2019 Expedition Towing Help

[Kartman]

I just purchased a 2019 Expedition Platinum with the optional towing package. I tow a 24' aluminum car hauler and vintage race cars - between trailer and cars, roughly 6000#. I use a load equalizing hitch and have adjusted it properly for the new vehicle. My previous tow vehicle was a 2017 Ford F150 crew cab short bed.

My questions: 1) are there any enhancements available for the 2019 Expeditions to enhance towing capability? I checked into airbags, but apparently there is nothing available for the current generation Expeditions. Perhaps I am missing something?

2) As the Expedition has built-in trailer sway control from the factory, I assume there is no benefit from purchasing electronic trailer sway solutions that mount on the trailer... or perhaps the two systems could co-exist as one senses sway from the vehicle, the other from the trailer?

I would (ideally) like to find ways to stiffen the rear suspension when towing as well as minimize/eliminate trailer sway.

Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[techdude99]

I have an 18' Featherlite car hauler for my '19 Camaro ZL1. Both are ~5500 lbs. My '19 Platinum Max with the tow package pulls them like a champ with an adjustable Weight Safe hitch. That's with several hundred pounds of tools and equipment in the Expedition. Very little to no sway.

I purchased Sumo Springs inserts from eTrailer to firm up the rear, but don't need them, so they're still in the box. I'd follow Ford's guidelines attached below depending on your maximum towing. There are a ton of great Weight Distributing hitches if you want maximum control. Since you already have a load distributing hitch, you may want to try the Sumo inserts.

 

[Kartman]

techdude99, thank you for the information, I appreciate it. I have the standard wheelbase Expedition which could be part of my issue. An Expedition Max would not fit in my garage, so I had to go with the standard Expedition.

I will google the weight safe hitch. I am not familiar with those.

Thanks again for your help!

 

[techdude99]

The Weight Safe model I have (WS4-2) is nice because it's height adjustable, isn't too low for steep driveways/inclines, and the tongue weight is quickly set with multiple cars and trailers due to the built-in scale. In addition to the Expedition, I use it with a MDX and U-Haul trailers.

In your multiple car situation, it may be a nice option in addition to Sumo Springs.

It's worth mentioning that I noticed a huge improvement in handling after properly setting up the trailer options in the Ford software. I wanted to see how much of a difference it made and I'm a believer.

 

[Kartman]

techdude99, thank you for the additional information, I appreciate it.

With regard to setting up the trailer options in Ford software. Can you expand on this? What things should be set up or adjusted?

Thanks again for your help!

 

[techdude99]

Hi Kartman,

Accurately adding all the trailer information in the cluster menu helped a lot with towing and backup assist.

I was skepticle at first because I thought a physical sway controller on the hitch would be required. Ford engineering did a great job mitigating stability issues electronically.

 

[Kartman]

Got it, thank you. I have taken those steps, I wasn’t certain if I had missed anything.

Thank you!

 

[ssmock]

I have a 2014 Expy with the HD towing package. I have a 22' V-Nose enclosed Aluminum trailer that I haul a 64 Buick Special Convertible in about 3,200 lbs. So with the trailer weight at 2,100 lbs with gear I have a total right at 6,000 lbs. I get a little squat (mechanical load leveling no air bags) but towed this combo over the mountains from Kansas City to Reno NV last summer. I had no issues with sway except around some tractor trailer rigs. Around 3,200 miles round-trip. First time towing this far but wondering how dialing it in perfectly would be with the Weight Safe hitch and maybe with a equalizer set up. If I don't need to spend $500 or $600 I don't want to. Some say it's like not having anything back there but I doubt that is the case.

 

[JasonH]

I pull a 7K travel trailer with my 2017. I think the most important things are to (1) make sure you have sufficient weight on the tongue and (2) use a hitch with sway control. As long as those two things are setup correctly, you should be fine. You can use a tongue scale to check tongue weight but be aware that you'll need to have an approximate weight for your loads. I've seen vehicles have bad sway with nothing but a cord of firewood because the weight was too far back in the trailer.

 

[Deadman]

I pull a 7K travel trailer with my 2017. I think the most important things are to (1) make sure you have sufficient weight on the tongue and (2) use a hitch with sway control. As long as those two things are setup correctly, you should be fine. You can use a tongue scale to check tongue weight but be aware that you'll need to have an approximate weight for your loads. I've seen vehicles have bad sway with nothing but a cord of firewood because the weight was too far back in the trailer.

A cord of White Oak weighs 5,500 lbs...

 

[Artie]

A cord of White Oak weighs 5,500 lbs...

Well, there’s my ‘you learn something everyday’ thing.

 

[Wayne Decker]

I tow a 6600lb Airstream(with a Reese Dual Cam hitch) and it tows great as is. I'd double check the set up if it's not towing well.

Techdude99 is happy with his setup, but to me (maybe it's just the photo) the tongue of the trailer looks high as does the front of the Expy. I'd drop the ball and put more WD on the front axle.

 

[techdude99]

Techdude99 is happy with his setup, but to me (maybe it's just the photo) the tongue of the trailer looks high as does the front of the Expy. I'd drop the ball and put more WD on the front axle.

You have a good eye. The tongue weight was under 10%. After taking the pic I lowered it a notch and added 100 lbs to the tongue weight. The final configuration was 12% and very stable for my trip to Barber Motor Sports Park.

A WD hitch (my model is a simple adjustable) would transfer more weight to the front. If my setup wasn't so stable, I would definitely consider it.

 

[LG_123]

I tow a 34’ airstream with our 2019 expedition max platinum and I’ve experienced very little sway while on the road. If you continue to have issues, give the towing experts at Can Am RV in London Ontario a call. People go see them from all over the world for towing help. Ford even sent engineers there once which is why the F-150s and expeditions have better factory hitch setups than GM and Ram.

 

[LG_123]

I forgot to mention, we have the EZ hitch setup with swag bars.

 

[Lou Hamilton]

If you are still not getting answers here, there is a dedicated towing section on the forum:

https://www.expeditionforum.com/forums/towing-hauling.72/