Too much boat for a std Expedition?

[PB1234]

I'm new to towing, so forgive what might seem obvious questions. This is our primary vehicle for the family, and I don't want to do something stupid that will damage the Exped or get someone hurt!

Looking to tow a 5800lbs boat (spec says 5200, so I added 600lbs) with a 2022 Expedition XLT AWD/4x4 (short wheelbase) without the towing package. My understanding is that I'm limited to 6500lbs towing with this configuration.

The boat is a Chaparral 265SSI if that matters.

Is that weight of boat viable to tow with the Expedition? Seems likes it's within limits, but I have no experience towing, and don't know what other featues may NEED to be added to the Exped, or if there are certain trailer features that would improve the situation for towing safely.

I realize that the expedition will pretty much need to be empty and just driver.

We are planning to keep the boat in a yard that allows self launch, so we can avoid slip costs, and launch retrieve ourselves. We're not cheap just short on time, and it makes no sense to pay slip fees for the amount of time we have for the boat.

So I guess a short list is:
-is 5800lbs doable with the non tow package Exped
-What NEEDS to be added to the Exped or the trailer to have to make this viable (if at all)
-Considering the extra forces on the Exped on a launch ramp is this a smart idea at all? I don't want to damage the Exped.

If not possible could you please suggest a working combo and weight that would work for our vehicle, so at least we know what we COULD do. (with a new boat haha)

Thanks!

 

[GlennSullivan]

Can you provide more information on this statement? If Im reading it correctly, you are towing a very short distance to just launch and recover the boat. That you are not planning to take it on any “trips”.

We are planning to keep the boat in a yard that allows self launch, so we can avoid slip costs, and launch retrieve ourselves. We're not cheap just short on time, and it makes no sense to pay slip fees for the amount of time we have for the boat.

 

[PB1234]

Can you provide more information on this statement? If Im reading it correctly, you are towing a very short distance to just launch and recover the boat. That you are not planning to take it on any “trips”.

We are planning to keep the boat in a yard that allows self launch, so we can avoid slip costs, and launch retrieve ourselves. We're not cheap just short on time, and it makes no sense to pay slip fees for the amount of time we have for the boat.

Correct. The boat would stay in the yard, and the Expedition would be used to launch and retrieve the boat using the launch ramp at the marina.

We MAY move the boat to an offsite storage yard in the fall, and bring back to the marina in the spring. That's about an hour drive one way.

 

[GlennSullivan]

You will have Zero problems moving the boat in and out of the water. You also will not have issues moving it 1 hour away as you will not really be over the stated limits. That being said, I would not go on a 200+ mile family vacation with the truck and boat loaded up.

Notes for open road transport, none of which is necessary for moving the boat around the yard.
Add a trailer brake controller to your truck, it does not currently have one.
Confirm the electrical connector on the boat trailer matches that of the truck (4 pin straight or 7 pin round).
If connector doesn't match, add it when you install the trailer brake controller.
Limit the boats weight via - low / no fuel, water, coolers, and other easily removable items.

I don't know if you have had your trailer in the water yet, but if not, take some time and make sure the wheel bearings are well lubricated and the caps sealed, and check over all of the electrical connections and components to make sure they are sealed.

 

[PB1234]

You will have Zero problems moving the boat in and out of the water. You also will not have issues moving it 1 hour away as you will not really be over the stated limits. That being said, I would not go on a 200+ mile family vacation with the truck and boat loaded up.

Notes for open road transport, none of which is necessary for moving the boat around the yard.
Add a trailer brake controller to your truck, it does not currently have one.
Confirm the electrical connector on the boat trailer matches that of the truck (4 pin straight or 7 pin round).
If connector doesn't match, add it when you install the trailer brake controller.
Limit the boats weight via - low / no fuel, water, coolers, and other easily removable items.

