The Ford Expedition is a popular family car and it has a lot of pulling power attached to it, a lot more than I expected after doing my research. There was different towing capacities for the different years of the Expeditions but I broke down all of the information below in an easy to read way to help you quickly get the specs you need.
Let me know if there are any specs for the Ford Expedition that I left out or if it helped you in any way. Thanks!
Overview of the Data For the Ford Expedition:
Engine Choices: Over the years of the Ford Expeditions that were made, there were only one or two engines that were available, which was surprising. The capacity for the expeditions did vary though, so the engine that was equipped had no effect on the numbers when only one engine was used.
Axle Ratio/Configurations: There were only two or three different axle ratios used for the expeditions as well, like the engines. These were the 3.15, 3.31 and the 3.73 ratios, which also had very little effect on the overall towing capacities of the Expeditions.
The Ford Expedition did come in a 2wd or 4wd model, but the capacities still had the same maximum capacity range that we saw throughout.
Towing Capacity: The towing capacity for the Ford Expeditions over the years did range from 6,000 lbs. to 9,200 lbs. The range really was not a range but a lower capacity (5,000 lbs.-6,000 lbs.) and a higher one (8,600 lbs.-9,200 lbs.) and was directly tied to the GCWR of the vehicle or engine configuration.
2019, 2020 & 2021 Models:
The towing capacity for the 2019-2021 Ford Expeditions ranged from 6000 lbs. and went all the way up to 9300 lbs., which is still in line with a lot of the other model years that we are going to look at.
Keep in mind that there are two different submodels, if you will and these are the standard Expedition in the Expedition Max, which is a little bit larger. Pay close attention to which column you're looking at and referencing to make sure it lines up with your specific model.
2019, 2020 & 2021 Charts
2015, 2016, 2017 & 2018 Models:
There was only one engine configuration offered for the 2015-2018 models, which was that same 3.5L EcoBoost engine, so it makes for a pretty simple chart, without much interference from other engine options.
The towing capacity for the Ford Expeditions made from 2015-2018 ranged from 6,000-9,300 lbs, which is the same as the 2019-2021 models we looked at but the charts were a little different.
Notice how the 2015 and 2016 model years had four different axle ratio options, while the 2017 and 2018 models only have three options, which is what the newer models have. It is interesting to see though that the 2015 and 2016 models had that extra 4.10 gear ratio which is very nice for towing, especially up long grades or steep terrain.
2018 Chart
2017 Chart
2016 Chart
2015 Chart
2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 & 2014 Models:
From 2010-2014 the Ford Expedition had only one single option as far as engines go (again) but this time it was a 5.4L V8 model.
There were only two different gear ratios that came standard and these were the 3.31 and 3.73 ratios which didn't seem to affect the towing capacity much. The GCWR is what affected the numbers more.
The towing capacity for the Ford Expeditions that were made from 2010-2014 ranged from 6,000 lbs. to 9,200 lbs., according to Ford's Brochures. The two main specs were actually 6,000 lbs. and then jumped up to 8,700-9,200 lbs. without a specified capacity in between those two capacities.
2014-2012 Charts
2011 Chart
2010 Chart
2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 & 2009 Models:
For Ford Expeditions made from 2005-2009, the same sized engine was used for model years 2010-2014 but I wasn't sure if it was an identical engine, so I made another separate chart.
The towing capacities were basically the same, coming in at around the 6,000lb. to 9,200 lb. range.
Some models did have a slightly lower maximum capacity numbers than other models, so use the charts below to get a more accurate range for your Expedition.
2009 Chart
2008 Chart
2007 Chart
2006 Chart
2005 Chart
2003 & 2004 Models:
The 2003 and 2004 Expeditions had a choice of two engines, the 4.6L or the 5.4L but the same gear ratios were offered.
The maximum towing capacity for Expeditions made in 2003 & 2004 ranged from 5,000 lbs. to 8,950 lbs. according to Ford's Towing Guides.
