Seeking Towing Guidance - Looking to pull TT with Expedition

[dmboiler]

Hi All,

New to the forums. We've owned a Keystone Sprinter 311BHS in a semi-permanent campground for 6 years and are looking to sell it and buy a travel trailer that we can take around to various state & national parks.

We will be pulling the new trailer with a 2013 Ford Expedition. It has the heavy duty towing package and is rated at 9000 lbs. max trailer weight and 15,000 GCWR per Ford's 2013 towing guide.

I'm curious if there is any general guidance to how close to these limits we should get. We've been around to a couple local dealerships and I've gotten some mixed advice. We've been looking at trailers in the 5500-6700 UVW range (24-28 ft bunkhouses). At the top of that range we get within 500-800 lbs of the GCWR when we factor in fuel and the weight of the family in the truck. This seems to me to be really pushing it, but I don't know if I'm being overly cautious.

I obviously want to stay as safe as possible and also want to not be limited to where I can pull the trailer. At the same time, I don't want to miss out on some of the benefits that a larger trailer can provide. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
dmboiler

[parker_rowe]

Looks like you have all your numbers, which is a good start.

If you go by the door jamb GVW you have 1540 payload (7500-5960)

If you go by the axle ratings you have 1840 payload (7800-5960)

Looks like you numbers for the 2400 are really close. You added propane, battery, and WDH, which is good.

I think it's doable. I'm sure you'll get lots of options though!

EDIT: For comparisons sake, my trailer is 5300 dry, 6500GVW
Truck is in my signature. My only complaint is being down on power for steep hills.
I doubt you'll have that issue.

[dmboiler]

Thanks to all who have offered advice & guidance. It is appreciated.

I've had a chance to put some real numbers together:

Actual vehicle weight, full tank of gas and no occupants: 5960 (3000 front axle, 2960 rear).

Actual weight of family (H, W, D, D): 475; add 10% buffer for growing kids and personal items = 522.5

We've been around to the local dealerships and the trailer we like the most so far is the Grand Design Imagine 2400BH. It weighs in at 5595 UVW, 505 hitch, 7495 GVWR (I understand these are averages and not actual). Salesman at the dealership says that the weights include empty propane tanks.

Given that everyone seems to agree that the 1508 payload capacity is the true limiting factor of our truck, please consider the following:

1508 payload capacity
-522.5 occupants & personal items
-505 dry hitch weight
-100 WD hitch
-65 battery
-40 propane
=275.5 remaining payload/hitch weight

What else should I be considering?

In your opinion, can this trailer (if thoughtfully/carefully loaded) be safely pulled by the Expedition? I'm an accountant by trade so crunching numbers and thorough planning are right up my alley.

[Grit_dog]

And were off!......
Woooo Woooo Woooo!! (that's the sound of the weight cop sirens as they rush to the scene of the Internet forum crime!)

[stevemorris]

that 1508 number is THE deciding number, not the 9000!
you can pull a lot more than you can carry
at least 10% of the trailer weight will be on the car, then add another 100 lbs for the hitch. dont forget a trailer battery and propane. most of that weight will be on the car.
trailer weights are ridiculously low, look at the trailer gross weight for a more realistic number

[outdoorbug]

dmboiler wrote:
Thanks to all for the information and advice. Below is some data from the stickers on the driver's side door frame:

GVWR: 7500 LB
Front GAWR: 3550 LB
Rear GAWR: 4250 LB
The combined weight of occupants and cargo should never exceed: 1508 LB

The 1508 lbs limit is what will decide your towing capacity, not the 9000 lbs max trailering weight. Meaning that you might hit the 1508 lb limit before you hit the 9000 lbs weight.

