The 2007 Ford Escape is one of the smallest SUVs in Ford's lineup for 2007, but when it came to their overall towing capacity, I was quite surprised to see that they were able to achieve a rating of up to 3,500 pounds, if your vehicle was properly equipped with the correct engine and if you had the optional trailer package installed.
Some of these vehicles were only able to achieve a rating of 1000 pounds though, so you will need to look through the data to find out where your particular vehicle lies as far as pulling power. I go through all of the information and variables in this article that affect how much weight you can pull behind you with one of these SUVs. Let's dive in!
Remember to read through your owner's manual, as it is the most valuable asset that you have for your vehicle and that you adhere to all of Ford's recommendations and requirements.
2007 Escape Overview
Overall Capacity: The overall towing capacity for the 2007 Ford Escape ranged from 1,500- 3,500 pounds and was mainly dependent upon which engine you had equipped in your vehicle, and the two choices you had were either a 2.3-liter engine or a 3.0-liter engine.
Capacity By Trim Levels: If we look at the five different trim levels that were available for these vehicles and we use the data in the image below 2 correlate the different trim levels with the different engine options that were available for each trim level and the transmissions that were available and compare that data with the chart, we can get a towing capacity range for each trim level, which I listed below.
Looking at the outlined information, we can see that both XLS trim levels were capable of up to a 1,500-pound rating, while the XLT trim level had a range of between 1,500- 3,500 pounds and then the XLT sport and limited trim levels were able to achieve the highest rating of 3,500 pounds.
- XLS (Manual Transmission): 1,500 lbs.
- XLS:1,500 lbs.
- XLT: 1,500-3,500 lbs.
- XLT Sport: 3,500 lbs.
- Limited: 3,500 lbs.
⚫ Standard ⚪ Optional — Not Available
By Engine Options: Looking at the two different engine options that were available for the two different models, which was a hybrid model and then the standard models, we can get a good idea of what the towing capacity was for each specific engine.
We can see that the 2.3 liter engine was definitely the smaller option which means that it had less power and that equated to a lower maximum trailer weight rating, whereas the 3.0 liter engine had some of the highest numbers in the chart and were able to achieve those numbers with the additional trailer tow package that was available for these vehicles.
- 2.3L (Hybrid): 1,000 lbs.
- 2.3L: 1,500 lbs.
- 3.0L: 3,500 lbs.
The Tow Chart:
The tow chart for the 2007 Escapes was pretty simple, like all other model years and only had two engine options listed but I do also want to point out that the chart itself was divided up into automatic transmission models and manual transmission models, which really didn't affect the maximum trailer weight rating if we compare similar engine options but I wanted to point that out.
The maximum trailer weight ratings are listed on the right side of the chart and the engine options are listed on the left side of the chart and are bolded. The axle ratios were not displayed in the chart, but they did not seem to affect the trailer weight rating numbers like they do for some model years and then just to the right of the axle ratio column we can see the gross combined weight ratings that were specified for front wheel drive and four-wheel drive vehicles.
Don't forget that there are additional notes at the bottom of the chart that are worth reading, especially if you have a hybrid model or if your vehicle is equipped with a 2.3 liter engine.
2007 Escape Trailer Tow Packages...
If your SUV had the 3.0 liter engine equipped, then you had the option of having the trailer tow package installed. I went ahead and posted a screenshot of what is included in the trailer package and to be honest, there is not a whole lot in one of these packages and basically includes the basics like a four-pin wiring connection, a hitch receiver and an auxiliary automatic transmission cooler.
This trailer package was referred to as the 536 package for the 2007 escape.
⚫ Standard ⚪ Optional — Not Available
Hitch Receiver Weight Limits: I also was able to find a hitch receiver weight capacity chart that will specify the weight carrying hitch's capacity versus the weight distributing hitches capacity, but for these 2007 SUVs, this did not apply as their maximum trailer weight rating was set at 3,500 pounds, which is too low to justify the need of using a weight distributing hitch.
Trailer Brakes: Trailer brakes are required in certain states if your trailer weighs over a certain amount of weight, usually this number is somewhere around 1,000- 2,000 pounds, but you will have to check your individual states requirements to see what they require.
In these cases, you will need to have trailer brakes equipped on the trailer that you were pulling in order to meet these requirements in order to be compliant and from the looks of the screenshot I have posted below, these vehicles were not equipped to accommodate electric trailer brakes, which means a brake controller and a 7-pin connector, so you will have to have that installed separately.
Now The Certification Label...
GVWR & GAWRs: The gross vehicle weight rating or the gross axle weight ratings were not listed in any of the literature online or any of the resources I used for this article but instead are listed on the vehicle itself.
If you open your driver's side door, and look on the door pillar you will see a label that looks like the one above and it will contain the gross vehicle weight rating and both of the gross axle weight ratings near the top of the label, in a similar location to what the example above shows.
GCWR: The gross combined weight ratings were provided in the chart on the left-hand side of the chart, right next to the engine options, which made gathering the data much easier and was available right in the chart.
Axle Code: Another thing I want to point out is the actual code at the bottom of the certification label which is a 2-digit code and when it is deciphered, will tell you what the actual code of the vehicle you were driving is using, which is sometimes needed to figure out your maximum trailer weight rating but for these model year vehicles does not apply.
Helpful Resources I Used For My Research:
I was able to gather all of the information I needed from only these four resources, that I have listed below and I recommend that you check those out whenever you get a chance because they are full of tons of information that I know you will find helpful.
Most of the information in this article came directly from the guide itself, including most of the images but the owner's manual and brochure were also helpful in their own unique ways, providing different resource materials, when combined with the guides research materials made for a complete resource guide for these vehicles.