Recommended Class III Trailer Hitch and 7-way Trailer Connector Installation for 2004 Ford Explorer  

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Expert Reply:

Let's begin with the wiring. There's a couple of ways to do this, and the course you'll want to take will depend on whether the trailer you're towing has brakes on it or not. If your trailer does NOT have brakes, all you'll need is # 37185. Mount the 7-way to the underside of the bumper, plug the adapter into the existing 4 pin trailer connector and ground the white wire to the vehicle frame and you're done. The remaining blue, black and purple wires can be coiled up and tucked away.

If the trailer DOES have brakes, you'll need to install a brake controller using our # ETBC7 brake controller installation kit. For a brake controller, I'd recommend the Brake EVN, part # TK63VR. This is a reasonably priced controller that still includes necessary features like a full LED display and adjustable boost settings for towing different trailers. The # ETBC7 kit includes the 37185 adapter mentioned above, plus all the wire, circuit breakers and hardware needed for a successful installation. I've linked you to an install video showing how the ETBC7 kit is used to install a brake controller on a 2004 Ford Explorer, as well as to a product description video featuring the brake controller I recommended and a help article that goes into detail about how the ETBC7 kit wires into your vehicle.

For a Class III hitch with a 2 inch receiver opening, I'd recommend the Curt # C13550. The hitch is designed for vehicles with the smaller OEM hitch, and the 2 inch receiver will sit just below the factory hitch. It's not recommended to use both receivers at the same time. I'll link you to an install video for the hitch, as well.

expert reply by: Mike L

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