2017 Buying Question

coolzzy said:

It helps towing a boat maybe, but if you have a wdh, you have to hitch it up without the bars first and drive it around the block before then adding the bars. So in that respect it does prolong the hitch up process for a travel trailer. If your wdh is setup correctly, you won't need additional load capacity. Now that being said, you can add the load leveling nivomat shocks if you get an expy without them, i believe it's around 500 to buy the parts, assemble the unit and install.

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So people only tow boats or travel trailers with their Expeditions? What about 500lbs of sod in the back or 8 people in the truck or a family of fives luggage for a 2 week road trip vacation etc etc etc. It wouldn't help for any of those scenarios??? The positives of the LLS far outweigh the negatives.

I know, and I'm not saying it isn't a nice option but I wouldn't let it sway me from a expy that had every option I wanted but the LLS. It was not a standard option even on the limited or on trucks with the HD tow package so it is obviously not required for towing a trailer which the OP had listed as uses for the vehicle. I am contemplating adding the nivomats at some point myself.

Load leveling does indeed level the truck's profile in relation to the pavement. And nicely disguises the overloaded rear axle. Towing level is a symptom of good weight distribution, not the goal. Switch it Off when setting up your WDH. If you want the last 1/4 inch taken out switch it back on once you're set. Easier to just not have it but some trim lines include it automatically for those porcine passengers in the 3d seat or cargo in the bed -- but it ain't for towing.

Regardless of gimmicks like load leveling shocks and Rubber thingies (Timbrens) wedged in the suspension the rear axle rating doesn't change and while ya may be looking good you can be severely overloaded and not "see" it.

God made WDHs for a reason.

-- Chuck

In the 15-17’s you CANNOT turn off LLS if it is equipped. It is a 100% mechanical system and is merely a set of shocks with special valving that keeps the shock in a certain extension range. The company that makes them is NivoMat(Which was already mentioned).

LLS can be found on a platinum, but only if it was ordered without CCD/22’s. I almost bought one.

chuck s said:

Load leveling does indeed level the truck's profile in relation to the pavement. And nicely disguises the overloaded rear axle. Towing level is a symptom of good weight distribution, not the goal. Switch it Off when setting up your WDH. If you want the last 1/4 inch taken out switch it back on once you're set. Easier to just not have it but some trim lines include it automatically for those porcine passengers in the 3d seat or cargo in the bed -- but it ain't for towing.

Regardless of gimmicks like load leveling shocks and Rubber thingies (Timbrens) wedged in the suspension the rear axle rating doesn't change and while ya may be looking good you can be severely overloaded and not "see" it.

God made WDHs for a reason.

-- Chuck

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Nobody on here once mentioned overloading or increasing capacity accept you. I didn't once say the LLS is there so you can carry more weight. THE LLS SUSPENSION DOESNT INCREASE YOUR CAPACITY. We know this but for some reason you think we're all dumb and don't know it. Whats funny is you don't even know enough about it to know that its not something you can turn on and off.

Why in the world would you not want a level vehicle when you have added weight in the rear??? I don't understand why you poo poo so much on the LLS. Youre the only one on here that has anything negative to say about the LLS EVER. How exactly is it a gimmick??? Like I said earlier you go to HomeDepot and pick up a few hundred pounds of sod (which is nowhere even close to overloading anything) or hitch up a 5K trailer with 500lbs of tongue weight (again not over loading the truck at all). There are literally infinite scenarios in which a person can load or tow something using an Expedition and not need a WDH. Why in the world would you not want a built in system in place to level that load???????????????????????????????????????????? Just go and look at the various towing videos online for the 18 model and the tiny loads it takes to make it sag in the back and tell me you don't see a problem with that

You know what don't waste your time replying to me. The amount of false information you tell people on here when it comes to towing and suspension etc is astounding. Im tired of beating this dead horse with you

jeff kushner said:

FWIW: if I paid 51,900(buy price) for my lmted, and the Pltnm was only 4K more than my truck, it SEEMS like you might be better off with a new one....depending on how you equate mileage to $$

Is 30K miles & a new factory warranty worth 10 grand?


Just my take on it.....it's all up to you...either way, you'll be getting a good truck!

jeff

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Thank you everyone for the replies! Just the info i was looking for. I ended up getting a 2018 Expo XLT FX4. Just made more sense in the long run. Has all the options that I wanted and none that I didn't want.

8131full said:

hello group. new member here. Looking at this 2017 and wanted to get opinions on price etc.

https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/738645659/overview/

Platinum, $45k. 29k miles.

I will be using it to tow, and window sticker says it has 'tow package', which I assume is a bigger trans cooler. What it doesn't say is if it has the load leveling rear. Dealer doesn't know for sure or isn't willing to check.

It has all the other options that i'm looking for, though. I'm in vegas so want to be sure on it before flying down there.

Thoughts? Appreciate any input. Thanks!

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New car price with used car miles and feel.

Also, dumped real early but with highish miles for that year, MIGHT be a problem vehicle.

Go with a '15 for like 25-30k tops (its a fullsize Ford miles dont really matter of it wasnt dumped early for reasons unknown, higher miles lease return might actually be a much safer buy), or buy a new-unsold-stock '17 for deep disounts, or get a low-end '18

8131full said:

Thank you everyone for the replies! Just the info i was looking for. I ended up getting a 2018 Expo XLT FX4. Just made more sense in the long run. Has all the options that I wanted and none that I didn't want.

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How much?

As has been stated, you can get a 2017 Platinum with Load Leveling Rear Suspension -- even though 22-inch wheels and CCD suspension were standard equipment for that year. Some Platinums came from the factory *without* CCD and 22-inch wheels. They were mostly fleet vehicles. I saw quite a few of these trucks when I was shopping for mine earlier this year. A 2017 Platinum *with* LLS (and therefore without CCD) can be identified because it has 2015 Platinum 20-inch wheels instead of 22s.

star-art said:

As has been stated, you can get a 2017 Platinum with Load Leveling Rear Suspension -- even though 22-inch wheels and CCD suspension were standard equipment for that year. Some Platinums came from the factory *without* CCD and 22-inch wheels. They were mostly fleet vehicles. I saw quite a few of these trucks when I was shopping for mine earlier this year. A 2017 Platinum *with* LLS (and therefore without CCD) can be identified because it has 2015 Platinum 20-inch wheels instead of 22s.

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Exactly what I saw when I was looking to replace our totaled 15. Almost picked one up, then found a Limited with exactly what we want.