Biggest baddest SUV tow vehicle for under $15k?

[Bozboat]

I thought the Ex was just a suburban like body dropped on an F-250? Do older F-250s have these problems?

[shawndoggy]

I thought the Ex was just a suburban like body dropped on an F-250? Do older F-250s have these problems?

the vague steering thing is common to the superduty trucks too, but it's exacerbated in the excursions by omission of the rear sway bar (back of truck steers itself a bit), and also by too-soft suspension generally (EX leafs are same size as f250, but sprung softer). And then you need to factor in that my too-soft leafs are also 15 years old.

So my 15 year old truck now has a rear sway bar and also has brand new F250 front and rear leaf springs and new shocks. The last remaining piece (I hope) is to replace the steering box... although I took the truck to a local alignment shop that was recommended to me and they drove the truck for half an hour and came back and said "yeah, I see what you are talking about, but that's actually pretty good for one of these trucks." So I'm semi-prepared to be underwhelmed by a new steering box.

it is paid for, and it's the devil I know at this point. Did really well towing heavy to shasta and back (500 mile RT), and the back leg entails a 5500' climb on a two lane twisty highway. Tranny never got over 190 (pretty sure I can get that lower too, with a swap to a 6.0 tranny cooler), EGTs were under 1000 and I kept up with traffic no problem. Much more than could be said of the QX56 that the Ex replaced.

Edited July 29, 2015 by shawndoggy

[Smokinjo]

Reading all these stories has made me shy away from these vehicles. Really never thought about how well my Ford Raptor with the 6.2 tows my A24. Granted I don't do mountains but the raptor tows like a dream. Wonder what ford did to change things up so much for it versus the normal F150 or 250 etc. Always loved the excursions and what not. Perhaps you might call RPG or SVC to see what their thoughts are on your Excursion. These shops are suspension gurus. While they focus on high performance off road vehicles, they really understand the geometry and suspension of these vehicles as well as what to do in certain applications. They are also known to fabricate one off parts as solutions to customers needs.

[Bozboat]

I think you are on to something here, building your own SD brand Super Duty.

[shawndoggy]

Reading all these stories has made me shy away from these vehicles. Really never thought about how well my Ford Raptor with the 6.2 tows my A24. Granted I don't do mountains but the raptor tows like a dream. Wonder what ford did to change things up so much for it versus the normal F150 or 250 etc. Always loved the excursions and what not. Perhaps you might call RPG or SVC to see what their thoughts are on your Excursion. These shops are suspension gurus. While they focus on high performance off road vehicles, they really understand the geometry and suspension of these vehicles as well as what to do in certain applications. They are also known to fabricate one off parts as solutions to customers needs.

ha, well yeah, I could solve the problem with a $70K truck for sure (I think I'd go with a duramax denali, personally). But with a kid in college and 4 vehicles in the fleet (all of which combined are surely worth less than $70k), it's nice to keep expenses down. Even if I were to spend $500 every month keeping the old girl on the road, it's still cheaper to insure and register.

Man... I used to think I wanted one of these rigs. This thread has completely cured me of that itch.

Never fear IXFE, by the time I'm ready to get out of the Ex in a couple of years I'll have already replaced EVERYTHING. Should be ready to roll for you!

[Tracktor]

All these stories? It's only a few & the fixes are simple. On the '04-05 they already have the rear sway bar so a simple V/B Conversion fixes the rest. My 05 drives the same as my coils sprung '06 F350 & tows the same also. I can tow a boat while steering with me knees at 75 if I so chose to..............

[Smokinjo]

SD, never meant to imply you go out and get a Raptor. Sorry if it came across that way. What I was trying to say was call one of these shops about your excursion. These guys are super cool and probably know more about your excursion than you, I or the next 100 people will ever know. They may have some mod suggestions for your current suspension. Maybe not, and if that's the case, it's a really cool place to go look around in their garage if they don't. Chances are though, they will know what will help you.

[turbonine]

I love my Excursion. 44 gallon fuel tank, 12MPG towing the boat, can take 7 people and its paid for. 237k miles, going for 300k before I even consider something else.

Yes the steering wonders a little if you are not paying attention. I can tow with the cruise set on 75 and steer with my knees if I wanted.

[jetskipro550]

You guys with excursions, what will you get to replace them? With both the Excursion and 2500 Suburban discontinued will you give up the towing capacity (SUV) or the people hauling capacity (Truck) ?

[shawndoggy]

You guys with excursions, what will you get to replace them? With both the Excursion and 2500 Suburban discontinued will you give up the towing capacity (SUV) or the people hauling capacity (Truck) ?

Sadly by the time I'm ready to move on from the Ex I won't really need the passenger hauling capacity anymore because both kids will be in college. shoot I'm not sure if I'll even need a tow rig anymore (no kids ---> no crew ----> no boat ----> no tow rig). I could see a travel trailer on the horizon someday. Maybe.

