Tow vehicle wheel base

[huntndakota]

I have an 01 Expedition and a 2000 Durango and was wondering about the smaller wheelbase of the Durango for towing my boat. I have a 21.5' (loa is 24') Marathon boat that sits on an aluminum i beam trailer. Both have a tow capacity thats over the total weight of the boat and trailer. How does the wheelbase affect towing capacity?

 

[Bondo]

Re: Tow vehicle wheel base

Ayuh,... A Bigger tow unit is Always Better than a smaller 1...

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: Tow vehicle wheel base

Yep,The shorter vehicle will be much more prone to the tail wagging the dog affect at highway speeds.Also the transmission in the Durango was never known to be that great for towing.

 

[jkust]

Re: Tow vehicle wheel base

Had a similar experience. One tow vehicle was 120 inches the other was 113 inches. Towing the same 4000 lb load, there is a very slight sway at highway speeds with the shorter wheel base vehicle. The shorter vehicle is actually heavier than the longer one in my case.

 

[basstracker219]

Re: Tow vehicle wheel base

well, the bigger the better.

 

[skargo]

Re: Tow vehicle wheel base

I've also found longer wheelbase is better. My dodge ram quadcab longbed has a 165" wheelbase, it's longer than a suburban! Tows like a dream.

 

[huntndakota]

Re: Tow vehicle wheel base

thanks for the info. I wondered because the durango has a higher tow cap. than the ford does. figured the more under rated i was the better, guess thats not always true.

 

[dockwrecker]

Re: Tow vehicle wheel base

You can also check the owner's manuals for the maximum length of trailer recommended, which is very much tied to the wheelbase question. Even though the capacities may be similar, I bet you find the recommended max length favors the Expidition.

90 Carver Montego 21' (23) "Suspicious Behavior"

 

[JasonB]

Re: Tow vehicle wheel base

I also own a 2001 Expedition. I think ours has a 5800lb tow rating. The deal with this model of Expy is in the gears and suspension. Ours has the 4.6L with 3.31 gears and no tow package. The same truck with 3.73 gears and the tow package is around 7k. The tow package was mostly a tranny cooler (I added this), air bag suspension (not touching this), and the Class 3 hitch w/ 7 pin plug (added this). My towed load with full tanks and gear is 4200lbs. The truck handles it great, but the rear suspension is a tad soft.

Previous tow vehicle was a '99 F-150 supercab with the 4.6 AND 3.55 gears. The Expy tows about 95% as well, but doesn't have the punch the truck did. My boat is on a tandem axle trailer to help prevent sway, and I feel it definetly helps with teh shorter Expy.

 

[jeeperman]

Re: Tow vehicle wheel base

Yep,The shorter vehicle will be much more prone to the tail wagging the dog affect at highway speeds.Also the transmission in the Durango was never known to be that great for towing.

The longer wheelbase is also better when it comes to stopping or cornering too.
It is much easier for the trailer to push the tow sideways when cornering and in panic stops.