Okay are these MUST HAVES for you?

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

I have an electric brake controller that I will send you also. It is pre wired for my dodge 2500. All you would have to do is go to a ford dealer and get the pigtail for your Expedition and cut off the Dodge pigtail and connect the Ford. It is a Husky tow electric brake controlled. It was only in my truck for a few month before I changed to a prodigy. Send me a PM if you want it and I will take it to Scott(SCCamper) and they can be mailed together.

I pm'd you guys but I also wanted to post a public thank you for your generosity in offering the brake controller and mirror extensions! That was soooooo sweet of you both, unbelievably generous and very appreciated. I received them and they will work perfectly- THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Oh and ps. everything else is checked, either working properly or repaired to work properly, and the trailer itself is ready and raring to go. Less than 2wks before we take off heading to FW! So excited- can't wait!

 

[I'mDownWithDisney]

Lots of info in this thread. I will throw my 2 cents in. I tow a lot for work and pleasure, and over time I have learned a few things.

I think the "towing package" is highly misunderstood and overrated. A wire harness, tranny cooler, larger radiator, and hitch does not make a proper tow vehicle. It is nice to have and is a convenience, but IMO a good tow vehicle is defined by its spring rate, gearing, torque, wheelbase, brakes, tires, etc. Without the proper combination of those type things no add on will truly measure up. Granted a trailer brake controller is essential, but adding it to an inferior package won't help much.

I would get the real axle weights of the trailer and tow vehicle with everything loaded, and do the math. Don't venture too far (a few hundred pounds) from the manufacturer's specs.

I am on the road a lot, and I have seen countless accidents in which overloading was probably a factor...ie blowouts leading to wrecks. Also my good friend is a state trooper, and he sees it almost weekly during the peak travel times. Almost every time the driver will say "we have never had a problem until now".

Not pointing fingers...just giving my opinion. Good luck.

 

[stacktester]

Lots of info in this thread. I will throw my 2 cents in. I tow a lot for work and pleasure, and over time I have learned a few things.

I think the "towing package" is highly misunderstood and overrated. A wire harness, tranny cooler, larger radiator, and hitch does not make a proper tow vehicle. It is nice to have and is a convenience, but IMO a good tow vehicle is defined by its spring rate, gearing, torque, wheelbase, brakes, tires, etc. Without the proper combination of those type things no add on will truly measure up. Granted a trailer brake controller is essential, but adding it to an inferior package won't help much.

I would get the real axle weights of the trailer and tow vehicle with everything loaded, and do the math. Don't venture too far (a few hundred pounds) from the manufacturer's specs.

I am on the road a lot, and I have seen countless accidents in which overloading was probably a factor...ie blowouts leading to wrecks. Also my good friend is a state trooper, and he sees it almost weekly during the peak travel times. Almost every time the driver will say "we have never had a problem until now".

Not pointing fingers...just giving my opinion. Good luck.

I think out of all the responses I've seen this one makes the most sense.

 

[ftwildernessguy]

This thread looks more like one from rv.net. I'm thinking it may have, in some cases, confused more than helped. While I agree a tow package on a poor vehicle won't allow it to tow a 35' TT, I guarantee you my F150 with the factory tow package is more than adequate to tow my 21' hybrid, and the package did NOT include an electric brake controller (which I added myself) or towing mirrors (which I have extensions for and they work GREAT). While information like axle weights may be interesting, in many cases this information isn't necessary when matching a TV and a TT. Larry and others may have a great deal of knowledge here, but if it's confusing and too technical, it's useless to the novice trying to get their first TT. Safety is paramount, but I think it can be simplified so it is understandable and much more useful. Now, if anybody thinks my stock F150 with the 5.4L gasser and the factory towing package is inadequate to pull my 21' 4500lb wet weight hybrid, come on over to my place and take a peak over a beer or two.

