2020 Lincoln Navigator

MrChomperoni

Member
Joined
Feb 15, 2021
Messages
12
I am purchasing 2021 Grand Design 2500 RL which has a GVWR of 7495 lbs.
My 2020 Lincoln Navigator has a maximum loaded trailer weight rating of 8300.
The 2500 RL UVW is 5857.

I usually have wife kid and dog in the vehicle which adds 400 lbs plus equipment and food. Not sure how much the equipment and food is but im guessing around 1000 lbs.

Do you think its safe to tow ?

Thanks,
 
Without knowing the payload of your Lincoln, I will guess the navigator is a upper end optioned vehicle which equals more weight. There should be a sticker inside your drivers door which indicates the payload or working that passenger and cargo should not exceed "x weight in pounds/kg". Can you advise what that number is? Compare that to your GVWR.

UVW is a fantasy number which will increase as you load you trailer with propane, groceries, clothing, chairs, bbq's etc.

To get the real number to your navigator, load it up full of fuel, kids, gear as you would to go camping and take it to the nearest CAT scale and get your real weight. Once you have that number, compare it to the GVWR which should also be on the sticker of the Navigator to determine where you are at on weight.

GD list the hitch weight of the 2500 at 581 pounds. This will likely also increase once you load the trailer with goods and propane. Confusing, yes, but at least you will KNOW what your TV weighs fully loaded and you can determine how much room you have and if the 2500 is appropriate for your navigator
 
You will overwhelm and overload the Navigator with your trailer
We have the same trailer
It’s not just towing capacity but equally important is payload capacity
Your Navigator is 1,677 to 1,703 lbs. Not much

Your 2500rl will be about 8000 lbs x 15% on the tongue or about 1200 lbs. that with very little liquid in it
Add 300 lbs of human, dog weight in the SUV and you are already up to 1500 lbs. the weight distribution hitch another 75-100 lbs. who knows what else you carry in the SUV but you are past it’s payload capacity limit.SUV suspensions are made for super soft rides not towing this heavy of a trailer

How does this affect the SUV. It will strain the rear suspension and potentially take years off its life. Your alternator is not big enough nor is the cooling for the tranny or radiator. Most importantly with exceeding capacity you’ll be subject to potentially more sway and the tail wagging the dog. Some may be apparent immediately

Not trying to scare you or be a nay sayer. Many will tell you they’ve towed like this for years. We have the same trailer and tow with a 410 ho V8 Hemi , gear ration 4.13, payload capacity 3200 lbs, towing capacity 12,000 lbs. most people will exceed payload capacity long before towing capacity.
 
I am purchasing 2021 Grand Design 2500 RL which has a GVWR of 7495 lbs.
My 2020 Lincoln Navigator has a maximum loaded trailer weight rating of 8300.
The 2500 RL UVW is 5857.

I usually have wife kid and dog in the vehicle which adds 400 lbs plus equipment and food. Not sure how much the equipment and food is but im guessing around 1000 lbs.

Do you think its safe to tow ?

Thanks,

“Do you think it is safe to tow?”

This question is impossible to answer

The trailer should fit under the specs of the Nav and with a top wdh I personally would have no issue doing it but I have no idea who you are to determine if it is safe. How long of trips are you planning?

I never go over 63mph. If I had a 450 truck I wouldn’t go over 63mph.

One modification I personally would make to the Lincoln is LT tires which will affect its ride all the other times you are not towing

The last thing I noticed you said “I am purchasing”
Are you looking or have you already bought?


2021 Imagine 2400 BH
2018 GMC Sierra 4x4 crew 1840 payload
 
“Do you think it is safe to tow?”

This question is impossible to answer

The trailer should fit under the specs of the Nav and with a top wdh I personally would have no issue doing it but I have no idea who you are to determine if it is safe. How long of trips are you planning?

I never go over 63mph. If I had a 450 truck I wouldn’t go over 63mph.

One modification I personally would make to the Lincoln is LT tires which will affect its ride all the other times you are not towing

The last thing I noticed you said “I am purchasing”
Are you looking or have you already bought?


