I am looking to purchase a new setup for my wife and I. We are retired looking for a couples trailer. We are interested in getting a Ford Expidition XLT with max tow and fx4 package. We want to use it to pull a Grand design 22 mle. It’s 5200lbs empty with tongue at 500 lbs. 26 ft long. I am looking at going with a Hensley wdh. Looking for any advice from others similar. Thanks in advance.
Grand design 26 ft trailer
- Thread starter John Bay
- Start date
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Meeker
Full Access Members
The layout looks very similar to our Keystone Cougar 21RBSWE. So you'll likely have the same challenges I do... 
Ours is slightly heavier, and we have a 70 gallon (!) fresh water tank under the bed, and the GVWR is around 7200 lbs. Yours is 200+ lbs less so that's good.
I have had to be very careful about going over the RAWR (Rear Axle Weight Rating) of my 2018 XLT. First off, note that the biggest storage compartment we both have is right at the front under the bed. If you can, try to put any heavy items somewhere else, like under the kitchen seating (my heavy items are toolbox, hoses, wooden blocks). Unfortunately for me my kitchen seating is in the slideout so I can't really put heavy stuff there. Instead I've been leaving stuff at home and doing without.
I always travel with less than 10 gallons of fresh water because of the weight. Instead we fill some 5 gallon jugs and put them in the shower to transfer some weight back from the hitch.
I'm always around 900 lbs hitch weight even after moving as much as I can rearwards. I think you'll have a similar challenge. But if you stay within the specs and make sure the WD hitch is tight enough (lots of advice in forums about how to measure the fender heights before and after) it still tows well with minimal sway.
Last advice is with this setup, you'd be wise to accept lower driving speeds. I normally travel 55-60 mph. Faster is doable but gas usage goes up drastically, and semis and even pickups start to push you around. Relax and enjoy the view!
Ours is slightly heavier, and we have a 70 gallon (!) fresh water tank under the bed, and the GVWR is around 7200 lbs. Yours is 200+ lbs less so that's good.
I have had to be very careful about going over the RAWR (Rear Axle Weight Rating) of my 2018 XLT. First off, note that the biggest storage compartment we both have is right at the front under the bed. If you can, try to put any heavy items somewhere else, like under the kitchen seating (my heavy items are toolbox, hoses, wooden blocks). Unfortunately for me my kitchen seating is in the slideout so I can't really put heavy stuff there. Instead I've been leaving stuff at home and doing without.
I always travel with less than 10 gallons of fresh water because of the weight. Instead we fill some 5 gallon jugs and put them in the shower to transfer some weight back from the hitch.
I'm always around 900 lbs hitch weight even after moving as much as I can rearwards. I think you'll have a similar challenge. But if you stay within the specs and make sure the WD hitch is tight enough (lots of advice in forums about how to measure the fender heights before and after) it still tows well with minimal sway.
Last advice is with this setup, you'd be wise to accept lower driving speeds. I normally travel 55-60 mph. Faster is doable but gas usage goes up drastically, and semis and even pickups start to push you around. Relax and enjoy the view!
mwl001
Full Access Members
Go with a Max for greater wheelbase payload and rear axle rating. I’m not sure you need a Hensley but they work well - they would eat a lot of your payload depending on what else goes in the truck.
Meeker
Full Access Members
Sorry, didn't mean to scare you off! Some people won't have those challenges because they travel light, some will ignore them, but if you want to be worry free you have to basically oversize the truck quite a bit (e.g. F-250) and then you just hook up and go...
Payload would be my biggest concern. Our R-Pod RP-192 is smaller and looks a lot lighter based on specs. But the fresh water tank is in the front, as is the exterior storage, so like Meeker I have to watch how I load it and carry minimal water. Fortunately our dinette is located right above the axle and has storage underneath for my tools and other really heavy stuff.
We downsized from a motor home and the RP-192 is a very good couples floor plan. The Murphy bed makes a fairly small trailer seem a lot bigger. All the glass makes it seem larger as well and offers a great view. And it is sized well within the towing capabilities of our Expedition.
