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Towing question on a 23 LSV what do I need


63Taylor

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Yes it is me again still looking hard to buy a BU. And in this buyers market it seems the best deals (relative to their purchase value) seem to be in the 23' LSV's. I had been looking at VLX's made between 05-06 timeframe and I have run across a repo 07 LSV. I rarely tow my boat far because at the lake I have an old Expedition with the large v8 and the distance from my storage to the ramp is about a mile. Will this truck even pull a 23, are they much heavier? Dont want to end up with truck and boat in the lake.

Thanks

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Yes it is me again still looking hard to buy a BU. And in this buyers market it seems the best deals (relative to their purchase value) seem to be in the 23' LSV's. I had been looking at VLX's made between 05-06 timeframe and I have run across a repo 07 LSV. I rarely tow my boat far because at the lake I have an old Expedition with the large v8 and the distance from my storage to the ramp is about a mile. Will this truck even pull a 23, are they much heavier? Dont want to end up with truck and boat in the lake.

Thanks

That will be fine

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LSV is not that much more weight. Just make sure you get mudflaps!!! I just picked up my Rock Tamers.

I have Rock Tamers as well...Cheapest place to get them is Costco.com go figure....They are awesome Rockon.gif:ford:

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I've got a gas guzzling durango now but might have to change soon. Mileage is getting up there. I'm at 3900lbs and the rating on an explorer is well over that. Anyone tow with one? How well does it tow? If I could tow with the M3 I would !!!! That would look so much better. And oh the chicks !!!!

Edited by travlnmannn
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Yes it is me again still looking hard to buy a BU. And in this buyers market it seems the best deals (relative to their purchase value) seem to be in the 23' LSV's. I had been looking at VLX's made between 05-06 timeframe and I have run across a repo 07 LSV. I rarely tow my boat far because at the lake I have an old Expedition with the large v8 and the distance from my storage to the ramp is about a mile. Will this truck even pull a 23, are they much heavier? Dont want to end up with truck and boat in the lake.

Thanks

I'm on my second Expi - the first was a '98 5.4 that we did a lot of work to (full exhaust, programmer, intake, etc) & we had it close to 300hp by the time we sold it (going off of memory, I think that stock it was only around 240). It did pretty good after doing all of those upgrades. But the current '05 tows much better than the '98 did even after we did all of the work to it, although to be fair we have different gearing (3.73 in the '05 vs. 3.33 in the '98). Anyway, I don't know what year yours is but you'll be fine for a short trip like that. If you want to take long trips, a little more info about the vehicle would be good to have before making a comment on that.

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Wow, someone finally mentioned gearing. That makes all the difference, with both towing power and stress on a driveline. This too might have been mentioned in an earlier post,but never tow in overdrive. Treat that overdrive gear like it is made out of plastic. The key to keeping your transmission cool is to keep your RPM's up which will keep your torque converter locked up longer, thus reducing heat generating slippage. Some people like to tow in overdrive, thinking it will save gas. Not really true as it increases the "load" (a function of RPM's and engine manifold vacuum) on your engine and driveline. More load=more gas.

Edit; Load is what your engines computer mainly looks at for determining how much gas to pour into your engine and where to set the ignition timing. Other factors come into play, but they are minor.

Edited by electricjohn
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Yeah, the earlier Expis had an option for really high gears, 3.33 ratio as I recall. Mine got great mileage on the highway, usually 16-17 unless we were towing or I had a particularly heavy foot on that trip. :lol: But IMO it also made a big difference in terms of low end & mid-range power, it just wasn't there until we did those mods & even then it wasn't particularly great. I think that from '03 forward they took that option away, BICBW. I do know that for '05 the only option was 3.73 & the only engine option was the 5.4L.

And yeah, never use OD when towing.

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More help please!!

I am seriously considering a 2000 Escape 23. Any ideas on what boat w/ fuel & trailer weigh together?

I have a 2007 Honda pilot, but I tow only 60 miles (only 2 times a year) and the rest of the time I tow only a block.

Any thoughts?

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More help please!!

I am seriously considering a 2000 Escape 23. Any ideas on what boat w/ fuel & trailer weigh together?

I have a 2007 Honda pilot, but I tow only 60 miles (only 2 times a year) and the rest of the time I tow only a block.