I think I'll end up keeping the ex for a while (5 years?) and replace my wife's car in the meantime... 5 years from now I'll probably have a pretty good idea whether we need a replacement tow rig or not. If I were shopping today it'd be 3/4 ton crew cab diesel all the way. If I can make a 7.3 Ex work as a daily, the modern diesel trucks will feel amazing. And at my altitude and terrain there's really no such thing as overkill in the power dept.

I have driven a couple of 8.1 burbs and the are like 10x nicer as daily drivers than the Ex, but just don't have the grunt that the 7.3 does for towing.

[Tracktor]

You guys with excursions, what will you get to replace them? With both the Excursion and 2500 Suburban discontinued will you give up the towing capacity (SUV) or the people hauling capacity (Truck) ?

I wouldn't be surprised to see another diesel SUV hit the market at some point in the near future. A midsize "Tahoe" like on would be prefect for me. I would probably go with a 4-door truck even though we already have a diesel 4 door 4x4 already for horse related stuff. I bought my Excursion 2 years ago ahead of schedule as my diesel suburban was getting up there in mileage and excursions were getting tougher to find................I lucked out with the deal I found on my '05.............

[nyryan2001]

Sadly by the time I'm ready to move on from the Ex I won't really need the passenger hauling capacity anymore because both kids will be in college. shoot I'm not sure if I'll even need a tow rig anymore (no kids ---> no crew ----> no boat ----> no tow rig). I could see a travel trailer on the horizon someday. Maybe.

I think I'll end up keeping the ex for a while (5 years?) and replace my wife's car in the meantime... 5 years from now I'll probably have a pretty good idea whether we need a replacement tow rig or not. If I were shopping today it'd be 3/4 ton crew cab diesel all the way. If I can make a 7.3 Ex work as a daily, the modern diesel trucks will feel amazing. And at my altitude and terrain there's really no such thing as overkill in the power dept.

I have driven a couple of 8.1 burbs and the are like 10x nicer as daily drivers than the Ex, but just don't have the grunt that the 7.3 does for towing.

No kids = no crew? depressing

Seriously every weekend we have different folks on ours and we are out on other folks' boats. I surf behind other boats more than my own, because when I host I usually do all the driving.

[oldjeep]

My wife is all the crew I need to take the boat out. Last kid will be headed for college next year, but a couple of them will still be around for the summers.

[martinarcher]

Shawn,

Is your Ex modded at all? Just curious based on how well it's towing for you. Ours is chipped, 4" exhaust, and an intake and it is ignorant how well it tows. Just curious if your towing stock or modded. Based on your mountain climbing EGT's I'm guessing your stock but was curious.

[shawndoggy]

Shawn,

Is your Ex modded at all? Just curious based on how well it's towing for you. Ours is chipped, 4" exhaust, and an intake and it is ignorant how well it tows. Just curious if your towing stock or modded. Based on your mountain climbing EGT's I'm guessing your stock but was curious.

Intake/4" exhaust/gauges/tune.

I'm hoping Santa brings me a gtp38r for xmas.

[Bozboat]

Sadly by the time I'm ready to move on from the Ex I won't really need the passenger hauling capacity anymore because both kids will be in college. shoot I'm not sure if I'll even need a tow rig anymore (no kids ---> no crew ----> no boat ----> no tow rig). I could see a travel trailer on the horizon someday. Maybe.

... 5 years from now I'll probably have a pretty good idea whether we need a replacement tow rig or not.....

Same concerns on my Horizon, the cold reality of which makes me both happy and sad all at once.

[malibu2004]

Burb or Excursion gas with the big motor will work just fine.

[shawndoggy]

So for the first time in a long long time I got stranded in one of my vehicles. The Ex wouldn't start. At starbucks of all places. How embarassing. Called my roadside assistance service and with the juice from my batteries and a jump from the tow truck got it started one last time and got it home.

Tried whacking the starter with a wrench and it just about fell apart. Surprised it went as long as it did.

I'm no mechanic and aside from stereo stuff pretty much NEVER work on my own vehicles, so imagine my inflated sense of self worth when I pull the janky old starter and put new (Chinese, I'm sure) autozone starter in. Seriously, it starts the 7.3 like a motorcycle. That old starter I had in there for the past two years had apparently been on its last leg for quite some time. Now I have this perverse sense of pride when I turn the key rather than the dreaded "will this be the time she won't fire?"

[Bozboat]

This vision of SD standing next to the Ex holding his grande half cafe latte talking engines with the tow truck driver has sent me over to the bottle of advil. If I suspected that he still is rocking the hello kitty receiver hitch cover I would just go home for the day.

[shawndoggy]

This vision of SD standing next to the Ex holding his grande half cafe latte talking engines with the tow truck driver has sent me over to the bottle of advil. If I suspected that he still is rocking the hello kitty receiver hitch cover I would just go home for the day.

hahaha...!

