Anyone tow 8,000 lbs. with their 2021 Expedition FX4 with max towing?

[Pawpaw]

Agree. I’m thinking of running with a single lp tank as well seeing how it’s only used to heat the water tank and occasional griddle. Everything else we do is electric and I almost always stay with a full service site.

Did you by any chance swap the factory P rated tires for a 10 ply Light Truck tire. A lot stiffer sidewalls and takes some of the independent rear suspension sway out. How is the Helwig sway bar helping?

 

[Deep8174]

Did you by any chance swap the factory P rated tires for a 10 ply Light Truck tire. A lot stiffer sidewalls and takes some of the independent rear suspension sway out. How is the Helwig sway bar helping?

I have the stock tires and rim and haven't thought of upgrading the tires. No issues this far to warrant the upgrade.

The hellwig sway bar makes a noticable difference in ride comfort for the rear passengers, but honestly don't know what effect it has on towing as I had it installed before towing.

On a side note, I had the two 6v batteries relocated to a rear compartment around the outdoor kitchen and had the sumo coil springs installed. Have yet to tow but I'll take an 'after' picture of the car and rig the next trip around.

 

[Denveram]

Do you have a regular expedition or the expedition max? I have an expedition Max FX4 with the max tow package. I tow a 30 ft travel trailer rated at 7800 lb. I use a weight distribution hitch and it does pretty well.

 

[Pawpaw]

Do you have a regular expedition or the expedition max? I have an expedition Max FX4 with the max tow package. I tow a 30 ft travel trailer rated at 7800 lb. I use a weight distribution hitch and it does pretty well.

I've got the standard length. Using the 4 point Equalizer and running 10 ply tires. Seems to have no trouble towing the camper but heavy on the hitch weight.

 

[Fasttimes]

We're all in the same boat when it comes to travel trailers and our Expys. Expedition is a great SUV, but just shy of where it needs to be for towing or rather where we wish it was. Payload, payload, payload. If only Ford could come out with a Heavy Payload package on an Expy, one can only dream.

Let me give my suggestions based on experiences I've gone through with my 27RBDS Winnebago and my 10' Expy HD tow.

- Get your WDH dialed in, it took me like 2 years to get it just right. Only after I started going to a Cat scale and really learning how to use the numbers did I get it dialed in how it needed to be. In my case I was not transferring enough weight back to the front axle of the Expy. I added my last adjustment washer as well as moved the Equalizer brackets to their furthest distance on the trailer to get the most lift.
- Beef up your Expy. Hellwig sway bars front/rear, sumo spacers, fresh tune up, fresh tires are all things that made big noticeable improvements to my tows.
- If your like me and right at the limits of payload, put your trailer on a diet. Things that I did: ditched my two 30lb propane tanks and went to one 20lb tank (two in winter). Ditched my 30lb Coleman Grill and now just take a small 8lb grill, ditched kitchen prep table (no need), got rid of my rubber hoses for a light-weight single 100' hose. I also now only take a small daily cooler in the Expy while traveling with just enough space for lunch and drinks for the day.
- Re-positioned some of my forward storage to over-rear axle storage in trailer. Moved heavy toolbox and camp chairs to within the trailer.
- Added rear bike rack, two bikes on rear of trailer aid in off-setting some of the tongue weight.

Coming soon:
- I'm debating moving to an Anderson WDH system, it'll save 50lbs on the hitch.
- Considering swapping my steel propane tanks for light-weight fiberglass models.

Now, you do need to be careful, when I first did these changes I had moved too much off the tongue and ended up moving some items back into the front storage. My hitch weight should be around 760lbs, I'm probably averaging around 800lbs.

My set up pulls fine, I set my cruise to 65 and just go. No longer do I fear the passing trucks. Only during strong cross winds do I feel a bit squirely and then I just drop my speed and I'm good. Do I wish I had the payload of an F250, sure, but with this set up I have a full size SUV space and comforts that gets the job done.

 

[Pawpaw]

We're all in the same boat when it comes to travel trailers and our Expys. Expedition is a great SUV, but just shy of where it needs to be for towing or rather where we wish it was. Payload, payload, payload. If only Ford could come out with a Heavy Payload package on an Expy, one can only dream.

Let me give my suggestions based on experiences I've gone through with my 27RBDS Winnebago and my 10' Expy HD tow.

