# New Tow Vehicle Expedition El



## 6incincy (Feb 3, 2008)

We are finally shopping for a new tow vehicle. The 01 burb has seen better days, and is weighed down with 6500 lbs and 5 kids.
We are looking at the 2010 Expedition EL. Does anyone have knowledge about the rear air suspension option vs not having it?
not sure if it is needed or not. any ford expedition experience would be great. We have always driven chevy, but the higher tow rating and all the new innovations on the ford are very desirable.
thanks


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## clarkely (Sep 15, 2008)

6incincy said:


> We are finally shopping for a new tow vehicle. The 01 burb has seen better days, and is weighed down with 6500 lbs and 5 kids.
> We are looking at the 2010 Expedition EL. Does anyone have knowledge about the rear air suspension option vs not having it?
> not sure if it is needed or not. any ford expedition experience would be great. We have always driven chevy, but the higher tow rating and all the new innovations on the ford are very desirable.
> thanks


I am not "versed" on ford....... but in general i would stay away from a factory air ride/leveler and instead install my own air bag system aftermarket. I would add one with a compressor, giving you the ability to adjust on the fly. This will give you the ability to soften or harden the rear for the specific road conditions you are traveling on at that time......

I have put them on every TV.

Hope that helps,
Clarke


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## willingtonpaul (Apr 16, 2010)

i had a 2000 ford expedition with the air ride load leveling system. pulled a 26' jayco hybrid with it. now granted, they have come a ways since then, but i agree with clarkely. it was a PITA to deal with, and a bag ruptured after the warranty expired and i had to eat the cost of repair. if you get one, get an aftermarket with the integrated compressor and you will be much happier. or you might not even need one, depending on your load.


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## hautevue (Mar 8, 2009)

I own an 08 Expedition EL Eddie Bauer. My TV did not come with an air suspension system option, and since I bought it used (from a Ford dealer--it was a Hertz or Avis rental for the summer of '08), I had no choice of factory options. It was "fully equipped" for our needs at time of purchase.

We really love the Extended Length--we went from Baltimore to the ocean with 5 adults and the dog, and put all 5 bags and a cooler behind the third seat. Lots of storage, and the Eddie Bauer option includes power third row seats. Love 'em!!!

Power third row seats are a $500+ option on the lowest trim model, the XLT. The dealer got $1200 more for the Eddie Bauer, so I looked at it that I paid the $500+ for the power third seats, and $700 for all the other Eddie Bauer trim stuff, like leather seats, the computer display of "info", a nicer looking dashboard, etc. It was worth it to me.

I've not needed a rear air suspension support system and tow about 7000 pounds of TT. With 2 adults and our dog, we're well under max gross weight. I have not towed on nasty roads, i.e., potholes, chuckholes, and so forth. On gravel, no problems. As long as you keep the hitch weight in the right range (maybe 800 pounds), I think you'll be fine.


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## SLO250RS (Mar 11, 2010)

As havining a 07 and a 09 expedition in my fleet all I am going to say is if you can get away from the air suspension dont get it,the compressor is very sensitive to dirt and moisture.Just my .02


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## 6incincy (Feb 3, 2008)

thanks for all your imput. It may be down to whatever we can get our hands on. Lg SUV production is slow, and it's hard to find a vehicle much less pick and choose your options.


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## SLO250RS (Mar 11, 2010)

If you have 6-8 weeks to wait,special order one,I know what you mean on dealer selection.


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## clarkely (Sep 15, 2008)

SLO250RS said:


> If you have 6-8 weeks to wait,special order one,I know what you mean on dealer selection.


X2

Order it and get what you want......you can spend weeks trying to find what you want, mine as well order it. You get the same incentives available at time of purchase whether you order or buy off the lot........


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## hautevue (Mar 8, 2009)

It's August--the factory has almost certainly converted to production of the 2011 models. I believe that you won't be able to order a new 2010.

But the 2011s are priced about the same as the 2010s. According to the papers, Ford did not raise the MSRP much if any on their entire line, so you can order exactly what you want and negotiate hard--all the dealers sell the same unit!!

Also, you can often buy at a super discount from a non-local dealer. And there are a lot of incentives floating around that you can use in your price negotiations--zero interest rates or "factory incentives" being the most common.

Good luck!


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## MJRey (Jan 21, 2005)

I guess my experience was a bit different. Our 03 Expedition had the air suspension on all 4 wheels and it worked well. No matter how much stuff we loaded in for camping it kept things level. I never had any problems with it in the 5 years we had the truck. If you do have a problem they can be expensive to repair though. The biggest hassle was getting the weight distributing hitch setup the first time. Once that was done I just had to remember to turn it off when I was hitching and unhitching.

If you've got an Expedition with the air suspension and it's causing you problems you can replace it with regular shocks for $700 to $800 instead of trying to fix it. Here's a site I bookmarked years ago just in case I ran into problems.

http://www.strutmasters.com/ford-expedition-suspension-parts-s/76.htm


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