Tow with a Ford Explorer?

[mark268]

Any one doing this? I have a 97 awd V8 explorer. I am thinking of using this as my tow rig. I have a 80 cj7, 6 cyl, etc... Trailer is a 16 foot utility flatbed.
Will the vehicle handle the load and what should I look for or do to make thing easier.
Thanks guys.

[Mustard Dog]

Might not be a really good idea.

Let's see what the rest of the gallery throws in here;)

[larryboy]

Originally posted by Mustard Dog

Let's see what the rest of the gallery throws in here;)

go for it!! might wanna carry a spare tranny or two. they call em exploders for a reason:D . if yours moves under its own power you might wanna sell it,QUICK!!

[tdavis]

The Explorer V8 tow rating with AWD is about 6700lbs.

The wheel base is short (112 inches) so it could be dicey at times.

You will stress the auto really bad, and probably cause it to burn up and die..

[randii]

Should this be archived in a FAQ (Frequently Asked Question)?

Standard Question:
Can I tow with (insert SUV or less-than-3/4-ton truck here)?

Standard Answer:
It wouldn't be optimum. Beg, borrow, buy, or rent a 3/4-ton truck that's built to handle the load.

Standard Disclaimer:
If you are going to do this anyway, use a trailer with good brakes (preferably on both axles) and a well-adjusted brake controller. Tow slow, leave plenty of following distance, and plan ahead.

Standard Exception Statement:
Anecdotal exceptions to follow. Invariably someone has done this before and somehow survived to advise others that this will work.... remember that exceptions don't always disprove the rule.

Randii

[FYRMAN]

I think Randii nailed it.

[Haole]

Originally posted by mark268
Any one doing this? I have a 97 awd V8 explorer. I am thinking of using this as my tow rig. I have a 80 cj7, 6 cyl, etc... Trailer is a 16 foot utility flatbed.
Will the vehicle handle the load and what should I look for or do to make thing easier.
Thanks guys.

Last fall a guy towing two motorcycles fried his Exploder tranny, and you want to tow a CJ?

To make it easier, I'd look for a dealership...

... you need a 3/4 ton truck.

[mark268]

OK, thank you all. Answered my questions. I am in process of looking for a 3.4 ton but thought I would ask about the explorer. I knwew the tranny was weak, heck it has already been into the shop for some valve or something to be replaced. It had some sort of vibration when shifting into overdrive. Felt like I was hitting those runble strips on the road. ANyway, back to topic. Thank you for all the good info.

[FYRMAN]

Mark,

We don't mean to sound like complete assess (except for maybe eurobob :flipoff2: ), we just hear this question asked way too many times. Most threads end up just like randii desrcibed. Somebody's cousin's uncle has an ex-girlfriend that used to know a guy that flat towed a Freightliner with a Mini Cooper and it worked fine. Went up and down three mountain passes and passed every Ford truck on the road. Can you see why we get a little cynical about this stuff. ;)

[randii]

Somebody's cousin's uncle has an ex-girlfriend that used to know a guy that flat towed a Freightliner with a Mini Cooper and it worked fine. Went up and down three mountain passes and passed every Ford truck on the road.
Yer killin' me, man. :laughing: Mini Cooper. :flipoff2:

You'd be the person to ask, I guess... where do I get a Class V bumper-hitch for my classic Mini? :p

Randii

[FYRMAN]

Originally posted by randii
You'd be the person to ask, I guess... where do I get a Class V bumper-hitch for my classic Mini? :p

Randii

It's only metal man! Drill new holes! Cut and weld and make it fit!:p

[morpheus]

Originally posted by FYRMAN
Somebody's cousin's uncle has an ex-girlfriend that used to know a guy that flat towed a Freightliner with a Mini Cooper and it worked fine. Went up and down three mountain passes and passed every Ford truck on the road.

Bwaahahaha ! I just about spitup on myself while drinking and reading that ... man that's funny !

- jack

[DRM]

I have personally put over 1k miles on a 4.0 explorer, auto, pulling a CJ5 on a tow dolly...

Made one trip like that, definately would not recomment something like that be done repeatedly or regularly...

[Paul Gagnon]

With the V8 it should pull it and the tranny will be fine but once you get the trailer loaded up and your bum in the driver's seat you will likely be right at or slightly over the limit for this vehicle. Not to mention any passengers or gear. If you just want to haul it across town to a shop I wouldn't hesitate but for long distance towing there are definately much better and safer options.

