| |
Subject |
Author |
Date Posted |
Forum
|
 |
RE: can a ford ranger tow trailer on steep mtns rds?
If you don't mind pedestrians passing you it should be just fine. Thats a lot of weight.
So apparently 270 horsepower is insufficient??? That’s more than the original v10 made.
OP- the same motor has been in the Explorer for some time, and I’ve never heard a single power complaint.
|
carringb
|
04/20/21 04:44pm |
Towing
|
|
RE: Real life Hybrid towing experiences
i would shy away from any hybrid with a CVT for towing purposes.
If its rated for towing and you stay within that rating, towing with it is fine.
But also consider the ratings aren’t apples to apples. The Highlander Hybrid is not SAE J2807 certified and the owners manual states that towing in weather above 85F may cause overheating.
|
carringb
|
04/14/21 04:48pm |
Tow Vehicles
|
|
RE: Real life Hybrid towing experiences
Powerboost is a thing?... I assumed you'd renamed Ecoboost.
PowerBoost is the name of Ford's EcoBoost Hybrid powertrain. FTL truck has been doing some good reviews on it.
https://youtu.be/37uKi1JRMaA
|
carringb
|
04/14/21 06:48am |
Tow Vehicles
|
|
RE: Real life Hybrid towing experiences
Hybrid Explorers can be bought reasonably equipped under $40k.
A Powerboost F150 is close to $60k with little room room for discounts at the money. I don’t consider that “almost the same”.
|
carringb
|
04/13/21 09:39am |
Tow Vehicles
|
|
RE: Real life Hybrid towing experiences
The Explorer is a far superior towing platform. My sister-in-law has the Highlander Hybrid. When they need to tow their Toy Hauler in the snow, my sister's Explorer Sport gets used (primary TV is a 2WD Chevy Express). The difference is tow ratings pretty much shows that. The hitch receiver on the Highlander won't have enough carrying capacity for most camper trailers, with its 350# tongue-weight limit.
That said... if you aren't doing lots of in-town driving, the Explorer 2.3L EcoBoost gets good highway fuel-economy, and still is rated for towing 5,300 pounds.
The main reason the Explorer is a better platform is it's architecture. It's RWD layout get send 100% torque to either front or rear axle. The Highlander uses an electric motor for it's rear axle, and that only produces 80 ft-lbs of toque. And there's no transmission on it, so there's no further gear reduction. It basically adds about as much torque as a large man pushing.
The hybrid systems work completely differently too. The Highlander uses the planetary CVT to blend power sources, where the Explorer basically adds electric-assist to the torque-coneverter, and uses same 10-speed transmission as the F150.
|
carringb
|
04/13/21 06:58am |
Tow Vehicles
|
|
RE: Running Lights Stay ON
Is it ALL running lights? If yes, check for a stray wire strand in the 7-way connector.
If it’s only the rears, they probably got hooked up to the battery charge circuit.
|
carringb
|
04/12/21 08:21pm |
Travel Trailers
|
|
RE: Uneven Dually tire wear
Thank you. I guess the possibilities are endless. I’m just glad no one is mentioning mechanical issues
It's VERY unlikely, with the a full-float axle is constructed. I have seen a one bent axle tube, after then truck struck a barrier with the rear wheels on the passenger side. This causes the PAIR to become toe-out from the other side, and that wears the inner tires.
|
carringb
|
04/12/21 12:08pm |
Tow Vehicles
|
|
RE: Uneven Dually tire wear
I wear outside rear tires faster too, so they get rotated amongst the rear axle.
I think it’s from driving on highways with ruts from cars with studded tires. The inner wheels ride over the ruts. Outsides take all the load.
As mentioned a over.... age on yours might a favor too.... the outside left tires might have more sun damage.... or maybe it was manufactured a little sooner than the rest meaning it’s a little older.
|
carringb
|
04/11/21 07:09pm |
Tow Vehicles
|
|
RE: Sports chassis and similar units becoming obsolete?
F-series MDT 7.3 is production constrained right now. Order bank for 2021 is closed. That’s why you don’t see more.
|
carringb
|
04/09/21 07:29pm |
Tow Vehicles
|
|
RE: Sports chassis and similar units becoming obsolete?
I think they'll make a come-back soon.
Biggest detractor is lack of a good 4x4 option. Any true MDT with 4x4 is too high for towing most 5th wheels.
Once somebody offers a series-hydrid powertain, front electric motors will make 4x4 (or really AWD, but in some ways this can perform better) feasible without raising the chassis-height.
