Explorer w/ a V8
absolutely cannot handle that much weight.
Sure the hitch can.......... it's just the minor things like tranny, brakes, suspension and torque converter that cannot but who needs those anyways
I used to drive a '04 V8 Explorer - in fact it was the 5th Explorer in a row I'd had so I really used to like them. They were very predictable........ buy 'em cheap, put 75K on 'em and then dump 'em quick before you have to drop in a new tranny. I digress, sorry....
In all reality (w/ a full tank of gas and 0 passengers) it's truly only rated to haul like 1800#s w/ the factory class III/IV hitch. Trust me, when you have 1800#s attached to an Explorer, you know it too. I got t-boned by a horsefly one day when pulling my enclosed trailer..... damn thing almost put me in the ditch