2004 Chart
2003 Chart
2000, 2001 & 2002 Models:
The 2000-2002 Ford Expeditions did have the same 4.6L and 5.4L engine that the 2003 and 2004 models had but did offer a little bit different gear ratios, which changed the towing capacity for some of the models, as you can see in the chart below.
The towing capacity for the 2000-2002 Ford Expeditions ranged from 5,500 lbs to 8,300 lbs. The 4.6L engine had a maximum towing capacity range of 5,500 lbs.-6,300 lbs. and the 5.4L engine had a range of 6,300 lbs.-8,300 lbs.
2002 Chart
2001 Chart
2000 Chart
What You Need To Know To Determine Your Maximum Weight Rating...
It's pretty easy to see the numbers in the charts and to determine a close estimate on what your Expedition can carry. In order to get an accurate number though, you will have to know a couple of different key things that the average person might not know like what's your axle ratio is, what engine do you have equipped if there were different options and what model Expedition you have.
Determining Your Axle Ratio...
In every model year of the expedition, you will have to plug in your axle ratio in order to get an accurate figure for the maximum amount of weight you can pull behind your vehicle. This axle ratio is not just posted somewhere on your vehicle's owner's manual or your registration information, you will have to do a bit of investigative work yourself in order to figure out what it is.
Axle Ratio Section
The easiest way to go about doing this would be to open your driver side door and look for a safety certification label that Ford puts on all of their vehicles. This label has important information like your VIN, gross vehicle weight rating, gross axle weight rating and other helpful information like the axle ratio code.
The axle ratio code will be located towards the middle of the label along the bottom, and it will be labeled as: "AXLE". Below this label you will see a 2 digit figure with either letters, numbers or a combination of the two and this is your axle ratio code that you will need to decipher.
Once you have the two-digit code, go ahead and plug that code into a chart that has axle ratio codes listed like on this website or you can go ahead and look up your code if your specific model year has a trailer towing selection guide, which is a Ford resource that is available for some model years but not all. The image below is from a 2019 trailer towing selection guide and it shows the axle ratio codes for 2019 models.
Expedition Rear Axle Codes
What Engine Do I Have?
Most model year Expeditions only had one engine choice, so that made it easy to figure out what engine you had equipped in your vehicle but for models made between the year 2000 to 2004, there were two different engine choices. If you don't plug in the correct engine option into the charts, you will not have an accurate number and you could actually be shorting yourself 1000 lb or more in overall capacity, in some cases.
Finding out what engine you have equipped is pretty simple to do, the easiest way is to just grab your VIN, which you can find on your safety certification label on your driver side door jam, your registration information or you can find it on your dashboard if you are on the outside looking in, on the driver side.
Once you have your VIN, use an online VIN decoder (like this one) and this will actually decipher your VIN and give you all kinds of helpful information about your vehicle, but it will also tell you what engine you have equipped.
What About My Tow Package?
On most of the model years charts, there was a mention of having a tow package installed on your vehicle in order to achieve some of those higher-capacity rating numbers that we saw. It is not always easy finding exactly what comes in the tow package but for the newer vehicles I was able to find an example of what comes with the 2019 models in the trailer towing selection guide, that I mentioned earlier.
The image below shows the two different packages that come standard with all Expeditions and the 536 package that is optional for some models and includes a lot more extras like an upgraded radiator, upgraded rear axle and the very nice backup assist feature to name just a few things.
On the older models, it is going to be hard to find any information regarding what was included in the specific tow packages but from my research I can tell you that it was very minimal and will usually only include the basics like a hitch receiver, trailer connections, and possibly maybe even a tow haul feature but other than that nothing as fancy as what the newer models have to offer.
2019 Models Tow Package Equipment
Resources For The Ford Expedition:
I used Ford's Towing guides for all of the data I gathered for the Ford Expeditions and linked to them below so you can view them for yourself.
Last updated on April 27th, 2022 at 07:16 pm
