Can we talk HD Tow one more time?

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3FOR2

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Looking at a Stealth Nomad toy hauler. I'm thinking this is going to be too much with my Yamaha Wolverine X4 in the garage (1920lbs with accessories).

FRONT GAWR: 1531 KG (3375 LB)
GVWR: 3379 KG (7450 LB)
REAR GAWR: 1987 KG (4380 LB)
The combined weight of occupants: and cargo should never exceed: 689 KG (1520 lbs.)


View attachment 69913
Bill,
You might look at
Family business, super quality, I got a 14’ x 8.5’ Motorcycle trailer, all kinds of options, raised roof, cabinets, still very light. I looked at the Stealth, very nice but heavy.3016BB73-C3AD-40FA-9CA5-4A0735D6AEC2.jpeg
 

Fasttimes

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Just came back with my first ever Travel Trailer and thought I would add my reflections and experiences to this thread. My Wife’s family live in Northern Michigan, while we live in South Florida. I bought the camper at a dealer In Northern Michigan, so we drove up, hooked up and then went from there. The camper is a Coachmen Spirit 2454BH weighing 5,500 lb dry. I estimate that we added another 1000 lbs. of stuff. From bumper to ball, the trailer is 29 feet. My Expedition is a 2019 Max AWD with 303A. Prior to the trip, I swapped out the 22” wheels for 18’s with Sumitomo LT tires. I also added Sumo helpers and swapped both front and rear sway bars with Hellwigs. The hitch was set up by the dealer and is an Equalizer 4 way WDH (10,000 lb).

We towed up to the Upper Peninsula and back down to South Florida, mostly on I-75, then I-95 in Florida. According to the Expedition Tow screen, we towed just under 2500 miles. I was very impressed with the power of the Expedition and Tow mode gave this newbie confidence in driving with the trailer. The engine braking and 4A mode was especially welcome on the slippery roads of the Tennessee Mountains during heavy rain and fog. The WDH, plus the Hellwig bars kept sway to a minimum (on I-10 there was a 12 mph cross wind that promoted a little sway). I was not, however, impressed with the gas mileage of 8.5 mpg overall (with 93 octane), but it is what it is (I do admit that I was probably driving closer to 80 mph more often than I should have). I am glad that the max has a 28 gallon tank. I’m also surprised that with my relatively light trailer and Sumo helpers, that there is a fair amount of squat. I don’t think it affected my steering or caused any sway, but just looks a little unbalanced. The next trip, I’ll try to move more weight behind the trailer axles. Overall, my first experience with owning a camper and towing it with the Expedition is a very positive one.

You most likely need to adjust the WDH more. My guess is more weight should be transfered to the front axle, probably moving the arms up one notch. The best thing you can do is get to a CAT scale and get familiar with the process of weighing your set up. You'll be able to see how much weight is being transferred by your WDH and what kind of adjustments you need to make. It's a process, took me a good 2 years till I feel I'm dialed in exactly where I want to be. Finally getting to a scale and making adjustments was the key to finally finding success.
 

flying68

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Ok so Im comparing my Gen3, 4 wheel drive, Limited with HD Tow (Included with Limited) and if you look at the attached pic compared to the build and capacity tags listed above; my front axle is the same at 3550, rear axle is 4300 (80 short of above) and GVWR 7500, but total capacity is only 1361?

Is this because:
a) this is a Gen 3 with a mostly steel body vs aluminum.
b) The aluminum body of Gen 4 plus more power than Gen3
c) ?? please tell me why.
A
Payload is GVWR - curb weight.
 

BMW2FORD

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Hi all, 2018 Max Limited, 4wd, 302a with 22 inch wheels and CCD. No HD tow or FX4 package and has captain chairs. Payload on sticker shows 1487! Total GAWR 7600, FGAWR 3550 and RGVWR 4200. I just got the truck and test drove another limited with 20 inch wheels before this one and can feel it rides softer in normal mode but firmer in sport mode. Spring code on door sticker is NNGG. I haven't towed with it yet but looking forward to trying.
 

Jerald Cook

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Ok so Im comparing my Gen3, 4 wheel drive, Limited with HD Tow (Included with Limited) and if you look at the attached pic compared to the build and capacity tags listed above; my front axle is the same at 3550, rear axle is 4300 (80 short of above) and GVWR 7500, but total capacity is only 1361?

Is this because:
a) this is a Gen 3 with a mostly steel body vs aluminum.
b) The aluminum body of Gen 4 plus more power than Gen3
c) ?? please tell me why.

Switching to aluminum saved approximately 300lbs in vehicle weight, which would mean with the exact same axles, payload capacity would increase by the same 300lbs.
 

GlennSullivan

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I've just completed my first long tow trip with our '17 Expedition of 1360 miles from NY to FL. Total truck and trailer package weight was approximately 13,600lb. I usually take the I-95 direct route and schedule around the large cities (DC, Richmond) brutal traffic, but this time decided to try the inland route (78-81-77-26-95) to avoid the large cities and see if it was better - it is not. In general this route has less traffic (except for Charlotte area), but it is 80 miles longer and the RT 81-77 portion has a lot of mountainous terrain.

Anyway, The Expy pulled the 6500lb trailer load and quite a bit of cargo in the truck with no issues. Had about 650lbs of tongue weight which resulted in a very slight rise on front of the vehicle and trailer sway only when very windy. I averaged 12.1 MPG of premium over the entire trip running between 70 and 85 depending on the terrain and speed limits, with the trans temp never getting over 203 degrees even in the 85 degree FL temps.

The Expedition is not a diesel Excursion or F250, but certainly did a very good job and provided a comfortable ride.
 

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