 

[stpetedisneydad]

This thread looks more like one from rv.net. I'm thinking it may have, in some cases, confused more than helped. While I agree a tow package on a poor vehicle won't allow it to tow a 35' TT, I guarantee you my F150 with the factory tow package is more than adequate to tow my 21' hybrid, and the package did NOT include an electric brake controller (which I added myself) or towing mirrors (which I have extensions for and they work GREAT). While information like axle weights may be interesting, in many cases this information isn't necessary when matching a TV and a TT. Larry and others may have a great deal of knowledge here, but if it's confusing and too technical, it's useless to the novice trying to get their first TT. Safety is paramount, but I think it can be simplified so it is understandable and much more useful. Now, if anybody thinks my stock F150 with the 5.4L gasser and the factory towing package is inadequate to pull my 21' 4500lb wet weight hybrid, come on over to my place and take a peak over a beer or two.

Obviously everyone here has nothing but the utmost concern for EVERYONES proper towing safety and all the advise is valid. I do agree with ftwildernessguy, I had never had a problem towing my 21' Coachman or 24' Coachman with my 2000 Tundra with a 4.7 liter and my 2002 Silverado HD, I did add the electric brake controllers to both. My dad is one of the technical guys who researched everything when he spec'd his tow vehicles, once he could afford to buy a vehicle specifically for towing, gear ratio's, torque, hp, tire diameter, etc, etc. I remember back in the mid 70's when pickup's weren't as fancy as they are today and weren't sitting in everyones driveway, most towing was done with station wagons and 4 door sedan's and "lite" trailers didn't exist. Dad towed our '76 wood framed 24' Starcraft behemoth with a Plymouth station wagon with a 383 with 2 adults and 4 kids in it without incident all over the northeast including the Pocono's. Our friends towed their 21' Holiday with a Chevy Caprice 4 door and dad's boss towed his 27' Monitor with a Town 'n Country wagon. Just my 2 cents.. Let the flaming begin.

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

Lots of info in this thread. I will throw my 2 cents in. I tow a lot for work and pleasure, and over time I have learned a few things.

I think the "towing package" is highly misunderstood and overrated. A wire harness, tranny cooler, larger radiator, and hitch does not make a proper tow vehicle. It is nice to have and is a convenience, but IMO a good tow vehicle is defined by its spring rate, gearing, torque, wheelbase, brakes, tires, etc. Without the proper combination of those type things no add on will truly measure up. Granted a trailer brake controller is essential, but adding it to an inferior package won't help much.

I would get the real axle weights of the trailer and tow vehicle with everything loaded, and do the math. Don't venture too far (a few hundred pounds) from the manufacturer's specs.

I am on the road a lot, and I have seen countless accidents in which overloading was probably a factor...ie blowouts leading to wrecks. Also my good friend is a state trooper, and he sees it almost weekly during the peak travel times. Almost every time the driver will say "we have never had a problem until now".

Not pointing fingers...just giving my opinion. Good luck.

We won't even be close to manufacturer's specs so we'll be fine. Just wanted to make sure you knew that so you or anyone else wouldn't be worried.

This thread looks more like one from rv.net. I'm thinking it may have, in some cases, confused more than helped. While I agree a tow package on a poor vehicle won't allow it to tow a 35' TT, I guarantee you my F150 with the factory tow package is more than adequate to tow my 21' hybrid, and the package did NOT include an electric brake controller (which I added myself) or towing mirrors (which I have extensions for and they work GREAT). While information like axle weights may be interesting, in many cases this information isn't necessary when matching a TV and a TT. Larry and others may have a great deal of knowledge here, but if it's confusing and too technical, it's useless to the novice trying to get their first TT. Safety is paramount, but I think it can be simplified so it is understandable and much more useful. Now, if anybody thinks my stock F150 with the 5.4L gasser and the factory towing package is inadequate to pull my 21' 4500lb wet weight hybrid, come on over to my place and take a peak over a beer or two.

