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Towing a trailor:

cg13

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February 17, 2011
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Year, Model & Trim Level
2011 ford explorer lim
Going on a road trip to family's place up in new york - i got the tow package on my ex: but never towed anything before.

I fiddled around with the tow mount? on the rear of the explorer yesterday. i took off the protective cover - and saw the Square Hitch? or receiver? not sure what its called.

I have an old trailer in the barn up there with a Ball type mount. (it fits onto the ball and screws down) but i have no idea what size it is.

I need to get that trailer onto the explorer.... for some light towing up there. (move some wood n stones)

What do i need... did the explorer not come with one of those towing balls? or the metal mount that plugs into the square? Where do you get a towing ball that would fit into the square hole on my explorer.

can anyone who has done this please explain exactly what ill need. I realize ill probably have to buy a few diff size "balls" as i have no idea what size the trailer up there is.

So im guessing i need a ball bracket? that fits into the square... and a ball?

i dont need it wired as im never leaving our property with it. thanks for the help, i feel so clueless.
 






Ball and mount. Find them at Walmart, usually Reese brand. Not weight distributing but from your discription of your needs that should work just fine.
 






I have a utility trailer and I needed to get a 5" drop ball mount. When you mount your trailer, you want it to be relatively level. With the trailer level measure how high off the ground the bottom of the hitch is. Measure how high the bottom of the receiver on the Explorer is. Subtract these number and that is drop number you need. It is OK to have the front of the trailer be a little high, but you don't want too much.
 






One other thing, make sure you know what size ball you need. There are 3 common sizes. 1 7/8 (Not as common on modern trailers), 2" (typical small trailer) and 2 5/8 (Larger trailers 7,000lbs+).

If your ball is too small you will have a really bad day when you hit a bump and the hitch pops off the ball. Newer hitches are stamped; older ones, not so much.
 






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