VIN decoding not accurate?

Bought a 22' ultralight RV (4500lb dry weight, 6000 loaded, came with Blue Ox sway control hitch) necessitating replacement of my 2005 Lincoln Aviator with an Expedition/Navigator with the HD Tow package. Budget $15-25k in ATL for 2014/2015 around 100k miles.

Read a ton of posts and watched a ton of videos comparing 2014 V8 vs 2015 V6 TT and either will do fine. Also debated 2WD vs 4WD and lots of posts conclude that although you don't need it often when you do you are REALLY happy to have the 4WD to drag the RV out of a muddy campground.

Which brings us to the VIN problem for confirming tow capacity. As a scour the web for the right vehicle I am using the VIN decoder over on the Ford Truck Enthusiast forum. I have been assuming that if the GCWR isn't very close to 15000lb that the truck doesn't have the extra approx 3000lb towing capacity offered by the HD tow package #536. Yet, a dealer just sent me an original window sticker on a 2015 showing HD tow package option but the VIN decoder tech specs for this VIN 1FMJK2AT2FEF41111 come back as 12800lb and max trailer weight 6000. Is the window sticker wrong? The decoder? Are there variations of the optional tow package?

Departure date for a 6-week tour of the west is Sept. 1 and gotta get this bought to get some practice towing.

For those model years, Limited and higher trims all have HD Tow. The HD Tow is not encoded in the VIN.

Thank you for the response Jason but now I am really confused. Everything I have found so far says that the true HD tow package to get 9200lb towing ability is still an option. "The Ford Expedition comes standard with a 7 wire harness, a standard Class IV trailer hitch receiver, and trailer sway control. For heavy-duty towing applications, you can boost it further with a 536 tow package that includes a radiator upgrade, electronic traction assist, pro trailer backup assist and trailer brake controller."

I just conducted a test with the VIN decoder on a 2015 Limited and got this.
VIN: 1FMJU2AT8FEF06390 - GCWR - 12500 Max Trailer Wt 6600
I was expecting to see 15000 GCWR if it has the HD tow package with 9200lb towing capacity.

Ken

KenJFerguson said:

Thank you for the response Jason but now I am really confused. Everything I have found so far says that the true HD tow package to get 9200lb towing ability is still an option. "The Ford Expedition comes standard with a 7 wire harness, a standard Class IV trailer hitch receiver, and trailer sway control. For heavy-duty towing applications, you can boost it further with a 536 tow package that includes a radiator upgrade, electronic traction assist, pro trailer backup assist and trailer brake controller."

I just conducted a test with the VIN decoder on a 2015 Limited and got this.
VIN: 1FMJU2AT8FEF06390 - GCWR - 12500 Max Trailer Wt 6600
I was expecting to see 15000 GCWR if it has the HD tow package with 9200lb towing capacity.

Ken

Click to expand...

GCWR is not encoded in the VIN see https://www.fleet.ford.com/parts-service/resources/vin-guides/
What you are seeing is the base vehicle information based on the 5, 6, 7 positions of the VIN (U2A) which indicates an Expedition Limited 4x4. K2A from your 1st one above is an Expedition EL Limited 4x4. From the brochure for a 2015 (https://www.ford.com/services/assets/Brochure?make=Ford&model=Expedition&year=2015) you can see the Limited includes all the features of the XLT plus the Heavy Duty Trailer Tow Package. You can also look at the towing guide (https://www.fleet.ford.com/content/...eet/towing-guides/Ford_Linc_15RVTTowGuide.pdf).

If you have questions from there, have them send you a picture of VIN sticker and loading sticker on the door and the hitch sticker on the back.