Thanks!

yeah I think this thread got off track a bit. My original post was simply asking if others felt the extended "tow mirrors" were necessary since my husband was fine without them many times before but all the sudden insisting on them (and I explained why I thought he was doing that.. he wanted lots of unnecessary new things on HIS vehicle to tow to FW but when I told him uhuh we're using MY vehicle that meant no more new stuff on his vehicle because of this trip so I thought he was just being difficult about things when using my vehicle LOL)

I didn't ask about everything in the world about towing and all the other stuff discussed here. I am glad that the comment I made about 4 to 7pin prompted the discussion about the brakes since at that point (time of original post) I had no idea my husband has been towing this trailer for going o 10+yrs without use of brake controllers! And I appreciate all the helpful posts- but going on and on about tow weight and all that is really off subject and not needed. For crying out loud my husband has been towing stuff since he was 12 (father's logging business- TOWING TRAILERS WITH LOGS/TREES on them) and was even a truck driver for years. He knows how to tow- that's what gave him the macho attitude (I guess) about towing this trailer without bothering with brake controllers, I guess *rolling my eyes at him* But yes we are sure both vehicles CAN tow the trailer- we made sure of that when we bought the vehicles!

Anyway we're all good to go EXCEPT for DH adjusting the brakes. He hasn't done that yet but up until now he'd been checking the trailer and making sure everything was good to go, repairing things that need to be fixed, etc. and today he got everything hooked up- changed 4pin to 7pin, hooked the prewired brakes/etc. to the 7way pin, got the brake controller wired correctly for our vehicle and hooked up, and even backed up to the trailer to make sure the lights/brakes/etc. work when hooked to the trailer with the new 7 way pin. He just needs to hook it up a few times in the next 2wks and actually drive it around (I assume that's what he has to do) to adjust the brakes (that's what he says, I honestly don't even know what means LOL).

Thank you all for your help and a special thank you to medic and SCCamper for their generosity... you guys are the best!

 

[ftwildernessguy]

To be honest, a couple times around the block after reading the instructions on adjusting the brake controller should do it.

 

[LarryJ]

Lots of info in this thread. I will throw my 2 cents in. I tow a lot for work and pleasure, and over time I have learned a few things.

I think the "towing package" is highly misunderstood and overrated. A wire harness, tranny cooler, larger radiator, and hitch does not make a proper tow vehicle. It is nice to have and is a convenience, but IMO a good tow vehicle is defined by its spring rate, gearing, torque, wheelbase, brakes, tires, etc. Without the proper combination of those type things no add on will truly measure up. Granted a trailer brake controller is essential, but adding it to an inferior package won't help much.

I would get the real axle weights of the trailer and tow vehicle with everything loaded, and do the math. Don't venture too far (a few hundred pounds) from the manufacturer's specs.

This is something I recommended I think in my first or second post which as far as I can tell has been ignored as apparantly unimportant with no weight slip numbers posted with what we are talking about here loaded up and ready for the road. Seriously overloading a TV axle or tires can be a fixed recipe for a disaster.

I am on the road a lot, and I have seen countless accidents in which overloading was probably a factor...ie blowouts leading to wrecks. Also my good friend is a state trooper, and he sees it almost weekly during the peak travel times. Almost every time the driver will say "we have never had a problem until now".

I at least hear you if others don't.

Not pointing fingers...just giving my opinion. Good luck.

Your point are excellent and unfortunately sorting out all the towing factors and things are not very simple as some would believe, especially when you don't have a TV clearly over matched to what you are towing.

I do apologize but I consider towing and hooking up something on a vehicle really not built for "true towing" very serious business when it can effect the lives of those that we love and to be safe you have to become very knowledgable and understand what factors and forces are at work.

I like you would still like to see some "FACTS" like scale wts. with the trailer/tow vehicle being discussed as they will make this trip posted which evidently most thing is unimportant and that worries me even more, but I've done all I can do to make this a safe trip.

Larry

 

[ftwildernessguy]

I like you would still like to see some "FACTS" like scale wts. with the trailer/tow vehicle being discussed as they will make this trip posted which evidently most thing is unimportant and that worries me even more, but I've done all I can do to make this a safe trip.

