TrailManor Owner's Forum - View Single Post

07-18-2011, 02:58 PM

Even though it looks like most of the questions have been answered, I thought I'd add my 2 cents as I used to tow a pop up with my 98 explorer with the 4 liter v6, 2wd, factory tow pkg. The key word is USED to tow.

Before my TM I had a jayco pop up, but it was the big one, 12 ft box, opens to 24 ft, slide out dinette, ac, cassette toilet/shower, front storage box etc. the sticker on the side said 2700 lbs dry, 3000 gross. Being that this was my first experience with a trailer I checked my tow capacities, gear ratio and tow pkg to make sure it could handle it (granted this was after I bought it) pop ups can be towed by minivans right? I towed it off the bumper for the first couple of years and it was apparent that it was too much, it sagged pretty bad, I tried spring helpers with little change, then went to a class 3 hitch, better, but not great, it actually started bottoming out sometimes since the hitch was lower than the bumper, then I started paying attention to the weight. Once the car is filled with gas, a cooler filled with ice, luggage for 4, full propane tank, 12v battery, firewood and misc. stuff in the front storage, most of the weight was between the rear tires of the TV and the front axle of the trailer, I knew that it was way over specs. A WDH would have made a big difference as far as sag goes, but the towing capacities are based on flat conditions and living in San Diego, CA. there's not a whole lot that is flat. We camped in the desert a few times each winter and climbing over the mountains at 7000 ft really put a strain on everything, I was afraid I'd ruin my transmission, so after a few years towing with the explorer I got a good deal on a 03 F150, 4WD with the 5.4 liter v8 and couldn't be happier, it tows like a dream and I still have the explorer.
If the explorer is what you have to work with it can be done, just pay attention to weight, don't tow water, maybe eliminate 1 propane tank, I used to pull the battery when I knew we had hookups, use a WDH and turn the overdrive off, but better to have too much tow capacity than not enough.

07-18-2011, 02:58 PM	#8
surfandgolf Guest Posts: n/a	Even though it looks like most of the questions have been answered, I thought I'd add my 2 cents as I used to tow a pop up with my 98 explorer with the 4 liter v6, 2wd, factory tow pkg. The key word is USED to tow. Before my TM I had a jayco pop up, but it was the big one, 12 ft box, opens to 24 ft, slide out dinette, ac, cassette toilet/shower, front storage box etc. the sticker on the side said 2700 lbs dry, 3000 gross. Being that this was my first experience with a trailer I checked my tow capacities, gear ratio and tow pkg to make sure it could handle it (granted this was after I bought it) pop ups can be towed by minivans right? I towed it off the bumper for the first couple of years and it was apparent that it was too much, it sagged pretty bad, I tried spring helpers with little change, then went to a class 3 hitch, better, but not great, it actually started bottoming out sometimes since the hitch was lower than the bumper, then I started paying attention to the weight. Once the car is filled with gas, a cooler filled with ice, luggage for 4, full propane tank, 12v battery, firewood and misc. stuff in the front storage, most of the weight was between the rear tires of the TV and the front axle of the trailer, I knew that it was way over specs. A WDH would have made a big difference as far as sag goes, but the towing capacities are based on flat conditions and living in San Diego, CA. there's not a whole lot that is flat. We camped in the desert a few times each winter and climbing over the mountains at 7000 ft really put a strain on everything, I was afraid I'd ruin my transmission, so after a few years towing with the explorer I got a good deal on a 03 F150, 4WD with the 5.4 liter v8 and couldn't be happier, it tows like a dream and I still have the explorer. If the explorer is what you have to work with it can be done, just pay attention to weight, don't tow water, maybe eliminate 1 propane tank, I used to pull the battery when I knew we had hookups, use a WDH and turn the overdrive off, but better to have too much tow capacity than not enough.