2001 Ford Expedition LXT as a tow vehicle?

I am starting to look for a newer tow vehicle. One of my family has a 2001 Ford Expedition LXT that she is looking to sell. I was wondering if this would be a good tow vehicle for a 2006 MC X-15. The boat and trailer weigh about 4500 lbs and the expedition has a lable on the hitch saying 4000 lbs max weight. Is that 500lbs dangerous? I have seen alot of expeditions towing boats. And most boat are 4000 and above. I believe an x1 is like 4200 lbs and have seen it being towed by an expedition. Just really like the ford and wanted others opinions. Thanks

Josh

The bumper may be rated at 4000lbs., but a class III or IV hitch either bolted or welded to the frame would allow double that. I have a 2000 expo and I believe it was rated around 8500 pounds with the class IV hitch. I pull an X2 on tandem axle trailer and I can not even tell its back there.

I tow a 2005 VLX (which is 3600 lbs) on a tandem axle trailer with a 1998 expo that has the 5.4 engine. It pulls the boat with no problem whatsoever. Does the expedition you are looking at have the 5.4 or the 4.8? I have heard the 4.8 is a little underpowered for towing.

4.6 not 4.8 ---

i agree w/ jason -- 4.6 is underpowered and gave more trouble (head gasket leaks) than the 5.4... good luck w/ your decision -- you'll be happy w/ the way it handles the load in question...

I have a 98 Expedition Eddie Bauer with a 5.4 V8 and it tows my centurion avalanche fine and I think thats a little bigger than the MC X-15. If you start off slow on a steep grade it is a little hard to reach normal highway speeds but if your cruising at those speeds already no problem. I just noticed that just recently with mine. Getting onto the freeway and climbing a grade and trying to floor it I couldn't get it up to highway speeds (55-60) even with overdrive off and switching to a lower gear.

The expo has the 4.6 motor so i decided to pass. I am going to start looking for something else. Now i just need to decide on what SUV.

I have 2 tow vehicles currently. One is a 98 Expedition EB with 5.4 V8 and tow pkg. The other is 04 Dodge Ram Hemi with tow pkg. Both have been completely troublefree towing the boat over high mountain passes to Lake Powell. Don't rely only on a strong engine, it is extremely important that your tow vehicle has a transmission oil cooler (usually included with a tow pkg) and class III or IV hitch. Engine size will not help you keep the transmission cool.

Not to start a Ford/Chevy battle (I have owned both), but the best tow vehicle I have owned was my 2001 Chevy Tahoe. Plenty of room for the peeps and gear but it was really drove well fully loaded with the boat. It got decent gas mileage, but was underpowered (but manageable) with the 5.3L motor. Should have upgraded to the larger motor.