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Old 03-20-2006, 06:32 PM   #1
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I recently purchased a 2000 Diesel Ford Excursion and used it to pull my 2002 33' Citation Travel trailer to Florida. I used to use my 2002 Dodge 2500 Diesel which did an awesome job. The only problem I found with the Excursion was the sway. When anything drove by me I had to hold on for dear life to keep the thing on the road. I have a reese sway bar on the trailer, but it did no good. I never had to use the sway bar with with the Dodge, great trucks. Obviously the Ford has issues but I don't know where to start to fix the problem ???
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Old 03-20-2006, 06:32 PM   #2
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I recently purchased a 2000 Diesel Ford Excursion and used it to pull my 2002 33' Citation Travel trailer to Florida. I used to use my 2002 Dodge 2500 Diesel which did an awesome job. The only problem I found with the Excursion was the sway. When anything drove by me I had to hold on for dear life to keep the thing on the road. I have a reese sway bar on the trailer, but it did no good. I never had to use the sway bar with with the Dodge, great trucks. Obviously the Ford has issues but I don't know where to start to fix the problem ???
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Old 03-21-2006, 04:16 AM   #3
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Start at the tires. Make sure they are the correct tires for the job & at the correct inflation pressure. Next look at the shocks. If they are the original factory shocks, get rid of them & get some Belsteins or high quality ones. Just some starting suggestions.
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Old 03-21-2006, 05:14 AM   #4
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Make sure you have your trailer properly loaded. 12%-15% of the total trailer weight should be on the tongue. Also the Excursions have lighter springs in the rear. Many have recomended Airbags for the rear. Check your tires as Artic Owl suggested. Make sure you have them inflated to the max psi. A stiffer sidewall helps alot.

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Old 03-21-2006, 09:35 AM   #5
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Is your Reese Sway bar you have the simple Friction Sway Control? If so, then I highly recommend upgrading to a better sway control system, such as the Reese Dual Cam or Equal-I-Zer hitches. And if you can afford it, the Heinsly or Pullrite would be even better.
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Old 03-21-2006, 11:11 AM   #6
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> I used to use my 2002 Dodge 2500 Diesel which did an awesome job. The only problem I found with the Excursion was the sway. When anything drove by me I had to hold on for dear life to keep the thing on the road. I have a reese sway bar on the trailer, but it did no good. I never had to use the sway bar with with the Dodge, great trucks. Obviously the Ford has issues but I don't know where to start to fix the problem ??? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Is your Reese Sway bar you have the simple Friction Sway Control? If so, then I highly recommend upgrading to a better sway control system, such as the Reese Dual Cam or Equal-I-Zer hitches. And if you can afford it, the Heinsly or Pullrite would be even better. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

aa6vh, As you will note, he had no problem when pulling with the same system with his Dodge. This info suggests to me his problem is with the Excusion. That is why I suggested he start with the tires. The Excursion may need 'E' rated tires & or, the sidewall construction & stiffness on his Dodge tires was different then on his new truck.
Another suggestion may be to try some Timbren load assistance. The Dodge 2500 & the Excursion rear suspension are different & may be an area to look into. JMHO again.
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Old 03-21-2006, 04:48 PM   #7
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A used 2k model will have had a new set of cheap a## passenger tires installed by the dealer and will still have the worn out original shocks.''JMHO
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Old 03-21-2006, 06:07 PM   #8
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Thanks for all the input.. I'll mess with the tire pressure and see what happens with that first. Hate to buy new tires. The ones on the Excursion now have very little tread wear.
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Old 04-27-2006, 04:58 AM   #9
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Your Excursion should have come with load range D or E LT-rated tires. If the previous owner had P-rated tires fitted on there, get them off! Inflate to max psi, which is 65 psi for load range D and 80 psi for E.

You may also want to check the hitch set up, as the hitch height on the Dodge may have been higher/lower than the X. Be sure you are getting good weight distribution and both X and TT are level.

As also mentioned, X's have very soft rear suspensions with a lot of travel. Most folks towing heavy with an X have either upgraded to F350 spring packs, or added Timbrens, air bags, sway bars, etc.

Lastly you may want to upgrade the hitch to an Equal-i-zer or dual cam style hitch if you don't have one already. A Hensley or Pull-Rite will solve your problem 100% out of the box, but that's a lot of cabbage to spend on a hitch.

Good luck and post back as you make some progress with this.
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Old 04-28-2006, 12:10 PM   #10
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2000 & 2001 Excursions came with D rated LTFirestones. Ford recalled all of them and replaced the tires with E rated LT tires. Ford had determined that D rated was not enough for the way most were used and did not want the bad publicity that Explorer had. I've owned mine since new and E rated LT tires helped a lot.
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Old 04-28-2006, 02:14 PM   #11
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Hello there....I have a 2000 Ford Excursion Diesel I use to pull a 26 foot Wellcraft cruser
that I had pulled with a 1998 Chevie Suburban.
I bought the ford thinking it would handle the boat with no problem.....after a whole lot of trying to figure out why I could not get the ford to handle the boat & trailer as well as the Suburban, here is the... FIX... Ford does not put a rear Anti Sway Bar on their Excursions. With the Installation of the Helwig rear sway bar (from JC Wittney) and E rated LT Tires...that ford so kindley provided the Excursion now drives like the Suburban. Sorry I didn't find the post sooner....I could have saved you a lot of searching for the answer

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Old 05-06-2006, 12:49 PM   #12
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Jrose, Tires are a very important issue on the 2000 Excursion. I owned one for 190k miles. LOVED it. I towed a 34 foot Avion with it. Then later a 35 Alumnascape. I recommend the Hensley arrow hitch. Then upgrade your tires to D range. I dont think you will have any more problems.
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Old 05-07-2006, 09:21 AM   #13
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I think you mean "E" load rated tires....!
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Old 05-31-2006, 01:47 PM   #14
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Hi

I can atest to your sway issues, been there and done that! I own a 2001 Ford PSD Excursion 4X4

Ford did recall all Excursions that had "D" range tires and replaced them with Load Range "E", make sure thats what you have.

The Excursion rear suspension is very soft and it makes it difficult for any type of hitch to Equalize your trailer's tongue weight. I installed F-350 springs to correct the problem, but rides like a truck all the time! Based on my experience I would recommend that you put a set of air bags in , Timbrens won't solve your problem tried those too! Once done with the air bags re-adjust your hitch so you have 12-15% tonge weight, trailer tows level, truck maintains level, then take if for a test tow. If your running a friction sway control, junk it! and go with a dual cam sway control.

Ford also has a wandering issue with the Excursions,which complicates things even moore, whereas your constantly turning the steering wheel back and fourth to keep it straight, this also adds to the problem. I'm on my third steering box and ready to install the fourth one! When they get sloppy you can adjust it and will make some improvement, but typically its a temporary fix. i installed a Customized Pull Rite on my Ex and it works well, if I were to do it all over again, I would go with a Hensley for ease of transferring it onto my next truck.
If I can assist you in any way just E-mail me jphanratty@charter.net
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