2019 Ford Explorer XLT Help With Towing and Lights

[mboessen]

Hi, All:

I'm new to the forum. I joined because I missed an important item doing vehicle research. I Drove 120 miles to Saint Louis to buy my 4th Explorer, a 2019 XLT. I did my best to do all the research, but when I went to pick up the vehicle, it didn't have a trailer hitch. I had looked at 4 XLTs locally, and all of them had tow packages, so I assumed they all had it. Since the price on the truck was crazy good, I thought "what the heck. Surely I can pick up an aftermarket trailer hitch and put it on there." Well, now I'm finding out it isn't so simple. I have ordered a trailer hitch package complete with the 7way wiring harness. I hate that it is going to hang below the bumper, but getting the Ford hitch was going to be well over a thousand bucks, so I guess this is what I am stuck with. Apparently, nowadays you can't just stick a trailer hitch on your Explorer. From what I can read on the internet, If I want to tow anything more than a baby buggy, the first thing I need is an engine oil cooler. Anyhow, hopefully you guys can help me with a few things:

1: Can anyone recommend a good engine oil cooler for this vehicle? I've looked at several on the internet, but the reviews almost all say they leak oil. The factory ones I found have no hardware to connect them to the system.
2: Since I won't have a "tow" button, do I just go to manual shift and drop down 1 gear? I don't know what all that "tow" button actually does on a vehicle.
3: Any recommendations for a good brake controller? I saw one that just plugs into the 7 pin wiring plug but has to be controlled from my phone, which I'm not sure my 71 year old brain can handle. On the other hand, I'm not too hot on hanging one under the dash on my nice new vehicle.
4: An unrelated question: Does anyone know of any way to stop the vehicle from turning on all the exterior lighting every time I open the door? I'm in an astronomy club. I took my new truck to its first star party, and it was extremely frustrating to all my buddies when my lights came on every time I opened a door and ruined their images.

Sure hope this isn't too long. If I had known then what I know now, I would have passed on the otherwise very good deal.

Best

Mike

 

[peterk9]

Welcome to the Forum
First and probably most important is that with an aftermarket hitch, your legal towing weight is 2,000 lbs.
I believe the Tow/Haul button when activated, changes the transmission shift points.

Engine Braking When in Tow/Hual

Alright guys, 22 XLT with max tow. We reside in the mitten state, so not a ton of terrain here. We pull this thing all over the place with no issues. We are heading to Salt Lake City to see the in laws, then traveling down to Arizona to enjoy Lake Powell this week. With the lack of long...

www.explorerforum.com

To stop the interior lights from coming on when opening a door in a pre-2016 you would remove the fuse for "Courtesy lamps". Post 2016 it seems that this is now all controlled by the BCM. In the 6th gen, they finally added a switch to disable them but none of that helps you.
Here is long thread that may have some brake controller info. I know Redarc and Tekonsha have been mentioned. Explorer brake controller?

Peter