Photos of Trailer(s) that you tow with your Expedition

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gbosin

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Picked this up last month. 22 Keystone Passport GT 2870RL. Dry is about 7100 lbs so a bit nervous about the 1st real trip. Fortunately we have the Max tow packageIMG_20230401_173218049_Original.jpeg
 

gbosin

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Going in 2 weeks. It's so close I plan on doing some kind of a loop to get a feel of it loaded. There is a truck scale nearby that I should include on that trip. I get an extra 1100 pounds of capacity with my F-150 but the Expedition has more power and significantly more torque.
 

Fasttimes

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Going in 2 weeks. It's so close I plan on doing some kind of a loop to get a feel of it loaded. There is a truck scale nearby that I should include on that trip. I get an extra 1100 pounds of capacity with my F-150 but the Expedition has more power and significantly more torque.

I tow with a just slightly lighter 27RBDS Winnebago that is 30' LOA, 6400 dry, 7700 gw with my older 2010 Eddie Bauer with HD tow. Let me tell you it took a couple of years to really get it dialed in. That first year was defintiely white knuckle driving as the WDH hitch was not set correctly even though I took to Lazy days to re-adjust. Looks like you have an Equalizer WDH, I have the same. These are my suggestions to really get it dialed in. Ultimately I'm on 8 washers on the Equalizer and getting a good lift on the bars to transfer the weight I need back to the truck.

Number one key thing was getting to a scale and really learning to use the 3 pass method to find out what your true numbers are. Especially the hitch weight and how you're doing on payload on your truck when you add up the tongue weight, passengers, etc. Try to only put in the truck what is absolutely necessisary. In my case I slimmed down the truck and the trailer. When I finally got to a CAT scale and saw I was at 900lbs tongue weight and I should have been around 760 I got to putting the trailer on a diet. I repacked the front compartment, moving some items to inside the trailer like over the axles under the table or in the bathroom, and I also ditched things I didn't need. I ditched my two 30lb propanes for one single 20lb propane tank, only bringing two 20lbs when it's winter and I know I'll be using the furnace. I did several re-packings and adjustmetns on WDH and return trips to the CAT scale till it was just right. I got my tongue weight close to the factory number, just slightly over usually around 790ish and more importantly I got more weight transfered to my front axle of the truck to as close as possible when the truck alone is on the scale.

Other things that really helped were upgrades to the truck. Sumo spacers, in my case all around new coil springs/shocks and tires, and upgraded Hellwig front and rear sway bars.

All things summed together and now I feel super comfortable towing with the Expy at it's limit, since that is what we are doing here. Trips are smooth and only on windy days do I really feel any issues and in that case we just drop the speed.

Good luck, it's a journey to get it just right but once you do you'll be very happy you took the steps needed to make it enjoyable.

IMG_1629.jpgIMG_0718.jpg
 

gbosin

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I tow with a just slightly lighter 27RBDS Winnebago that is 30' LOA, 6400 dry, 7700 gw with my older 2010 Eddie Bauer with HD tow. Let me tell you it took a couple of years to really get it dialed in. That first year was defintiely white knuckle driving as the WDH hitch was not set correctly even though I took to Lazy days to re-adjust. Looks like you have an Equalizer WDH, I have the same. These are my suggestions to really get it dialed in. Ultimately I'm on 8 washers on the Equalizer and getting a good lift on the bars to transfer the weight I need back to the truck.

Number one key thing was getting to a scale and really learning to use the 3 pass method to find out what your true numbers are. Especially the hitch weight and how you're doing on payload on your truck when you add up the tongue weight, passengers, etc. Try to only put in the truck what is absolutely necessisary. In my case I slimmed down the truck and the trailer. When I finally got to a CAT scale and saw I was at 900lbs tongue weight and I should have been around 760 I got to putting the trailer on a diet. I repacked the front compartment, moving some items to inside the trailer like over the axles under the table or in the bathroom, and I also ditched things I didn't need. I ditched my two 30lb propanes for one single 20lb propane tank, only bringing two 20lbs when it's winter and I know I'll be using the furnace. I did several re-packings and adjustmetns on WDH and return trips to the CAT scale till it was just right. I got my tongue weight close to the factory number, just slightly over usually around 790ish and more importantly I got more weight transfered to my front axle of the truck to as close as possible when the truck alone is on the scale.

Other things that really helped were upgrades to the truck. Sumo spacers, in my case all around new coil springs/shocks and tires, and upgraded Hellwig front and rear sway bars.

All things summed together and now I feel super comfortable towing with the Expy at it's limit, since that is what we are doing here. Trips are smooth and only on windy days do I really feel any issues and in that case we just drop the speed.

