Figuring out your towing capacity for your 2002 Ford Excursion is not as simple as looking at the chart and seeing a weight rating and then just going with that!
You need to know three different things about your SUV, in order to get the correct rating, and this is exactly what I am going to show you how to do in this article.
2002 Ford Excursion Towing Chart:
Here is the tow chart for the 2002 Ford Excursion, and all the data you see in the chart came directly from Ford's towing guide.
As you can see from the chart, you will need to know what engine you have equipped, if your Excursion is a 2WD or 4WD variation and what axle ratio is used. Once you have those three things, you can extract your trailer weight rating from the chart.
2002 Excursion Towing Capacity By Engine Type:
Breaking down the information from the chart, we can see some variations in the numbers, if we look at the three engine options that were available...
- 2002 Excursions equipped with the 5.4l engine had a towing capacity of 6,200 lbs. for 2WD models and 7,200 lbs. for 4WD models, which was the lowest ratings, compared to the two other engine choices.
- 2002 Excursions equipped with the 6.8l engine had a towing capacity between 10,100-10,500 lbs. for 2WD models and 9,600-11,000 lbs. for 4WD models, with the axle ratio determining the last variable.
- 2002 Excursions equipped with the 7.3l engine had a towing capacity of 10,500 lbs. for 2WD models and 11,000 lbs. for 4WD models, and the highest ratings out of all the engine choices.
The Three Things You Need to Know About Your Excursion:
Like I already mentioned, three very important pieces of information need to be known about your vehicle, in order to determine your weight rating and these three things are:
- The engine you have equipped
- If you have a 2WD or 4WD variation
- The axle ratio
That's all you need to know about your SUV and once you have those items of information, you can plug it into the chart and get an accurate number.
How To Figure Out Your Engine Option, Drivetrain (2WD or 4WD) and Axle Ratio...
If you're not sure about some of the details of your Excursion, then this section of the article is going to be very helpful to you! This is where we will find out how to get these three pieces of information from your vehicle, so you can plug them into the chart.
Engine & Drivetrain Options:
You can easily figure out these two pieces of information by using one simple tool and this is referred to as an online VIN decoder.
All you have to do is plug your Excursion's VIN into a VIN decoder and it will give you a bunch of helpful information about your vehicle, including the engine and drivetrain that was used, giving us two of the three things we need. The decoder I used in this example was this one.
Axle Ratio Options:
The axle ratio is not as easy to figure out for these older vehicles, but is still fairly easy to figure out, if you know where to look.
Option 1: Look on Your Certification Label
Your vehicle (and most other vehicles) will have a certification label somewhere on it that has a ton of useful information on it and Ford vehicles will usually have an "axle code" listed on it too, which will give you a clue as to what axle ratio is being used.
Location & Code: The certification label is usually found on the driver's door or along the pillar somewhere and will look like the image below. Along the bottom of the label you will see the words "AXLE", along with a code below that. That code will have to be deciphered to figure out your axle ratio.
Usually Ford provides a legend to decipher these axle codes, but some of the later model year vehicles did not have this feature, so you will have to decipher this code yourself. I would recommend using a search engine to help you in your search.
Option 2: Look for Yourself
You can actually find out the axle ratio on your own, but it involves crawling under the vehicle and looking on the rear axle housing for a metal tag.
This metal tag will have the ratio stamped into it, along with some other information. The image below shows what one of these tags looks like (off of the vehicle) and is a 3.73 ratio, with the "L" in the middle indicating that it is a Limited Slip type of axle (not of interest to us though).
Option 3: Get Help!
If you do not see an axle code on your certification label or the label is missing or badly faded, then you will have to go another route.
You could always take your vehicle to a dealership to see if they can figure out what axle ratio you have equipped. They will know how to figure this out and can do a visual inspection for you to verify.
Different Hitches & Their Weight Limits:
There was also another thing that was worth mentioning and it has to do with the type of hitch you have and the weight limits of those different types of hitches.
The image below outlines the three different hitches, which we will briefly talk about how these can also affect your overall tow ratings.
- Bumper Hitch: A bumper hitch is not that common but is sometimes used for light to moderate weighted loads and is basically just a ball that is screwed right to the bumper, which has a hole that is specifically for this purpose. The weight limit for these types of hitches is set at 5,000 pounds.
- Hitch Receiver: A hitch receiver is usually just bolted directly to the frame of the vehicle and is what most people will use.
The bolts are very strong and are usually rated to withstand immense pressure, making this type of connection very strong. If we look at the chart, we can see that the maximum rating is set at only 5,000 pounds and if we want to get those higher ratings we saw in the tow chart, we need to use a weight distributing hitch, with our hitch receiver. - Weight Distributing Hitch: A weight distributing hitch is used (in conjunction) with a hitch receiver and helps to disperse some of the weight of the trailer, in order to stabilize it, allowing you to pull heavier loads, typically. Ford requires using a weight distributing hitch for loads that weigh over 5,000 pounds.
The information in this article was gathered from various sources in order to maintain accuracy. I strongly recommend that you look at the 2002 Ford Towing Guide and the owner's manual if you would like to know more about your SUV.