Not another tow vehicle thread

[5inthesun]

No nothing about the new F150 to discuss here. I have a quick question. Does anyone tow with the expedition el 4x4. I have a 23 lsv and am wondering how it pull's. I was also considering a 4x4 suburban. Feedback on either would be great.

[toddrparr]

I don't have any first hand information, but, my brother in law bought one last year and he pull his 21' Four Winns I/O with it. He loves it and claims he hardly notices the boat is back there. He also claims 11-12 mpg on longer trips, up canyons and steeper terrain.

[saidainc]

Have you checked out the new F150? I heard some good things about how it tows....

[hunter77ah]

^ Someone had to do it...

[Baddog]

Have you checked out the new F150? I heard some good things about how it tows....

I heard the new F150 is like an Expedition on steroids. Or was that hemorrhoids? I get confused.

[WakingMeHappy]

I towed with a 2003 Suburban for years and had no issues. Plenty of power and a 7500 lbs capacity.

[martinarcher]

Love2Ride tows with an Expedition. I don't think it's an EL but I could be wrong.

[Falko]

I had a 2004 Expy 4x4 Eddie Bauer. It towed our 23 XTi and our 22' I/O just fine. Newer ones have the better tranny (more than four speeds) and do better. It was the rest of the truck that didn't hold together, at all.

[Sixball]

I towed with the older Expedition 5.4l and it did very well. My brother has been towing wit a new Expedition every year for many years now and has liked every one. He did get this years as you may know the standard and I think only power plant is the Eco Boost. we have not done much pulling yet but he does like the drive better then the V8s. He has been getting 18 mpg over all. He lives in the big city so much of his driving is stop and go.

So the overall fuel economy has not come up over the old 5.4 as of today. But he thinks the drivability is significant better. Neither one of us have had the extended length but over all it should not make a big change.

[That Guy]

My uncle has a few year old Expedition EL, like 2010-12-ish and tows his newer Mastercraft X-45 with it and I haven't heard any complaints. He tows 6 hours from OH to KY at least twice a month during the season besides just the typical local lake tow. My dad has always had Suburbans, like literally every 5 years since mid 80's he's gotten a new one and loves everything about them including how they tow his boat. Can't go wrong with either I think.

[crayfd]

I pulled a 22' cobalt with a '99 expedition with the 5.4. I live in the Utah mountains and it pulled just fine. Then I upgraded to an f350(much better). I didn't realize how much softer the expedition was, if that makes sense.?.?

[5inthesun]

Perfect thanks!

[ibelonginprison]

I pulled one out of a ditch last year with my Chev-ee-roh-lay when it iced over.

... other than that, no experience with them.

[vaporbluebu]

I've owned and towed our 23 LSV with a 2007 5.3 Yukon XL then a 2009 5.4 Expedition EL, and currently a 2008 6.2 Yukon XL Denali. I liked the interior and features of the Expedition the best. It pulled great and we used all the vehicles for 1000 mile plus road trips towing. I only sold the Expedition because it was the very base model without a tranny or oiler cooler and so it had something like a 5400 lb towing capacity and I was afraid I was going to do serious damage if we kept doing long trips, but it never had a problem towing. I looked for a Expedition EL Limited with the 8000 lb plus capacity but couldn't find one with the options I was looking for in my price range, but that would have been my car of choice. The Denali with the bigger engine has the easiest time pulling, obviously, but I got the best gas milage out of the 5.3 Yukon XL. From Vegas to northern Utah the 5.3 got just over 12 mpg and the 6.2 I got just over 9 mpg. From what I had read here on TMC I though I would get worse milage in town, but better towing with the bigger engine, but that wasn't the case. Going over mountain passes with 5.3 it ran in the high 5000 rpm and sounded like it was going to explode, but did a good job, but the 6.2 gets it done easily.