2021 Imagine 2400 BH
2018 GMC Sierra 4x4 crew 1840 payload

I have put a downpayment down and waiting for it to arrive from factory. Thanks for the answer.
 
You will overwhelm and overload the Navigator with your trailer
We have the same trailer
It’s not just towing capacity but equally important is payload capacity
Your Navigator is 1,677 to 1,703 lbs. Not much

Your 2500rl will be about 8000 lbs x 15% on the tongue or about 1200 lbs. that with very little liquid in it
Add 300 lbs of human, dog weight in the SUV and you are already up to 1500 lbs. the weight distribution hitch another 75-100 lbs. who knows what else you carry in the SUV but you are past it’s payload capacity limit.SUV suspensions are made for super soft rides not towing this heavy of a trailer

How does this affect the SUV. It will strain the rear suspension and potentially take years off its life. Your alternator is not big enough nor is the cooling for the tranny or radiator. Most importantly with exceeding capacity you’ll be subject to potentially more sway and the tail wagging the dog. Some may be apparent immediately

Not trying to scare you or be a nay sayer. Many will tell you they’ve towed like this for years. We have the same trailer and tow with a 410 ho V8 Hemi , gear ration 4.13, payload capacity 3200 lbs, towing capacity 12,000 lbs. most people will exceed payload capacity long before towing capacity.

I was worried about the payload capacity. Not making me feel better. That's for sure.
 
We were looking the appropriate TV for a 2400BH (and considering if we should go to a smaller trailer) which is about the same size as your trailer. I put together this spreadsheet, which included the Expedition. The expedition had a little more payload margin, but ran out of tongue margin much earlier. I would guess the Navigator is going to have lower ratings due to the additional weight.

In the end, we went with the Tahoe and the 2400BH. We also optioned the maximum tow package with the Tahoe which includes, among other things, a different rear diff ratio. We're living in it full-time and have towed it about 1,500 miles. I'd say it tows well. I can feel the tractor trailers move us a touch when they're going by much faster, but nothing alarming. We've also driven in some windy conditions (flags out straight) and never noticed the trailer pushing us around. In unpopulated areas without flags, I often first notice it's windy because the gas mileage falls by a MPG or so.

table.PNG
 
I am purchasing 2021 Grand Design 2500 RL which has a GVWR of 7495 lbs.
My 2020 Lincoln Navigator has a maximum loaded trailer weight rating of 8300.
The 2500 RL UVW is 5857.

I usually have wife kid and dog in the vehicle which adds 400 lbs plus equipment and food. Not sure how much the equipment and food is but im guessing around 1000 lbs.

Do you think its safe to tow ?

Thanks,

Absolutely not. Maybe in a straight line without distracted drivers on the road, emergencies, mountain passages and poor weather conditions. The suspension is too soft and the truck is too light. I certainly wouldn't put my family in that setup.
 
Absolutely not. Maybe in a straight line without distracted drivers on the road, emergencies, mountain passages and poor weather conditions. The suspension is too soft and the truck is too light. I certainly wouldn't put my family in that setup.

A Navigator weighs 6000 lbs???

About the same as your 250

They are capable to tow with that engine as well
Tons of power

I wouldn’t hesitate to jump into this setup and go anywhere


2021 Imagine 2400 BH
2018 GMC Sierra 4x4 crew
 
A Navigator weighs 6000 lbs???

About the same as your 250

They are capable to tow with that engine as well
Tons of power

I wouldn’t hesitate to jump into this setup and go anywhere


2021 Imagine 2400 BH
2018 GMC Sierra 4x4 crew

It's not what it can tow but what it can carry - its payload is too low due to soft suspension. We disagree, wouldn't be the first time for either of us. Cheers!
 
It's not what it can tow but what it can carry - its payload is too low due to soft suspension. We disagree, wouldn't be the first time for either of us. Cheers!

I was just referring to your comment where you said the truck was to light

Unsure what you mean by soft suspension. I see numerous posts on this site about bags being put in 2500 and 3500 trucks. Quite sure a Nav has a cornucopia of suspension settings

They do have a stout tow package and an engine that produces 510 lb/ft at 3000 rpm. Even more than your truck

To the OP. Get a quality WDH but contact Lincoln about a having weight distribution on that adaptive suspension.


