Expedition Shopping

[Tystevens]

Hello all. I am in the market for a newer full-size SUV. We have a large family and a 27' travel trailer that we like to use mostly on short weekend trips. We currently have an '05 Suburban that we are looking to replace in the near future with a slightly used vehicle. Since a newer Suburban with towing gears, HD cooling equipment, and 2 speed transfer case (with low range) seems virtually impossible to find on the used market, I'm expanding my search to include the Expy EL.

I drove a very nice '08 EL limited this afternoon. It was equipped with a transmission cooler. The dealer said he called Ford, and they told him it had 3.73 gears. So far, so good. However, it had only a 4-pin trailer adapter in the back. It did have a loose wire tagged "trailer brake" which was just kind of hanging there. So that made me wonder if a 7 pin might have been removed for some reason.

Can anyone help me understand what the "optional trailer tow package" referred to in the '08 owners maual consists of? Do "standard" trucks have a transmission cooler? I have found out how to pull up the window sticker on this particular truck, and it says nothing about optional towing equipment, so I suspect it does not have it. But I want to make sure, as this Expy might work very well for us if it is equipped to haul the trailer we have. For example, I know that the newer GMs do not have an external transmission cooler unless equipped w/ the HD tow equipment. I'm wondering if such is also the case with Ford.

Unfortunately, this truck was on a small independent lot, so he couldn't run a build sheet for me or anything like that. I have to decode this truck on my own. So any advice would be appreciated.

 

[Stoned06]

If it only has a 4 pin plug, it DOES NOT have the HD towing package. The vehicle has the loose wires there to hook up a trailer brake if needed since it does have a hitch. The 7 pin plug is actually spliced in to the 4 pin plug from the factory, so a factory HD tow vehicle will have both the 4 pin and 7 pin plugs (at least mine does).
The cooler you are seeing is most likely the power steering cooler. The tranny cooler will be in addition to that. Considering you will be pulling the TT, I would not consider a vehicle without the tow pkg. Sure, it could pull it, but you will be taxing the tranny too much without the cooler.

 

[Tystevens]

Stoned, thanks for the reply. Yes, I am a little leery of getting an improperly equipped vehicle for our needs. Shopping used is always kind of an adventure - you have to get there and inspect the vehicle itself, because most salesmen seem to think that a tow hitch receiver = max towing capacity. Fortunately, I'm not in a huge rush, so I have time to hunt, so to speak.

Re: this particular EL, I'm pretty sure it was a transmission cooler. At least, I tracked the pipes all the way back to where they went up between the tranny and the engine block somewhere; admittedly, I didn't climb under far enough to see where they actually connected (I was in my office clothes, after all), but I may go back today and give it a closer look. I'm no Expy expert, but I would be surprised if they installed the power steering pump back there. Also, if I recall correctly, the receiver said it was a class IV.

 

[01yellerCobra]

I believe the EL's come with a small tranmission cooler. I have an EL and I know what cooler you're talking about. It is possible to upgrade to the towing package. You'd need the upgraded radiator, transmission cooler, and a 7 pin trailer connector. That's what the future holds for mine.

 

[Tystevens]

I believe the EL's come with a small tranmission cooler. I have an EL and I know what cooler you're talking about. It is possible to upgrade to the towing package. You'd need the upgraded radiator, transmission cooler, and a 7 pin trailer connector. That's what the future holds for mine.

That's what I was afraid of (so to speak -- I was hoping this was equipped to tow and someone just removed the 7 pin connector for some reason!). I guess finding a truck and adding the stuff aftermarket is always an option. Whether I go that route will depend on how hard it proves to be to find and EL with the factory stuff on it. So far, only about 1 out of 20 Suburbans seems to be equipped to tow the max ratings (at least in fully loaded LT/SLT trim). I guess I'll find out soon if limited and EB ELs are the same.

One more towing question re: the EL. I noticed that it only has the option to select gears 1-3, and then D. It does have an OD lock out as well. Does the OD lock out gears 5 and 6 (both of which I assume are 'overdrive' gears)? Or does it only lock out 6th? As we are pretty much always camping in the mountains, I like having as much control over the transmission as possible. With the GMs, you can select gears 1-6, plus they have the towing logic (higher shift points, increased fluid pressure for faster shifts, grade braking, etc), which I really like. How have you all found the Ford transmission to perform when towing?

 

[Tystevens]

One more quick question -- would I be correct in assuming that a window sticker that says "Class IV tow pkg" and "trailer sway control" is equipped with everything I need to achieve the max rating?

Thanks again!

