# 28RS-S with a Ford Expedition?



## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

Hello..

We're thinking of moving up from our Coleman Utah Tent-Trailer and were wondering if anyone is pulling a 28RS-S with an Expedition.

Of course the dealer says the Expedition is rated to pull this much weight (said it could do 7000)....but I wanted to have real world knowledge.

Any help you can give would be nice.

2000 Ford Expedition 
with the 5.4 liter engine

Jim


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## newbie_outbacker (Aug 24, 2004)

Jim, I'm pretty new to this myself. But what I've learned is: 1). How much does your trailer weigh after options? Should be listed on a door in the trailer as dry weight. 2). Add 500-700Lbs for additional weight in trailer and Tow Vehicle..maybe more . 3). Then look again at your vehicles gross tow capabilities. 
Your 28RS is 5270Lbs dry. Figure a couple of hundred pounds of options - 5500. Another..say 750Lbs for personal stuff and your at 6250. Under your max. But pushing the envelope.
I'm now pulling a 26RS with a 2000 Mercury Mountaineer with a 6600 max. Everyone is telling me that I've got the tail wagging the dog..LOL, but I've been okay so far. Got a trip to Memaloose this weekend, we'll see.
Good Luck,
Alan


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## Travelers Rest (Feb 27, 2004)

Jim,

I pull a 23 RS with my Expedition . I forget its dry weight but what I've learned so far is this: Stuff is heavy.

By the time I add in water, fuel (fuel weight counts as cargo even on your tow vehicle) people, food, bedding, toiletries, clothing, pots pans, fishing stuff, camping stuff and other "stuff" you would be stunned at your actual weight.

My Expedition (1997) is pulling all that it can do with our 23 RS and all the people, things we take with us. Early on I weighed us in at just under 7000 but I got to tell you... it feels like we weigh a few tons....oh yeah, WE DO!! Hahaha

Its a hard tow with the Expedition but doable. Just stay under your maximums. And remember, your dealer wants to sell you the most trailer he can. I've actually heard a dealer here tell me that the only thing I had to worry about was my rear end ratio. Eveything else was just safety stuff...(I'm not kidding, it was at R&D Camperland in Wichita, KS)

So, beware and see what others have to say!!

Steve


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## Y-Guy (Jan 30, 2004)

Hi Jim,

Welcome to the boards. First thing to do is read your owners manual to find out your vehicles stats.

In checking on the Expy here are some of the weights

Expedition 5.4 V-8 6,800b
Expedition 4WD 5.4 V-8 6,400b
Expedition 5.4 V-8 7,800c,h
Expedition 4WD 5.4 V-8 7,400c,g
Expedition 4WD 5.4 V-8 6,900c,h
Expedition 5.4 V-8 8,300d,g

b Requires 3.31:1 axle ratio.
c Requires 3.55:1 axle ratio.
d Requires 3.73:1 axle ratio.
g Requires 16-inch wheel option.
h Requires 17-inch wheel option.

As you can see there is a big difference, so its tough to know if you have 8300# or 6400# without knowing additional details. Towing with my Av I find that its okay but not great, that's part of the reason I am upgrading to a F350 Diesel.


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

I have the "H9" under axel in my door, so that translates to a 3.55 axel. I have 17" wheels, so i calculate that as being able to tow 6900lbs.

Seeing how the 28RS-S is ~5300, I don't have a lot of spare weight.
375lbs for water
Weeks worth of drinks, food, etc... ~400lbs
All the stuff we take ~200lbs

So, I'm at ~6275lbs....not much left over.









I'm heading to the RV show this weekend in Portland Oregon. Will see what kind of information I get there.

Thanks for all the information. If anyone has pulled the 28RS-S with an Expedition I would love to hear from you.

Jim


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## NWcamper2 (Mar 28, 2004)

Wheelbase
Wheelbase
Wheelbase....

Can't stress wheelbase of TV enough! 
The sales people won't tell you squat about it and they seem to know less than THAT!!

We have an '04 E.B. 4x4 5.4 V8 = 8700# towing cap.

We have a 25RS-S and it pulled okay...Through certain events, we now have a Titan to pull the TT with. And use the Expy to pull the boat (when pulling both)
We just took it easy and knew limitations...

A 28'er we would have been white knuckling it through most of Oregon! We go over to hte coast a lot.... hwy 101 can be a bear if you are not set up correctly.

Not to mention across some of the other passes here in Oregon. IMHO 28' for an Expy is too long... Wheelbase is just not long enough.

There are a few threads on this very topic... towing 28'ers with Expeditions.

