Marv's Boring Black SR5

How does that Expedition tow fully laden??

Always love the pics of trips!!

 

It’s got plenty of power. Tow/haul mode is great in the mountains when descending hills. It actually downshifts and keeps you from riding the brakes. It rides pretty nice and doesn’t get pushed around too bad. Air conditioned and heated seats are nice! All in all, a pretty comfortable experience for a 1/2 ton vehicle. The GVWR is actually 7720, which is 500 pounds more than the Tundra.

2 turbos make a lot of heat, though. Even with 5500 pounds behind it going 75mph, the thing will hold 8th or 9th gear by getting into the boost. It doesn’t have a dedicated trans cooler and temps rise quickly. The fans are running a lot. I knew it had some trans issues when we bought it and we got a new one under warranty a few weeks ago. Our first tow trip to the mountains the trans was spewing fluid at the top of a decent grade that was about 7 miles long and I held 60mph going up. We got home without a tow, but it wasn’t confidence inspiring. I’m still getting used to seeing engine and trans temps hit 240’s and 230’s, respectively. I know the newer vehicles and fluids are known to run hotter, but heat kills stuff. I’m not convinced this thing was built to do what I’m going to ask of it long term, but we’ve got limited options for vehicles that will seat 7 and tow. Got a trip to TX coming up so we’ll see what happens after we put about 3000 towing miles behind us.

 

I’d be interested to hear if you can manage the trans temps with a lower gear selection while towing. Can you lock it to 7th or 8th gear?

With temps in the 250° range, I’d be looking for an auxiliary cooler option. That’s toasty! I rarely see 230° in my Tundra while towing my 7,000# travel trailer, and that’s in the hills. On the highway with the same load, I’m in the 210° range. Everyday cruising (empty, but still 7,200# truck weight) is 195° to 205°.

 

Locking out higher gears is exactly what I’ve been playing with. We’ll see if it helps. I also got a new thermostat that I need to put in. It’s still a 195 thermostat, but ford redesigned the part in 2022 using a slightly different design that supposedly keeps it from sticking. The high temps I’m seeing may be caused in part by the thermostat sticking partially closed.