We downsized from a motor home and the RP-192 is a very good couples floor plan. The Murphy bed makes a fairly small trailer seem a lot bigger. All the glass makes it seem larger as well and offers a great view. And it is sized well within the towing capabilities of our Expedition.
Jrparne
Active Member
We tow a Grand Design Imagine 2800BH with our 2020 max limited max tow. We def push it to the limit and meeker is def right about rawr. That and payload become your limiting point it seems in the expy after towing for a year almost every weekend. but the 2800BH tops out around 8000 and with us in camp mode(3 plus kids canoe 2 adults) and then everything in the trailer we actually bump up on gawr on the rear all of the time. We have an equalizer e4 1200 lb bars that help transfer to the front axle. But it’s doable. You have to manage load in the trailer and not sacrifice tongue weight. That front compartment that is in most trailers plus the under front bed storage gets loaded up. I don’t think people realize that shoots your tongue weight through the roof. The 2800bh easily can offset a lot of that front storage with storage in the back. My last scale ticket left us 200 under gvwr of the expy but right at the rear axle limit. The trailer was about 7500 and towing in the Appalachians. Would an f250 be great... sure but the f250 can’t carry the kids plus canoe!!
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OldMedic
Member
If you exceed the towing limitations for your vehicle, you void your warranty! The maximum towing limits are NOT for a dry weight trailer. They are for your trailer loaded exactly the way that you will be using it. Water, food, furnishings, clothing, chocks & blocks, black water drain hose, electrical connections, et., etc all add a LOT of weight to the trailer.
If you overload your vehicle with people, gear, etc., AND an overweight trailer, you will also strain the heck out of your engine, transmission, rear end, shocks, wheel bearings, etc.
It is FAR better to get a vehicle DESIGNED to tow the kind of weight you are describing. If I were you, I would get an F-250 or an F-350, put a camper shell on the back so you can load your canoe, etc.
If you can't use a pickup, then look at a Chevy Suburban! (I know, it's not a Ford, but it is available with the load levels you are describing).
I made the mistake of overloading my Expedition too many times, and destroyed my transmission (which was NOT covered by the warranty).
If you overload your vehicle with people, gear, etc., AND an overweight trailer, you will also strain the heck out of your engine, transmission, rear end, shocks, wheel bearings, etc.
It is FAR better to get a vehicle DESIGNED to tow the kind of weight you are describing. If I were you, I would get an F-250 or an F-350, put a camper shell on the back so you can load your canoe, etc.
If you can't use a pickup, then look at a Chevy Suburban! (I know, it's not a Ford, but it is available with the load levels you are describing).
I made the mistake of overloading my Expedition too many times, and destroyed my transmission (which was NOT covered by the warranty).
Jrparne
Active Member
The individual didn’t mention he was towing above any limit by Ford. In fact the grand design 22mle is well within the spec of a Ford Expedition max tow. Even for all of the people that start bringing up stay within percentages of a hard limit tested and warrantied by the manufacturer. We tow a 2800BH, which is also within spec by the manufacturer, this individual will have no problem being within spec with a 22mle.
Shutterbug57
Full Access Members
Spec on your trailer is GVWR 7,995. To what spec by Ford are you referring?
lurch
Well-Known Member
I tow a GrandDesign 2400BH in a 2019XLT and HD tow package. I have cat scaled it with all 4 of us in the Expy and all of our gear we are within all limits. I use a BlueOx sway pro, it self center via the weight distribution springs instead of friction. So it works pretty well keeping things straight without the extra weight or a Hensley or Pro-Pride. If I had to buy the truck again I might go with the Max for the longer wheelbase. We get a lot of wind out here and the extra wheelbase would help with stability.