2021 Imagine 2400 BH
2018 GMC Sierra 4x4 crew
 
I am purchasing 2021 Grand Design 2500 RL which has a GVWR of 7495 lbs.
My 2020 Lincoln Navigator has a maximum loaded trailer weight rating of 8300.
The 2500 RL UVW is 5857.

I usually have wife kid and dog in the vehicle which adds 400 lbs plus equipment and food. Not sure how much the equipment and food is but im guessing around 1000 lbs.

Do you think its safe to tow ?

Thanks,
As you can see by now there's 2 different mentality. Those that dont care for the parameters as long as they feel safe its ok and those that feel safe if their within the towing parameters.
http://changingears.com/rv-sec-calc-trailer-weight-tt.shtml this calculator should help you. Now the advertised UVW is without lp tank, battery, wdh.... so you'll need to figure that one out. Usually you can add about 1,000 lbs to the UVW this would include food, dishes, clothes, BBQ, chairs.... the average Imagine owner tongue weight weight will be about 12.5 to 13%.

Sent from my SM-P610 using Tapatalk
 
You will have to load carefully. If I read your initial post correctly, you said family plus 1000lbs of gear. If that gear is in the trailer, that will help. What is the tongue weight rating on your Lincoln hitch? Should be written right on it. I know for a lot of F150s it’s 1100lbs.

With the fancy suspension, you will need to research how Lincoln recommends setting up to tow. Again, on the F150 you need a WDH above 5000lbs towing. It may help you to look at an Anderson hitch, since load carrying capacity of the truck is your biggest challenge (with wheelbase the next biggest challenge).

Edit: That’s a 30ft trailer. It’s at the upper end of what a lot of us would even consider with a long bed half ton truck, regardless of weight. Campers have enormous surface areas that you have to control. Since you already have the Navi, it can’t hurt to try and set it up to work for you. It’ll have enough power.
 
Last edited:
As you can see by now there's 2 different mentality. Those that dont care for the parameters as long as they feel safe its ok and those that feel safe if their within the towing parameters.
http://changingears.com/rv-sec-calc-trailer-weight-tt.shtml this calculator should help you. Now the advertised UVW is without lp tank, battery, wdh.... so you'll need to figure that one out. Usually you can add about 1,000 lbs to the UVW this would include food, dishes, clothes, BBQ, chairs.... the average Imagine owner tongue weight weight will be about 12.5 to 13%.

Sent from my SM-P610 using Tapatalk

I would love to know where you came up with these 2 different mentality
I dont see anyone saying they don’t care about parameters Maybe you could highlight that
I see 3/4 ton people saying no and others saying sure enjoy yourself
It appears that this trailer will be under the parameters of his Nav but maybe at the top or max as some like to use as a fear term
Some feel the need to be at an arbitrary number under “max”
I don’t


2021 Imagine 2400 BH
2018 GMC Sierra 4x4 crew
 
I am purchasing 2021 Grand Design 2500 RL which has a GVWR of 7495 lbs.
My 2020 Lincoln Navigator has a maximum loaded trailer weight rating of 8300.
The 2500 RL UVW is 5857.

I usually have wife kid and dog in the vehicle which adds 400 lbs plus equipment and food. Not sure how much the equipment and food is but im guessing around 1000 lbs.

Do you think its safe to tow ?

Thanks,

You are getting answers all over the board. I will still suggest you load your navigator with fuel, family an gear and take it to a CAT scale and get your "real" number of the vehicle weight and compare this to your GVWR. You will then have a real starting point.
 
You are getting answers all over the board. I will still suggest you load your navigator with fuel, family an gear and take it to a CAT scale and get your "real" number of the vehicle weight and compare this to your GVWR. You will then have a real starting point.

I agree

You can add all the do dads you want the payload capacity doesn’t change.you can do all sorts of things to move the weight around. It doesn’t change the payload capacity of the Navigator.

