Travel Trailers

[Cbaka27]

17 EL Limited and my toy hauler is a 2011 KZ MXT301. 35' long and GVWR is 8800#s. The Expedition will tow every bit of it. Unlike Chuck Ive used a traditional "cheap" bar & chain WD hitch with sliding sway bar for years and shes straight as an arrow running 70 down the hwy.

Since you have the SWB model I wouldn't recommend one as big as me and DF5.4 have. It'll be the tail wagging the dog no matter how good your hitch is or how good your breaks are. If I were you I'd stay in the 25' or less range. Not sure the size of your family as you only mention the wife. We're a family of 5 with me, my wife and 3 small children and we have a UTV and multiple ATV's so we needed something big. I purposely bought the EL just because of this very reason.

I just bought a tuner for my ride so I can get some more performance out of her especially a torque boost so I can tow more efficiently. Like DF5 above I plan to upgrade my tires to an E rated model at some point. The OEM Hankooks are good but you'll get a better ride out of the stouter tire when towing heavy. If I'm really conservative and stay between 65-70mph I can get 11-12 mpg. Good luck with whatever trailer you choose

What tuner did you go with and have you been happy with it? What did you see improve. I have a 2011 EL and will be towing a lot this summer. I am looking at tuners now.

 

[07xln]

What tuner did you go with and have you been happy with it? What did you see improve. I have a 2011 EL and will be towing a lot this summer. I am looking at tuners now.

You’re not gonna gain a whole lot on a NA 5.4L with a tuner. You might gain 10hp and a little better shifting but that’s about it

With an Ecoboost the gains are much bigger with a tuner because the twin turbos.

 

[bobmbx]

We have a passport 3220bh and love it we towed all over the eastern us with our old 12 navigator l just got a 17 expedition el can’t wait to go camping View attachment 23692

Whoa...what is your overall length?

You may be "illegal" in several states. https://www.rvtripwizard.com/rv-info/state-road-laws.php

 

[chuck s]

Your link shows the max trailer length in Virginia is 28.5 feet. I guess the couple dozen travel trailers in the yard where I park can't be moved...

-- Chuck

 

[J_82]

So I have narrowed down my options to a heartland prowler lynx 25 lx, heartland pioneer bh270, forest river Cherokee grey wolf 19sm. They are all well under 9k lb gross weight.
However there i found a good deal on a prowler lynx 30 lx. The specifications on this 30lx are as follows:
33’11” long
Hitch weight 880 lbs
Dry weight 6720
Gross weight 9000 lbs.
cargo 2130 lbs.
would this trailer be too much for my 16 expedition to tow around safely?

16 expedition 2WD with tow package 18” wheels.

 

[J_82]

I don’t see us adding 2000 lbs of cargo weight to it.

 

[J_82]

I calculated grey, black and fresh water tanks full weight and 1k lbs of cargo added to dry weight and it will be roughly 8654lbs total weight. which I think would be worst case scenario. I would still be under 9200 lbs. Am I missing any other weight to consider?

 

[Jimdar]

I calculated grey, black and fresh water tanks full weight and 1k lbs of cargo added to dry weight and it will be roughly 8654lbs total weight. which I think would be worst case scenario. I would still be under 9200 lbs. Am I missing any other weight to consider?

The weight of passengers and cargo in the truck needs to be considered. It gets subtracted from either max trailer weight or tongue weight. I forget but someone will correct me.

 

[chuck s]

While it would be "fun" to do your math for you...

The 9200 pounds is a max, not planning number and the truck must be empty. You get a free 150 pound driver but few of us have been 150 in years. Every other pound for the firewood, camping stuff, dogs, McDonald's french fries under the seat -- and passengers -- comes off that number.

Then there's that pesky 880 pounds of tongue weight. Expeditions weigh about 5500 pounds empty and GVWR is 7500 so only have capacity in the truck for about 1100 pounds of people and dogs. Four adults and their stuff will consume that.

Towing at or near the max leaves no reserve for high summer temperatures, long grades, etc.

All this makes my head spin which is why I formulated the One Ton Rule. Simple, the trailer has to weigh no more than 2000 pounds less than the Max Tow Rating -- 9200 - 2000 = 7200 pounds is the max trailer I'll tow any distance.

-- Chuck

 

[07xln]

Is your Expedition the standard length or an EL. That’s a big trailer for a standard length Expy