Excursion advice needed!
 

I have an Excursion 4x4 Diesel. It has all the performance stuff so it has plenty of power. It has a 6" lift and 38" tires. It tows like crap. Is there anything I can do to make this truck tow my new boat and trailer without swaying every time a Volkswagen passes. I know they have all kinds of sway bars, air bags and other things but is there anything that will make this a good hauler. I have been kicking around getting an F650 or similar but I hate to do it. I would only use one of those trucks for hauling the boat. The Excursion I like to drive once a week. I already have so many vehicles, i really don't have room for a hauler and the Excursion. Any advice??

Re: Excursion advice needed!
 

Is the boat positioned on the trailer correct and is the height of the ball to high or low? I understand that relationship matters a great deal...

Re: Excursion advice needed!
 

It's tows great with duellys. It is on the trailer correct. I'm sure if the truck wasn't lifted it would be better. I would still think there is a way of correcting the swaying.

Re: Excursion advice needed!
 

If you have installed air bags already, then there is not a lot you are able to do to remedy the "swaying" problem. I have an Excursion set up very similar to yours. When I pass semis on the Interstate mine definitely sways (when towing).

The length is what I believe to be the culprit. I had a CC SWB Super Duty with the exact same lift as my Excursion and it towed MUCH better. Even though the difference in length was not that much, it made a BIG difference.


Sam

Re: Excursion advice needed!
 

It's too high to really trailer anything well. I have 35's on mine with hellwig bars front & rear plus Firestone bags- Tows way better than it did stock. I used the Ford S/D springs up front and blocks in the rear. Towing over 7,500 lbs and it's really not got the kind of lateral stability that a regular Superduty will have and nothing near what a dually will give you.

You also need to be very careful about the load ratings of your tires and especially your wheels. Most of the 8-170 wheels out there are rated less than the stock Ford wheel- some by alot. There are lots of stories about breakage out there.

You'd be astonished how inexpensively you can pick up a decent medium duty truck and how often you'll use it. I ended up with a bunch of new friends as a result!

Re: Excursion advice needed!
 

G, I was going to lift my Ex 4 inches and was told by the shop to NOT do it. They are a big place that specializes in horse/cattle haulers & trailers and they basically told me the closer to the ground, the better.

How you feeling by the way?

Re: Excursion advice needed!
 

For towing purposes, absolutely.

Re: Excursion advice needed!
 

Well if it was me I would lower the truck 2-3 inchs. It looks like you could keep the same tires and wheels ( as long as the load range is right ) and lower the truck a little.

I perfer for myself anyway not as much fender well showing unless its and offroad truck and you need the room for wheel travel.

Re: Excursion advice needed!
 

What I did was basically use the pieces right from a Superduty. I ended up with Superduty height and Superduty towing stability. If you like the way an SD tows, you'd like mine.

By the way- I struggled with every possible solution to get the Ex to stop wandering on the highway. Six different sets of tires, shocks, bars, you name it. The SD parts instantly eliminated the problems. An "old guy" in a spring shop explained the problem. Seems that to get the ride height lower on the Ex, Ford used a negative curve front spring- they arch upwards slightly. It was easier and less expensive to use the SD stuff with that minor change rather than re-engineering the vehicle from scratch. Whatever caused it-- it's gone.

Re: Excursion advice needed!
 

what kind of lift do you have on the EX?