97 expy 4.6 towing 30' jayco eagle camper gvwr 7500 need help!

[withrow556]

Okay so my wife found a good deal on a 2000 30' jayco eagle camper 304bh. the gvwr on it says 7500#. I have a 97 expy with only 100,000 miles on it in great shape. BUT it has the 4.6 in it. the tag on the door says 19, so its a 3.55 non-limited slip. tires are 16'' A/T. my question is is this able to haul this camper from ohio to flordia? if not is there upgrades that could be performed to haul it. please any info will help.

[Country_Mouse]

I found this site helpful:RV Tow Check 2.0 | Towing Guide Eliminator

Is it the trailer GTWR 7500lb? I have an Expedition with the heavy duty tow pckg 5.4L 3.73 and that would be too heavy for ours. What is the dry trailer weight and hitch weight? Will you be towing it unloaded?

I'm no expert but do feel I atleast know what our TV can manage.

[bedrck46]

Since I gave you my opinion on the Ford forum and suggested you come to this forum I will not have anything to say but will let others voice opinions for you However I will post the link that I suggested that you read


http://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f3...html#post24549

[SouthCo]

So your asking about a one time haul from Ohio to Florida? What's the plan once it's in Florida?

[bedrck46]

He's not looking for a one time haul

[Murff]

I also await a answer from the pros. I have the 4.6 in my Explorer Sport Trac. Granted, the Expy is a lot more heavy duty, but the gear ratios are the same and my 20MRB is under 6000 lbs.

Just because the Expedition is a heavier vehicle, does that make the 4.6 more powerful?

EDIT: Just researched and the max towing weight for Withrow's Expy is stated at 4,000 pounds!

So, will it tow his 7500 lb. trailer. Sorry, no. Very under powered. Short of stuffing a 5.4 engine in it, no modifications will alter the tow rating.

Murff

[RedHorse1]

I agree that you will be overloaded. Our '03 Expe 5.4 did an adequate job towing our X23B at 4500# but it didn't have much left. The TT loaded to its max will have a tongue weight around 1100#. That would have been way too much to strap on our Expe.

[bedrck46]

Murff re check the tow weight for the 1997 expy


The attached is from the 1997 owners manual

[Murff]

Okay, I stand corrected. I got my numbers from a Ford website. The max is either 5500 or 6100 and that is lower than my Sport Trac rating. He states his trailer gross at 7500 which is still more than what is towable with his vehicle.

Murff

[bedrck46]

he has the 4X4 rated max 6100
Thanks Murff
I suggested that he ask his question on this site so those that have experience towing would help him with better information than I know he would get on the Ford forum site. As I know that on the ford forum site he would get replies telling him that he would be ok as there are those on that site that will say they haul 10000 lbs with no problems.

[SouthCo]

For a one time haul to get it home id say take it slow. As a tow vehicle for regular trips I'd say the trailer is too heavy regardless of upgrades... I know that some would tow that heavy in a similarly rated truck and not think twice until they had truck issues and then they would say why is my truck broke....

[SkyBound]

The title alone of this thread gave my spine a shudder. The answer is absolutely 100% NO WAY. The 2 Valve 4.6 is not a heavy towing engine. That tranny will boil out before he gets there with that set up. The engine will be at 4000-5000 RPM the whole time with that trailer behind it with an unlocked converter.

[Plowtoy]

Towing locally you will be fine IMO, but I wouldn't be going more than a 100-150 miles tops one way, and at that no faster than 60mph. My set up is in my sig and I know Im over weight. The Tahoe does it, but by no means am I breaking any land speed records or traveling out of state. The expeditions have a 4R70 trans that IMO are not great for working. Ideally you will want an excursion or a 3/4 ton truck or bigger to get the job done on a trip that long.

A few things Id do the the expedition if I were going to tow something that large

1. Make sure I have LT load range E tires
2. Make sure they are fully inflated (at least the rears) when towing
3. Check into a set of timbrens if the back of the truck sags too much when hooked up
4. Run a heavier oil (thicker oil, I run 15w50 full synthetic in all my vehicles, including my lawn mower) (I know I will catch slack for saying that, but every little bit helps, that engines going to be worked hard)
5. Keep the Overdrive turned off while towing
6. Change the trans fluid and filter annually (you should be doing that anyway)

[TWP723]

Honestly, no. You should not haul it with that truck. 4.6L AND an open rear? No.

Is the Expedition an Eddie Bauer? Does it have air bag suspension?