Asked a thousand times

[63bird]

totally new to Rv'in I've got a 2008 ford expedition in great shape with a 5.7 v8..my manual says I can tow 9200 pounds but I'm sure I can't go that high with a 2008 with 112000 miles on it..would 7k be too much for this truck?

[Skip426]

Welcome to iRV2 .

You vehicle max tow rating is set with only a 150 lb driver in the vehicle , so all passengers and gear in the vehicle have to come off the 9200 lbs.

That being said trailer with a GVWR of 7,000 should be doable.

But if you have a large family and normally carry a lot of stuff , you might want to get a loaded for travel full of fuel scale weight before you proceed .

[deserteagle5]

5.7 V8??? Are you sure of that? Never heard of a Ford 5.7.

[tuffr2]

Agree - you probably meant to type 5.4 litre instead of 5.7.

I am thinking 7,000lbs would be the max and might not be overly comfortable to tow on the highway.

If you are going to camp at the local State parks and use mostly back roads with 35 to 45 mph speed limits you will be ok, but that is a whole lot different that trying to tow at 65 to 70 mph on the freeway with semi's.

I had a Honda Ridgeline towing a 4,800 lb. travel trailer. It was fine for 3 years towing locally. Two local State Parks, one with good hiking trails and one with a nice lake. It was stable to about 55 mph but got squirrely any faster. Squirrely means it took a lot more steering input to stay in my lane.

[Old-Biscuit]

With that 5.4L V8 best to stay at 7000# Trailer GVWR

[tuffr2]

I found specs for a 2008 Expedition. It has only a 119" wheelbase. That surprises me as I thought it was build on a the F-150 chassis with about 145" wheelbase.

If it is just a 119" wheelbase that will really limit you to what is safe to tow. I had a Honda Ridgeline with a 122" wheelbase and it could not control a 4,800 lb. 26.5' over all length travel trailer on the highway.

No way would I try to tow a 7,000 lb. travel trailer with a vehicle with just a 119" wheelbase. Here are the specs I found.

[Wellibe]

Don't focus on the total trailer weight. Pay attention to the vehicle's tongue weight rating and cargo capacity. You likely will max these out long before you reach the total trailer weight rating.

Tongue weight for a loaded trailer can be tricky to estimate. The tongue weight given in the RV marketing brochure is based on an empty trailer, probably with no options installed. You could figure out what the empty tongue weight is as a percentage of the empty trailer weight, then apply that percentage to the trailer's GVWR. This will likely underestimate the true loaded tongue weight because most of what you load in the trailer will be forward of the axle. Everyone says to go weigh the loaded trailer so you will know for sure, but you can't do that before you buy the trailer. After you buy the trailer it's too late. So be conservative and be sure your estimate of loaded tongue weight is not too close to the vehicle's limit.

Everything that you put in or on the vehicle (except fuel and a 150 lb driver) counts against the cargo capacity (yes, including the tongue weight of the trailer and your WDH). So once you're sure you aren't going to exceed the tongue weight rating, add up all of your cargo and make sure you won't exceed the total cargo capacity.

At that point, then you can make sure that the weight of the loaded trailer does not exceed the vehicles towing capacity, but chances are you are still far below that number. Also, make sure the total weight of loaded vehicle + loaded trailer doesn't exceed the vehicle's GCWR. If you've taken care to stay under the tongue weight and cargo weight limits, you likely won't be close to GCWR.

[Kenrbass]

If you search the trailers flipped on the highway, a large majority of them are hooked to suv's. The power to pull does not mean it will not sway and get blown around.

[Gammel]

7K sounds a risky stretch. Low 6's would be pushing it IMHO. Whatever you do be sure to get a quality WDH like an Equalizer!

[tuffr2]

I will say in my experience with the 5.4 litre Trident engine it was underpowered in the F-150. To say it was a dog of an engine is fair. In 2011 Ford really upped their engines. In 2011 they offered a new 6.2 litre Boss engine, a new 5.0 litre Coyote engine, a 3.5 litre Eco-Boost and a new 6.7 litre diesel engine. All with a 6 speed transmission.

I think in 2008 it was still a 4 speed transmission.

No way would I hook a 7,000lb trailer to a 2008 with the 5.4 litre Trident engine.

[69Stang]

Originally Posted by tuffr2

I will say in my experience with the 5.4 litre Trident engine it was underpowered in the F-150. To say it was a dog of an engine is fair. In 2011 Ford really upped their engines. In 2011 they offered a new 6.2 litre Boss engine, a new 5.0 litre Coyote engine, a 3.5 litre Eco-Boost and a new 6.7 litre diesel engine. All with a 6 speed transmission.

I think in 2008 it was still a 4 speed transmission.

No way would I hook a 7,000lb trailer to a 2008 with the 5.4 litre Trident engine.

Triton, not Trident.

I had great result with both 5.4's I had. Towed a 5500lb trailer and a 7500lb trailer.

[2cyber71]

Just so you know, it’s the tranny that will tell you you are over weight.
I’ve seen many blow within 10% of max. I think they test on flat roads in Florida and not in the mountains of West Virginia.

[tuffr2]

Lol - it was still a dog of an engine. Trident or Triton.

Anyone that towed 7,500 lbs with thr 5.4 is would love towing with the 3.5 litre Eco-Boost.

Sent from my SM-G930V using iRV2 - RV Forum mobile app

[Wellibe]

Originally Posted by Kenrbass

If you search the trailers flipped on the highway, a large majority of them are hooked to suv's. The power to pull does not mean it will not sway and get blown around.

I was driving on the highway in a good bit of wind today. I saw an Expedition pulling a big tandem axle TT, probably 25 feet or so. As I approached to pass, I could see the trailer swaying back and forth behind the Expedition. I passed as quickly as I could and put that rig in the rearview.