2015 EL Limited HD Tow Package Help

[chuck s]

As noted the published "dry weight" is fiction as it lacks all the stuff B-McD points out. But as long as you have a good Weight Distribution Hitch and stay below the trailer's gross weight rating you should be good.

I've had excellent results with the Equalizer (brand) 4-Point WDH. And since we have very similar trucks I can provide good starting settings for it. I avoid WDHs with any sort of chains or sliding friction sway control.

The Ford trailer brake system is very competent and when I first hooked up to my then-new '17 four years ago pointed out I had a brake light out. What? How would it know that. Yep, one was out -- corroded contacts.

-- Chuck

 

[whizkid]

I just bought a 2017 Limited with the HD tow package for the exact same reason. In all of my research, if it has the factory brake controller, then it’s a 99% chance it has the HD tow package. Since I bought mine from a Ford dealership, I was able to get the original window sticker confirming such. You can see the aux trans cooler in front of the radiator above the ac condenser. All 3rd Gens with the Limited or Platinum packages should have it. They changed it for MY 2018. Ask me how I know. . . My wife is driving a 2019 Limited and I can’t pull the trailer hence the new to me ‘17. . .

 

[chuck s]

Towing a travel trailer is the only reason I bought an Expedition. Now on my second one, the '02 Explorer I used to pull a popup camper just didn't cut it. The '07 with the 5.4 V8, HD tow, etc. seemed like a beast -- the '17EcoBoost, HD tow, is a much better vehicle albeit with a couple hundred pounds less cargo capacity. I expect the later models with the 10-speed transmission tow even better.

-- Chuck

 

[WEDGE]

get me the last 8 digits of the VIN and I can tell you

 

[whizkid]

Wrong thread. . .

 

[ExpyLover123]

Attached is my results from using a calculator from my 3 weights at the CAT scale across from the RV center. I weigh about 220 and my dad was with me and weighs about 220.

Interestingly enough the manufacturer's listed dry weight is MORE than the trailer weight given here.... I had 2 full propane tanks and a battery on the tongue.

This is a 282qbxl salem cruise ultra lite camper.

The wife and kids weigh about as much as my dad.. leaves me a scant 260lb of additional payload / tongue weight.

Probably will be over once we have our 4th and final kid and they all make it to an avg of 50 lbs.. only on 3rd pregnancy now.

 

[ExpyLover123]

Shoot.. Forgot about gas weight. this was a 90 mile turnpike/highway drive after having a full tank... so I was probably down 6 gallons.

 

[JasonH]

Attached is my results from using a calculator from my 3 weights at the CAT scale across from the RV center. I weigh about 220 and my dad was with me and weighs about 220.

Interestingly enough the manufacturer's listed dry weight is MORE than the trailer weight given here.... I had 2 full propane tanks and a battery on the tongue.

This is a 282qbxl salem cruise ultra lite camper.

The wife and kids weigh about as much as my dad.. leaves me a scant 260lb of additional payload / tongue weight.

Probably will be over once we have our 4th and final kid and they all make it to an avg of 50 lbs.. only on 3rd pregnancy now.

View attachment 36713

I have the same camper. Great layout and I'm glad we found it when we made our purchase. Of note, the tow rating for the 2018+ is done using the SAE j2806 standard, which includes 150lbs for the driver and passenger each. The prior gen Ecoboost models have a similar tow rating, but there's no mention of the SAE standard. I suspect that same allowance was made, but have not seen any reference to it in the published materials. So there's a bit of wiggle room in the payload capacity.

 

[CaptOchs]

1) You most certainly have HD tow. You have a Limited trim with factory brake and 7-pin connection. Seeing how it's an EL, your axle should be 3.73 which is great for towing heavy loads.
2) Most car salesman are dumb as rocks about towing. In almost all interactions, I knew more then they did. The telltale sign of non-HD is 4-pin trailer connection and no brake controller. In my search for Expeditions, the majority were non-HD tow.
3) At 8,000 lbs you're on the upper range of tow capacity. If you tow often, tow in mountains, or tow far, consider another tow vehicle. I have read others have done suspension, tuner, exhaust upgrades to get slightly more power to help.

I think 8k is probably too much for the Expedition, personally. I was concerned with 7k, but we overpack. The more I learned the only feasible Expedition was the EL Limited, mostly because the rear axle and HD tow that came with limited. I lost out on several in the 100 mile area. They seem to sell quick. I ended up buying a RAM because I didn't need the third row anyway. The RAM tows almost like 700-800 lbs more anyway. Eventually I want to get a 5th wheel.

 

[whizkid]

So, just to throw my $.02 in here. . . We bought a new trailer recently, a 2020 Passport 292BH from Keystone. It’s 5900 lbs dry and so after finding out that our 4th Gen 2019 Expedition could only tow 6500lbs (oops), I decided to trade my DD in on a 2017 Limited with the HD tow package. I’m adding Bilstein shocks to it, a Hellwig Sway bar, and some other upgrades. After towing the trailer once with both my old and new vehicles and before any other upgrades, it seems to have all the power I need. At 7200 lbs GVWR on the trailer, it’s more about load leveling (via WDH of course) & sway control than power. It feels like to me that the 3.5L ecoboost with the 3.31 rear end is the best of both worlds to me, granted I don’t do much towing in the mountains.


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