How to Equip 2013 Ford Explorer for Towing 3500 lb Boat and Trailer

Question:

Can you help me choose a tow package for my 2013 Ford Explorer 3.5 V6? I am under the impression that my vehicle can tow up to 5000 pounds with a factory tow package my specific vehicle does not have a factory tow package, I am assuming an aftermarket package would get me that same capacity? It does have the standard sway control and some other towing features that came standard. I am planning to tow a 3500 boat and trailer package that comes with disc brakes and uses a 7 pin connector. I will need a class III hitch, a wiring harness for the 7 pin as well as a brake controller that ties in and a mount for the 7 pin connector, right? Thank you for your assistance!

asked by: Katrina

Expert Reply:

I'd be happy to help with that. The owner's manual states that 3.5L equipped Explorer models can tow up to 5000 lbs 'when properly equipped', but they don't go on to say what 'properly equipped' means.

The fact that your vehicle is equipped with the larger engine and the trailer sway feature would leave me to believe your Explorer is properly equipped for towing a boat of your size once the hitch and wiring is added, but I'd recommend checking with your Ford dealer for confirmation. If you provide the service staff with your VIN, they should be able to provide specifics about how your vehicle is equipped and its actual towing capacity.

If you find that your Explorer is properly equipped to tow your boat (it should be), then for a hitch I'd recommend the Draw-Tite # 76034 Class III hitch which is rated up to 4500 lbs towing or 5000 lbs if used with weight distribution.

For trailer wiring, I'd recommend part # 118540, to provide a 4 pole that would access the taillight circuits for use by the trailer. How you proceed from here will depend specifically on the braking system on the trailer. Hydraulic disc brakes on the trailer would be actuated in one of two ways.

1) If the trailer has a surge or hydraulic coupler, the brakes are actuated when the tow vehicle apples the brakes and the surge coupler compresses. This compression forces hydraulic fluid through the system which actuates the trailer brakes. If this is the system you have, you will not need a brake controller. You'd use a # 37185 adapter to convert the 4 pin connector provided by the # 118540 to a 7-way. You'd plug the 4 pole into the adapter, ground the white wire to the vehicle and tap the purple wire from the adapter into the reverse lamp circuit.

2) If the trailer brakes use an electric over hydraulic actuator, you'll need a brake controller to activate the actuator with the vehicle brakes. The easiest controller to install would be the Curt Echo wireless brake controller, part # C51180. The Echo plugs into the trailer connector, inline with the trailer connection. The unit communicates wirelessly with your smart phone, allowing you to control the braking action from the passenger cabin. To install the controller, you'll need our Brake Controller Install Kit, part # ETBC7L. The kit includes everything needed to install the controller, including wire, hardware, the necessary circuit breaker and the # 37185 adapter which would install as mentioned above. The only necessary wiring would involve extending the black wire on the controller using the wire included in the kit. The wire would run under the vehicle to the engine compartment where it would connect to the positive battery terminal via the included circuit breaker.

Additionally, you'll need a ball mount like # C45010, a pin and clip # C21500. and a trailer ball like # 19260 for a 1-7/8 inch ball or # 63845 for a 2 inch ball.

I've linked to the parts I recommended, plus to install videos for the hitch and wiring harness, plus videos that explain how the Echo brake controller and its install kit work.