Bunkhouse Travel Trailer for Behind the '15 EL?

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07xln

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Lots of good info at RV.net but the weight police are out of control over there. As soon as someone posts that they have any sort of SUV and they want to tow a trailer of decent size they'll come out in full force and flame on you pretty bad. That's why there is a lack of SUV related towing threads over there. And don't worry Ive searched for anything related to the 15-17 Expedition over there and only came up with a handful of threads, most of little or no value
 

07xln

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The killer for our vehicles is not tow weight its tongue weight. You should figure 12%-15% of the trailer weight will be on the tongue. I know my vehicle has about a 950 lbs tongue weight limit so if you take a 8000 lbs trailer that's 920 lbs at 12% tongue weight at 15% you're way over capacity at 1200 lbs. Another thing that we did was upgrade to the E rated tires. It made a HUGE difference in handling.

If you don't mind me asking what tires did you go with and how are they when you're not towing. I would think the extra pressure you have to keep in them would make the ride horrible

Thanks
 

tkoden

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Michelin Defenders. Ran 70 psi when towing and 55 - 60 when not. Really didn't notice that harsh of a ride.
 

montecarlo31

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I can give you some additional advise no one so far has. Stay away from the low end lightweight trailers, they tow like complete crap apples to apples. I've seen first hand how 25'-32' lightweights from Forest River, Keystone etc tow compared to nicer ones with heavier axles, better suspensions and stiffer frames like Highand, northwood etc and it's night and day different. A lot of these lightweight trailers also come with suspect 14" and 15" tires, combined with axles that are working at their max capacity and tires with soft sidewalls it makes for a scary ride. Cheap trailers tend to be cheap all around so when frames flex and twist it translates into the towing experience as well. Also tank placement, weight balance side to side all play a roll in how a unit tows. Also make sure the trailer is aligned, believe it or not most trailer alignments out of wack and when the tires are pointing 4 different directions it's not fun.

The Open Range builds some nice units, they are heavy but I think you will be fine with the expedition especially with some good LR E tires and the correct hitch set up (get the stiffest equalizer bars you can to help smooth the ride and distribute weight). The biggest issue for you towing heavy is going to be the ecoboost, while they make great power it's for limited times (out of 40 plus ecoboost we have yet to have one go over 110K miles without an engine failure). Otherwise give the Open Range a try, it will be more enjoyable than a similar light weight unit simply due to the quality construction and components used.
 

07xln

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out of 40 plus ecoboost we have yet to have one go over 110K miles without an engine failure).

I would like to hear more about this and why no such failures especially of this quantity has ever been reported anywhere in any major publication? Don't get me wrong 40 vehicles is a mere fraction of a fraction of a fraction of the total amount of Ecoboosts sold but still. 40 engine failures with barely over 100K miles seems like an issue that should be reported somewhere
 

rollinstone

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I tow a 3100 lb R-Pod Model 178 with slideout. Perfect for me, wife and two little granddaughters.
 

rcanfiel

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FWIW, I have seen on RV forums that they do not like to exceed 75-80% of the max tow capacity.
 

ManUpOrShutUp

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If you don't mind me asking what tires did you go with and how are they when you're not towing. I would think the extra pressure you have to keep in them would make the ride horrible

Thanks
Michelin Defenders. Ran 70 psi when towing and 55 - 60 when not. Really didn't notice that harsh of a ride.

I've got Michelin Defenders on my truck right now. Due to a faulty tire gauge I ran them at 42 psi (vs 36 psi) just for a single trip and it was like trying to steer a truck with 4 fixed wheels. It's not something I even noticed on the interstate, but driving down the local state route home sucked. Granted their not an identical tire to the E-rated tire, but I imagine the handling characteristics would translate over within that product line.
 

tkoden

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What vehicle are these on? We ran ours on the 07 expedition EL 4x4 for well over 80k miles ( different sets) and never noticed any steering difference other then significantly better handling in the corners both towing and not.
 

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