Higher mileage Ford Expedition for towing my 2004 Stingray 200LX?

[Mike Zee]

Re: Higher mileage Ford Expedition for towing my 2004 Stingray 200LX?

I have a 2005 Expedition with the 5.4 and 99,000 miles. Pulls the boat ok, sometimes gets a little sway going down the road. Maybe the soft car like ride? It gets 10.5 mikes to the gallon puilling the boat, and has the 3.73 gears. I love the size, and don't care about the mpg, it's the wifes and she only works 1 mile from home. I only use it if were taking along extra passengers. I would pull my boat anywhere with this vehicle.
I also have an F150 2002 with the 4.6, 139,000 miles. This will pull the boat fine once up to speed, hates going up large hills. Truck has 3.55 gears, motor has a different torque curve and is a bit weaker than the 5.4. The 5.4 can lug way down but the 4.6 likes to be wound up. The F150 does manage some good mpg's 13-15 towing. I also like the way the pickup handles the boat going down the road. It rides better. My boats in the 5500 lb range. Keep watching a nice Expedition will pop up for sale, I found many in my area. My dream puller would be an F150 Super Crew, 4.6 5 or 6 speed auto, 3.73 gears.

 

[lncoop]

Re: Higher mileage Ford Expedition for towing my 2004 Stingray 200LX?

There's a reson they hold their value better. Build quality and reliability.

That's a broad and debatable statement. I drove Sierra Z71s for years. My last one was a crew cab. Before I threw in the towel I had replaced the cats twice (with 98k on the odometer), replaced an ABS wheel hub, completely rewired the stereo system to eliminate a squeal the dealer couldn't get rid of any other way, replaced the SIR coil and horn contacts, eliminated a littany of squeaks and rattles and learned to live with as many more, and the list would go on if I cared to take the time to continue it. I swapped it for an Expedition EB 4x4 with 45k fewer miles last October and on balance have been very pleased with my decision. My only gripe is the throttle body, which on the 2005 model has a documented history of failure that Ford refuses to address. It's a safety issue, so they should be ashamed, but I digress. So far it's been a great vehicle for towing our party barge while hauling two families to the lake. It seats eight very comfortably and has lots of cargo space when the third row is folded. I find it to be superior for towing to the GMCs I've had because it has more mid-range torgue. I'm not sure why the Suburbakons go for more in the secondary market, but around here they do. To say one is built better than the other is silly. They all have pros and cons.

 

[haulnazz15]

Re: Higher mileage Ford Expedition for towing my 2004 Stingray 200LX?

Sorry for hating on Ford. Just giving my experience with them. The sad thing is I really liked both of them hince the reason I purchased a couple of them. I am now in my firt Chevy and hope it will out last what Ford could not

Everybody's experiences are different. I'm on the 3rd F150, (1990,1998,2008) and haven't had to do anything other than routine maintenance to any of them. However, I have had a Chevy, and had close family members/friends who have owned GM vehicles (mostly trucks) and I wouldn't buy anything GM aside from maybe a Corvette. They are an absolute electrical failure, imo. Fuel/Speedo guages constantly failing, window motors going out left and right, head gasket failures, cheap interior materials, etc. I just think Delphi electronics ruins a decent product.

I haven't heard about any common transmission failures whatsoever as I am an active member on a few f150 forums. Just like anything else, a few bad apples spoils the bunch.

 

[dannyual767]

Re: Higher mileage Ford Expedition for towing my 2004 Stingray 200LX?

Like I posted earlier, around here the GMs go for quite a bit more money. I'm more of a Chevrolet guy and always have been but for some reason, I feel that the Fords that we're discussing are the better vehicles. As Incoop mentioned, I think that the GMs tend to have a lot of squeaks and rattles and I've seen plenty of that cheap interior plastic.

These are just my feelings as I haven't owned any of them (trucks or SUVs.) I'm quite pleased with my 2002 WS6 Ram Air Trans Am including cheap interior plastic but it has no squeaks or rattles .

 

[whitecrystal1]

Re: Higher mileage Ford Expedition for towing my 2004 Stingray 200LX?

Everybody's experiences are different. I'm on the 3rd F150, (1990,1998,2008) and haven't had to do anything other than routine maintenance to any of them. However, I have had a Chevy, and had close family members/friends who have owned GM vehicles (mostly trucks) and I wouldn't buy anything GM aside from maybe a Corvette. They are an absolute electrical failure, imo. Fuel/Speedo guages constantly failing, window motors going out left and right, head gasket failures, cheap interior materials, etc. I just think Delphi electronics ruins a decent product.

I haven't heard about any common transmission failures whatsoever as I am an active member on a few f150 forums. Just like anything else, a few bad apples spoils the bunch.

Yes, GM does have their electrical gremlins for sure. But luckly I've only had one bad car from them. It was a 2002 Bonneville and it have every common problem known to it. I've always driven GM cars and Ford trucks. The fact that the 2002 Ford had issues shifting at times and then this issue with the 2005 made me not want a third. I still like the looks of them over the Chevy's but it's time to try something different. I really like the power of this 6.2L in it and there is a lot more room in the engine bay for servicing, plus the spark plugs are a lot easier to get to than on either Ford I've had. Hopefully this one holds up well

 

[Angrywasp]

Re: Higher mileage Ford Expedition for towing my 2004 Stingray 200LX?

Yes, GM does have their electrical gremlins for sure. But luckly I've only had one bad car from them. It was a 2002 Bonneville and it have every common problem known to it. I've always driven GM cars and Ford trucks. The fact that the 2002 Ford had issues shifting at times and then this issue with the 2005 made me not want a third. I still like the looks of them over the Chevy's but it's time to try something different. I really like the power of this 6.2L in it and there is a lot more room in the engine bay for servicing, plus the spark plugs are a lot easier to get to than on either Ford I've had. Hopefully this one holds up well

Real simple way to avoid spark plug issues. Go with a diesel. Just throwing that out there. My family is mainly chevy and I go both ways (have a 2010 Camaro SS parked beside a 2005 F250). Both come out with vehicles with issues and other vehicles that are great. My F250 has 106K on it and hasn't had a single issue and my dad's 2003 Silverado has 150K and he's had zero issues with it too.

 

[haulnazz15]

Re: Higher mileage Ford Expedition for towing my 2004 Stingray 200LX?

Yes, GM does have their electrical gremlins for sure. But luckly I've only had one bad car from them. It was a 2002 Bonneville and it have every common problem known to it. I've always driven GM cars and Ford trucks. The fact that the 2002 Ford had issues shifting at times and then this issue with the 2005 made me not want a third. I still like the looks of them over the Chevy's but it's time to try something different. I really like the power of this 6.2L in it and there is a lot more room in the engine bay for servicing, plus the spark plugs are a lot easier to get to than on either Ford I've had. Hopefully this one holds up well

What Ford's 6.2L not good enough?!! Like I mentioned, a few bad apples spoils the bunch. I do have an intense dislike for people who condemn a brand of vehicles when never having owned that brand. Any vehicle made is going to have it's glitches and engineering defects. The one thing America does make well is trucks. They put the Tundra/Nissan's to shame in the full-size truck category (which is sad cause I'm a Nissan fan, too)!