Towing with an Explorer

If you continue to tow at the mentioned speeds, comments on this forum indicate that the lifespan of your TM will be measured in minutes, not years. Just because you can doesn't mean you should...

....and I'd really rather not be around when someone is pulling a TM around 75 or 80!

Mike Anderson

Yep there's just too much weight on those two little tires to run them at 85mph. They will overheat, deteriorate and blow. You're on vacation, relax, cruise at 65 and keep a really sharp eye on the tire pressures. Consider your inaugural run a spree of beginner's luck. The Explorer is an excellent tow vehicle though. Oh yea, welcome to the TM and the forum.

I have a 3023 and a 98 Explorer. You'll never see me going over 50 mph. Conservative, perhaps. But in a pinch, you're asking a TV with a very short wheelbase to stop alot of momentum. Not to mention the notoriusly failure-prone trannies in these Exploders. Especially the overdrive band. Anytime I'm pulling, O/D is off. Period. These trannies don't even need an excuse to crap out. I'd like to see statistics, but anecdotal evidence has convinced me not to tempt fate.

Hello, I'm thinking of buying a 2720sl and also own a ford explorer (2001) how is your towing going? Did you get the equilizer weight distribution hitch? Can you give me any advise? Appreciate it! Hope you are enjoying your TM!

This is an interesting thread, not because of content but because of the original poster, stash77. He has been a member since April and has posted only 4 times, all in this thread. This leads me to 3 possible conclusions: 1) We have somehow offended him. If so it was not intentional. 2) Some of this was so outrageous as to be some sort of April Fool's joke. 3) His fast towing habits have led him to have a very short career with his TM. At any rate, if stash77 is still on this forum, I would be interested in an update of his experiences with his TM. Are you out there stash77???

In a million years I would not travel towing at those speeds -- not with an Explorer and probably not with anything. At low speeds, we were hit by a wind gust while towing with a Mountaineer (first cousin to an Explorer) and almost lost our lives. Please always drive for the emergency situation. We could have killed someone with our total wipeout, and we were doing 50. Queen

Re questions about towing with an Explorer -- we towed a 3124KS with a Mouontaineer, the Mercury version of an Explorer. We bought good sway control and had the Mouontaineer equipped with a towing package. We felt after a year that it was too close to the tail wagging the dog, so we put the TM in the driveway for 2 years until we could afford to buy a GMC 2500 Sierra. We still drive arouond 60 mph when towing. Queen

[Wavery]

One only needs to look at the speed rating on the tires of your trailer and the tires on your TV.

My TV tires are rated at 120MPH. I often drive at speeds up to 80MPH (about 2/3 of the rated speed). I never drive at the rated speed of 120.

My trailer tires are rate at 65MPH. I often drive at 60 or about 90% of the rated speed. I just don't think that it's wise to expect more out of my tires than the manufacturer does. History shows that tire manufacturers often over-rate their tires as it is.

I don't think that a discussion about stopping at those speeds is even worth while. It suffices to say that an emergency stop with an Explorer at 85MPH can be iffy at best, without a tow. With a tow, it could be fatal.

[Virginia Deacon]

Originally Posted by tashajo

Hello, I'm thinking of buying a 2720sl and also own a ford explorer (2001) how is your towing going? Did you get the equilizer weight distribution hitch? Can you give me any advise? Appreciate it! Hope you are enjoying your TM!

As you can seen below, we have a 2720 SL and 2000 Ford Explorer. We're retired, now, and usually drive our fuel-efficient Honda most of the time; we are planning on keeping the Explorer for our tow vehicle until we finally stop camping (if ever!). This combination works well for the two of us and our two miniature Schnauzers, but would be pretty tight with a family too!

Happy Camping!