I don't know if you have had your trailer in the water yet, but if not, take some time and make sure the wheel bearings are well lubricated and the caps sealed, and check over all of the electrical connections and components to make sure they are sealed.

Yeah, it'll just be me and my wife moving the boat if it's to relocate it. Empty otherwise.

For the weight, I hadn't included the trailer weight, which I don't know what a typical weight is. It's a 2 axle, which I believe is rated at 12000lbs. How much weigth would that add... sorry slipped my mind to add that!

 

[Calidad]

Ok so 26ft 8.1L i/o?
Guessing your trailer is 8500 rated like mine. My 28ft Duel 8500 rated Aluminum trailer is 1700lbs. My boat is around 6500 dry no water in tanks and about 10-15 gallons of fuel.

Typical dry yard short haul your fine but just be wary about the stupid faulty thermostat 2018-2022’s got that gradually fails and increases transmission temps and eventually triggers coolant temp display at 228+ temps not even towing!! I literally just delt with this last week. Updated thermostat design has transmission temps back in the 190 range not towing. Flat towing stop and go traffic etc I’d predict 200-220 which is ok, fan kicks on at 212 ish. Getting warm is 230, hot is 240, too hot is 250-260.

For ramp launches I use 4lo and the ex just creeps up the ramp with very little throttle. Easy stuff.

The fuel tank in that hull is forward of the trailer axles just be careful on your tongue weight vs fuel load in the boat full fuel tank will definitely increase your tongue weight by a large amount.

I tow dry but only 2x a yr. I use 14 gallon fuel totes to fuel up the boat after she’s at my dock for the season.

A full day with a bunch of friends might be 40-50 gallons. I typically try to keep it in the 70-100 gallon range. If we do a overnight I’ll fill it full 140.

 

[GlennSullivan]

Yeah, it'll just be me and my wife moving the boat if it's to relocate it. Empty otherwise.

For the weight, I hadn't included the trailer weight, which I don't know what a typical weight is. It's a 2 axle, which I believe is rated at 12000lbs. How much weight would that add... sorry slipped my mind to add that!

Oops, yes that certainly makes a difference. My 20' aluminum car trailer empty is 1600lb with spare tire, so I'm guessing, just guessing, the trailer is maybe about the same.

Again, you would not have an issue launching and retrieving the boat in the yard using 4X4 even though the non HD Tow Vehicles do not come equipped with Hi/Low range transfer case.

Taking 7500lb or 8000lb it down the road is not something I would recommend. As Calidad said, you would need to be concerned about temps without the HD cooling radiators and the 18 to 22 models have questionable transmissions to start with. If your your truck were to overheat or have a transmission problem towing that weight, the Ford Towing document I provided above is clear about your warranty being voided.

 

[PB1234]

Forgive my ignorance, however that's something I've been wondering. I get that my Exped doesn't have the tow package, but how is it safe to use it launch and retrieve just in the yard? Is it that the bone of the Exped are there even without the tow package, and short range I'm good up to the 9500lbs limit the tow package has? Just nothing long range that would over hear the transmission, and engine due to lack of cooling? Is that all there is in the tow package I'm missing? If so maybe it's worth installing those items?

 

[GlennSullivan]

Forgive my ignorance, however that's something I've been wondering. I get that my Exped doesn't have the tow package, but how is it safe to use it launch and retrieve just in the yard? Is it that the bone of the Exped are there even without the tow package, and short range I'm good up to the 9500lbs limit the tow package has? Just nothing long range that would over hear the transmission, and engine due to lack of cooling? Is that all there is in the tow package I'm missing? If so maybe it's worth installing those items?

Honestly, from Ford's standpoint you are not allowed to even hook up a load over 6,000lbs weight to your vehicle.

From my perspective, the physical frame, hitch, engine and transmission of the truck are the same with and without the HD Tow option. It is running down the road with the bouncing, lane change, up and downhill forces generated where the components added with the HD Tow package are needed.

