A 2026 Ford Expedition tows up to 9,600 lb. That figure is for the standard-length Expedition 4x4 with the 3.5L EcoBoost V6, Ford's Heavy-Duty Trailer Tow equipment, a weight-distributing hitch and wheels under 24 inches. No model year is rated for 10,000 lb.
Ford Expedition Towing Capacity by Year and Package
At a glance
- Most it can tow: 9,600 lb, the standard-length 2026 Expedition 4x4 with the heavy-duty tow equipment and a weight-distributing hitch.
- 10,000 lb: no Expedition from 2016 to 2026 is rated that high; older years top out at 9,200 lb or 9,300 lb.
- The long one tows less: the 2026 Expedition MAX 4x4 is rated 9,000 lb against the standard length's 9,600 lb.
On this page (9)
- What each Expedition year can tow
- Can it pull a camper with the family aboard?
- Which 2026 versions get the top rating
- Expedition or Expedition MAX?
- The tow package and what it adds
- Hitch, trailer brakes and weight distribution
- Finding your own Expedition's figure
- How it compares with other three-row SUVs
- Common questions
What each Expedition year can tow
Find your model year below. Every figure is the highest conventional trailer weight Ford publishes for that year, and each one needs the heavy-duty tow equipment described further down.
| Model year | Most it can tow | Engine |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 9,200 lb | 3.5L EcoBoost V6 |
| 2017 | 9,200 lb | 3.5L EcoBoost V6 |
| 2018 | 9,300 lb | 3.5L EcoBoost V6 |
| 2019 | 9,300 lb | 3.5L EcoBoost V6 |
| 2020 | 9,300 lb | 3.5L EcoBoost V6 |
| 2021 | 9,300 lb | 3.5L EcoBoost V6 |
| 2022 | 9,300 lb | 3.5L EcoBoost V6 |
| 2023 | 9,300 lb | 3.5L EcoBoost V6 |
| 2024 | 9,300 lb | 3.5L EcoBoost V6 |
| 2025 | 9,600 lb | 3.5L EcoBoost V6 |
| 2026 | 9,600 lb | 3.5L EcoBoost V6 |
Each year's figure comes from that model year's own Ford document: the Ford RV and Trailer Towing Guide for every year except 2021, and the 2021 Expedition owner's manual, since no 2021 guide is published on a Ford site. The 2016 and 2017 figures come from the Ford Pro copies of those years' guides.
Through 2024 the top figure belongs to the standard-length 4x2 with the 3.73 axle; from 2025 the new generation moves it to the 4x4. A 2018 to 2024 4x4 is rated 9,200 lb, 100 lb under its 4x2 twin.
Can it pull a camper with the family aboard?
Yes, within limits, but the number that stops most Expedition families is not the tow rating. Ford's published ratings assume a 150-lb driver and one 150-lb passenger with nothing else in the vehicle, calculated by the SAE J2807 method, so seven or eight people and their gear eat into what is left for the trailer's hitch weight.
Ford puts Expedition tongue load at 10% of the loaded trailer weight, and that weight presses on the vehicle, not the trailer's axles. A 7,000 lb camper therefore puts roughly 700 lb on the hitch by Ford's 10% rule, and that 700 lb counts against payload alongside every passenger, cooler and bike.
Ford's owner's manual gives the method for working out what you have left:
- Find the Tire and Loading label on the driver's door edge or B-pillar and read the line that says the combined weight of occupants and cargo should never exceed a stated figure.
- Subtract the weight of everyone riding.
- Subtract the gear going in the vehicle.
- What remains has to cover the trailer's tongue weight.
Ford's own worked example in the manual uses a 1,400 lb limit and five 150-lb passengers, which leaves 650 lb. Those are generic figures, not an Expedition's, but the arithmetic is the one to copy with your own label.
Tip: Ford publishes no payload figure for the 2025 or 2026 Expedition. The towing guide, the technical specification sheets and the order guide all print base curb weight and combined weight ratings but no payload or GVWR, so the label in your own door jamb is the only place that number exists.
Which 2026 versions get the top rating
Drivetrain and wheel size decide the figure more than trim does. Heavy-Duty Trailer Tow is 4x4 only for 2026, and 24-inch wheels cost 400 lb of rating.
| Version | Most it can tow | What it needs |
|---|---|---|
| Expedition 4x4 | 9,600 lb | Heavy-Duty Trailer Tow, weight-distributing hitch, wheels under 24 inches |
| Expedition 4x4, 24-inch wheels | 9,200 lb | Heavy-Duty Trailer Tow, weight-distributing hitch |
| Expedition Tremor 4x4 | 9,300 lb | High-Output engine, weight-distributing hitch |
| Expedition MAX 4x4 | 9,000 lb | Heavy-Duty Trailer Tow, weight-distributing hitch, wheels under 24 inches |
| Expedition 4x2 | 6,000 lb | Standard equipment; no heavy-duty tow on 4x2 |
| Expedition MAX 4x2 | 6,300 lb | Standard equipment; no heavy-duty tow on 4x2 |
Figures from the 2026 Ford RV and Trailer Towing Guide, which carries every axle and combined-weight row behind these ratings; the 2026 technical specification sheet prints the same numbers. For 2025, Ford's specification sheet shows 6,100 lb for the standard-length 4x2 where the towing guide shows 6,000 lb; the guide figure is the one used here.
Expedition or Expedition MAX?
If towing is the deciding factor, the standard length wins. The long model has never held the top rating: in 2016 the Expedition EL 4x4 was rated 9,100 lb against the short model's 9,200 lb, the MAX arrived for 2018 at 9,000 lb against 9,300 lb, and for 2025 and 2026 the MAX 4x4 sits at 9,000 lb against 9,600 lb.
