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

[jastevenson]

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?

 

[bring_em_on]

I've towed with both a regular expedtion and a crew cab Ram. The shorter wheelbase on the Expy does make backing a boat (on a 26ft trailer) down the ramp a lot simpler. I can back my trailer up and park it on a dime with my expy. With that said, it wasn't impossilbe with the Ram, either. Just needed to make sure I gave myself a few extra feet at the beginning.

 

[ib_jigged]

I have towed with both my Expedition and my F150 crew cab with 6.5' bed. The longer wheelbase is way more stable on the road than a shorter wheel base. When towing I usually go with the truck. Also LT tires will have a stiffer sidewall and will help to reduce the trailer sway as well.

 

[grumpyoleman]

While a shorter wheelbase will help with backing maneuverability, a longer wheelbase helps with stability going down the road.

I have towed with both, but to be honest my 1/2 ton and 3/4 ton towing has been either a 5th wheel or gooseneck so the comparison isn't apples to apples. Overall, I am very pleased with the towing with our Navi.

 

[Rob6805]

Overall a pickup is a better tow vehicle due to its longer wheel base. Makes for a much more stable ride. That being said, with only a 22' trailer I doubt it would make much difference.

 

[scottdm]

I've towed a 38' bumper pull travel trailer with our Powerstroke F350 a few times. I honestly can't imagine trying to tow it with our Expy. The truck has a longer wheel base and weighs 3000 lbs more than the Expy and still gets pushed around a bit by the trailer when it's windy.

 

[shane_th_ee]

This one is really going to depend on the details. What’s the payload of your truck, which engine and where will you be towing? Some of the 1/2 ton trucks have shockingly low payloads (1200lbs and less). If you have one of those, use the Expedition. If you’re going to be towing at speed and elevation, use the Expedition for the turbo which doesn’t lose power at altitude…

 

[Zig10]

I tow a 7500 lb boat with the Expy Max and my Ram 1500. It's kind of a toss up for me. The Ram does feel a little more stable on the highway and the air suspension makes for a comfortable ride, but with the suspension mods on the Expy it's pretty close these days.

The Ecoboost has more grunt down low for sure. Mileage is almost exactly the same (poor, at around 8.5 MPG).

The Ram wins due to the 33 gallon fuel tank. Expy really needs to improve in that area.

 

[BLUWAGN]

Lots of Ram 1500s and Expys in here, I have the same and have towed with both. I took the Expedition with 2 side by sides on a 20 open trailer to the Black Hills last month and it was more enjoyable than with my pickup for that load. Quiet, plenty of power, and great ride. I don't know if I'd pull my 29' enclosed aluminum snowmobile on the same trip in the winter without the pickup though, stability with the crew/6.5' box + 10 plys makes a huge difference with a longer trailer.

 

[JasonH]

I haven't done it myself, but my neighbor has a trailer similar in size to mine (30ft, 7k lbs). He just upgraded from a Ram to an F250 diesel. He said the Ram had a really hard time with the camper and was constantly revving and shifting. He also said the fuel tank on the Ram was too small. We're in the Houston area, so it's fairly flat. I haven't had these issues with my Expedition and chalk it up to the turbos.

 

[Mlarv]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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.

Ford Said to Be Close to Ending The Excursion (Published 2002)

Ford Motor Co decides not to build second generation of Excursion sport utility vehicle, which is seven feet tall and able to seat a softball team; Excursion, cited by critics as industry's most visible symbol of sport utility vehicle excess, is expected to be discontinued at conclusion of 2004...

www.nytimes.com

 

[duneslider]

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.

 

[JasonH]

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.

https://es.chevrolet.com/content/dam/chevrolet/na/us/english/index/vehicle-groups/trailering-and-towing/trucks/02-pdfs/MY21%20Trailering%20Guide%20eBrochure%20v2.pdf

https://cdn.dealereprocess.org/cdn/brochures/nissan/ca/2020-nvcargo.pdf

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[Fozzy]

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.

 

[duneslider]

Those are sweet!