Pickup owners: do you prefer towing with Expy or pickup?

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

Mlarv

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 28, 2020
Posts
68
Reaction score
30
Location
Eastern TN
I will chime in here. I had a 2016 F150 with the eco. I pulled my loaded enclosed car hauler (around 9k) from Cleveland OH area to eastern TN. It pulled it like a dream with out any issue. I have used my Exp to pull it and it pulled it like a dream. I now have an F250 6.7PSD and it pulls it you guessed it like a dream. The problem I have now is backing it up. My trailer is 22 feet without the tongue. Between the Exp and The F150 I would take the F150 to pull it. I liked the ride of the 150 pulling over the Exp. I also liked the stopping power of the F150 over the Exp.
 

FlyBry

Full Access Members
Joined
Apr 22, 2021
Posts
331
Reaction score
116
Location
Dallas, TX
Hi all,

I’ve only towed once in my life (22’ travel trailer), and it was with the Expedition.

Am thinking about doing it again, and am debating about doing it with the Expy or my Ram 1500 crew cab.

My thinking is that the Expy would be better since it is shorter by approximately 10 inches so will be more maneuverable (had a hard time getting the hang of backing up the trailer into campsites, and am worried it will be worse with a longer tow vehicle).

Which vehicle do you tow with?
Why not go practice with both vehicles? I know its a PITA to go get, hook them up, then drive around town, to a park, or Sports field to test backing up & parking. But how do you get good at towing? By towing. How will you know which You prefer? By towing with both vehicles.
 

Jace

Full Access Members
Joined
Feb 24, 2018
Posts
202
Reaction score
95
Location
Utah
We just picked up a 27' bumper pull trailer (6500lbs or so)... rode home extremely well behind our Expedition! I'm sure a bigger truck would be better, but I have too many kids haha. I wanted to get a toy hauler, but with the size of our sxs (Defender Max) we would have had to have a good sized trailer and it would have been pretty much at or above max tow, and I wasn't about to try that. We'll just have to take 2 tow vehicles and pull the sxs separately.
 

Fozzy

Full Access Members
Joined
Sep 5, 2019
Posts
1,200
Reaction score
1,158
Location
Riverton
I don't think you can beat a solid rear axle for towing. It's more planted on the road and air bags are easy to get if you have leaf springs. That being said I have replaced my F-150 for the last two years with my Gen 4 Expy with no regrets. But I do not tow anything over 7500 lbs. I had a hard time getting use to the IRS and installing the Hellwig sway bar and sumo springs helped a lot. Other than that the F-150 got the same miles per gallon, but had a 36 gallon fuel tank. So my fuel stops have changed. More room in the Expy and it does drive and ride better. You need to do more trips and get out with both Vehicles with the trailer.
 

duneslider

Full Access Members
Joined
Mar 20, 2019
Posts
783
Reaction score
372
Location
Utah
As you get closer to max weight the pickup will def tow better. If you keep the weight down the expy is great at towing. I really do wish there was a 3/4 ton suv that could tow closer to a 3/4 ton pickup. There are not really any options for seven seats and 10k+ towing. I do remember back in the day even the guys with excursions talked about how they didn't pull as well as the matching pickup. The excursion even had issues nearing max towing weight. I keep watching for a low mile excursion, that would be perfect for my current situation.
 

JasonH

Full Access Members
Joined
Nov 12, 2018
Posts
1,318
Reaction score
689
Location
Houston, TX
As you get closer to max weight the pickup will def tow better. If you keep the weight down the expy is great at towing. I really do wish there was a 3/4 ton suv that could tow closer to a 3/4 ton pickup. There are not really any options for seven seats and 10k+ towing. I do remember back in the day even the guys with excursions talked about how they didn't pull as well as the matching pickup. The excursion even had issues nearing max towing weight. I keep watching for a low mile excursion, that would be perfect for my current situation.

I'm rather surprised the manufacturers haven't addressed this segment. I see many people lamenting the lack of payload with half-ton SUVs, because they want to bring family members along using larger campers or boats. I still recall the backlash against the Excursion when I was younger. It was frequently referred to as the Ford Valdez and Brobdingnagian in nature. Now that I'm older and have a family I can see the appeal of a vehicle in this class, especially since camper sales have been through the roof. In hindsight, Apparently the Excursion never sold quite as well as Ford hoped it would. I'm genuinely curious as to what the best possible gas MPG would be be on a vehicle this size. I imagine it would be comparable to a Superduty. For those desiring over 2K payload and heavy towing a Chevy or Nissan van is currently the best option.

 

duneslider

Full Access Members
Joined
Mar 20, 2019
Posts
783
Reaction score
372
Location
Utah
Unless I am mistaken, the Nissan website says the NV passenger van is discontinued and no longer in production. There is a local company that does 4x4 conversions on these vans and they are pretty popular here. I think their max tow is lower than the expy though it has a higher payload. It appears the NV will continue in the commercial line but not the passenger line. Seating for more than 6 and needing to tow higher weights just doesn't exist.

The chevy vans don't seem to have a high tow rating either.
 
Last edited:

JasonH

Full Access Members
Joined
Nov 12, 2018
Posts
1,318
Reaction score
689
Location
Houston, TX
Unless I am mistaken, the Nissan website says the NV passenger van is discontinued and no longer in production. There is a local company that does 4x4 conversions on these vans and they are pretty popular here. I think their max tow is lower than the expy though it has a higher payload. It appears the NV will continue in the commercial line but not the passenger line. Seating for more than 6 and needing to tow higher weights just doesn't exist.

The chevy vans don't seem to have a high tow rating either.
You are correct regarding the Nissan. I was not aware they ceased production. It appears the last year was 2020, as I used used passenger versions available through that model year. The Nissan did up to 8,700, which is enough for the triple slide configuration I linked to below. The Chevy does up to 9,600 in passenger configurations, which enough for large trailers. The Expedition tow rating nearly matches the Chevy, but of course it can't tow heavy AND carry passengers. You have to choose. The payload numbers on these things are phenomenal.



 

Fozzy

Full Access Members
Joined
Sep 5, 2019
Posts
1,200
Reaction score
1,158
Location
Riverton
As you get closer to max weight the pickup will def tow better. If you keep the weight down the expy is great at towing. I really do wish there was a 3/4 ton suv that could tow closer to a 3/4 ton pickup. There are not really any options for seven seats and 10k+ towing. I do remember back in the day even the guys with excursions talked about how they didn't pull as well as the matching pickup. The excursion even had issues nearing max towing weight. I keep watching for a low mile excursion, that would be perfect for my current situation.
That is my dream do it all vehicle. If I was loaded I would have this, 17+ Superduty with the Expy body. I just don't have the $125K for the conversion, the 17+ Superduty donor and the year top wait for it.
Screen Shot 2021-09-23 at 7.45.19 PM.png
 

Latest posts

Staff online

Forum statistics

Threads
53,396
Posts
500,653
Members
46,812
Latest member
Dcleghorn01
Top