So first off it was a caramel machiatto.

Starbucks is like half a mile from my house and I was going home to meet a contractor. So Ex didn't start and my drink and I just walked home. Met the contractor, then called towing service. Yay, only half an hour and they'd be able to meet me. Dilly dallied at home for another 15 minutes or so then strolled back down the hill to the Ex. Tow truck driver rolled up right as I got there. Nice timing.

Went to get my keys out of my pocket and nope, they aren't there. Ah no worries I live so close that the tow truck guy can just drive me back to the house real quick, right? NOPE. "Sorry sir, nobody rides in the cab." Well can he wait for me to run home and back then? "yeah, I can wait 15 minutes." OK so that means I have to boogie. I sorta limp run back up the hill home (bum knee and dressed in business casual). Get home fully sweaty and find the keys. The whole way back home I'm thinking man how can I get back down there quickly? Thought about bringing a bike but didn't want to deal with sticking my pants in my sock so I didn't get a big chain mark. So I grab a longboard (skateboard) off the wall and take that.

OK so it has been a while since I've ridden the longboard and remember that I'm in dress shoes and bus. casual clothes... not exactly set to skate. But how hard can it be right? Just back down the hill. As I set off, work emails me and like a moron I pull my phone out and check it. OK no biggie, put phone away... but now I am about 3/4 of the way down my street and realize I'm (a) a bit out of practice, and (b) carrying WAY too much speed to make the corner at the bottom of the hill. So I bail out, doing the flailing superman run off the front of the board, right in front of my retiree neighbor who is washing his car. He just stares at me like I'm crazy and I probably did look a little wacky.

Take it slow for the rest of the way and make it to the truck with time to spare, looking smooth now as I roll across the mini mall parking lot like a boss. tow truck guy helps me git her to fire and I'm off.

[jk13]

This vision of SD standing next to the Ex holding his grande half cafe latte talking engines with the tow truck driver has sent me over to the bottle of advil. If I suspected that he still is rocking the hello kitty receiver hitch cover I would just go home for the day.

Fully expected Crocs in that scenario as well. But two steps and a dive off a skateboard in business clothes kinda makes up for it.

Glad it worked out.

[Bozboat]

Fully Redeemed!! I am humbled again.

[DAI]

hahaha...!

So first off it was a caramel machiatto.

Starbucks is like half a mile from my house and I was going home to meet a contractor. So Ex didn't start and my drink and I just walked home. Met the contractor, then called towing service. Yay, only half an hour and they'd be able to meet me. Dilly dallied at home for another 15 minutes or so then strolled back down the hill to the Ex. Tow truck driver rolled up right as I got there. Nice timing.

Went to get my keys out of my pocket and nope, they aren't there. Ah no worries I live so close that the tow truck guy can just drive me back to the house real quick, right? NOPE. "Sorry sir, nobody rides in the cab." Well can he wait for me to run home and back then? "yeah, I can wait 15 minutes." OK so that means I have to boogie. I sorta limp run back up the hill home (bum knee and dressed in business casual). Get home fully sweaty and find the keys. The whole way back home I'm thinking man how can I get back down there quickly? Thought about bringing a bike but didn't want to deal with sticking my pants in my sock so I didn't get a big chain mark. So I grab a longboard (skateboard) off the wall and take that.

OK so it has been a while since I've ridden the longboard and remember that I'm in dress shoes and bus. casual clothes... not exactly set to skate. But how hard can it be right? Just back down the hill. As I set off, work emails me and like a moron I pull my phone out and check it. OK no biggie, put phone away... but now I am about 3/4 of the way down my street and realize I'm (a) a bit out of practice, and (b) carrying WAY too much speed to make the corner at the bottom of the hill. So I bail out, doing the flailing superman run off the front of the board, right in front of my retiree neighbor who is washing his car. He just stares at me like I'm crazy and I probably did look a little wacky.

Take it slow for the rest of the way and make it to the truck with time to spare, looking smooth now as I roll across the mini mall parking lot like a boss. tow truck guy helps me git her to fire and I'm off.

Why did you leave this out of the original story? Much more entertaining than the 'beat the chest' i replaced my starter

[Bozboat]

Why did you leave this out of the original story? Much more entertaining than the 'beat the chest' i replaced my starter

Just my guess:

SD is a modest beast. Many layers to the onion. SD is wise and knows that he must be careful sharing his adventures as they inspire and give the common man hope but simultaneously cause depression in the less adventurous.

[shawndoggy]

Just my guess:

SD is a modest beast. Many layers to the onion. SD is wise and knows that he must be careful sharing his adventures as they inspire and give the common man hope but simultaneously cause depression in the less adventurous.

LOL yeah almost eating it on the long board in my work clothes to meet the tow truck driver.... not my finest moment!