1st time TT owner, with questions
My husband and I love to camp, but with a 2 year old (and hopefully one more child in the next year or two), we wanted something a little more "enclosed" than a tent -- particularly for naps and earli...
Forum Discussion
Francesca Knowles wrote:
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!
We do have the seven prong plug on the Explorer.
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.
We do have the 4x4. Would it be cumbersome mostly from a standpoint of needing to set it up each time? Or is there something else that would make it a pain to have, if we didn't really need it?
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...or if you have questions about, say, the dump valves , do they charge for that information, too?
I think by "installation" I just meant installing the ordered components wherever they go. I assume, for instance, that the WD hitch and sway bar have to be installed on the TT's tongue. The sales guy didn't mention anything about a separate cost for installation for those items. Although he just quoted a lump sum for it all.
