Is anyone out there towing a 21 foot fiberglass bass boat with the Ford Explorer Sport (2013-2015) with the 3.5 Ecoboost engine?

Wondering how well it tows, stops and handles with a bass boat back there?

Also, what kind of gas mileage do you get while towing?


Thanks.

Im sure if your trailer has breaks everything will be great. If it doesn't I would expect some issues with panic stops. The ecoboost should have big time plenty power to get it done.

I tow a 20ft fiberglass fish/ski tandem trailer with a 4.2l trailblazer just fine, you should have no issues. I have trailer breaks and get anywhere from 10-13 depending on how big of hurry I'm in.

Green Fish-I had the exact same question as I just bought a 2015 Explorer Sport. Sent a PM to OkiePoke on the forum as I know he tows his 20ft+ Skeeter with an Explorer Sport and he said it pulls the boat extremely well. He is very pleased with the towing performance but said gas mileage really sucks. Didnt give me an MPG figure....just that it sucks. If you're thinking about buying a Sport, know the tow package is now standard on 2015 models and will cost you $750 as an option on earlier models.

That's great to know rkd. I'm looking at purchasing a new one and it will most likely be a 2015 as the 2014s are hard to find the way I want one, so the 2015s having the trailer tow package standard is great news. I figured the Explorer Sport would be able to pull the boat with no issues since it's the same ecoboost 3.5 that is in the 150 (lower torque numbers for some reason), but was concerned about braking and having the boat "push" the Explorer around a little. I was affraid the gas mileage would suck while towing, but I've heard that with the 150s as well and I don't tow near as much as I used to and will enjoy the performance of the Explorer Sport most of the time without having my bass boat behind it anyway.

Thanks for all the replys folks.

Get a Toyota FJ.

Really?

Toyota FJ Cruiser 4x4 has 260 HP, 271 ft lbs torque, can tow 4700lbs, and gets 15 MPG city and 18 MPG highway and can seat 5.

The Ford Explorer Sport 4x4 has 365 HP, 350 ft lbs torque, can tow 5000lbs, and gets 16 MPG city and 22 MPG highway and can seat 7.

Doesn't seem like a fair fight does it?

LOL. Yeah, the Toyota FJ Cruiser was never really one of the SUVs I considered.

The only other SUV that I seriously considered was the Jeep Grand Cherokee with the 3.0 eco-diesel. Great gas mileage and better torque numbers (420) than the Explorer Sport, but down in the HP department (240) and, most importantly, after a test drive, no comparison in the comfort, ride and handling of the Explorer Sport.

Plus I think the FJ is only two door. No comparison. We think alike-I also compared the Jeep GC to the Explorer Sport-the Jeep has better towing capacity (I think up to 7500lbs) and of course better off-road capability but definitely not as nice a city ride. Plus I did the math on the eco-diesel and the higher cost of the engine along with the higher per gallon cost of diesel overrode the savings you would get on improved gas mileage. I think the break even point would have been 7-8 years and even then there's no predicting what the price on diesel would be along the way.

Heck, I'm a ford guy and went with the GC. I thought the explorer was too squirrely after renting one and worried about emergency maneuvers. The GC rides like a dream and Uconnect is a lot better than Sync...but no 3rd row if that's important to you. Only other suv I considered was a 4runner. They are pretty nice too, but with a more truck like ride.

Did you get it with the ecodiesel?

No, we looked at one but it was a LOT more expensive. I actually opted for the pentastar over the hemi. Plenty of power with the 8 speed tranny and decent economy. Don't plan to tow with it.

My uncle has a 2010 1500 crew cab 2wd with the v-6. Its not as peppy as the newer ones are even. He gets about 18 back and forth to work and pulls a 21 foot Carolina skiff DLV with it. I bet it weighs more than your average bass boat. Its not a big fan of pulling the boat but it does it no doubt.

Which Explorer did you test drive? A sport or one of the other models?

No. It was a limited. I just thought it felt prone to oversteer. May have just needed an alignment but I had an older model explorer that felt the same way. I didn't want another.


EDIT: Corrected due to foggy memory.