2013 Ford Edge Limited - Towing advice needed

[Vanyel1970]

Hey Folks,

 

My 2013 Edge Limited did not come with the factory Ford Tow Package, so I am installing a Curt Class III hitch and having the wiring done professionally. I called Kerry Ford Service for advice and they told me do NOT use overdrive when towing, like on the interstate, as this would tear up the engine and transmission. So I have a few questions.

 

I will be towing a single place Jet Ski about 1400 pounds fully loaded.

 

1.) Is this true, can you not use overdrive?

2.) How do you turn off O/D on the select shift vehicle, mine does not have an O/D button, just + and - for SelectShift?

3.) The lady at Ford said I may need a bigger rear sway bar? Any advice on this?

 

 

Frankly I'm a little disappointed because the Factory Ford Tow rating for this model is 3500 pounds, but whats the dang point if your only going to run about 55 or 60 on the interstate in 5th gear.

 

 

What do you all think

 

 

Van

[akirby]

With such a small load the top gear may not matter too much on flat roads. You just don't want to lug the engine with a load on it.

 

Without a tow/haul button you would use selectshift to keep the vehicle in 4th or 5th gear depending on speed and load. Especially if you're encountering a lot of hills.

[enigma-2]

I believe it's 3,500 lbs for a 3.5 with factory tow pgk (also includes upgraded cooling and suspension, gearing differences, maybe larger brakes as well, don't remember what all was changed).

 

Without factory tow pkg, I believe it's 2,000 lbs. (Table on page 249). I believe that would include the 1,400 lbs for the boat + the weight of the trailer.

 

If you have a grade-assist butyon on the side of the shifter, pressing it will automatically turn off overdrive.

 

.

Edited June 7, 2016 by enigma-2

[Vanyel1970]

Hey all

 

Just an update for you all on my 13 Limited Hitch Install. I set out today to install this hitch that I got from etrailer for my Edge. There was a really nice install video for this hitch on their website but I'll tell you when it came time to fish the carriage bolts through the end of the frame rail on my installation they would not fit. I ended up having to remove the taillights, rear bumper cover and rear bumper itself to get the carriage bolts in. Once that was done the hitch went in relatively easy. I will say that removing the bumper cover is a bit of a pain because the little plastic drop screws holding the upper portion strip and do not easily come out. Once removed though installing the bolts is easy and the hitch itself is awkward but doable with help and with a floor jack.

 

In the one picture the RED circle shows how big the end frame hole really is and the YELLOW circle shows how small the passageway is to route the carriage bolts. I just removed the bumper itself to have open access to the inside frame rail.

 

 

Van

Etrailer order information

2013 Ford Edge Curt Trailer Hitch Receiver Class III - 2"

Code: C13067

Edited June 9, 2016 by Vanyel1970

[akirby]

They didn't fit through the hole in the frame rail? Did you fish the flat piece first by itself, then the bolt? I've done 2 of these on an escape and 2016 MKX and had no problems fishing the carriage bolts with the supplied wire.

[Vanyel1970]

The frame rail is actually obscured by the bumper and the hole to fish the flat piece and the bolt is rather small and only slightly wider than the flat piece itself. Ill admit that I tried doing them together and maybe that was my mistake. After an hour of NOT getting the pieces to fit and getting them stuck up in there I ran out of patience and just pulled the back end apart. Tedious yes but it made for a MUCH easier install.

[akirby]

They won't fit together - it's very very tight. Did you use the supplied wires to pull the bolts out?

 

I did have to remove the bumper but that was only two screws and about 90 seconds on the 2016 MKX.