Now if you were looking to move a 15,000lb boat / trailer with a 1,500lb tongue weight in and out of the water, that would be physically dangerous for your vehicle under any circumstances.

 

[PB1234]

Honestly, from Ford's standpoint you are not allowed to even hook up a load over 6,000lbs weight to your vehicle.

From my perspective, the physical frame, hitch, engine and transmission of the truck are the same with and without the HD Tow option. It is running down the road with the bouncing, lane change, up and downhill forces generated where the components added with the HD Tow package are needed.

Now if you were looking to move a 15,000lb boat / trailer with a 1,500lb tongue weight in and out of the water, that would be physically dangerous for your vehicle under any circumstances.

Got ya. So it's okay to move around the yard up to 9500lbs including launch and retrieve, but that's pretty much it. Maybe low speed down the street to the additional storage etc.

 

[Calidad]

Strictly dry yard moving to a hoist or ramp? Shoot we use golf karts at our club to move 28 ft sailboats. One friend uses his miata as a yard mule.

If there’s no road travel involved your fine. Ramp traction vs the junk OEM tires? Yeah I ditched those before I even towed. They were absolutely the worst tires I’ve ever had on a vehicle in wet pavement. Slick ramp launch? Hell no…

4hi 1st gear you have plenty of grunt even with the mini van configuration of 3.31 gears

 

[GlennSullivan]

Got ya. So it's okay to move around the yard up to 9500lbs including launch and retrieve, but that's pretty much it. Maybe low speed down the street to the additional storage etc.

I would not go on any public roads at all.

 

[PB1234]

Strictly dry yard moving to a hoist or ramp? Shoot we use golf karts at our club to move 28 ft sailboats. One friend uses his miata as a yard mule.

If there’s no road travel involved your fine. Ramp traction vs the junk OEM tires? Yeah I ditched those before I even towed. They were absolutely the worst tires I’ve ever had on a vehicle in wet pavement. Slick ramp launch? Hell no…

4hi 1st gear you have plenty of grunt even with the mini van configuration of 3.31 gears

Yeah it would be to launch/retrieve on a ramp. We're actually looking to switch to a Sea Ray 260 which is about 7000 lbs dry and I guess another 1500lbs for the trailer so 8500lbs or so. Being about the still use the Exped for the ramp would be very helpful. What tires do you recommend for a ramp?

 

[Calidad]

So trailer brakes are a must while backing down the ramp. My trailer is electric hydraulic disc setup and I use the manual trailer brake lever on the dash to actually back me down the ramp. Otherwise it’s tricky to modulate the brake pedal to avoid sliding down the ramp with the front tires skidding.

I’m on my second set of BFG trail Terrains which go 55,000-65,000 miles between replacements. Its a hybrid A/T tire for SUVs it had minimal mileage impact over the low rolling resistance oem tires. Highway performance is excellent, wet performance is excellent and snow performance is quite good.

Tongue weight vs hull positioning on the trailer is important. The dealer I bought from trailer and boat, used the trailer for multiple boats and never really fitted the boat correctly. In my case they had the bow bracket shoved all the way forward and with my boat that put about 1000lbs on the ball. I had to scale it and adjust till I got to just under 900lbs. Which made a huge difference in the Expedition weight distribution so keep that in mind.

 

[PB1234]

Ok, so for my 2022 Expedition with non tow package, what would need to be added to enable it to be able to tow the same as the tow package? I'm not really considering maxing out the towing, but a lot of the boats that we'd like to buy are just over the 6000lbs tow rating, and even at the 6000lbs rating I'd feel a lot more comfortable knowing that the Exped has been equiped better.

For what it's worth here's Ford's towing guide for the 2022 Exped. https://www.ford.com/cmslibs/conten...df/2022_Ford_Expedition_Towing_Info_Nov16.pdf

 

[dr2024]

You might find this thread from last year useful. -HDTow retrofit?

 

[dr2024]

Oops, old thread…