Good luck, it's a journey to get it just right but once you do you'll be very happy you took the steps needed to make it enjoyable.

View attachment 77718View attachment 77719
Excellent advice. I have a Oregon DOT scale a couple miles down the highway from me, I totally plan on using it to get things right. The magnetic shocks and anti-sway system seemed to work pretty well but a bit of porpoising(?) on some of the bigger bumps. I might just use my pickup it has an additional 1100 pounds capacity but no where near as comfortable as the Expedition. (XLT vs Platinum).
Oh I checked the amount of washers the dealer set up in the Equalizer hitch and there are 6.
 

Fasttimes

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Excellent advice. I have a Oregon DOT scale a couple miles down the highway from me, I totally plan on using it to get things right. The magnetic shocks and anti-sway system seemed to work pretty well but a bit of porpoising(?) on some of the bigger bumps. I might just use my pickup it has an additional 1100 pounds capacity but no where near as comfortable as the Expedition. (XLT vs Platinum).
Oh I checked the amount of washers the dealer set up in the Equalizer hitch and there are 6.
I think it depends on how many your putting in the tow vehicle? You're Expy can do the job, unless you're packing in 4 adults and kids or something like that. But with the HD tow package and getting the WDH set up right I think you'll be fine with the Expy.

From my understanding the 19' Expy you have will work with the sumo spacers and upgrading the sway bars will help as well. Make sure you max air your tires to their highest makred PSI when towing as well to stiffen them up. All these little things will add up to a more stiff, secure towing expierence.

But yeah, using the scale was the game changer for me. Following the instructions on adjusting the WDH and measuring wheel well gaps are all good but it wasn't till I got those scale numbers and understood where weight was being moved or not moved enough by the WDH system that it really came into place.

As for the Equalizer and the washers, the way I see it is moving up/down arm brackets on the trailer are for large movements of weight and the washers are for smaller tweaking adjustments. My guess is you're going to need 8 given the size of the trailer, but I can't say for sure. I know when doing my adjustments I ended up moving my bracket up a hole and adding more washers to 8 to get my right layout, but yours may be different.
 

GlennSullivan

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I tow a 20' Aluminum FeatherLite open car trailer with my 2017 Limited with HD Tow. The trailer weighs 1550 empty and the cars range from 3200 to 4775. Just completed a NY to FL round trip to pick up the 4775lb car. 1260mi each way. BTW i95 is a nightmare these days with construction going on in almost every state along the way.

Although this is my 3rd long distance trip with this truck / trailer combo, it is the first since I installed the factory OEM air dam and was surprised at the effect it had on mileage. My thinking before the trip is it would not make much difference as the Expy was punching the hole in the air and the air dam while slightly wider than the truck, was not as tall. I was expecting a "drafting" situation. I was, to say the least, surprised at the difference in mileage the air dam made.

Last year long trip with empty trailer and no air dam, running 70-75mph on 93 fuel, I averaged 19.5mpg.
Last year long trip with 4775lb car on trailer and no air dam, running 70-75mph on 93 fuel, I averaged 12.5mpg.

This year long trip with empty trailer and air dam installed, running 70-75mph on 93 fuel, I averaged 15.3mpg. Big surprise, -4.2mpg for air dam!
This year long trip 4775lb car on trailer with air dam installed, running 70-75mph on 93 fuel, I averaged 13.5mpg. Another surprise, +1mpg for air dam!

I also noticed a big difference in very windy conditions with the air dam installed, especially empty. It added a "push" effect to the combo. I don't know how you guys manage those huge "billboard side" travel trailers in very windy conditions.

I added the air dam to keep the cars clean and to keep them from getting damaged by rocks or other crap being kicked up off the road and that it does very well, but when running empty, there is a steep price to pay in mpg.

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JasonH

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My camper is 33 ft. The few times wind was an issue, I just dropped my speed to the 55 to 60 range and it was manageable. It helped that those were relatively short trips, so it didn't add much to the travel time. Without heavy wind, my setup was stable at 80 mph. I only hit that speed for very brief intervals while passing slower moving vehicles, but the handling was fine. I usually stay within the 65 to 68 range, because my trailer tires are rated to 65 and mpg drops precipitously at higher speeds, which means more stops.
 

Toy4xchris

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Our 2014 EL Limited with our 2022 Sportsmen SE 26ft bunkhouse. Weighs in 5,900lbs dry. Made a few trips so far and haven't had any complaints yet. Last trip was up into the Smokey Mountains and she pulled beautifully.

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