Edited January 23, 2015 by vaporbluebu

[IXFE]

I've owned and towed our 23 LSV with a 2007 5.7 Yukon XL then a 2008 5.4 Expedition EL, and currently a 2008 6.2 Yukon XL Denali. I liked the interior and features of the Expedition the best. It pulled great and we used all the vehicles for 1000 mile plus road trips towing. I only sold the Expedition because it was the very base model without a tranny or oiler cooler and so it had something like a 5400 lb towing capacity and I was afraid I was going to do serious damage if we kept doing long trips, but it never had a problem towing. I looked for a Expedition EL Limited with the 8000 lb plus capacity but couldn't find one with the options I was looking for in my price range, but that would have been my car of choice. The Denali with the bigger engine has the easiest time pulling, obviously, but I got the best gas milage out of the 5.7 Yukon XL. From Vegas to northern Utah the 5.7 got just over 12 mpg and the 6.2 I got just over 9 mpg. From what I had read here on TMC I though I would get worse milage in town, but better towing with the bigger engine, but that wasn't the case. Going over mountain passes with 5.7 it ran in the high 5000 rpm and sounded like it was going to explode, but did a good job, but the 6.2 gets it done easily.

Your '07 Yukon had a 5.3, not a 5.7

[Slayer]

I used to have a 2009 Expedition EL...it did OK, but it is soft. Granted, I was pulling a relatively light load. It never failed to do what I asked of it.

[vaporbluebu]

Your '07 Yukon had a 5.3, not a 5.7

Thanks

[jk13]

My '05 Expedition had a much better stock braking system than the fleet of full size GMs we've gone through.

GMs have gotten better with each subsequent body style and rotor diameter upsizing, but still not as good as the Ford.

Oh, and my short wife thought it was more comfortable because she could rest her foot on the cup holder on the door panel and on the dash grab handle.

Edited January 23, 2015 by jk13

[Steve B.]

All my tow buddy's have had suburbans since the 70's. Think I've driven about 30 of them. Very nice. Reliable, roomy. Idling up a ramp with 4 wheel low is awesome. I laughed when all I had to do was take my foot off the brake and idle up a medium steep ramp with a huge Chaparrel deck boat.

Steve B.

[Falko]

jk13 makes a good point about the brakes. Our Expy had great brakes, probably the best truck brakes I've ever driven.

[Baddog]

jk13 makes a good point about the brakes. Our Expy had great brakes, probably the best truck brakes I've ever driven.

How many miles did you get on a set of brakes? The most I get on my Ram is ~ 20K, but then I really only drive it when towing something.

[Falko]

The rears went at 40 the fronts 60, odd. But the rears didn't wear out they just got so screechy I couldn't take it anymore. The brakes were really strong, even more so when I put EBC black pads on it. The feel was great and predictable. I bought one boat in MI and one in IL, drove out and towed them back to MA with that truck. Did fine.

One horrid thing about the brakes though, the parking brake kept rusting off the truck. Pretty much matched the rest of the vehicle, but it was pricey to fix.

[Lance B. Johnson]

jk13 makes a good point about the brakes. Our Expy had great brakes, probably the best truck brakes I've ever driven.

I know cars/ trucks pretty well so believe me when I say that GM brakes don't get the job done when compared to Ford. This is coming from a guy that does a lot of brake jobs and seen a lot of overheated linings. One example would be a principal that we had that was in our shop every three months for brakes. He lived in hilly country but my thought was that the surface area of the brake pad was quite small for a 8600lb k2500 suburban. I am not exaggerating one bit. Every 3 months.

Theres no way around it, they are under braked for their intended purpose.

Ok GM guys, have at it.

Here is the rule.....you need to have done over 100 brake jobs in your life to comment on this post

[Lance B. Johnson]

How many miles did you get on a set of brakes? The most I get on my Ram is ~ 20K, but then I really only drive it when towing something.

I have 45k on my Nissan. I checked the brakes a couple weeks ago and they are better than 50 percent. This coming from the guy that likes to try to relax when I drive and coasts up to stop lights and accelerates moderately. Its just the way I like to drive. No sense in getting all wound up right?

Almost 100 percent city and towing (I don't tow that much)

[ajeep4u]

I have 45k on my Nissan. I checked the brakes a couple weeks ago and they are better than 50 percent. This coming from the guy that likes to try to relax when I drive and coasts up to stop lights and accelerates moderately. Its just the way I like to drive. No sense in getting all wound up right?

Almost 100 percent city and towing (I don't tow that much)

Pretty much sounds like how I drive. Most of the time anyway. I have an easy commute of about 25 miles, pick up a small but heavy box trailer w/o trailer brakes about 30% of the time and then go the remaining 10-20 miles from the shop to the job. I just replaced the front brakes on my truck for the first time at just under 80,000 miles. I'm too embarrassed to say what kind of truck I drive tho. ☺