Towing recommendations!

[Phil Brown]

Nice trailer setup, make sure the tongue jack does not hit the spair tire in a tight turn
electric brakes tongue weight will be your freind as well to keep it from swaying back and forth. Can be a little scarry with a short wheel base like a Bronco

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[Prodigymd]

I’ll do a full write up for any first timers like me! I’m very thankful for his community.

This is the trailer hitch that I bought. I wanted a cushioned one as suggested here but it wouldn’t have arrived on time.
https://a.co/d/c2p0uyK


I bought a redarc tow pro elite from Amazon (Tow-Pro Elite Electric Brake... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08TPS46BX?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share)
Though I missed the fact that It didn’t have the Bronco specific harness (duh!) so I ordered it separately (Tow-Pro Brake Controller Harness... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GNM9V4N?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share)
Installing it was a breeze but definitely watch out for the sharp edges under the steering wheel! I don’t have time to drill so it’s just a hanging wire for now, but will do so when i settle!

I didn’t have to get an extender (and honestly preferred not to based on my reading on this forum) though I didn’t have to take off the spare tire. I did try to take a sharp turn and the tongue jack barely misses the tire, but I’m still worried about the gas can in the back. I’m taking the least number of turns possible haha! But I’m mindful of that and thank you all for the reminder!
Also, I have no way of measuring tongue weight but I was mindful of placing some heavy stuff in the front to avoid sway as you all suggested. A post on this forum recommended 10-15% of the weight to be placed in the front for this reason!
So far, I’m running at 12mpg which is phenomenal all things considered.
Time to head out for the trip!

 

[Brian_B]

Looks sharp!

 

[NVCowboy]

Wow. That tandem axle makes a huge difference in the way a 6*12 trailer looks. Pretty sure it’s gonna be more stable as well.

 

[Rydfree]

I’ll do a full write up for any first timers like me! I’m very thankful for his community.

This is the trailer hitch that I bought. I wanted a cushioned one as suggested here but it wouldn’t have arrived on time.
https://a.co/d/c2p0uyK


I bought a redarc tow pro elite from Amazon (Tow-Pro Elite Electric Brake... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08TPS46BX?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share)
Though I missed the fact that It didn’t have the Bronco specific harness (duh!) so I ordered it separately (Tow-Pro Brake Controller Harness... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GNM9V4N?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share)
Installing it was a breeze but definitely watch out for the sharp edges under the steering wheel! I don’t have time to drill so it’s just a hanging wire for now, but will do so when i settle!

I didn’t have to get an extender (and honestly preferred not to based on my reading on this forum) though I didn’t have to take off the spare tire. I did try to take a sharp turn and the tongue jack barely misses the tire, but I’m still worried about the gas can in the back. I’m taking the least number of turns possible haha! But I’m mindful of that and thank you all for the reminder!
Also, I have no way of measuring tongue weight but I was mindful of placing some heavy stuff in the front to avoid sway as you all suggested. A post on this forum recommended 10-15% of the weight to be placed in the front for this reason!
So far, I’m running at 12mpg which is phenomenal all things considered.
Time to head out for the trip!

Tried the search but could not find specifics. I have the Redarc TowPro Trail edition controller along with the Bronco specific harness but not sure if I need that harness or the universal one that comes standard. Are there any pics of where to look to see if my Bronco already has the plug in or if not , where others have tied the universal wiring to ?

 

[Prodigymd]

L

Tried the search but could not find specifics. I have the Redarc TowPro Trail edition controller along with the Bronco specific harness but not sure if I need that harness or the universal one that comes standard. Are there any pics of where to look to see if my Bronco already has the plug in or if not , where others have tied the universal wiring to ?

Look under your steering column. You actually have to dive in and look up on the right side, the piece you’re looking for is attached with Velcro/snap on. There’s a cover piece that you have to remove to expose the pins. That should answer your question! Hope this helps!

 

[Rydfree]

L

Look under your steering column. You actually have to dive in and look up on the right side, the piece you’re looking for is attached with Velcro/snap on. There’s a cover piece that you have to remove to expose the pins. That should answer your question! Hope this helps!

Thanks , found it. That cover I had to remove was throwing me off . It could have been my 62yr old ass contorted under that dash that had me confused also ,lol.

Thanks again

 

[Prodigymd]

Thanks , found it. That cover I had to remove was throwing me off . It could have been my 62yr old ass contorted under that dash that had me confused also ,lol.

Thanks again

Glad you found it! That cover piece the me off and I spent some time trying to attach the harness with the cover on! good luck!

 

[Aguanga]

Thank you all for the recommendations! I was busy packing and sorting out the trailer.
update!
I got a 6x12 trailer that weighs 2000lbs with a ram coupler.
trailer brakes: redarc tow pro elite. The dealership was out of it so I had to order it straight from the website not knowing that I needed a specific harness for it. Which I ordered separately.
I bought an adjustable tow hitch as well cause I didn’t know the height of the trailer. It goes down to 6”.

thank you all for making this easier for me! I appreciate all the tips!

I know this thread is a bit old, but I came across it when looking for solutions to the trailer tongue and spare tire clearance issues.....
My rule of thumb is that if the trailer has brakes and has a load on it, use a brake controller (unless of course it has surge brakes already). There's a reason that the rental companies use surge vs electric because they know most don't have or know how to use electric controllers.

I've essentially resolved to dealing with moving the spare to the trailer to get the best overall result - keeping the tongue weight as close as possible to the rear axle, keeping the ball height as close to level for the trailer under load, coupler clearances to allow connection/disconnection, trailer jack clearance from obstructions (spare tire).

I hope that the OP's travels went well. The picture of the main brake control unit sitting in the center console shifter box does not tell the whole picture, but I hope it was not loosely free to move about during its use. The controller box (whether old school decades old, or new), uses inertia sensors to activate the proportional trailer brakes. It should be solidly mounted to the body - preferably a metal structure frame member like a dash support. The manual switch will still work, but the proportional function will not be reliable if it's not essentially solidly mounted to the body.

 

[duel007]

I've been tentatively looking into towing and campers, and ran into this - anyone try these? It's a quick-detach for your tongue hitch. I was thinking this might be a nice option, just remove the jack and throw it in the Bronco or in the trailer, rather than fuss with a hitch extension or removing the spare time.

https://jack-e-up.com/

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