Trailor Towing

Hello All,

I have a trailor towing question. I have a 2000 EB Explorer, 5.0L AWD. I bought the vehicle used about 2.5 years ago. It appears to have come with a towing package as it has the trailor towing light connector and mounting bracket in the strorage compartment in a plastic bag.

I am thinking of trying to tow a travel trailor with the Explorer. I've been doing a lot of research online. I have some questions:

1) How can I tell which axle ratio I have. It appears that the 3.73:1 is recommended. 2) How can I tell if I have a heavy duty tow package.

I am getting some information from the attached website.

formatting link
I'm just trying to figure out how much trailor I can tow safely and if I have enough vehicle..

Thanks for any input,

Reply to
Brad Penn
Loading thread data ...

Check out this site. It describes the axle codes, and then just look at the label on the driver's side door jamb. I forget which field is the axle, but it's pretty easy to figure out.

formatting link
If you have the 7 pin (round) electrical connector and the 2" receiver then you most likely do have the towing package (and the 3.73 rear end).

From what I've seen, the stock tow equipment (if there at all) is the 1.5" receiver and the hitch is rated as Class II (as opposed to what Ford calls the tow package's hitch as a Class III/IV).

There is also a tag on the differential itself that tells what it is (if all else fails).

Bob

Reply to
Bob

Bob,

Thanks very much for the information. I will check out the old axle code tonight. This vehicle I purchased used had no receiver installed. Don't know if it ever did.

Thanks again,

Reply to
Brad Penn

Well, personally I wouldn't tow anything bigger than about a 17 foot travel trailer with an Explorer and that would only be because I had to move it and my pickup didn't run or whatever. Maybe a nice popup tent trailer would suit you instead?

Did you try posting your question on rec.outdoors.rv-travel? I'm pretty sure you could get lots of opinions there.

Reply to
Ulysses

Brad -

Rummage around at

formatting link
There used to be a rather comprehensive section on camper/trailer towing, though it looks like they've pulled a lot of it down recently. Based on my 2002 Explorer (4.6L, factory tow package, and a larger vehicle than the 2000 Explorer) towing my 3500-pound camper, I think Ulysses has it about right. The Explorer is not a heavy-duty tow vehicle, and the factory's tow ratings are wildly optimistic (my Explorer is rated for 7300 pounds, and in the mountains it struggles with half that). Part of the question depends on where you intend to tow, obviously - the plains of Nebraska is quite different from the

12,000 foot passes in the Rockies and the high Sierras. But the relatively short wheelbase will be a limiting factor, especially on curvy downhill grades.

Regardless, I don't think you will want to exceed about 4000 pounds of loaded trailer weight. And that is a pretty small travel trailer.

Bill

----------------------

Ulysses wrote:

Reply to
Bill Jeffrey

I had a 2000 Explorer XLT V6 (Recently traded for a brand new Sport Trac) and towed my 3000 lb boat just fine with it for 3 years with the ball on the bumper. You definitely know the extra weight is there and your gas mileage is almost cut in half but it handled it just fine.

Rick Venable

Reply to
RVenable

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.