Bigfishfin
Full Access Members
I tow a 21RBS Outdoors RV trailer (25') with my shorty XLT...On this model, ORV puts the tanks (80 gal FW, 40 gal BK, & Gray) over the rear axles. My total weight (I often dry camp and travel with a full FW tank) is about 7,000 LBS. With an Equalizer 4 way hitch, this rig is dialed in real sweet with only a very slight push when big rigs pass going in my direction...The Ecoboost is a towing beast, nothing holds it back, but I tap out at 65 MPH because of the trailer tires. This all being said, when the Expy gets to about 80K, I am going to replace it with an F350 7.3 gasser...
Jrparne
Active Member
Ford hd towing spec...9000lbs for expy max Further more the 2800bh with expedition max with 2 adults three kids and gear with a fully loaded trailer is maxing out the expy. We bump up on all limits but are within. Tows great, currently on a 3600 mile 12 day trip. Ahh mpg 8.7 on premium gas.
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Bigfishfin
Full Access Members
I am clueless as to why folks go on forums sharing information, when they have no intention of critically assessing the input of others. Bottom line, your 32' trailer, with a GVW of probably 9,500 LBS, should be towed with no less than 3/4 T pickup. Will an Expy move it, obviously, are you a hazard about to happen to your family and others, YES!... IMHO...
JasonH
Full Access Members
A Internet search shows that the GVWR for the 2800BH is 8,000lbs. Definitely near the potential limit for the Expedition, but still within specifications. Not everyone is loading their trailer to the max.
Jrparne
Active Member
I am currently on mile 2600 of a 3400 mile trip with my family from North Carolina to western Texas. We tow the mountains of the Appalachian chain with no problem. just did a 10 percent grade in west Texas at palo duro and had zero issues.. We have zero problems with stopping, grades, power, temperature. Will I go up every grade at 65 no... will I plan trips appropriate to the conditions, yes. We camp nearly exclusively in the Appalachian mountains. The information I give is the absolute ability of the expy to tow at max weights. Properly loaded, weight distributed appropriately, and finally knowledge of how to fine tune your weight distribution hitch to provide the maximum performance. Texas direct crosswinds of 25 kts and gusting provided my proof that it works. Do you have to take precautions, sure. (Like slow down!!!) listen if I can’t land an airliner in the winds we def won’t be towing a 32 foot trailer in the winds. You have to know when to stop. But ultimately I feel extremely confident in our setup. Listen would of 3/4 ton be better, absolutely! But my expy tow’s a canoe on top and two adults 5 kids through the mountains just fine. Multiple cat scale trips and fine tuning of the wd hitch is the key.
Ultimately I feel it is safe. I have the data to prove it, I have the experience to handle it and ultimately I know when to stop. I am trying to provide a different experience for people out there. But if you have more information that you would like to share on the expy ability then by all means provide it.
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Bigfishfin
Full Access Members
Gee, really don't want to get into a ******* match with anyone!...But JR pretty much describes a 32' trailer loaded to the max...Regardless of weight, the wind shear force on a 32' X 9' "wall" of a trailer, going down the road at 60+ MPH, is really high, IMO (no engineer here)...The short wheelbase and weight of even a MAX EXPY would be overwhelmed easily...I just don't want to be on the same road as "that" guy!...
Jrparne
Active Member
Yeah, you start to bump up on gross combine and rear axle weight the most. When we load all of the seats basically each kid has a travel pack with what they need and we make it as light as possible. Outside of that the rest goes in the trailer.
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Jrparne
Active Member
For sure. West Texas we slowed to 60 and got into a caravan of bunch of campers on the highway. You really understand how semis just plow through while campers need to slow. You really feel the independent suspension moving a lot with the wd bars doing there thing. But the key is slow down. I won’t tow direct crosswind over 30 sustained for sure. That’s my new hard limit. West Texas near midland Odessa at 25 direct crosswind was doable but at the max. Btw gas mileage at that point went down to 6 while we were getting 8 pretty much the whole way out. Another tip for heavy loads is buy premium gas. Out last camper was 23 feet and half the weight and regular gas we got about 9 to 11. The 2800bh being much heavier, longer I get 6-7 on regular gas and 8-10 on premium. Even with the price difference you will save money over the long haul and better engine performance with premium gas.
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