Have fun at the show. 
We received the mailing about it... but, we have double header soccer games on Saturday


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## Webmosher (Jun 28, 2004)

Its probably not a 100% safe setup. Our 1998 Suburban has about the same towing stats, and while I don't mind the local camping on backroads, I would never take this rig cross-country.

Some other things to consider:

1) 28 RSS is a bit tail heavy from the back slide and likes to sway. Load forward of the axel with any significant weight. 
2) EVERYTHING counts as weight: LP gas, water, gasoline, kids, pets. Never make an assumption that the dry weight of the trailer includes any load. 
3) Max towing weights are very misleading. These tow weights are based on a single driver with almost no real loaded weight in the vehicle subtracted from the gross weight rating of the entire vehicle's capacity. This is not a real world value. The ultimate method to really determine the right weighting is to subtract all the loaded weights from the GVWR and see what is left. Often you will find these values are close to the dry weight of the trailer. Typically, subtract 1000-1500# from the tow rating of the vehicle to find its "real" tow capacity.

Here is a great website for weight considerations:
http://www.rvtowingtips.com/

We are actually looking at an Excursion or the 2500 Suburban's for a big trip we are planning next summer.

Fred


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## Y-Guy (Jan 30, 2004)

Oregon_Camper if you want to and your close drop by Memeloose State Park up on the Columbia, several of us are having a small Outback Rally and we'd be happy to sit and chat with you about our campers.

The Expy has a 119" or 120" wheel base I think, that would put you around a 22' to 23' trailer based on the general rule of thumbs. The website Fred shared is a good resource.

One thing I would highly suggest on your way out sometime is to weigh your rig with a full tank of gas, then do the math to see what your trailer needs to weigh. The fact is that trucks and campers often weigh more than what is posted on the sticker, with options added this is understandable but you need to know the real numbers.


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## bchristoff (Sep 15, 2004)

I was going to ask this exact same question.

My wife and I just saw a 28RS-S and really liked it.

I am a little concerned with the size and weight of the trailer. Can anyone provide a real life weight of the camper with a normal amount of stuff and empty tanks?

Also any real world experience on towing. My biggest concern with the rear sliding bed is the additional weight on the back would make it more prone to sway. I know that we can\would load everything else up in the front but you still would have to counter act the added weight in the back.

One more question. I didn't look to see where the fresh water tank is. Is it in the front under the bunks? I know with my current trailer that I need to fill up the water tank 1/2 to help the towing stability.

Thanks for your help


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

The fresh tank is all the way back. We have towed ours with it full and empty and only noticed a small difference but no real sway. This may not help as we have a Ram 1500. We still need to do some more testing to see different loading and wind conditions to tell if the rig is at all unstable but so far so good.

Good luck.


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## Y-Guy (Jan 30, 2004)

Bill here is a quote from one of my early posts about our setup.

"At the scales, the truck was empty but had me, Equa-li-zer WD hitch, dual 6v batteries, 2 full 30 gal. propane tanks. It came in with a GCWR of 11,860, the max for the Av is 14,000. Using a previous truck weight of 5,674 and that means the camper weighs in at 6,186 giving me 1,714 CCC, which I can't see us needing all of. The brochure weight is 5,190, and the Trailer Life weight was 6,140. Once we load up I anticipate being right close to the 7,000 limit."


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## bchristoff (Sep 15, 2004)

Y-Guy said:


> Bill here is a quote from one of my early posts about our setup.
> 
> "At the scales, the truck was empty but had me, Equa-li-zer WD hitch, dual 6v batteries, 2 full 30 gal. propane tanks. It came in with a GCWR of 11,860, the max for the Av is 14,000. Using a previous truck weight of 5,674 and that means the camper weighs in at 6,186 giving me 1,714 CCC, which I can't see us needing all of. The brochure weight is 5,190, and the Trailer Life weight was 6,140. Once we load up I anticipate being right close to the 7,000 limit."


Wow. The trailer options and the other stuff added 1000 lbs to the weight of the trailer. I was hoping that the 5200 dry weight would be a little more accurate.

If we do decide to get this trailer I am going to be right up at my maximum for weight and over the length rule of thumb.

I used to pull my trailer in the signature with a Jeep Cheerokee 4.0. So I know what it is like to be completely maxed out. Not sure if I want to do this again. The one good thing is that when I did tell my wife that I was tired of towing with the Jeep at the max and was going to get something bigger she didn't give me a hard time. I can see that new F350 Crew cab in my future









Thanks for the information
Bill


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## jlstew (May 29, 2004)

I have towed my '04 28rss with a '03 ford expedition and think it is the best trailer I have ever pulled. I am set up with an equl-i-zer hitch and that makes a huge difference (make sure it is set up correctly). My longest trip has been to Lake Tahoe twice (6 hour trip) with no problems. I know my wheelbase is not long enough now, but it pulls wonderfully. I usally tow with only half tank of water if I can get away with it.


