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I just had my Excursion on some CAT scales. With just me (about 190 lbs.) & a full tank of fuel, I was at 8100 lbs with 3900 lbs. on the rear axle. The GVW of the Excursion is 9200 lbs. & the rear GAWR is 5250 lbs. So, if I add six 183 lbs. passengers, I will be at the vehicle's GWR. Therefore, the allowable tongue load (with seven passengers & IF I stay legal) is ZERO! Is this correct? If so, the implication is that with 7 or 8 passengers, the legal tow weight with a weight bearing hitch is ZERO. What am I missing here? |
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Quote: Not a thing. You've got it. 
The X-Car with a PSD is a great tow vehicle for a retired couple towing a 28-foot Airstream with a hitch weight of 800 to 900 pounds. But it's not meant for both hauling 7 adults and teenagers and towing the Airstream at the same time. 
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So what is the supposed target market of the Excursion? I can haul 8 passengers with a 1/2 ton gaser Suburban. Why not give the Excursion a one ton suspension? Then I can load up with passengers/cargo & still have towing capability. In my case I have a wife, four kids, & two large dogs - a Crew Cab just will not do. I guess that if I want to take my boat somewhere 'legally', I need to head on out in two vehicles. I guess that I'll have to be illegal here on out. |
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The X will take it, but you will be "illegal". You will need air bags in the rear and a good WD hitch. |
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Quote: I hate to admit it - you will be illegal.  But jschira is correct; the Excursion will handle it.John 
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And I'm guessing with 1100 lbs of passengers and dogs, you're going to be close to your rear GAWR, and it's probably going to look like it, even without the boat. What's the boat trailer tongue weight? The X is a SuperDuty, except it's been softened up with springs and tires, for that smoother SUV vs harder truck ride. According to the 2001 Excursion specifications, your front axle is rated at 5200 lbs, and rear at 6830 lbs, at ground, the same as the SRW F350. What's killing your rear capacity are the soft SUV springs, rated at 5250 lbs, where the F250/F350 springs are 6830. I don't know the max rating of the softer riding D load range tires, but the E range on the F250/F350 are 3415 (as I recall), at 80 psi. I believe if it weren't for the mushy springs and tires, Ford could've given it a 9900 lb rating. But there are X owners on this forum that know a lot more about them than I do. |
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I just sold an X that I bout in 2000 new. One time I tried to hook up a load that was very light for my F-350 CC SRW. The X sank so bad, I never got the tongue jack off the ground before I changed my mind. It shocked me. Originally, rumor was it was going to be built on a 1-ton chassis, but that never panned out. |
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Quote: With my Timbrens and a 900 lbs. tongue load, my X sinks about 3/4" (about the amount of air gap between the Timbrens and the spring). I'm OK with that. But much more than that (like jogiba), air bags are needed (maybe front and rear). Jogiba needs to weigh in here, but he has been towing a 41' TT with 5-6 people in his X for years with no problems at all. He uses airbags, good shocks, rear Hellwig and a Hensley Arrow hitch. |
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I agree will all the replies. My question was more of a rhetorical one. I am just surprized and a little frustrated. Right now I am legal but right on the edge. However, my kids are young (7, 5, 5, 2) & as they grow up (i.e. get heavier) & when I get a larger boat, I will be illegal. The Excursion tows great, and has much more capability. Would have been nice if Ford would have offered a 'heavy' suspension option - kind of like marketing a F250 & a F350 Excursion. Obviously I can upgrade with airbags, heavier springs, etc., but that will not change the legal towing capability. |
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Quote: And that is a shame. But I do not know away around it.  John |
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Quote: I agree. Ford could have offered a "Soccer Mom" option and a heavy duty option. John
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Quote: Some tow up to 17,000 lbs with the Excursion. My 41 ft TT only weighs 9,940 lbs loaded and tows like a dream. With 7000 lb rear axle all you need is Air Lifts to carry up to 6,830 lbs on the rear with LT265/75R16E tires like the ones that came on my 2003. With 44 gallon tank the range is better than any pickup. Even with 1250 lb WD tongue load you will never get near the 6830 lbs on the rear since 5200 + 6830= 12,030 lbs. Or get a PSD E350 van and be legal. 
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Quote: It has the same axles as the F350 but soft springs. |
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Notice that some folks say it's okay to overload your tow vehicle as long as you don't overload this or that weight limit. Don't overload the tires, but ignore all the other weight limits. Or don't overload the rear GAWR, but you can ignore the other weight limits. Baloney! Ford doesn't agree. And most towing experts don't agree. You shouldn't exceed any of the weight limits on your tow vehicle. And the one you're most likely to overload on an F-250 or an X-Car is the GVWR of the tow vehicle. Proclaiming that it's okay to exceed the GVWR of your tow vehicle as long as you don't exceed the rear GAWR is rationalization - pure and simple. 