Any thoughts?

Real world, it's going to be 5500 lbs+., depending on gear. I have no idea on the Pilot & what its capabilities are, so I can't help on that, sorry.

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Real world, it's going to be 5500 lbs+., depending on gear. I have no idea on the Pilot & what its capabilities are, so I can't help on that, sorry.

5500??? Whoh!! I think it is rated at 4500 for a boat w/ brakes. That sounds pretty scary.

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An 07 Pilot is only rated for 3,500# I wouldn't push it.

review here. look under Powertrains and Performance.

Boat, alone, weighs 3,400# look here.

boat= 3,400 + trailer =1,000 + 55 gals of gas =340 + gear ~300

grand total = > 5,000#

Edited by Pistol Pete
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Interesting topic. As I said a little bit earlier in this thread I'm looking to change. I've got a 99 durango that I use for my BU. My old BU was loaded 3500tops. No problemos. Onto the new BU 3900 dry. Truck is rated for 4400 with my rear end. Wondering if I can do some computer upgrades to maximize towing?

Wakegirl: The upgrades on your 98 Expi were done for towing? Sounds like it didn't pan out too well. Or at least you didn't get what you were hoping for.

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An 07 Pilot is only rated for 3,500# I wouldn't push it.

review here. look under Powertrains and Performance.

Boat, alone, weighs 3,400# look here.

boat= 3,400 + trailer =1,000 + 55 gals of gas =340 + gear ~300

grand total = > 5,000#

It'll be closer to 5500+. Our VLX was rated at 3600 lbs according to Malibu, but moderately loaded she weighed in at almost 5900 lbs - that was coming back from the lake with a light load of fuel & was weighed disconnected from the tow rig. So I think that 5500+ is going to be very close.

Interesting topic. As I said a little bit earlier in this thread I'm looking to change. I've got a 99 durango that I use for my BU. My old BU was loaded 3500tops. No problemos. Onto the new BU 3900 dry. Truck is rated for 4400 with my rear end. Wondering if I can do some computer upgrades to maximize towing?

Wakegirl: The upgrades on your 98 Expi were done for towing? Sounds like it didn't pan out too well. Or at least you didn't get what you were hoping for.

It panned out quite well considering what we started with. :lol: The early Expis were pretty anemic, especially when they were paired with a 3.33 gear ratio. So it was all good. But it was no comparison with the current Expi.

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It'll be closer to 5500+. Our VLX was rated at 3600 lbs according to Malibu, but moderately loaded she weighed in at almost 5900 lbs - that was coming back from the lake with a light load of fuel & was weighed disconnected from the tow rig. So I think that 5500+ is going to be very close.

It panned out quite well considering what we started with. :lol: The early Expis were pretty anemic, especially when they were paired with a 3.33 gear ratio. So it was all good. But it was no comparison with the current Expi.

+

I need to do some research to figure out what I'm doing. BOAT=Bust Out Another Thousand. Might have to do that depending on how this summer goes. I'm doing a houseboat trip in KY and planning on bringing my BU. If the upgrades work out well then she will last another year. If not it's time to get a matching truck for my little Bu Bu..

First thing I'd do is put a honkin' tranny cooler in that durango.

Buy one here.

I just had the trans rebuilt about 10k ago. I should have had it done then. I"m sure it's an easy install. Good spring project.

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It'll be closer to 5500+. Our VLX was rated at 3600 lbs according to Malibu, but moderately loaded she weighed in at almost 5900 lbs - that was coming back from the lake with a light load of fuel & was weighed disconnected from the tow rig. So I think that 5500+ is going to be very close.

It panned out quite well considering what we started with. :lol: The early Expis were pretty anemic, especially when they were paired with a 3.33 gear ratio. So it was all good. But it was no comparison with the current Expi.

So are we calculating our trailers at 1000# (tandem) then? Just curious cause I was always figuring 1500# but I don't know where I got that number. Maybe we didn't need that new tow rig after all? :lol:

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So are we calculating our trailers at 1000# (tandem) then? Just curious cause I was always figuring 1500# but I don't know where I got that number. Maybe we didn't need that new tow rig after all? :lol:

Nothing wrong with a new rig. I can justify new toys faster than OBAMA can spend my tax dollars.

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