TrailManor Owner's Forum  

Go Back   TrailManor Owner's Forum > TrailManor Technical Discussions > Towing and Hitching
Register FAQ Members List Calendar Mark Forums Read

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 08-19-2013, 07:23 AM   #1
greenmtnman
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Default Towing with 2001 ST V6

Is anyone towing with a 2001 Ford Explorer Sport Trac V6
any ideas what I should make sure I will be ok towing a 2010 tm 2720?

thanks for reading
  Reply With Quote
Old 08-19-2013, 09:17 AM   #2
commodor47
Site Sponsor
 
commodor47's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Blandford, MA
Posts: 1,045
Default

I am towing with a 2003 Ford Sport Trac - see my signature. Have traveled from Western MA out to AZ, back to FL and up the coast to home 4 times since 2008. The Trac tows nicely - no issues. Send me a PM if you need more info.

Dick
__________________
Dick & Jeri in Western MA
2003 2720 SL
2007 Ford Explorer Sport Trac Limited 4x4 - V8
Albums
commodor47 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-19-2013, 10:18 AM   #3
thewayneo
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Evergreen, Colorado. Halfway between Heaven and Paradise at 8,100 ft altitude.
Posts: 111
Default

Greenmtnman:

I'm not sure about this. There was a time when SUV's were found to be too narrow to be stable in maneuvers. I believe (not sure) that 2003 is when Explorers got widened, but you should check with a dealer to be sure, or go measure yours and a newer model. If yours is the narrower model, I would be hesitant to tow with it, I personally would not. A friend recently discovered that U-haul will not rent to owners of the narrower Explorers.

wayne
__________________

2006 2619, with REAL Flush Toilet (Sealand), NEVER ANY HOOKUPS!!!
Five-inch lift, Goodyear Marathon 15" Made in USA!
2005 Ford Explorer V8 -- WDH w/active sway
1973 Moto Guzzi V-twin
thewayneo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-19-2013, 03:14 PM   #4
greenmtnman
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Default towing with 2001 ST

Factory tow rating is about 5000 lb. with a Class III hitch.
Not sure about the width or hearing that its the problem.
Yes U-Haul wont do any hitch's or rent anything to sport trac's.
Don't know why I was told because of rental at one time with the ball bumper hitch failed.
WOW that could be a problem
  Reply With Quote
Old 08-19-2013, 10:10 PM   #5
greenmtnman
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Default Sport trac towing

Quote:
Originally Posted by thewayneo View Post
Greenmtnman:

I'm not sure about this. There was a time when SUV's were found to be too narrow to be stable in maneuvers. I believe (not sure) that 2003 is when Explorers got widened, but you should check with a dealer to be sure, or go measure yours and a newer model. If yours is the narrower model, I would be hesitant to tow with it, I personally would not. A friend recently discovered that U-haul will not rent to owners of the narrower Explorers.

wayne
Hello
I went to my ford explorer sport trac forum to get the correct answer to this towing and Uhaul.
liability issues when the sport trac came out and there were having blow outs with the Firestone tires that were installed at the factory. that even started before the Gen1 explorer sport trac hit the road. It was started with Explorer's

Anyway its good that you mention what you have heard. It may me check it out and now I have a better feeling about my ST and tm.
thanks
  Reply With Quote
Old 08-20-2013, 09:36 AM   #6
Bill
Site Team
 
Bill's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: The mountains of Scottsdale, AZ, and the beaches of Maine
Posts: 10,088
Default

A quick Google search suggests that Gen 1 of the Sport Trac included the 2001-2005 model years, and all had the same wheelbase and width.

Bill
__________________
2020 2720QS (aka 2720SL)
2014 Ford F-150 4WD 5.0L
Bill's Tech Stuff album
Bill is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-20-2013, 10:43 AM   #7
thewayneo
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Evergreen, Colorado. Halfway between Heaven and Paradise at 8,100 ft altitude.
Posts: 111
Default

I called a Ford dealer, talked to service, then parts. They knew all about the U-Haul ban, said it started when SUV's were all narrower, up to 2002/2003 for Explorers. Stability problems due to the narrow stance/tall body in all SUV's of that era.

I called two U-Haul stores, they agreed with Ford's explanation. They said the ban on models previous to 2003 has just this week been expanded to all models previous to 2011 (when the Explorer had a complete design change) as a corporate CYA due to years of currently (and on-going!) pending litigation from way back.

Had an online chat with Uhaul.com. Confirmed accuracy of all the above.

Just for fun I tried to rent a U-Haul on-line, this is what I got:

U-Haul has chosen not to rent behind this tow vehicle based on our history of excessive costs in defending lawsuits involving Ford Explorer towing combinations. This policy is not related to safety issues. This is an unusual circumstance for U-Haul – we have built our success for over 60 years by saying 'yes' to our customers.

I remember an episode of Motor Trend from back in the day showing Suzuki SUV rollover instability. The Firestone tire problem came up to further complicate things for Ford, but was separate from the “all SUV's too narrow” issue. I kept up with all this because I had a 1997 Explorer, now a 2005 Explorer.

Edit: MAYBE what happened for Explorers is different for Explorer Sport Tracs? If so, I apologize for my confusion!

wayne
__________________

2006 2619, with REAL Flush Toilet (Sealand), NEVER ANY HOOKUPS!!!
Five-inch lift, Goodyear Marathon 15" Made in USA!
2005 Ford Explorer V8 -- WDH w/active sway
1973 Moto Guzzi V-twin
thewayneo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-22-2013, 03:53 PM   #8
a351fan
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Default

That is what I tow my TM with. I do use a WDH and I did add another trans cooler in line with the stock one and have not seen the trans temp above 210 and that was towing up a steep grade pushing the truck. It may get slow towing at times but just take your time and enjoy the ride. No sense killing the truck. And with the low stance it tows quite well in the wind. I have seen as much as 13.9 mpg on the flats according to the scangauge 2. And I have a 32" BFG A/T on the truck.
  Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
towing a 2006 3326 with 2008 Toyota 4Runner V6 salmartinez Towing and Hitching 18 06-22-2013 08:55 AM
Towing a 2720SL with a V6 Ford Explorer jeffrapp Towing and Hitching 10 08-14-2011 08:04 AM
Towing Elkmont 24' with Buick Enclave? Bigbit Trailmanor Elkmont Models 10 11-30-2010 02:08 PM
Towing with Toyota 4runner V6 bluwtr49 Towing and Hitching 26 10-21-2010 08:56 AM
On Towing the TM vs. ... General TrailManor Topics 1 06-20-2002 02:53 AM


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 03:56 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Copyright 2022 Trailmanor Owners Page.