The MAX gives you the cargo room behind the third row that a towing family usually wants, on a 131.5-inch wheelbase against 122.5 inches for the standard length. Chevrolet offers the same choice of two lengths, and those figures sit on the Tahoe and Suburban page.
Tip: There is one row where the long model rates higher. On the two-wheel-drive standard axle, the 2026 MAX is rated 6,300 lb against the standard length's 6,000 lb. It is the only place in Ford's table where the extra length helps the number.
The tow package and what it adds
Ford calls it Heavy-Duty Trailer Tow, and for 2026 it is standard on 4x4 and unavailable on 4x2. The guide lists an upgraded rear axle, an upgraded radiator and two-speed automatic four-wheel drive as the contents; the trailer brake controller, tow/haul mode and trailer sway control are standard on the vehicle rather than part of the package. Ford's 2026 order guide spells the package out as a 26MM radiator, an integrated trailer brake controller, two-speed automatic 4WD with neutral towing capability and a 3.73 non-limited-slip rear axle.
On older Expeditions it was an option you had to tick, named the Class IV Heavy-Duty Trailer Tow Package with option code 536 from 2018 through 2024. Ford's required-equipment lists put it on any 2018 to 2024 Expedition towing over 6,000 lb, and on any 2016 or 2017 Expedition towing over 6,600 lb. Those guides do not print the package contents, so what was inside it in those years is not something Ford's documents answer.
The package also changes how big a trailer you may pull, not just how heavy: for 2026 the trailer frontal area limit is 55 sq. ft. without Heavy-Duty Trailer Tow and 60 sq. ft. with it. Tall travel trailers reach that limit well before they reach 9,600 lb.
Hitch, trailer brakes and weight distribution
The factory receiver is standard on the 2026 Expedition, and what it is rated for depends on whether you spread the load:
- Receiver alone, 2026 4x4 models: 7,000 lb trailer and 700 lb on the ball, both lengths.
- With a weight-distributing hitch: 9,600 lb trailer and 960 lb tongue on the standard length, 9,000 lb and 900 lb on the MAX.
- Receivers do not come with a ball or ball mount.
For 2026 Ford requires a weight-distributing hitch on any rating over 7,000 lb, for both the Expedition and the MAX, and notes that the new-vehicle limited warranty may be voided if you tow without it. Older years set the bar lower: the 2024 guide ties the hitch to ratings over 6,000 lb, and the 2016 through 2023 guides simply state that the maximum loaded trailer weight requires one, with no threshold given.
On brakes, Ford's guide says separate functional brake systems should be used for trailers weighing more than 1,500 lb loaded, and points out that the vehicle's own brakes are rated for its gross vehicle weight, not for the combined weight of vehicle and trailer. The integrated trailer brake controller is standard on the 2026 Expedition, so for most campers the work is adjusting gain rather than wiring anything. NHTSA's towing page covers the pre-trip checks that go with it.
Finding your own Expedition's figure
Open the driver's door and read two labels: the Safety Compliance Certification Label on the door latch pillar, which carries the gross vehicle and axle weight ratings plus the axle code, and the Tire and Loading label with your payload line. Then match your length, drivetrain and axle to the row in your model year's towing guide.
Tip: The axle code is the two-digit code printed after the word AXLE below the bar code, and it is not stable between years. Ford's 2026 chart maps the 3.73 non-limited-slip axle to code 2L, while the 2025 chart maps the same axle to 3L. Read the code against the chart in your own year's guide.
How it compares with other three-row SUVs
Compare each SUV's own published rating against the camper you have in mind, and compare the payload on its label just as carefully, because that is the figure that usually runs out first with a full vehicle. Ratings for the Toyota Sequoia and the rest of the field are on the SUVs that can tow a travel trailer page.
Common questions
How much can a Ford Expedition tow?
The most any model year is rated for is 9,600 lb, which applies to the 2025 and 2026 standard-length Expedition 4x4 with the 3.5L EcoBoost V6, the heavy-duty tow equipment, a weight-distributing hitch and wheels under 24 inches. Model years 2018 to 2024 top out at 9,300 lb and 2016 to 2017 at 9,200 lb, both with the optional Class IV Heavy-Duty Trailer Tow Package.
Can a Ford Expedition tow 10,000 lbs?
No. In Ford's own towing guides from 2016 through 2026, and in the 2021 owner's manual, no Expedition or Expedition MAX is rated at 10,000 lb. The ceiling is 9,600 lb for a 2025 or 2026 standard-length 4x4, and that figure already requires a weight-distributing hitch.
How much can an Expedition MAX tow?
The 2026 Expedition MAX 4x4 with the 3.5L EcoBoost V6, Heavy-Duty Trailer Tow, a weight-distributing hitch and wheels under 24 inches is rated 9,000 lb, and the MAX 4x2 at 6,300 lb. The 2018 to 2024 MAX is rated 9,000 lb in both drivetrains with the Class IV Heavy-Duty Trailer Tow Package (536).
Is the F-150 or the Expedition better for towing?
Ford's 2026 guide gives the F-150 a top conventional rating of 13,500 lb, for a SuperCrew 4x4 on the 157.2-inch wheelbase with the 3.5L EcoBoost, the Tow/Haul Package and the optional Max Tow Axle, against 9,600 lb for the 2026 standard-length Expedition 4x4. Ford publishes no verdict between them; the trailer weight you need and the people and gear you carry decide it. The full year-by-year picture is on the F-150 towing page.