Larry

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

Your point are excellent and unfortunately sorting out all the towing factors and things are not very simple as some would believe, especially when you don't have a TV clearly over matched to what you are towing.

I do apologize but I consider towing and hooking up something on a vehicle really not built for "true towing" very serious business when it can effect the lives of those that we love and to be safe you have to become very knowledgable and understand what factors and forces are at work.

I like you would still like to see some "FACTS" like scale wts. with the trailer/tow vehicle being discussed as they will make this trip posted which evidently most thing is unimportant and that worries me even more, but I've done all I can do to make this a safe trip.

Larry

I have already told you the FACTS of what my vehicle can handle and the FACTS of the weight of the trailer. If you would like me to go get it loaded up and taken somewhere to weigh- keep on wanting. Cause I don't feel like I owe that to you. I did not ask you, or anyone, about weight or whether my vehicle could tow the trailer. And besides that fact I've still responded to our posts once you brought this subject up in several posts. I've told you what weights my vehicle can handle and what weights my trailer is and I've assured you that we wouldn't be towing it if we didn't KNOW that the vehicle can tow what we're towing. I'm not sure why you want to pretend I've ignored that as if it's not important when I have answered your posts and tried to defend myself (and/or try to relieve your fears so you won't be worrying about us) several times.

I have never once said it was unimportant -and resent the fact you are stating that as if that is the case. I've also not ignored it to give the impression it's not important either. My vehicle IS built for towing and has the tow pkg and now has the proper wiring and pin to connect to our specific traiiler as well as has brake controller now and an EXTRA not always necessary to tow (extended mirrors) -so I'm not sure what your problem is? The only thing I can figure is that you either are ignoring what I've posted before, or missed it, and/or you just don't believe me. And since it appears to be the latter of the 3-I guess there's really no reason to keep trying to make you see that our vehicle can tow the TT. My husband has probably towed more things and for more years than you have- so give me a break and stop acting like he's a novice who doesn't know what he's doing. Please give it a rest.

 

[LarryJ]

I have already told you the FACTS of what my vehicle can handle and the FACTS of the weight of the trailer. If you would like me to go get it loaded up and taken somewhere to weigh- keep on wanting. Cause I don't feel like I owe that to you. I did not ask you, or anyone, about weight or whether my vehicle could tow the trailer. And besides that fact I've still responded to our posts once you brought this subject up in several posts. I've told you what weights my vehicle can handle and what weights my trailer is and I've assured you that we wouldn't be towing it if we didn't KNOW that the vehicle can tow what we're towing. I'm not sure why you want to pretend I've ignored that as if it's not important when I have answered your posts and tried to defend myself (and/or try to relieve your fears so you won't be worrying about us) several times.

I have never once said it was unimportant -and resent the fact you are stating that as if that is the case. I've also not ignored it to give the impression it's not important either. My vehicle IS built for towing and has the tow pkg and now has the proper wiring and pin to connect to our specific traiiler as well as has brake controller now and an EXTRA not always necessary to tow (extended mirrors) -so I'm not sure what your problem is? The only thing I can figure is that you either are ignoring what I've posted before, or missed it, and/or you just don't believe me. And since it appears to be the latter of the 3-I guess there's really no reason to keep trying to make you see that our vehicle can tow the TT. My husband has probably towed more things and for more years than you have- so give me a break and stop acting like he's a novice who doesn't know what he's doing. Please give it a rest.

Safety is my problem and ignorance is bliss is not in my book. I just hope you get there and back. My problem is that you are hooking up a never towed combo TV to a trailer with somewhat limited capabilites to an SUV not really designed as a "true tow vehcile" with a load of passengers and stuff and then putting a heavy trailer on it. Sure your Expy has the "power" to tow this weight, but that is about 10% of the equation. Staying within the vehicles rated axle wts. is IMHO an absolute limit and has nothing to do if your Expy can tow a 9,000 lb boat or even a lower profile cargo type trailer.

