To the Max or Not?

[LG_123]

Pros for the Max:

1. Fuel tank - It's a big deal when just driving on road trips. It's a HUGE deal when towing. Pulling our 30' RV trailer we average ~7mpg, so every extra gallon onboard helps. It's not quite as good as the 36 gallon tank in my F-150, but it's still better than the SWB.
2. 4'x8' plywood - A number of vehicles ago we had a standard length 3rd gen Expy, and not being able to grab a full-size sheet of plywood is just annoying. It's not an every day thing, but when you need to, you need to. Needed two 1/4 sheets for a project, but when it's cheaper to grab a full sheet than two 1/4 sheets... having the option to put all the seats down and get the full sheet home was very, very helpful (wife had my truck).
3. Rear seat space- Ingress/egress for 3rd row is easier with the Max. We've got captain's chairs in the 2nd row of our Max so it's normally not an issue, but we're in a rental SWB w/o them while our truck is in the shop, and it's noticeably more annoying to get to the 3rd row past the wheelwells.
4. Towing - Forget the supposed extra couple of hundred pounds of towing capacity with the SWB. The longer wheelbase of the Max makes towing more comfortable. Both would benefit from a larger rear swaybar, but that's easy to swap out. Extra wheelbase not so much.
5. Advanced cargo management - While the shelf with ACM makes more sense in the SWB, having the extra storage compartment directly behind the seat in the Max is another bonus.

Neutral:
1. Turning radius - Its ~1' smaller with the SWB, but the max is still 2' smaller than a crew-cab F-150, so between the Expys it's macht nichts.


Cons:

1. Parking - If the SWB will fit in the garage and the Max won't...

This is spot on. Towing is better with a longer wheelbase and hauling plywood or drywall sheets is a huge plus

 

[ColoradoJon]

This is spot on. Towing is better with a longer wheelbase and hauling plywood or drywall sheets is a huge plus

I think it is mostly personal preference to go Max. I like my standard. There are a few threads on this topic. I started one a while ago with a picture of how I load mine for long trips, car topper and rear cargo box. I like the towing with the shortty, I don't think the wheelbase is a huge deal and I have towed in Wyoming winds. The MPG and Range while towing are tough either way in that wind. I like the more sporty feel and better mpg when not towing. I think you are good either way but if you find yourself hauling extra stuff everywhere you go, you want a Max. I have four kids and my wife brings a cat and our dog when we go, I stuff everything in the trailer or in cargo boxes to save room inside. You have to consider payload weight as well in the truck while towing, when my boys are full grown we will need to take two cars to camp.

 

[lobsenza]

You can get a bench middle row that will increase the seating capacity of either version. I bought the SWB with the bench seat. This gave me the maximum flexibility.

 

[ROBERT BONNER]

As a previous 7.3 PSD Excursion owner, NOTHING will match up to that vehicle, load it up with people, cargo, trailers, that machine handled it all with grace and comfort.

I had a 2004 Excursion 4x4 EB with the 6.8L V10. We loved that vehicle. It was the bass boat equivalent for bird hunters. 4 hunters, two dogs, all their gear, 80 mph in 4wd down gravel roads in SD. 44 gallon fuel tank.

More than you want to know: While at Ford in early 2003 (the statute of limitations has probably passed for my courtmartial for revealing confidential information), I worked with a couple of others to fight the idiots within to extend Excursion poduction 18 months after it's original Job last, to the end of the 2005 MY. An extension that cost nothing. It was a much tougher fight than it should have been for a vehicle that was making the lion's share of $1B total profit during those 18 months. My phrase, "There are people at Ford who don't like to make money" was coined during that fight. When queried by one BOD member about why this had to be raised to a board level decision....I repeated that phrase. You could have head a pin drop. They voted unanamously to extend production. We had lost the fight to extend production into the late 2000's years before because the company didn't have the product engineering capacity to upgrade it along with the SuperDuty to meet 2006+ SRS requirements (New Front suspension/Frame/IP, etc.) The Expedition MAX was supposed to launch a year earlier than it actually did so that the full size package could be maintained in the line-up. Albeit without the 10K GVW.

I still think there would be a real market for putting the current Expedition MAX on a modified SuperDuty chassis as a 10K GVW SUV.....Go back to my phrase above...It's still true. The parts and tooling are all there in KTP where they are both built. But, there are actually people at Ford calling the shots who don't want to be known in polite society as players in the company that builds the baddest SUV on the planet (let alone the most profitable).

 

[Galaxieman]

I still think there would be a real market for putting the current Expedition MAX on a modified SuperDuty chassis as a 10K GVW SUV.....Go back to my phrase above...It's still true. The parts and tooling are all there in KTP where they are both built. But, there are actually people at Ford calling the shots who don't want to be known in polite society as players in the company that builds the baddest SUV on the planet (let alone the most profitable).

This. In. Spades. The running gear (minus the IRS) is the exact same as I have in my 2020 F-150 which will pull 12,500 off the bumper... but the GVWR on the Expy is neutered. Ford doesn't even need to do a body update: The same way the Suburban looks exactly like the Tahoe (at least to me) - Re-introducing the SD-chassis based Expy as the Excursion would work fine. Do something specific with trim (or, for the love of God include tow mirrors...) to set them apart, but otherwise, just have what amounts to an Expy HD. Here's a crazy thought - put the 7.3 gas motor in it as an option...

 

[Mr Big]

I absolutely loved my 2000 Excursion. I owned it for 22 years. Even though it looked almost new, age and mileage convinced me to go newer. So, I sold it and purchased my Platinum. I miss my Excursion, but I've found I love my Expedition just as much, maybe more. With regard to MAX or not, I wanted a MAX, because I owned an Excursion. But I found, unless I wanted black, there were no decent certified pre-owned available. So I settled for a non max. Now that I have it, I don't miss not having a MAX.

 

[NorthWestYuppie]

Go max or go home

 

[z71kris]

So we are currently on the aforementioned Myrtle beach trip, 10 hour trip from home. We took luggage for 8, 6 passengers. Two teen boys 6’+ in third row, and two teen boys nearly 5’8 and 5’10 in second row. Very comfortable. It drove nearly perfect. The only issue really was with all the Luggage couldn’t see out the back window but it all fit in the back behind 3rd row. The adaptive cruise worked well and the lane keep room some getting used to but worked well as well. Very happy with the max package.

 

[Mr Big]

If the standard had the big fuel tank I would have gone with that. I like going 500 miles between fuel stops

My last 605 mile road trip to Ga, the end of June, I got close to 600 miles on my 2019 Standard Platinum. I would have made the whole 605 mile trip but did not want to chance it since gps showed 65 miles left and gas showed 56 miles until empty. The reserve light was not on, but I still didn't want to chance it. I got 25.7 miles per gallon at average of 50 mph, 90% highway, 10% city/town, on regular gas.

 

[apex96]

My last 605 mile road trip to Ga, the end of June, I got close to 600 miles on my 2019 Standard Platinum. I would have made the whole 605 mile trip but did not want to chance it since gps showed 65 miles left and gas showed 56 miles until empty. The reserve light was not on, but I still didn't want to chance it. I got 25.7 miles per gallon at average of 50 mph, 90% highway, 10% city/town, on regular gas.

I've had similar mileage numbers from western PA to Tampa FL, averaged 24 mpg for the entire trip and, the tank average from SC to FL read 28 mpg with all highway miles running at 65-75 mph.