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## bchristoff (Sep 15, 2004)

jlstew said:


> I have towed my '04 28rss with a '03 ford expedition and think it is the best trailer I have ever pulled. I am set up with an equl-i-zer hitch and that makes a huge difference (make sure it is set up correctly). My longest trip has been to Lake Tahoe twice (6 hour trip) with no problems. I know my wheelbase is not long enough now, but it pulls wonderfully. I usally tow with only half tank of water if I can get away with it.


That is great to hear. Have you taken your combination to a scale?

Do you have a 4X4? 16 or 17 inch tires? I probably have the absolute worse combinations for towing with the 4x4 and 17 inch tires. I love the truck and glad that I have both of these but it does hurt the towing preformance.


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## Jarrod (Jul 23, 2004)

I'm going to chime in on the 28' length with the Expedition. Our Outback is the 28BHS instead of the 28RS so the trailer weight distribution is probably different due to the rear slide. I've a 2001 4x4 16" Wheels 5.4L 3.73 and it does good towing our 28BHS. I guess I'm over on the length versus wheelbase but I've made several trips up and down I-5 and haven't had any problems. I've also been over on the coast on 101. I agree that the Equal-i-zer is a big help. The Expedition is very doggy in some of the steeper grades but who needs to get there that fast anyway. I do have to admit that I would love to go buy the truck that Y-Guy is gonna be riding around in soon. I've always been one for overkill whenever possible. Set up on the hitch and anti-sway are crucial. Learn this yourself and don't trust the dealer. Also, check out the tire pressure topics and LT tires versus P tires. We have P tires and as soon as they wear down a little more I'll be spending the extra $$ for LT tires. Might as well do everything possible to be as safe as possible. I'm new to rving but I've had my Class A license for about 10yrs and towed and driven a lot worse combinations than my Expedition with my bunkhouse. I have to admit that I haven't weighed everything yet. It's at the top of my list of things to do. Bottom line is go with what you are comfortable with doing. If your gut is telling you the 28RS is too much and the specs are telling it is too much, it's probably too much. The beauty of Outbacks are that they are all good floorplans and you just can't go wrong with any Outback. These are awesome travel trailers. I also have to say that I admire you for finding this site before you buy. I didn't do that and have spent a whole lot of time reading and learning. The wealth of knowledge here is incredible. On the flip side, this site may have talked me out of the 28BHS and that would be a shame because we sure love camping in it. Good luck and hope to see another Outback owner soon. Jarrod


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## Campinout (Jun 18, 2004)

We have a 28BHS and a 2003 ford Expedition with the reese dual cam sway, we have been up hills through wind and she tows fine, just make sure you get the proper set-up, IMO, I think you would be ok, (IF you have the right set-up)


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## jlstew (May 29, 2004)

I agree with everything Jarrod said, And unfortunately I have not weighed mine yet either. I will let you know if I get a chance to!


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## timeout (Feb 13, 2004)

I towed our 28rss with our 98 Expy for the first season, then upgraded to a F250 diesel. The Expy was fine for short trips around the relatively flat areas of St. Louis, but we generally did not have it loaded down too bad. I decided to upgrade to a more powerful TV this year to accommodate the added weight of supplies, clothes, bikes, water, etc, etc. Based on my experience, I wouldn't recommend towing anything more that about a 25' TT with the Expy.

Hope this helps.


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## bchristoff (Sep 15, 2004)

timeout said:


> . . . I wouldn't recommend towing anything more that about a 25' TT with the Expy.


I already have a 25ft trailer. I barely know that mine is behind me. Also, not all trailers are the same so it really gets me when this is said.

Thank you all for your information. Like I mentioned above I have towed with a maxed out vehicle. It wasn't optimal but, we generally stay at near home so it was OK.

I guess my next step is to take the Expy to the scales so I really know where I am at for the vehicle. With that info and the actual weights above I can get a good idea if I will be within the limits of the expy. (I have never weighed this combination since I already knew the trailer weight and know that I am not close to the limits)

About tires. If I had 16 inch wheels I would have LT tires because of what I read. But I could not get LT tires with the 17" wheels (or at least my neighbor who is a firestone dealer told me that) So I have the P rated tires but the do have the highest load rating possible and I always have them at the Max pressure when towing.


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