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Maybe I will dump my Excursion for the 15 passenger extended E350 with higher GVWR but lower axle ratings and LT245/75R16E vs LT265/75R16E tires to tow my 41 ft TT and be safe. My wife rented this E350 a few weeks ago and complained how unstable it was at 65 mph compared to our Excursion. Is the 8.1 Chevy SRW 2500HD rated at 22,000 lbs a stronger tow vehicle than a 6.0 PSD DRW F350 rated at 20,000 lbs ? My 2000 4x4 PSD Excursion was rated at 18,000 lb GCWR and then Ford rated the 2001 and later X's at 20,000 lbs with no chassis changes. My 2000 had a 1000 lb WD tongue rating on the receiver and the same receiver has a 1250lb rating on newer X's I love them HD stickers....it makes me feel safe.
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Towing my race car and trailer (5,700lb) with my 2002-X I find I need to be careful where I position the car on the trailer. The X is definitely tongue weight sensative. Too far forward on the trailer and down goes the rear of the bus. It could certainly benefit from heavier rear springs. Ford should have realized from the get-go that no-one buys these things for soccer-moms. They are bought for hauling and towing, pure and simple. My Expedition would easily carry as many people as the Excursion and was much easier to handle around town, it just wasn't up to the task of towing a race car and all the other necessary stuff. |
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Quote: Both of these increases are likely due to the upgraded hitch. The Class 4 hitch was the weak link. Now a Class 5. |
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Quote: Nope, exact same receiver. If you want a Class V receiver like the Reese Titan you have to get it yourself. A true Class V receiver has a 2 1/2 " opening. My 2000 and 2003 Excursions both were V-5 receivers but that is not the same as class 5. If I put soft springs in a standard F350 137" WB pickup it will be just like the Excursion. So putting springs matching the axle capacities like the Suburban on the Excursion would fix the problem and that is not unsafe as long as you stay within your GCWR and receiver rating. I think some people just like to play weight police and I think that is fine but go after something else like the legal 22,000 lb SRW 2500HD Chevy or the 20,000 lb 15 passenger E350 . Anyone want to put up some money and tow with a 15 passenger PSD E350 van that is "Ford rated Legal" to tow a 10,000 lb TT (my 41 ft is 9,940 loaded) and 20,000 lb GCWR (same as DRW F350) fully loaded to the "LEGAL" 9400 lb GVWR vs my Excursion with a "Law Breaking" 9400 lbs with both towing the same 41 ft TT and see which one is unsafe. |
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Quote: GM puts 6000 lb springs on a 5500 lb rated rear axle on the 4x4 2500 Suburban and gives it a 12,000 lb tow rating with the 8.1/4.10 combo. If Ford had half a brain they would have had suspension options like the Suburban . |
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I don't know of too many 3/4 ton 500+lb torque monster cars on the road. The X shares all it's guts with the SD trucks and in fact out weighs them....it's not a car! 
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Quote: 2000ExcursionPSD - Are you using a weight distributing hitch? Dennis |
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I have found a pair of F350 2wd rear springs and can't wait to put under my Excursion. Most likely be about a month before I can do it as I am having knee surgery tomorrow. I'll post more when I do it. |
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Quote: Or you can add 3,000 lb SuperSprings to the stock rear springs for an easy 30 min. install . |
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Quote: Jogiba, can't agree with you more. I've towed with an E350 at 10k and with my X and there is absolutely no comparision. My wife wouldn't even drive the E350 after one attempt, but she doesn't hesitate to drive the X. Put them both in a high wind situation at highway speeds and I think everyone would agree with you. Regards, Dave |
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Here’s my “real life” towing experience with my 2000 Excursion Limited 4x4. I replaced the front springs with “X” codes, installed F-350 rear blocks and Firestone Air Bags, and replaced the stock shocks with Edlebrock’s. Also I use a Super Chip Micro Tuner set for “Tow Safe” programing. For the Christmas Holidays we loaded four people, gear, guns ammo, and one dog into the X and then latched onto my 12K GVWR flatbed trailer loaded with a 89 F-250 4x4 diesel which had a Polaris 700 ATV in the bed. According to the CAT scale the weights were: Steer Axle: 4040 lbs. Drive Axle: 6880 lbs. Trailer Axle: 8520 lbs. Gross Weight: 19,440 lbs. These weights were with 1/4 tank of fuel. We drove from Casper, WY to Yuma, AZ at legal to +5 mph speeds, except when passing. The Excursion performed flawlessly and averaged 10mpg. I checked wheel bearing, differential, tire, and brake temperatures at every stop and nothing got warm let alone hot. A properly equipped Excursion is a great trailer towing road trip machine! 
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Excursion Tow Limit