Again, it depends. If it is going to be just you sitting inside the SUV, then it will be fine. However, if you are going with family of 4, then the four of you could together weigh, I dunno, 600 to 800 lbs. Then you will need to subtract that from the max payload (1508 lbs). Assuming the higher end of 800 lbs person weight, that leaves with around 708 lbs of tongue weight. Given that tongue weights are around 14% of the trailer weight, that gives you a max trailer weight of 708 lbs / 0.14 = 5057 lbs for your trailer.

[twodownzero]

dmboiler wrote:
Thanks to all for the information and advice. Below is some data from the stickers on the driver's side door frame:

GVWR: 7500 LB
Front GAWR: 3550 LB
Rear GAWR: 4250 LB
The combined weight of occupants and cargo should never exceed: 1508 LB

Next you need to weigh your truck with all the occupants and things inside of it you'd have in it when you tow the trailer. I think you're going to find that you only have about half of that 1500 pound payload remaining, which is going to restrict you to a trailer in the 5-6000 pound range max, and even that is going to require careful loading. You need a 25 foot lightweight TT at most. 30+ feet isn't happening unless you buy more truck.

This is the unfortunate consequence of trying to make SUVs more car like, even full size SUVs.

[troubledwaters]

Best to have the unbiased informative facts rather then Internet speculations; so you can make informed decisions. Clicky

[dmboiler]

Thanks to all for the information and advice. Below is some data from the stickers on the driver's side door frame:

GVWR: 7500 LB
Front GAWR: 3550 LB
Rear GAWR: 4250 LB
The combined weight of occupants and cargo should never exceed: 1508 LB

[twodownzero]

My advice is to look at your GVWR in the door jam and weigh your truck. The rear suspension is not really suitable for heavy trailering. The GCWR probably does not matter because you will overload your truck before you get near it.

[theoldwizard1]

dmboiler wrote:

I obviously want to stay as safe as possible and also want to not be limited to where I can pull the trailer. At the same time, I don't want to miss out on some of the benefits that a larger trailer can provide. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

My daughter's family has similar setup. They have been to Disney World from MI with no issues.

Stay below the recommended maximums (it is easy to exceed the vehicle cargo capacity with a large family) and you should be okay. Also drive a speed where you are comfortable. If that is 60 MPH on an interstate, do it ! It may mean one more hour of driving per day, but you will not be stressed out.

[theoldwizard1]

dmboiler wrote:

I obviously want to stay as safe as possible and also want to not be limited to where I can pull the trailer. At the same time, I don't want to miss out on some of the benefits that a larger trailer can provide. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

My daughter's family has similar setup. They have been to Disney World from MI with no issues.

Stay below the recommended maximums (it is easy to exceed the vehicle cargo capacity with a large family) and you should be okay. Also drive a speed where you are comfortable. If that is 60 MPH on an interstate, do it ! It may mean one more hour of driving per day, but you will not be stressed out.

[bikendan]

dmboiler wrote:

We will be pulling the new trailer with a 2013 Ford Expedition. It has the heavy duty towing package and is rated at 9000 lbs. max trailer weight and 15,000 GCWR per Ford's 2013 towing guide.

Those numbers you're quoting, are max amounts for a properly equipped Expy. NOT for every Expy.
So you need to post the driver's door yellow sticker payload capacity. It's on the Tires and Loading sticker. It'll say Occupants and cargo should not exceed xxxxlbs".
Another sticker will have axle capacities.

[Lwiddis]

Six thousand was my self imposed limit with a similar Tahoe. Remember the longer the TT the fewer the campsites.

[DutchmenSport]

A friend / colleague at work has an Expedition of about the same vintage. He recently purchased a 30 foot Keystone Passport. I gave him my Equal-i-zer 4-point weight distribution hitch and all the paraphernalia I had from my previous travel trailer. His expedition was already equipped with the brake controller, all the wiring, and everything. He said, it tows just fine!

Every now and then, I'll see his Expedition in the parking lot and he'll have that hitch attached. It kind of brings back good memories of my Outback TT. I now have a fifth wheel.

Get a good weight distribution system, and you'll probably be OK.