E19 delivery and Explorer performance...

[Voyager]

I met the Truck Driver yesterday at a Towing outfit 150 miles from our home. It saved us $500 by doing this and it provided me an opportunity to give the Explorer a good test by towing on both Interstate and County roads on the way home.

First off, the Trailer looks in great shape after it’s 1600 mile journey from B.C.. One glaring note is that the sliding drawers under the stove weren’t secured, they were extended wide open when I walked in. No child catch devices on these drawers, or some type of catch to keep them shut? Even some tape to hold them shut for shipping would have been in order. Otherwise things looked fine.

Hitching up with the new e2 went easy enough as did the adjusting of the new P2 brake controller. I torqued the Lug nuts 4 times on the trip back.

Explorer performance; Much of my concerns were based off a previous towing test run a local RV dealer arranged for me. I towed a TT that weighed 3500 lbs unloaded, a 450 lb Tongue wt., 90” wide and 10’ tall for 4 miles. 2 miles up a Cty rd and 2 miles back on a State Highway with no WDH. The Explorers performance was dismal. Struggling at 55-60 mph with ‘Tow mode’ engaged.

In contrast, the Explorer paired with the E19 (my finished unit now weighs 3500 lbs) was outstanding. I see now the WDH was a big help, but I think the 7’ wide width with 6” lower height and the general aerodynamics were the major factors. The Explorer accelerated fine, cruised along (in Tow Mode) at 60-65mph and sometimes at 70 at 2700- 2900 RPMs. It never gave me the impression it was overworked. It did ok with straight flat portions of the highway with Tow Mode off. However it never really liked 6th gear and would rarely shift to 6 on its own. I’m completely satisfied with the vehicle.. of course my Wife, 2 Dogs and added gear will be the final test.

My Sloped Driveway; pretty much a non-issue. The high-lift helped I’m sure and the X-chocks as well.

Thanks for everyone’s advice and help with all of this. Everything went really well. We are thrilled that trips to the Black Hills and Yellowstone are open to us as opposed to being confined to MN due to a lackluster tow vehicle. And ‘no’, we don’t have our sights set on Estes Park’s Trail Ridge Road

[Ronn]

Congrats!

Have you considered going to the "get together" at Thomson IL next month? I think there are at least 8 of us still planning to attend.

[sherminator]

Originally Posted by Voyager

I see now the WDH was a big help, but I think the 7’ wide width with 6” lower height and the general aerodynamics were the major factors.

In the Ford towing guide, there is a small section about frontal area limitations. Here is the info for my 2017 F150, with a 7600# tow rating:

55 sq. ft. Any Powertrain with Trailer Towing Package or Payload Package and Trailer Towing Ratings Between 5,001 and 7,700 lbs.

and the warning:

Frontal Area is the total area in square feet that a moving vehicle and trailer exposes to air resistance. The chart above shows the maximum trailer frontal area that must be considered for a vehicle/trailer combination. Exceeding these limitations may significantly reduce the performance of your towing vehicle.

The 19's frontal area is right around 55 sq ft, and I imagine your Explorer's frontal area limitation might be less than that. Escapes have less frontal area than most trailers because of their relatively narrow widths, and their rounded corners surely help. I have no trouble believing you did much better with your trailer than with the test trailer.

[TTMartin]

Originally Posted by Voyager

And ‘no’, we don’t have our sights set on Estes Park’s Trail Ridge Road

We towed our previous RV over Trail Ridge Road with our Sprinter in 2018 (west to east) we had no issues.

We did drive our Sprinter up Old Fall River Road without our trailer. That was a fun drive.

[gbaglo]

Once you weight down the drawers with stuff, the issue of them opening too easily should disappear.

[Voyager]

Originally Posted by sherminator

In the Ford towing guide, there is a small section about frontal area limitations. Here is the info for my 2017 F150, with a 7600# tow rating:

55 sq. ft. Any Powertrain with Trailer Towing Package or Payload Package and Trailer Towing Ratings Between 5,001 and 7,700 lbs.

and the warning:

Frontal Area is the total area in square feet that a moving vehicle and trailer exposes to air resistance. The chart above shows the maximum trailer frontal area that must be considered for a vehicle/trailer combination. Exceeding these limitations may significantly reduce the performance of your towing vehicle.

The 19's frontal area is right around 55 sq ft, and I imagine your Explorer's frontal area limitation might be less than that. Escapes have less frontal area than most trailers because of their relatively narrow widths, and their rounded corners surely help. I have no trouble believing you did much better with your trailer than with the test trailer.

Thanks for that info and it may explain a lot. A quick measurement is 75” high by 71” wide. I fail at math, but I think that’s 37 sq. ft. The Explorers max is 40 sq. ft.

[Voyager]

Originally Posted by Ronn

Congrats!

Have you considered going to the "get together" at Thomson IL next month? I think there are at least 8 of us still planning to attend.

Well that’s a minimum Friday off of work trip for us. We both work, but as it get closer my Wife and I will know more on the work situation. She works at a Hospital. We really want to do these trips and that’s one of the closer ones for us.

[steve dunham]

We live about 80 miles North of the Twin Cities and the trip to Thomson Illinois is a nice drive and pretty much down hill all the way .

[sherminator]

Originally Posted by Voyager

Thanks for that info and it may explain a lot. A quick measurement is 75” high by 71” wide. I fail at math, but I think that’s 37 sq. ft. The Explorers max is 40 sq. ft.

Your math is right for those dimensions, but I think your dimensions are a little off. Your trailer is 84" wide, and I expect the bottom to top height is close to the same because the roof is 98" above the ground, with maybe 10" clearance underneath. Of course, the Escape's cross-section is not rectangular, so you can't say 84" x 88", but if we did, that equal just over 51 square feet. You're somewhere in between, but probably closer to 51 than 37.

It doesn't really matter, because it is what it is. Your Explorer is doing fine for you so far, and I expect it will continue to do so. I believe the majority of rigs out there are exceeding the frontal "limits", but the warning on the limits just says that your performance may be reduced - not that it is dangerous. Anyways, you've learned how much aerodynamic drag affects your towing, which is an excellent thing to learn.

[Rossue]

Curious- what Explorer do you have?

[Voyager]

Originally Posted by Rossue

Curious- what Explorer do you have?

2014 non turbo V6 AWD Factory Tow Package