1st time TT owner, with questions

dani24 wrote:


I had thought we were getting the WD hitch, anti-sway bar and brake control package installed. Yet now it is sounding like they may have pulled a fast one on me. And I'm feeling really stupid for not catching it until now.

I'm going to go back down there and see if they'll pull out our file and the negotiating worksheet (which I saw them put in there). I swear the guy had written the brake controller package on that. And I know at one point towards the end I initialed that page. I'm hoping I can argue to have it included. Or maybe swap out the WD hitch for just a sway bar and brake controller. Although, it looks like a brake controller online is around $100, give or take (correct me if I'm wrong), versus $300 for the WD hitch, and I don't want to leave any money on the table that I don't need to.

Is the "7 pole pigtail" the same thing as the 7 prong plug? Or is that the wiring that hooks up from the trailer to that 7 prong plug?

I just looked at Ford's towing guide for the 2004 models: Link.

From what I can tell, the tow package did come with a seven-pole plug (I erroneously referred to as "pigtail- that's the trailer connection!) But it looks like the only "live" standard connections were lights- no brake controller wiring/charging line. Those are must haves as far as I'm concerned. If they are putting in a charging line, by the way, do make sure they're also installing an isolating solenoid that will prevent the trailer from sucking all the juice out of the tug's battery when the ignition is turned off. That's not always a standard part of a charging line install, though in my opinion it should be!

Per actual towing capacity and need-or-not for W/D:

In your case (4.0L V6), capacity is mostly limited by the size of the rear axle, though there's a small difference by drive type. (Is yours four wheel drive or not?) Specs for axles are on the vehicle door plate....

If you have the 3.55 axle, capacity is 3400lbs tops. That's so close to the trailer's gross weight that you might indeed need W/D.

But if you have the much stiffer 3.73, which all by itself increases tow capacity by over two thousand pounds (5780 tops) , W/D may well be an unnecessary and cumbersome add-on.

And per W/D "installation charges":

You already have the permanently installed part of the hitch: the receiver. As would be true if we were talking about a simple ballmount, there's no real "installation" involved for the W/D. It's a component that simply plugs into your receiver, followed by various things also getting hooked up. You'll have to do that yourself every time you use it. If you're dealing with the folks you're also buying the trailer from, it's surprising to me that they'd be charging you anything at all for what can only amount to showing you how to adjust it-? To me, that's sorta like charging to explain how something in the trailer works. If you have questions about, say, the dump valves , do they charge for that information, too?

Good luck!