beef up suspension on expedition?

[schupaul]

I have 2004 Eddie Bauer expedition that I use to tow a 30ft zinger BH. I dont think the suspension has ever been touched. I get a bit of sway and bouce at the rear when bumps are hit or some heavier winds. The GVW is 5650# and the max tow wgt is 9200#. I am going to sell the zinger and have ordered a flagstaff ultra light. It will be about 1K lighter, sits lower and has better suspension. I'm thinking i need to beef up the suspension of the truck. What should i do that is cost effective? I believe i have shock over coil spring.

[Jeff from Michigan]

You could try these. I put them on my wife's Tahoe and they seem to work very good. Reduced sway and helped beef up the ride.

Expedition SUV Air Lift Kits | "Ford Air Lift 4 Less"

[powerboatr]

first check your sway bar and w/d setup
the w/d will transfer weight to the front wheels, and if you have air bags pumped up when you set the links on the bars it will/could move to much weight forward.

get the hitch set up correctly before adding bags.

weigh the rig and get a real hitch weight and axle weight.

then once all is leveled out and set....if your rear is dragging then add bags and inflate them to level you AFTER all is hitched up correctly.
provided your not over recommended hitch weight for the ex.

[450Donn]

New shocks.

[Hikerdogs]

First of all is your Expedition equipped with the heavy duty towing package? If not it's only rated to tow 5,000 lbs. If it does have the towing package I would follow powerboatr's suggestions. I had a 1999 Expedition with the towing package and regularly towed an 8,000 lb trailer without any problems. I recently traded the 1999 in on a 2010 with the same towing package. I've towed the same trailer over 1,000 miles without any problems.

[schupaul]

Do the airbags take the place of the shocks that are inside the coil springs? or is there some other mounting.

[Jeff from Michigan]

Nope. Click on the link and scroll down. You'll see the shock and spring are separate. The air bag fits inside the spring and the air lines run to the back bumper.

I know you asked for a low cost alternative to help with the stability while towing. These are much cheaper than new shocks and work as advertised. But I agree with powerboatr, check to make sure your hitch is set up correctly. I've seen plenty of campers with their bars almost dragging on the ground because they just hooked up, cranked down the bars and headed out. Nose of the vehicle pointed at the sky and swaying all over the place.

[schupaul]

I am pretty level, however, when it tows it just feels like to much trailer. I do have the towing package.

[Jeff from Michigan]

Like my wife's Tahoe, which also has the towing package, the Expedition is still designed to provide comfort before function. The suspension and tires aren't designed for heavy towing. The bags are fairly cheap, especially when compared to new shocks and springs, and provided a noticeable improvement in ride and a decrease in sway. We don't use the Tahoe for towing anymore, but I liked the bags when we did use it.

[Randy the sly old fox]

Been there, got the tee shirt and moved to a larger tow vehicle. My 99 Tahoe + Arctic Fox 22H tipped the scales around 12,000 lbs, I also had problems with bounce and sway - changed shocks and tires - a bit of help. Got rid of my 550 lb spring bars and bought 1000 lb bars - re adjusted the hitch - both height and angle and suddenly the rig felt hooked up - just not enough power to pull hills in anything but 1st. The new truck with a larger engine and beefier suspension along with the same 1000 lb bars handles like a dream - pulls same hills in 4th at 55-60 turning only 3500 RPM.

Bottom line - make sure that you have the right spring bars, and that the hitch is adjusted properly before adding air bags or air shocks. Also make sure that you don't have too much spring bar dialed in - you can actually unload the rear springs of the tow vehicle causing similar handling problems - bounce and sway.

[Ray,IN]

Check your tires first. If they are P rated tires replace them with LT tires. If you have LT tires inflate them to sidewall maximum for more stability when towing. Yes, I know about the load/inflation charts and mfgrs. tire label on the door pillar. I just ignore them and do what works best for my situation.