15-17 EL Owner Measurement Request

[JerEazy]

Curious, i noticed something kinda strange when measuring my EL fender well height and setting up my W/D hitch on the Expedition.

My rear fender well is LOWER than my front when sitting on level ground, unloaded.

Nothing CRAZY - but (going from memory) the front was 36 1/4" and the rear was like 35 1/12" or something near that.

I'm running the non-load leveling suspension on a 17 EL Limited. Stock tire sizes as well. So i was hoping someone else who has a similar/same model could measure from the ground to the bottom of their fender wells also and see if something is broken!

i'm going to stick another tape measurer on it today and see if it was maybe just a fluke and will post back.

Thanks

 

[gixer2000]

Curious, i noticed something kinda strange when measuring my EL fender well height and setting up my W/D hitch on the Expedition.

My rear fender well is LOWER than my front when sitting on level ground, unloaded.

Nothing CRAZY - but (going from memory) the front was 36 1/4" and the rear was like 35 1/12" or something near that.

I'm running the non-load leveling suspension on a 17 EL Limited. Stock tire sizes as well. So i was hoping someone else who has a similar/same model could measure from the ground to the bottom of their fender wells also and see if something is broken!

i'm going to stick another tape measurer on it today and see if it was maybe just a fluke and will post back.

Thanks

The front and rear fender wells aren't the same height. I usually use the running boards or rocker panels when looking for a level area

 

[JerEazy]

Not looking for a level area. When setting up the hitch to confirm correct weight distribution you measure fender height before hitching, after hitching but before distributing weight, and then after hitched and weight distributed.

It’s to make sure you’re not over/under distributed.

So the height is really an ancillary number and could absolutely change based on wheel/tire combo, suspension upgrades etc.

But I’ve never really experienced a negative or even equal rake on a tow vehicle. So wanted to check with others.

 

[powerboatr]

mine is not at home right now, but the normal height on mine as in the picture. the rear is higher than the front in the rake. BUT the front fender itself is higher than the rear fender body lines
when it gets home i will run a tape

if yours is looking like mine, i would run a tape measure off the top of tire to a reference point on the fenders front and back.
then set your wd hitch to lower the front height as recommended to be level.
IRRC on my dually with the the long long trailer it dropped my front 1.5 to 2"
and the rear it brought down to almost level with a about an 1" rake difference in level
this was 1200 lbs of tongue load across the setup.
hope it helps

 

[JerEazy]

Thanks - I appreciate the assistance in satisfying my curiousity

 

[JExpedition07]

Do you specific measurements? 07-14’ trucks ride slightly higher than the 15-17’ ones so you would need a gen 3.5er to measure.

 

[Vankonk]

My 16 EL Limited was the exact same. I thought it was strange at the time but just went with it. I just bought a TT last fall and only pulled it 2 times with the WDH. I still have some tweaking to do in the spring.

 

[JerEazy]

They are difficult to dial in on the TT set-up. So that’s a pre-warning. The IDRS gives a bit of extra body roll as well. So if you’re coming from past trailing experience on a truck or other SUV just know it’ll be different.

 

[bobmbx]

Curious, i noticed something kinda strange when measuring my EL fender well height and setting up my W/D hitch on the Expedition.

My rear fender well is LOWER than my front when sitting on level ground, unloaded.

Nothing CRAZY - but (going from memory) the front was 36 1/4" and the rear was like 35 1/12" or something near that.

I'm running the non-load leveling suspension on a 17 EL Limited. Stock tire sizes as well. So i was hoping someone else who has a similar/same model could measure from the ground to the bottom of their fender wells also and see if something is broken!

i'm going to stick another tape measurer on it today and see if it was maybe just a fluke and will post back.

Thanks

You're assuming both wells should at the same height. They aren't. Measure both wells before and after hitching up to compare the before and after measurement of the same wheel, but not to each other.

 

[JerEazy]

True - it’s more a curiosity than anything else.

 

[coolzzy]

My 17 is the same way, as are the pickups and probably all vehicles. Remember those front wheels have to turn and still be able to compress suspension when the tire is turned out of the well. If the wheel arches were the same height the front tires would hit the fenders when turning and braking. My wdh is dialed in for 900 pounds of tongue weight on stock xlt suspension and I have zero drop in the front and about a half inch drop in the rear which is perfectly acceptable.

 

[JerEazy]

Not all vehicles are that way. Trucks have a noticeably higher rear wheel well. Or at least mine all have.

Anyway, thanks for confirming it was normal.

 

[powerboatr]

fronts are 36 1/4" from ground to bottom of center of wheel well
rear is 35 1/2" from ground to center of wheel well
hope it helps

 

[JerEazy]

fronts are 36 1/4" from ground to bottom of center of wheel well
rear is 35 1/2" from ground to center of wheel well
hope it helps

It does - thank you for the help