Explorer Towing

[fattiresc]

Guys,

I am downsizing vehicles, going from a Big GMC Yukon XL to possibly a moderate Ford Explorer. I was wondering if any of you guys trailer your 190 Bay with an Explorer with the V6 and how well it does. I have not had any problems with the Yukon, but that was expected with a V8. The Explorer I am looking at is 2WD also, for apples to apples. Any help would be appreciated. I live about 12 miles from the lake and about 150 from the ocean. Usually go to the coast for fishing 3 or so times a year.

Any comments greatly appreciated!

~Jason

[BigDogBill]

In this article Additions & Modifications to our 2005 Triumph 210 you can see that OspreyVic tows his 215 with an Explorer. I can't tell from the pic if it's 4WD or 2WD but it's an Explorer for sure.

Bill

[mtty]

As I understand, there can be issues when towing with an Explorer, at least some model years. Apparently, U-haul refuses to rent trailers to those who own them. Not sure of the specifics but you may want to look into it before you put your hard eatrned down....

[OspreyVic]

I can tell you our 2005 Explorer is 4-wheel drive. You can never tell where you might want to launch and if the tide is low and the ramp is steep, that slime on the ramp can be very slippery. Having the ability of four tires getting traction is why we went with 4-wheel drive. We do not use 4-wheel drive all the time at the ramps, but it has come in handy. We just looked at it as another piece of insurance. We also did not want to tie up a ramp and be a pain to other boaters.

We towed our boat from North Carolina to Osprey, Florida with no problems to the boat or the Explorer. When towing, I just have to remember to turn the Overdrive OFF and never use the cruise control.

The Explorer is much easier to get into the garage or a shopping mall parking space than a pickup. We are still happy with our choice. We did install a K&N intake system to replace the restrictive factory air filter and air intake housing. We also changed our exhaust system, and yes, our fuel mileage did improve.

[k9reno]

When I first got my 210 I had an explorer sport trac. I tow a minimum of 2+ hrs to fish erie. I have towed to naples FL with the sport track from fort wayne indiana with no real problem. I cant imagine what problem u haul would have with the explorer I never had a problem, not counting of course the bolt that came off the frame mounted tow receiver on the way to FL. I still made it with no problem and didnt even notice a differance after the bolt popped , at least untill I got where I was going and looked at it. The only issue I had that helped me decide to move up to the f150 super crew was that with the explorer I was at about 80% of capicity. with the 150 just over 50%. Also going through the mountains in Tenn I noticed some dificulty climbing the steeper grades and at each stop when I would check my oil and tranny fluid temp I found them to be quite hot but not discoloring. Since my truck was going to be my tow vehicle for life I decided the f150 tranny would live longer.

[fattiresc]

I am looking at a couple in the 99 or 2000 model. That is odd about the Uhaul thing..

[mtty]

K9 and Osprey don't get me wrong, this is just some stuff I heard. My significant other has one and though I've never used it to tow, gas prices have certainly tempted me. I feel a little more secure in the truck.

[k9reno]

ya know when I got the f150 I didnt know if my towing milage woud be better or worse. Guess what....I get 9 mpg with both vehicles. on the highway without the boat on I got 20 mpg with the explorer and 18 with the f150..fuel usage didnt really change but the boat was easier to tow with the 150

[Cincinnati]

I towed my 190 with a 2002 Mountaineer V8 (Mercury version of Explorer) - worked flawlessly - we get 8' tides in CT. Never had a problem on the ramp. I now tow with a 2004 F-150 and barely know the boat is back there (until I need to brake).

[OspreyVic]

Moretodaythanyesterday, you are 100% correct on U-Haul.

When we started figuring out how we were going to get our son and all of his “stuff” to Florida State in Tallahassee this summer, we went to U-Haul. We started looking at a trailer but when we asked questions we were told that corporate policy forbid them to have an Explorer tow one of their trailers, regardless of the trailer size.

We ended up with a truck, and then they did not have the small size we wanted so we were upgraded to a larger truck for no additional cost. We ended up much happier with the bigger truck.

Last December we weighed our 210CC. With a full tank of gas, motor, trailer, etc. it weighed in at 4,585 pounds. We have never traveled with anything else in the boat. The Explorer is rated at having a Maximum Loaded Trailer weight of 7,000 pounds. That puts me at 65% of capacity, which sure is not 50%, but better than bumping the max.

Can’t speak of anything older than a 2002 Explorer. That is what my son has in a 2-wheel drive version. He has never had a problem towing our boat.