Confused about 2010 Sport Trac modification

[counselorphil]

Greetings;

I just purchased a 2010 Sport Trac, 4.0L, V6, 4WD, 12,000mi., XLT, with a Class II hitch (which is welded to the frame - OEM I guess)...I want to put a Class III on this but am finding it confusing when talking to people....I need someone to give me the straight story on if this can be done and about how costly it will be. I am towing a 18' Crownline I/O and trailer...estimate of 3500# total...

Please advise.

Thanks
Phil

 

[JohnnyO]

It depends. Replacing the crossmember with the factory Class III will cost about $1000.
If you find someone who can weld really good, it is possible to cut the Class II receiver off and weld a Class III onto the existing crossmember for much less. The two factory crossmembers are no different other than the hitch and 7 pin plug on the Class III.

The Class II is good for #3500 but in your case that's pushing the limit, plus you can't get an equalizing hitch for a Class II. I would just get a Class III welded on and have an RV shop install a brake controller, although boat trailers usually have surge brakes. The main problem will be finding someone to weld it because of liability issues.

Once I did see a late-model regular Explorer with a full hitch added on below the OE crossmember, so apparently someone makes one, but it hung down awful low.

 

[counselorphil]

Class III challenge

Thanks for your response....

You are the first person to give me something to work with.

What exactly is an equalizing hitch and how would it serve my needs?
As long as I am picking your brain dry, please explain the brake controller you mentioned as well.

-phil

 

[JohnnyO]

An equalizing hitch has lift bars that transfer some of the trailer's weight to the front end of the chassis. The full tongue weight of the trailer is not carried solely by the rear end of the vehicle. You hook everything up, then pull up the lift bar chains with a pry bar and your truck magically becomes level with the trailer.

In this pic I was carrying about 3000 lb of trailer (motorcycle trailer borrowed from my bro-in-law) and my kids' stuff with the factory Class II hitch, no equalizer, moving them from my ex-wife's place to mine, about 400 miles. You can see the rear end is a little low, but not too bad. For a 3500 lb boat I wouldn't worry about it unless you tow the boat on long trips. When we started here I had a hitch-mounted bike rack installed into a Class II to Class III adapter, then the trailer attached to a ball on the bike rack. Probably illegal but wife #2 insisted since she bought me the bike rack. The extra leverage exerted on the adapter by the bike rack bent it by about 30 degrees before we got out of town. Therefore I don't recommend using an adapter for actually towing a trailer.

A brake controller connects the electric trailer brakes to the tow vehicle's braking system. It will modulate how hard you are hitting the tow vehicle's brakes and apply the trailer brakes accordingly. Professional installation required. Most boat trailers with brakes use hydraulic surge brakes (electric anything + water = bad) where the trailer's brakes are controlled by a master cylinder on the tongue, and you don't need a brake controller. When you brake the tow vehicle the hitch senses it from being pushed against the hitch and applies the trailer brakes. Rental trailers work the same way, to avoid having to install brake controllers on a lot of vehicles that may only tow a trailer once. No special hookups for surge brakes other than a safety release.

Towing requirements vary by state but as I recall, once you're over 2500 lb every state requires trailer brakes of some type. The only thing I regularly tow is my jetski, and ski, trailer, and a full tank of gas is only about 1000 lb so I don't need trailer brakes.

 

[counselorphil]

Thanks again for the information (and pics....), this is all starting to make more sense (never towed anything before). I can see from your set-up that your trailer is creating more stress on the tongue than my boat will. Currently what I am thinking is to sit with the guys at Master-hitch, a local outfit with a great reputation, and see what they can fabricate. I like the idea of welding a Class III receiver onto the existing cross-members.
The partner there also said he would look at the whole vehicle to determine what it has and what it needs (because I asked him about additional trans cooling). He thought that my S/T came with additional cooling....

And to think, just a few weeks ago I had no understanding of all this.....this forum really gave me the basic information to approach the Ford Dealer and talk with the hitch firm.

Thanks for the time you have given....now, if we can just make it through winter. We are very excited about launching our new boat, a Crownline bow-rider (18') I/O. Up until now we slipped a 20 foot tri-toon at the Chain of Lakes, now we can take the boat to various lakes in the area (including that big one on calm days)....ahhhh, life is good.

Thanks
Phil

 

[JohnnyO]

Sport Tracs already have a tranny cooler. Unless you tow heavy stuff a long way in hot weather, I wouldn't worry about getting a bigger one. DO get the transmission flushed every 30,000 miles. This is more than the manual says, but better safe than sorry. Also you should change the rear axle lube if you get it underwater launching the boat. Gen 2's have a rear drain plug so it is not hard (although messy) to do yourself or pricey to have a shop or qwicky-lube do it. I just did mine again today for fun.