Recommended Parts for 2004 Ford E250 5.4 V8 Towing Trailer

Question:

Im wondering what I need and what options I ought to consider adding to my van for towing a 23.5 foot hitch to bumper travel trailer that has a dry weight of 5,000 pounds and a gross weight rating of 7,000 pounds. The trailer has electric brakes and an Anderson weight distributing hitch. My van came with the factory hitch and wiring installed hitch says 1,000 pound weight limit for the tongue and max gross trailer weight of 10,000 pounds. I know I need a brake controller and it looks like the Redarc Tow-Pro Elite would be a good choice along with the Ford-specific wiring adapter I can see where it plugs down near the drivers feet in my van. Its worth mentioning that the van is a camper conversion with a bit under a thousand pounds of add-ons. With passengers and gear I suspect well end up within a thousand pounds of the vans 13,000 pound combined weight rating. I expect to spend some time going over mountain passes and the like, and will also do some dirt roads that will sometimes be washboarded and/or somewhat potholed. I know I will have to dial my speed back a lot more than Im used to w/o a trailer. I will also be getting towing mirrors - either the clamp-ons or the telescoping ones that replace my OEM mirrors. Is there anything else I should consider adding/modifying on this van?

asked by: Jim O

Expert Reply:

You have the basics covered with the brake controller and tow mirrors but I would also recommend a transmission cooler like part # D13503 with the adapter part # D13024 and # D13014. This is going to do a great job prolonging the life of your transmission as heat is the number one killer of them and towing creates quite a bit of heat.

Then to install the Redarc Tow Pro Elite part # RED44FR you'd just need the install harness part # RED87FR and for tow mirrors the custom install set # CTM2500 and you'd be set.