Hitches; Weight-Distributing Hitch - Ford EXPLORER 2014 Owner's Manual

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B B
3. Hold the cover against the bumper trim and reinstall the two
fasteners by turning them clockwise.

Hitches

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. Do not to exceed the maximum
tongue load of 500 pounds (227 kilograms) on a Class III receiver.

Weight-Distributing Hitch

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.
When hooking-up a trailer using a weight-distributing hitch, always use
the following procedure:
1. Park your vehicle, without the trailer, on a level surface.
2. Measure the height of the top of your vehicle's front wheel opening
on the fender. This is H1.
3. Attach the trailer to your vehicle without the weight-distributing bars
connected.
4. Measure the height of the top of your vehicle's front wheel opening
on the fender a second time. This is H2.
5. Install and adjust the tension in the weight distributing bars so that
the height of the front fender is approximately halfway between H1
and H2.
6. Check that the trailer is level. If not level, adjust the ball height
accordingly and repeat Steps 3–6.
2014 Explorer (exp)
Owners Guide gf, 3rd Printing, September 2013
USA (fus)
Towing
2. To reinstall the cover, insert the
four plastic tabs on top of the cover
into the corresponding slots (B),
and push the cover into the bumper
trim.
B B
1 ⁄ -turn
4