- Get your WDH dialed in, it took me like 2 years to get it just right. Only after I started going to a Cat scale and really learning how to use the numbers did I get it dialed in how it needed to be. In my case I was not transferring enough weight back to the front axle of the Expy. I added my last adjustment washer as well as moved the Equalizer brackets to their furthest distance on the trailer to get the most lift.
- Beef up your Expy. Hellwig sway bars front/rear, sumo spacers, fresh tune up, fresh tires are all things that made big noticeable improvements to my tows.
- If your like me and right at the limits of payload, put your trailer on a diet. Things that I did: ditched my two 30lb propane tanks and went to one 20lb tank (two in winter). Ditched my 30lb Coleman Grill and now just take a small 8lb grill, ditched kitchen prep table (no need), got rid of my rubber hoses for a light-weight single 100' hose. I also now only take a small daily cooler in the Expy while traveling with just enough space for lunch and drinks for the day.
- Re-positioned some of my forward storage to over-rear axle storage in trailer. Moved heavy toolbox and camp chairs to within the trailer.
- Added rear bike rack, two bikes on rear of trailer aid in off-setting some of the tongue weight.

Coming soon:
- I'm debating moving to an Anderson WDH system, it'll save 50lbs on the hitch.
- Considering swapping my steel propane tanks for light-weight fiberglass models.

Now, you do need to be careful, when I first did these changes I had moved too much off the tongue and ended up moving some items back into the front storage. My hitch weight should be around 760lbs, I'm probably averaging around 800lbs.

My set up pulls fine, I set my cruise to 65 and just go. No longer do I fear the passing trucks. Only during strong cross winds do I feel a bit squirely and then I just drop my speed and I'm good. Do I wish I had the payload of an F250, sure, but with this set up I have a full size SUV space and comforts that gets the job done.

Sounds like a great plan for me to follow! Spoiled after having a fifth wheel with loads of baggage room and a dually to tow it with. Now we're downsizing and looks like it may be a challenge. Thanks for the info!

 

[PNWExpy]

I gotta agree, coming from the f350 platform to an Expedition is a bit of a change. The 350 doesn’t care what you tow or how it’s loaded. Expedition you’ve gotta dial in your setup.

I’ve got an 18’ rv that I’ve remodeled and set up pretty well. I think it’s close to 6/750lb on the hitch. With 4 adults and 4 dogs and our gear for the weekend the expy weighed in at 7k and the trailer just above 4200lb. I’ll run the weight distribution bars to help keep level and I’ve got the dandy harbor freight anti-sway bar that helps in the wind and passing other vehicles.

Towing with the Expedition is kinda like paddle boarding. It’s a tad wiggly but that’s normal.

Also, for reference, I was quite disappointed with mpg on the first trip with the rig. With 5star 87 tow tune I got 8 mpg. With 92 tune on the way back I got 7.5 mpg… with the stock wheels and tires on.. average speed of 65.

2020 standard fx4 HD tow package with 3.73s and bilstien lift

 

[GWK1]

We pull a 31' Surveyor trailer with our 21 Expy Ltd. (hvy duty tow and 3.73 axle) with equalizer WDH and almost always in tow mode (engine braking is a big plus). The trailer pushes 7000+ lbs. with gear. The tow is smooth and consistent, no engine laboring or issues. Mileage is about 10 per gal at 60 mph. I agree with others about having the WDH dialed in correctly. After a few trips to the CAT scales, our drive axle weight was at the max, but the hitch adjustment now has us well under the axle weight rating.

 

[mlogan]

We pull a 31' Surveyor trailer with our 21 Expy Ltd. (hvy duty tow and 3.73 axle) with equalizer WDH and almost always in tow mode (engine braking is a big plus). The trailer pushes 7000+ lbs. with gear. The tow is smooth and consistent, no engine laboring or issues. Mileage is about 10 per gal at 60 mph. I agree with others about having the WDH dialed in correctly. After a few trips to the CAT scales, our drive axle weight was at the max, but the hitch adjustment now has us well under the axle weight rating.

We havd a similar setup with our '15 Limited towing a 35' Surveyor. I need to add another washer to the Equalizer and re-check the setup after 2 years - I'm seeing you all have a bit less squat than I do (keeping most all cargo out of the Expy). Still tows well and very minimal sway unless just the wrong cross wind. We've towed over 12k miles during pandemic xc trips.

 

[JVinOlathe]

The camper we are buying is under our vehicles rating for 9,200 lbs with the max towing package. Getting the 4 point Equalizer 10K pound hitch. Already have 10 ply BFG all terrains. At least on paper I think I'm good. My daughter is my insurance agent and I was the safety man at the place where I retired from so I take safety seriously. Even more on the highway as being in the trucking and transportation business for over 40 yrs. Thank you for the info!

Again, the 9,200 pound is a theoretical maximum load when all the stars align. In practice, the maximn load is closet 7,500 lbs. If you watch the video I posted, it explains in great detail and in an easy to understand manner how to determine your maximum allowed load; you will find out is considerabl;y lower thna 9,200 pounds. I too have a Expy with the heavy dudty tow package so I am aware of its limitations.