For what it's worth I towed a 4000 lb trailer for 700 miles through the mountains with my lifted 4.0L Explorer and it did fine(OD off the whole way) but it is not something that I would want to do on a regular basis.

[ManglerYJ]

Originally posted by FYRMAN
Mark,

We don't mean to sound like complete assess (except for maybe eurobob :flipoff2: ), we just hear this question asked way too many times. Most threads end up just like randii desrcibed. Somebody's cousin's uncle has an ex-girlfriend that used to know a guy that flat towed a Freightliner with a Mini Cooper and it worked fine. Went up and down three mountain passes and passed every Ford truck on the road. Can you see why we get a little cynical about this stuff. ;)

I asked a similar question about towing with a full size Blazer, but put a different twist on it. I asked if anyone had any DIRECT experience doing the very same thing. I understand about braking and tranny cooling and how much better it is to have a bigger rig to do the job, but...

What I can't stand is asking a question and getting an answer which is purely based on conjecture. THe standard anwer was "I don't think it's a good idea..." "I think you'd rather have a 3/4 ton truck" "I don't think the Park Ranger will like that very well Yogi..." I think you get my point. I get so sick of so-called experts piping up and telling you what should and shouldn't be done if they haven't done anything of the sort themselves.

You are right, it's better to tow with a 3/4 ton, 1 ton, Peterbilt, Freightliner, or Space Shuttle Trawler than it is to tow with anything less than the magical 3/4 ton. Can it be done? Yes. I've seen people tow a 4500 lb Jeep safe and sensibly on a trailer behind a Jeep Grand Cherokee V8, and I've seen people unsafely tow a 3000 lb Zuk on a trailer behind a F450. (they didn't bother to fasten the Zuk to the trailer.... Darwin at work). I've also had friends that towed with a 1/2 ton Chevy truck with a 350 and gooseneck setup WAY easier than a 3/4 ton with a tag-along trailer. A lot of it is weight distribution and braking efficiency.

My point is when someone asks a question like this, they are really asking if anyone has experience with it, and not, "Is this a good idea?" If they are going to tow with it anyway, at least they will know what to expect from real-world experience, not just "shoulda bought a 3/4 ton..."

[Paul Gagnon]

Originally posted by ManglerYJ
What I can't stand is asking a question and getting an answer which is purely based on conjecture. THe standard anwer was "I don't think it's a good idea..."

You can jump up and down and scream until you are blue in the face about the replies here but the bottom line is that towing that kind of load with a compact truck is risky and potentially dangerous.

[woody]

I have a friend I wheel with who uses his 98/99-ish V8 AWD 2-door Explorer to tow his fat trailer and early bronco around when he doesn't take his Class A motorhome....frankly, it's a scary sight. The rear suspension of the Explorer is not designed for much tongue weight, and frankly I'm not sure how the hell he keeps it on the road....

...and this from "the guy" who used to tow 6000# regularly with his V6 Toyota pickup!

was that first hand enuf?

[SanDiegoCJ]

Originally posted by eurobob


Last fall a guy towing two motorcycles fried his Exploder tranny, and you want to tow a CJ?

To make it easier, I'd look for a dealership...

... you need a 3/4 ton truck.


And ppl wonder why I don't trust autos for towing.

[Haole]

Originally posted by SanDiegoCJ



And ppl wonder why I don't trust autos for towing.

I think there's a slight difference in capability betwee the two.

I've seen a few manual trannies on the fritz. I blew a hole in the side of my Prelude and I wasn't even towing.

[SanDiegoCJ]

Originally posted by eurobob


I think there's a slight difference in capability betwee the two.

I've seen a few manual trannies on the fritz. I blew a hole in the side of my Prelude and I wasn't even towing.


I know that Bob, but Detroit has a LONG history of putting less
than adequate autos behind big blocks and diesels in vehicles
that are used to tow heavy loads. I've just seen many more autos
in that situation die an early death than manuals.

[tdavis]

Yea, but have you tried to buy a manual tow vehicle lately?

They appear to be special order around here. (here being SF Bay area)

Heck, I even got told by a dealer, "We might have some trouble working on your truck - it's a manual, and we don't see many of them.."

:rolleyes:

[SanDiegoCJ]

Originally posted by tdavis
Yea, but have you tried to buy a manual tow vehicle lately?

