2013 Ford Explorer Owner Manual Printing 4 - Page 299

298 Towing 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. Safety Chains Note: Never attach safety chains to the bumper. Always connect the safety chains to the hook retainers of your vehicle hitch. To connect the safety chains, cross them under the trailer tongue and allow enough slack for turning tight corners. Do not allow the chains to drag on the ground. 2013 Explorer (exp) Owners Guide gf, 4th Printing, November 2012 USA (fus)