The Lincoln Mercury site says Your Navigator is 1,677 to 1,703 lbs. that’s a fact
The GD site rates the trailer...that number is a fact

Let’s face it....you can make fun about 2500 / 3500 trucks but look around .
Figure out by sight how many trailers over 7000 lbs are being pulled by SUV. Very few in what I’ve seen.
I’ll bet there is a reason.
Maybe the truckers are all stupid.....maybe they believe the figures their trucks and trailers are rated at.
Rated by experts not opinion makers on an Internet forum,
Maybe these truck drivers not only believe in getting by by the skin of their teeth or maybe they see their and others safeties are the primary concern.

I say follow the experts advice ( the ones who make the equipment) not the average joes like me who can make up anything the want on the internet. The equipment makers can be sued if their advice is incorrect. Nothing happens to us advice givers if we are wrong.

Let’s apply the Thomas Paine Common Sense standard
By all standards the Navigator is a beautiful passenger vehicle. No one uses them to pull heavy construction equipment.
They do use my 2500 or others trucks however. Certain vehicles are made for certain things. Trucks pull things and can carry people because of their payload capacity and suspensions. They can carry people to. Lincoln Navigators are premier passenger carriers. They both have strong engines BUT one has a definitely different suspension made for CARRYING .
 
I was just referring to your comment where you said the truck was to light

Unsure what you mean by soft suspension. I see numerous posts on this site about bags being put in 2500 and 3500 trucks. Quite sure a Nav has a cornucopia of suspension settings

They do have a stout tow package and an engine that produces 510 lb/ft at 3000 rpm. Even more than your truck

To the OP. Get a quality WDH but contact Lincoln about a having weight distribution on that adaptive suspension.


2021 Imagine 2400 BH
2018 GMC Sierra 4x4 crew

Lincoln suggests a weight distribution hitch in their literature.
 
You will have to load carefully. If I read your initial post correctly, you said family plus 1000lbs of gear. If that gear is in the trailer, that will help. What is the tongue weight rating on your Lincoln hitch? Should be written right on it. I know for a lot of F150s it’s 1100lbs.

With the fancy suspension, you will need to research how Lincoln recommends setting up to tow. Again, on the F150 you need a WDH above 5000lbs towing. It may help you to look at an Anderson hitch, since load carrying capacity of the truck is your biggest challenge (with wheelbase the next biggest challenge).

Edit: That’s a 30ft trailer. It’s at the upper end of what a lot of us would even consider with a long bed half ton truck, regardless of weight. Campers have enormous surface areas that you have to control. Since you already have the Navi, it can’t hurt to try and set it up to work for you. It’ll have enough power.

I was planning of purchasing the Equalizer brand hitch. I heard its supposed to be among the better ones. By price it should be lol
 
I agree

You can add all the do dads you want the payload capacity doesn’t change.you can do all sorts of things to move the weight around. It doesn’t change the payload capacity of the Navigator.

The Lincoln Mercury site says Your Navigator is 1,677 to 1,703 lbs. that’s a fact
The GD site rates the trailer...that number is a fact

Let’s face it....you can make fun about 2500 / 3500 trucks but look around .
Figure out by sight how many trailers over 7000 lbs are being pulled by SUV. Very few in what I’ve seen.
I’ll bet there is a reason.
Maybe the truckers are all stupid.....maybe they believe the figures their trucks and trailers are rated at.
Rated by experts not opinion makers on an Internet forum,
Maybe these truck drivers not only believe in getting by by the skin of their teeth or maybe they see their and others safeties are the primary concern.

I say follow the experts advice ( the ones who make the equipment) not the average joes like me who can make up anything the want on the internet. The equipment makers can be sued if their advice is incorrect. Nothing happens to us advice givers if we are wrong.

Let’s apply the Thomas Paine Common Sense standard
By all standards the Navigator is a beautiful passenger vehicle. No one uses them to pull heavy construction equipment.
They do use my 2500 or others trucks however. Certain vehicles are made for certain things. Trucks pull things and can carry people because of their payload capacity and suspensions. They can carry people to. Lincoln Navigators are premier passenger carriers. They both have strong engines BUT one has a definitely different suspension made for CARRYING .

This is why I am posting here. Because I am unsure of things.
 

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