Finally I hate to say it, but your hubby towing a trailer that legally needed trailer brakes let along the onboard battery andoperational breakaway system for 10 years just tells me something that I find amazing. I would never try and tow a trailer that didn't have functioning brakes for 10 years since they probably don't work now anyway and are rusted shut/lock up.

I really don't think either you or your DH understand what you are dealing with here and this has nothing to do with what your DH has or has not towed with in the past. I've been towing probably longer than you have been on this earth .... 35+ years so please don't preach to me about experience, I'm only trying to offer the best information I have to make your "extended" trip a safe one and a this point I still have my concerns. In fact my grown two sons might just be older than you and your DH. The fact that you have been towing a basically "UNSAFE" rig now for 10 years tells me loads on where you put safety in the equation and I just can't buy into that.

A much larger Excursion than your Expy has serious axle wt. and GVWR/tongue wt. issues when towing heavier trailers with anything in it and your will have your Expy from what I read loaded down with your family.

This is not about what that Expy "CAN PULL", but what it can safely handle towing.

You're obviously going to do what you have decided on and anything I can add will not make your trip any safer than what you have decided it will be, but I have put in my two cents for you to follow or ignore and that is ultimately your decision. I just hope you don't encounter a situation where your potentially mismatched combo results in ....


Larry

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

Larry- it's obviously a waste of time trying to have a reasonable discussion with you. You think what you want and you get the last word on the subject you seem to want to go on and on about. I've said all I can say to try to calm your fears- I'm tired of defending myself to your accusations and implying that my husband is ignorant about towing/etc.
if you want to still have concerns.... be my guest. That's your decision and doesn't affect me in the least. From my experience on this thread responding to your posts about this- I think there is NOTHING I could say to you that would make you feel/think any differently anyway, so I will not bother trying anymore. I'm not the one preaching- YOU ARE!

Best regards,
Shelley
(ps.

Finally I hate to say it, but your hubby towing a trailer that legally needed trailer brakes let along the onboard battery andoperational breakaway system for 10 years just tells me something that I find amazing.

Now you're just making up stuff as you go along! *shaking my head)

 

[stacktester]

Shelley, I don't think Larry is trying to get the last word or drive any nail in the coffin per se. I agree, Larry can be thorough but I can't fault him for that.

I've towed for quite a while myself and I still feel I can learn something.

I realize you didn't come here to get a towing lesson and all you asked was about mirrors. During your post, a brake controller, lights and some other issues came up. To be honest I'm not real happy to see someone not using a brake controller just because they think they've towed a lot. I'm not sure if it's law to use the electric brakes but for pete's sake it's common sense. They didn't put those brakes on that trailer for their health. Like Larry said, after 10 years of not using them they may not even work. I've seen brake drums from non working brakes and they ain't pretty. Please have them checked by a qualified person to insure they work for your sake and the other people around you.

One other thing and I'll leave you alone. I don't remember what Kind of hitch you have. I do hope you have the heavy duty one with a sway bar and equalizer bars similar to this one

If you just have a receiver with a ball on it please give all of us a call and let us know when you're coming our way so we can not be on the road that time.

I am pulling my 5'er to the mountains next month and even with all the towing I've done I'm still nervous. I've hauled my mobile lab up that way before but it doesn't weigh as much and I plan on getting a few pointers from some people just to make sure I'm no what to expect. I'm also carrying 3 spares so you can classify me in the freak towing club now.

 

[stpetedisneydad]

Die thread, DIE

 

[auntie]

Damn..see what happens when you can't talk politics or religion anymore, we've got to talk towing.

Oh well, I can't offer anything but to say it's sounds like you've gotten some pretty good information on this thread, and probably gotten quite a few people thinking twice about their own towing set ups.
Safe and Happy travels!

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

Die thread, DIE

My sentiments exactly! I've sent a request for the thread to be closed since the original subject has been resolved and it's strayed off subject. THANKS to everyone for being so helpful.

 

[Disney Campers]