10% tongue weight I'm at 800 pounds. Granted, I rarely tow any distance more than 8 miles with a full tank of fuel, or the dogs in the back of the SUV, but damn.

I think I will definitely put 40-44 psi in the rear tires when towing.

Trailer is twin axle Owens and Sons. The tongue is actually two feet longer than most use for this size of the boat and the boat is all the way to the rear, so I have a lot of "empty" space past the bow, which does make it easier to maneuver the trailer. Perhaps this is helping me by keeping the majority of the weight at the back of the trailer and not forward.

SUV is 4x2.

I'm thinking that going with EOH (which will help with smoothness of braking and accelerating from a stop) in addition to a surge-brake compatible WDH may be my best bet.

Question - does the WDH actually help to take weight OFF the hitch/back of the truck? So instead of 800 pounds on the tongue it will be a bit less?

montecarlo31 said:

Couple of things going on here. Ford states the max tongue weight for non weight distribution is 600 lbs I believe (going off memory). In theory you should but I logged many thousands of miles in Florida towing a 28' boat that was quite a bit heavier and never used ones and never had any issues. You will have suspension compression with 800 lbs of hitch weight just like you would if you loaded four 200 lbs guys in the 3rd and 2nd rows. That being said 35 PSI is for the weight the truck shipped at, 44 PSI is for the maximum rated load. If I am not mistaken the tires are rated at 2,601 lbs less 10% due to the being mounted on a Light Truck / MPV. So you have a total rear axle tire capacity of 4733 lbs, still above the max rating of 4,300 or so (I didn't own an EL so I don't know if it get's a bump from the standard) but close.

That being said you should run the rear tires at 40-42 psi mark. This is a guess without my load chart vs psi but I guess your rear axle is about 3,200 to 3,300 lbs when empty. When loaded you are probably close to 4,100 lbs or 87% of the tires rated capacity.

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Did you tow this 28 foot boat with an Expedition?

i just looked again the 2wd el and non el both have 9200 for tow rating.
HOWEVER.
i could find zero about derating the tires capacity based on light truck or mpv type vehicle. thats not to say its not there but ford does not state anything about it.
wheels capacity and tire capacity stamped is what you have to go by.
22" wheels are very low . 20" are higher and 18" are higher yet.
i suspect you have 20"

i have towed lots of heavy boats with no wd hitch. even on a 1/2 ton truck.

get an accurate weight of truck loaded...no boat and then a weight of boat by itself and boat wheels hitch ed up.
then do math to move load or adjust air pressures
moving tongue weight on a tandem axle trailer is easy,
if you are going to have a car full of people, take that in account as well, in squat as mentioned


wd do transfer weight off the rear wheels and put some on the front axle and some back on the trailer axle
there is a great write up on reese and husky about the math involved.
8 mile trip....easy.

http://www.fleet.ford.com/resources/ford/general/pdf/towingguides/Ford_Linc_15RVTTgde_May19.pdf
page 22

Is it possible also that Ford is, like any company, hedging on the low side since they know the vast majority of people are going to tow over the stated capacity?

It seems odd to me that a LOT of people out there are towing 25-28 foot twin motor boats, loaded with fuel and gear, that are definitely over 7500 pounds, with 1500 series vehicles.

grey2112 said:

Is it possible also that Ford is, like any company, hedging on the low side since they know the vast majority of people are going to tow over the stated capacity?

It seems odd to me that a LOT of people out there are towing 25-28 foot twin motor boats, loaded with fuel and gear, that are definitely over 7500 pounds, with 1500 series vehicles.

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probably not
but then again i see rvs being towed that are over weight for the 3/4 ton truck pulling them
we pull behind our 40 foot class A the expedition on a flat bed hauler...looking at 9100 lbs..leaves me 900 before i hit max gcvwr of 42k

your frame is stout and my concern would be the axle, 2wd and boat ramp angle..she might not yank it out of the water, but it should pull it out
for grins i went out and snapped a pic of my OEM tires hankooks
rated load is 2535 lbs at 51 PSI. but tag on b pillar lists 35psi...
2535 x2 is 5070 lbs ..rear axle is rated at 4300 so i think wheels and tires are not the weak link in this regard

I have had it to the ramp twice - no issues at all pulling the boat out. Who knows - with that 3.5" rise on my ball, I may be at 5% tongue weight, which would be only 400 pounds. I know they recommend 7%-15%, but maybe I am pretty good with regards to this - if the VAST majority of my trailering is under 40 mph in the city, and I never experience any sway, the a WDH may not be in order.

grey2112 said:

Mine has the 3:31 axle.

Last question - the towing guide says "Maximum loaded trailer weight requires weight distributing hitch" - given my "over 6600 but well under 9200" towing weight, would I really NEED a WD hitch?

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grey2112 said:

SUV is 4x2.

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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+.