They appear to be special order around here. (here being SF Bay area)

Heck, I even got told by a dealer, "We might have some trouble working on your truck - it's a manual, and we don't see many of them.."

:rolleyes:


I'm well aware of that unforunate fact. :mad: :mad: Look at the
second post on the page.




http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=147013&pagenumber=2

[randii]

...when someone asks a question like this, they are really asking if anyone has experience with it, and not, "Is this a good idea?" If they are going to tow with it anyway, at least they will know what to expect from real-world experience, not just "shoulda bought a 3/4 ton..."
Hmm. I disagree, at least a bit. I think many of the people who ask these questions are asking whether it is a good idea, AND they are ALSO asking after specific real-world experience.

This is a basic difference between anecdotal evidence and general experience. The internet is chock full of folks with advice -- taken individually, these are anecdotal reports, and as much as I enjoy Charles Darwin's theories, they really only work on the law of averages. Perform a stupid act enough times, and Darwin will getcha -- try it only once, and odds of fatality or damage are lower (beginner's luck and all that). Spread that same act across a larger group, and the law of averages will engage nicely... then you're talking about a range of experience.

The further complication with this forum -- with ALL internet forums -- is that the reader needs to weigh the credentials and experience of the person(s) from whom he obtains advice. Anecdotal evidence from a hotshot driver with a half-million miles of accident-free heavy pulling under his belt SHOULD have more impact than the half-assed report of some two-toothed yokel whose brother's wife's uncle bought a dog from a fella's neighbor that once pulled three cars on a trailer behind his Trans-Camaro, with the gooseneck secured with the seatbelts through the T-tops. :p

Problem is, with white words on a black screen, for all you know, I may be that yokel's brother's wife's uncles' breeder's neighbor. I have more teef, though. http://www.4x4wire.com/ubb/graemlins/notooth.gif

Randii

[Paul Gagnon]

Originally posted by randii
[B]
Problem is, with white words on a black screen, for all you know, I may be that yokel's brother's wife's uncles' breeder's neighbor. I have more teef, though. http://www.4x4wire.com/ubb/graemlins/notooth.gif



You must be his tree teefed brother-cousin.

[Eskimo]

I can't believe no one has mentioned this yet... The Explorer isn't even a 1/2 ton truck... That's the expedition.

Hes basically towing with a V8 powered, already overloaded Ranger...

NOW how bad of an idea is it?

[FYRMAN]

Originally posted by ManglerYJ
I get so sick of so-called experts piping up and telling you what should and shouldn't be done if they haven't done anything of the sort themselves.


Do you have any idea what I do for a living?http://www.gamers-forums.com/smilies/cwm/3dlil/eek13.gif

[Paul Gagnon]

Originally posted by Eskimo
I can't believe no one has mentioned this yet... The Explorer isn't even a 1/2 ton truck... That's the expedition.

Hes basically towing with a V8 powered, already overloaded Ranger...

NOW how bad of an idea is it?

I made reference to it being a compact truck.

[Haole]

Originally posted by FYRMAN



Do you have any idea what I do for a living?http://www.gamers-forums.com/smilies/cwm/3dlil/eek13.gif

Ummm, talk shit? Oh, not that. Ummm, stalk Sue? Ok, maybe that's just a hobby.

I don't know. I give up. :D

[Haole]

Originally posted by FYRMAN
Mark,

We don't mean to sound like complete assess (except for maybe eurobob :flipoff2: ), we just hear this question asked way too many times. Most threads end up just like randii desrcibed. Somebody's cousin's uncle has an ex-girlfriend that used to know a guy that flat towed a Freightliner with a Mini Cooper and it worked fine. Went up and down three mountain passes and passed every Ford truck on the road. Can you see why we get a little cynical about this stuff. ;)

Missed this. And I am an ass. ;) It's all that time out to sea. (13 1/2 years of sea duty. :eek:) What else you going to do with those Newbies? :D

[FYRMAN]

So that's what it is... you're waterlogged! :flipoff2:

[mark268]

OK , I got the point. There is no need to keep ranting and raveing over this. It's not a good idea. great. I am looking for an older 3/4 ton anyway. I haven't towed much other then jet skis with the explorer and really didn't plan to. Just needed some others input.
End of topic ! :flipoff2:

[FYRMAN]

Jet ski's and the like are fine behind an Explorer... It's the bigger chit that isn't a good idea. And we weren't trying to sound like we were hammerin on you. This thread just got outta hand.