 

[01yellerCobra]

When we started looking for a bigger SUV we looked at the Tahoes and Suburbans. But we have two large dogs that travel with us so having a foldable third row was a much better option. I didn't like the idea of having to remove the third row and leaving it at home.

I've played with the tranny a little. Turning off O/D puts the tranny into 4th gear. At least it did at the speeds I was at. I wasn't flying down the freeway or anything. I haven't towed with it yet. The boat is in storage in Az and I still need to wire up a 7 pin connector. My boat has a 5 pin connector.

From my research the hitch and suspension is the same across the board. The HD package is the upgraded radiator, tranny cooler, 3.73 gears, and connector. Since the EL's already have 3.73's and the trailer brake wire is already there the hard part is done. To me at least.

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[Tystevens]

Thanks Cobra. You're right -- with the gears already there, it is a lot easier to upgrade the cooling than do everything from scratch. I hope I don't have to go that route. I have identified a couple more ELs that appear from their window stickers to have the upgraded tow package. I plan to check 'em out this afternoon.

 

[01yellerCobra]

If I had paid better attention I probably would have waited and looked for one with the HD towing package already. But for what I'm looking to tow for now I'll be ok with what I have. The boat weighs 5K with fuel. The wife wants to get into desert toys, but that's a few years down the road.

 

[Tystevens]

Thanks again for your help, everyone. This HD tow package thing is getting murkier for me, not clearer.

I looked at/drove by about 10 ELs this afternoon. I took a picture of the transmission cooler that I believe may be part of the HD package.


As you may or may not be able to tell from the pictures, there is a 5-row cooler in front of the main radiator that appears to be plumbed to the transmission. These particular pictures were taken of an '11 EL Limited that did not have a 7 pin connector. Most of the trucks I looked at today had this cooler. However, only one of them had the 7-pin connector (in fact, only one did, and it was a regular Expy). A few of the trucks had no cooler at all in front of the radiator; just a space on a vertical plastic bracket that would support the cooler if installed. I peaked at a couple of F150s on a large Ford lot, and they appeared to have the same 5-row cooler and the 7-pin adapter. The adapter the F150s had was kind of a dual thing with a 4 pin and a 7 pin both on the left side of the receiver. The one Expy I found with a 7 pin had the 7 pin on the right side and the 4 pin on the left side. It appeared to be a stock unit, however.

Why do some trucks have the tranny cooler, and why are others lacking it? Why do trucks w/ the tranny cooler not have the 7-pin connector? What, prey tell, are the visual markers of the optional tow package?

Unfortunately, the salesmen are no help at all. They all just tell you, "yep, it has the tow package" and point to the receiver. They are baffled when you are peering through the grille.

Thanks again for any guidance anyone can give.

 

[Expypate]

You can always use this site to see a copy of the original window sticker also. That would help you see exactly what options the truck left the factory with.

Use your VIN number to get Ford Window Sticker

 

[Tystevens]

Thanks Expypate. I have found that. Unfortunately, window stickers are kind of vague. For example, this truck: 1FMJK1J50CEF13816 says it has the class iv towing package and trailer antisway. But looking at it in person, it doesn't have the 7 pin connector, which I've been told is an indicator of having the optional towing equipment. So I guess I'm not sure what the window sticker would have to say in order to indicate the max towing package.

 

[RI-Matt]

The Class IV trailer tow pkg and trailer anti sway are the standard tow package on 2010 and newer.

The HD Tow package will say it right on the sticker, if it doesnt say it it don't have it.

Here is an example of a 2013 XLT with the HD tow package. Notice its in the option part.

http://services.forddirect.fordvehicles.com/inventory/WindowSticker.pdf?vin=1FMJU1H53DEF02617

Here is a 2013 Limited with HD tow package but it's listed in the standard equipment part.

http://services.forddirect.fordvehicles.com/inventory/WindowSticker.pdf?vin=1FMJK2A55DEF00700


Either way they both list it on the window sticker.


Matt

 

[Tystevens]

Thanks Matt. That's exactly what I needed. Very much appreciated.

 

[Tystevens]

How hard is it to wire in a 7-pin connector to an Expy that came from the factory without one? From what I can tell, there is already 4 wires there (right, left, ground, and taillights), and there is a loose wire for trailer brakes. What about backup and 12v power?

Also, is there a simple plug in under the dash for a trailer brake module, or is that part of the (very scarce and hard to find) optional trailering package?

Thanks again everyone. While we like some elements of the Suburban better, the interior room and fold-flat seats of the Expy EL are winning us over, and if we can make this truck work w/o too much additional effort or $$, it might be the way to go.