Expert needed..towing and WDH

[Voyager57]

Hello! I have a question and it’s driving me nuts. I have a ‘14 Explorer with a non-turbo V6. It has the full factory tow package with a Class III 500/5000 receiver. The question is...The sticker on the Class III only gives a Weight Carrying rating. Most Class III have two ratings, Weight Carrying and a second set of numbers Weight Distributing. Why does mine only have a Weight Carrying rating. I plan to tow a new trailer that’s 3800 lbs and I’d like to put a WDH on. To complicate things further, my Owners Manual states if approaching the higher tow limits you should use Weight Distributing. Great! But why does the sticker on the receiver contradict this by not giving a rating?

 

[peterk9]

Welcome to the Forum.
No idea on the sticker but the Ford Towing Guide also states to use a WDH for towing over 2000 lbs.

Peter

 

[Voyager57]

Welcome to the Forum.
No idea on the sticker but the Ford Towing Guide also states to use a WDH for towing over 2000 lbs.

Peter

Thank you...This what I found in the Owners Manual...." For towing trailers up to 3500 pounds (1588 kilograms), use a weight-carrying hitch and ball, which uniformly spreads the trailer tongue loads through your vehicle's underbody structure. For towing trailers over 3500 pounds (1588 kilograms), up to the maximum trailer weight, we recommend you use a weight-distributing hitch to increase front axle load while towing."

 

[Voyager57]

Mine is the one without the WD rating....the other is off some unknown vehicle but shows what most look like.

 

[peterk9]

Although the Guide for the 2014 doesn't state that the WDH should be used for towing over 2000 lbs., I have seen it mentioned before.

https://www.fleet.ford.com/content/dam/aem_fleet/en_us/fleet/towing-guides/Ford_Linc_14RVTTowGuide.pdf

I guess it wouldn't hurt to use one if you're close to towing that weight.
Here is a post if just found that mentions it. Weight Distribution Hitch??
I've had the factory package on my vehicles but never looked at the hitch since I don't tow.

Peter

 

[Voyager57]

Here’s a better pic of one that you expect to see.

 

[Voyager57]

It’s not whether or not to use one. The question why isn’t mine rated on the sticker for WDH

 

[Voyager57]

It sure could hurt if you use a WDH with a receiver that’s not capatible. Explorers are Uni- Body and you could destroy the suspension.

 

[JAPeterson]

I would say because it is a class III and not a class IV.

I won't say that they are not there but I have never seen a class III hitch with a weight distribution hitch rating.

 

[Voyager57]

Thanks for your input. This link shows a Class III for an Explorer with a sticker with two ratings.

https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Hitch/Draw-Tite/76034.html

 

[Voyager57]

You can see it on the right side..with two rating columns.

 

[peterk9]

It’s not whether or not to use one. The question why isn’t mine rated on the sticker for WDH

I guess we'll have to wait and see what other members have found. BTW, I found a picture of a 2013 with the Class III hitch and it looked almost identical to the one you posted. No mention of the WDH. Unfortunately I lost the thread when I closed the wrong tab on my screen.

Peter

 

[JAPeterson]

You also might want to go over to RV.net and ask there.

That is a forum that is dedicated to towing

 

[jons901]

I guess we'll have to wait and see what other members have found. BTW, I found a picture of a 2013 with the Class III hitch and it looked almost identical to the one you posted. No mention of the WDH. Unfortunately I lost the thread when I closed the wrong tab on my screen.

Peter

Voyager57, I have a 14 with the factory installed Class III towing and 4x4 and the sticker on mine is identical to yours:

I would guess they direct you to the manual so they can use the same sticker on a 4x2 and 4x4 as the capacities seem to be different.

My manual reads as you indicated as well, but since I have the 4x4, the WDH does not apply. In the manual the only line that has the asterisk denoting the need for the WDH is the 4x2 with the 3.5L TiVCT, Class III. The line for the 4x4 3.5L TiVCT Class III shows 5040 max trailer weight out of the box with standard hitch and ball.

2014ExplorerManual_Towing.pdf attached. I checked the PDF against the paper copy and they are identical.

So IMO (which in reality is probably worthless ) I think they did not put the weight distribution vs weight carrying rating on the sticker is so they could get by with one sticker across the explorer line with the class III package.

Along with that I also found the attached 14_Explorer_Towing.pdf from Ford which indicates you have to use the WDH regardless of suspension. This document also matches the charts in Peterk9's link above but surprisingly neither of them match the owners manual.

100% personal experience, your mileage may vary: We used to own a boat with a trailer weight of 4,775 and about 485 lb tongue weight. My '04 Explorer 4x4 XLT V6 with Class III/IV towed it with no issues (it had a 7,500 max trailer rating). On my '14 I normally I would tow it with just a hitch and ball and it seemed to shake the ride all over the place. Possibly that is a difference of towing with body on frame vs unibody construction. I also ran it a couple times with the WDH and it felt pretty much the same. Granted with the '14 I only towed it about 10 times and my longest trip was about 25 miles, but I did not seem to notice a big difference between WDH and not, and the WDH was a much bigger pain in the butt. It also technically probably pushed my max tongue weight over the 500 lbs.

​

 

[peterk9]

The Sticker and Guide both show a max trailer weight of 5000 lbs. which is what I would go by. The Manual is known for errors and copying info over from year to year, some times incorrectly. For the 3.5L V6 the Guide shows 5000 with a notation (1) that a "Heavy-Duty Trailer Tow Package and weight-distributing hitch" is required. Also under the Hitch Receiver Weight Capacity, it again mentions "weight distributing equipment". The Manual also says, " For towing trailers over 3500 pounds (1588 kilograms), up to the maximum trailer weight, we recommend you use a weight-distributing hitch."

Peter

 

[Satz]

At that weight you need a WDH . I towed a 2200 popup and it was fine but once I moved to a 3500 popup the front end got light and had a lot of bad driving characteristics. i still towed as it only happened in hilly areas when climbing when the front end would get lighter and shudder. If yours is not a popup but a actual trailer then you need a WDH . Also set that thing up at home fully loaded....