Duane,
How are you? Hope all is well w you and your family.
Regarding tow rigs, we get involved with a lot of different units in the Serpent Express business.
My personal experience is interesting.
We had an Explorer 5.0 for years and towed all over the West as you know. Very reliable rig, tows perfectly for our size trailer/roadster combo. But the solid axle setup was not fun; rode too harsh for everyday. Spring rate is for loads, not everyday use. And the gas mileage just was not there. 18 at best on long trips w out a trailer, babying it to get that.
In July of this year we made the decision to get a 4.6 V8 Merc Moutaineer. What a pleasant upgrade! It tows equal to the 5.0 except the revs are higher uphill. (5.0 has torque at lower rpm) On the level about the same revs, 2000. Gas mileage when towing about the same: 14. But without the trailer, this thing gets fabulous mileage. On 3 recent trips to Bonneville Salt Flats, I was able to get the average gas mileage reading up to 23.9 mpg! Granted I babied it, 65 mph, etc. But 21-22 on the freeway at 70 is doable. Ours is black, but here is what they look like:
And the Mountaineer has a lot of "creature comforts"; this one is the Premier model; backup sensors, 6-cd changer, premium sound, heated leather seats, DVD, etc, etc. Shirley and I both like it a lot.
Another interesting rig would be the 06 and newer Explorer w the 4.6 3-valve V8 engine. Gobs of hp, mod engine for good mileage. "With the V8 engine, the Explorer is rated to tow up to a whopping 7,300 pounds"; for more detail, see
review. (EPA gas mileage 20 Hwy)
Here is a comparison of smaller Ford V8 engines HP and Torque:
SUV____________ Engine_____HP___________Torque
Explorer XLT AWD____5.0 V8______215 at 4200___288 at 3300
Mountaineer AWD____4.6 V8 2V___239 at 4750____282 at 4000
Explorer XLT_________4.6 V8 3V___292 @ 5750___300 @ 3950
Good luck on the search!