Ford Focus Toad

[denk]

Does anyone have MH with a hitch that is 24 inches high? If so what are you towing and what type of drop hitch are you using?

We're looking at purchasing a 2013 Vacationer 36SBT and plan to tow a Focus, it's tow plate is 12 inches high. It seems like 12 inch drop hitch is unreal.

Any suggestions?

[CatchinBluegill]

denk wrote:
Does anyone have MH with a hitch that is 24 inches high?

My recently purchased '09 Bounder is about 24 inches to the center point of the receiver. OTOH, that's an unloaded vehicle (empty holding tanks, near-empty water tank, almost no gear; maybe 150 pounds at most, and less than 1/4 tank of gas), and people say they can settle substantially when loaded. Several people in other threads have said they have two drop receivers: one for empty, one for full. One guy said his empty receiver was 10 inch drop, and his full receiver was only 4 inch drop. Wow!

I will measure mine again with a full tank of gas, full tank of water, all three kids, my dad, some more gear, and my wife if she's available 🙂 I plan to tow my '09 Odyssey, and Blue Ox says the tab height is 14.5 inches. That'd be a 10-inch drop as it sits right now, but I expect it to be less with the MH road-ready. Maybe 8. Maybe even 6. Probably not 4, but who knows?

The Blue Ox drops all seem rated at 5K pounds. Since my Odyssey is in the 4500 - 4600 range, I'm probably going to go with a Roadmaster drop receiver, since they are rated at 10K pounds and I believe in over-engineering things 🙂

[az99]

Thanx. Mine is a very early 14 and does display something like that.

[carringb]

az99 wrote:

j-d wrote:
There's a PCM update for Focus with automatic for flat towing. That's all I know about it, no doubt others know more. If it is applicable to your exact Focus, best to get it done. Ford dealership.

What does it do?

The 2012 and 2013 Focusses (and maybe early '14s) had a tendency to exploderate the transmission when being towed because owners were not waiting until it was fully in Neutral before shutting of the ignition on the Auto trans. The Focus auto is really an electronic dual clutch transmission, and both gear-sets have to be in Neutral for towing. The update adds a message center feature telling you when it's fully in Neutral and safe to tow.

[az99]

j-d wrote:
There's a PCM update for Focus with automatic for flat towing. That's all I know about it, no doubt others know more. If it is applicable to your exact Focus, best to get it done. Ford dealership.

What does it do?

[j-d]

There's a PCM update for Focus with automatic for flat towing. That's all I know about it, no doubt others know more. If it is applicable to your exact Focus, best to get it done. Ford dealership.

[K_Charles]

I have an elantra and the hitch is (I forget) maybe 14". Blue ox wants the tow bar no more then 3" off. With a 4" drop the towbar was 4" off level which is close enough for me. The car is light and I didn't want a drop hitch any more then 4".

[Dr_Jay]

I have the same issue. I use a 10 in. drop receiverd hitch. It is fine and level.