Trailer wiring

Hi,
I have a '96 Explorer 4.0 man trans. w/o tow pack.
What is the simplest and/or best way to wire for towing?
There is no extra socket at the rear, just the one going to
lic. plate lights.
There seems to be 5 wires going into that and only 2 out...
Is there an inline adapter that could be used?
Most kits seems to need an extra power wire from the battery, why is that?
Thanks.

C-J

 

[C-J]

...Like this one...

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0002Q7Y88/nextag-auto-20/ref=nosim

Any good??

 

[MountaineerGreen]

Moved to towing section-

It looks as if that would work. I would guess if the thing needs a power supply, it is to power the trailer lights so as to not overload the factory wiring.

 

[JDraper]

You may have a harness plug tucked up behind the taillights. Most of the 2nd Gen Explorers have them. Crawl up under the back of the vehicle and shine a light up at the left taillight (at least that's where it was on my '01) and see if there is a plug there. My '01 had one, and all I had to do was buy the plug in harness for it.

 

[Ranger379]

if u dont have tow package then that link above wont work, have to do what i did and get this one (i think it was this one, plugs into tail light plugs) http://www.etrailer.com/mm5/merchan...re_Code=E&Product_Code=18373&Category_Code=T1