Articulated transit buses already offer a similar powertrain. Diesel gens-set is mounted at the back. Rear and center axles are electric-powered.
|
carringb
|
04/09/21 06:53am |
Tow Vehicles
|
|
RE: Dually rental
United Rentals and Enterprise Rent-A-Truck both rent dually with optional 5th wheel hitches, and will do long-term rentals.
|
carringb
|
04/07/21 08:30pm |
Tow Vehicles
|
|
RE: Looking for SUV recommendation
Explorer Hybrid. It can easily pull that, but still get reasonable fuel economy when you aren’t hitched up. It’s RWD architecture shares most power train components with the F150.
|
carringb
|
03/31/21 09:40pm |
Tow Vehicles
|
|
RE: High Miles??
I have 497,000. I did throw in a factory reman at 460k after burning up a valve seat (low fuel pressure + tune) but my transmission is still original. I would still have zero hesitation doing a cross-country trip.
My only tows have been 1) broken motor mount (motor flopped over far enough to break away the exhaust y-pipe from manifold collector and 2) sheared pinion gear (now I have a bigger rear axle).
FWIW - I bought my van from Enterprise with 105,000 miles. It came with an extended warranty until 150k but never needed to use it.
|
carringb
|
03/27/21 08:37am |
Tow Vehicles
|
|
RE: E-450 Front Hitch Mount?
eTrailer and U-haul both have a front hitch-receiver for the E-series.
I have a BuckStop bumper, but those off-the-shelf options are just fine for a single dirt-bike.
The dirt-bike tires can cast a head-light shadow. I fitted my dirt-bike rack with some inexpensive driving lights to fill in those shadows. I also added some turn signals to make sure the van's aren't obscured from any angle.
|
carringb
|
03/25/21 08:55pm |
Class C Motorhomes
|
|
RE: 6 passenger toad for gas rv
Previous generation (through 2019) Ford Explorer is flat-towable. My sister has a 2016 Explorer Sport and really likes it, and the only only issues over 80,000 miles were dealer caused (burned the clear coat removing the pinstripes and didn’t put the roof rails on right the first 2 tries). It also serves as the backup bad-weather tow vehicle for my brother’s Toy Hauler.
Also the Ford Flex is flat-towable. Same platform as the Explorer but lower, and has a longer wheelbase, so it’s both roomier and handles better.
|
carringb
|
03/25/21 11:08am |
Dinghy Towing
|
|
RE: Bringing Trailer in for Service - Need Advice
These sound like all reasonable repairs for a mobile RV repair service. Shops are so backed up right now, your trailer could get stuck there a LONG time.
The shower leak is the hardest to tackle. When this happened on my weekend warrior, I also couldn’t find it, and there was no access. The mobile tech ended up adding a service panel to the inside of the enclosure, which I liked because it made future repairs possible.
|
carringb
|
03/25/21 06:44am |
Travel Trailers
|
|
RE: WB longer than 159 ins in a 23-25 ft Class C
One more... Leisure Travel Wonder all is on the 178" wheelbase:
https://leisurevans.com/wonder/ I wonder why Ford can make a longer WB for the 3.5 eco boost engine and not the 450 or 350?
As I mentioned above, the 176" wheelbase is an option on the E-series. It's up to the RV makers to use it. I've long suspected they tend to avoid longer wheelbases in order to keep the step-up only at the back bedroom. The Transit has flat frame rails so it doesn't need a step up, only wheel-well boxes. The E-series frame kicks up over the rear axle. I think it's a combination of larger frame-rails, more travel, and a larger axle tube that requires that kick-up. Pickup-based chassis have the kick-up in the frame at the back of the cab, but that makes the whole coach floor higher, and make a poor transition into the cab.
|
carringb
|
03/21/21 04:24pm |
Class C Motorhomes
|
|
RE: Be Thankful Your Ford V10 Is The 2-Valve Version
Run synthetic and you avoid oil sludge issues. The timing chain tensioners in the 2-valve Tritons need good oil too! Or as mentioned, change it regularly. I don't have time for that though. 12k oil changes with full synthetic serve me well. I don't do much in-town driving however.
|
carringb
|
03/21/21 04:19pm |
Class C Motorhomes
|
|
RE: WB longer than 159 ins in a 23-25 ft Class C
They call this a "23-footer" but it's actually 26' overall. But it is on the 176" wheelbase:
https://coachmenrv.com/class-c-motorhomes/leprechaun/230FS/5146
|
carringb
|
03/21/21 11:35am |
Class C Motorhomes
|
|
RE: WB longer than 159 ins in a 23-25 ft Class C
One more... Leisure Travel Wonder all is on the 178" wheelbase:
https://leisurevans.com/wonder/
|
carringb
|
03/21/21 11:24am |
Class C Motorhomes
|
