Hitches, Integrated hitch rating, 252 towing – FORD 2015 Expedition User Manual

Page 253

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Hitches

WARNING: The trailer hitch on this vehicle is part of the vehicle
rear crash safety structure. Do not remove the trailer hitch.

Failure to follow this warning could compromise vehicle crash structure
and increase the risk of injury in a rear end crash.

Do not use a hitch that clamps onto your vehicle’s bumper. Use a
load-carrying hitch. You must distribute the load in your trailer so that
10–15% of the total weight of the trailer is on the tongue.

Integrated Hitch Rating

WARNING: Towing trailers beyond the maximum tongue weight
exceeds the limit of the towing system and could result in vehicle

structural damage, loss of vehicle control and personal injury.

The standard integrated hitch has two ratings depending on mode of
operation:
• Weight-carrying mode requires a draw bar and hitch ball. The draw

bar supports all the vertical tongue load of the trailer.

• Weight-distributing mode requires an aftermarket weight-distributing

system, which includes draw bar, hitch ball, spring bars and snap-up
brackets. This system distributes the vertical tongue load of the trailer
between the truck and the trailer.

Mode

Maximum trailer

weight

Maximum tongue

weight

Weight-carrying

6000 lb (2721 kg)

600 lb (272 kg)

Weight-distributing

9200 lb (4173 kg)

920 lb (417 kg)

Note: These are hitch ratings only. Actual vehicle ratings are dependent
on engine, transmission and axle combinations.

Weight-distributing Hitch – Vehicles without Automatic Leveling
Suspension

WARNING: Do not adjust a weight-distributing hitch to any
position where the rear bumper of the vehicle is higher than it

was before attaching the trailer. Doing so will defeat the function of the
weight-distributing hitch, which may cause unpredictable handling, and
could result in serious personal injury.

252

Towing

2015 Expedition (exd)
Owners Guide gf, 1st Printing, July 2014
USA
(fus)

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