I have a 18ft Stingray with a 115HP Mercury outboard motor and the Sport Trac pulls that just fine. As a female, I don't see any problems hauling a 18ft bass boat long distances.[Broken External Image]:
it should not be a problem their are several thing you can do that will help out with suspension and performance which will make your ST more fun to drive and pull better.
Honestly, the towing ability of my sport trac has been the one big disappointment in my opinion. Not that I haven't been able to tow items similar to Gary D. or lets say a big trailer full of wood, but it seems like the engine has to work extremely hard to do so. Just my two cents but I miss having a V8 when it comes to towing. However, maybe there are great performance enhancements to make the ST a better puller.
I tow a 23 foot hybrid travel trailer. I too have done some mods to help the Trac tow better. My ST tows my trailer pretty well. Just recently took a trip up into the Shenandoah Valley in VA and I was pleased with how the Trac towed in the mountains.
So by comparing Andy's and Gary's member profiles it looks like I should definitely order a MAC intake from Explorer Express.com. Also, I may want to consider a better exhaust system, HIA tuned SCT Xcalibrator, and some JBA HP ignition wires.
I have towed my SVT Focus a couple of times with the Trac, once down through the mountains, and then again to a friends shop, with no issues. 3000 lb car, 1000 lb trailer, and the trac still got 343 miles to the tank on the way back through the mountains