etrailer | Curt Trailer Hitch Installation - 2020 Ford Explorer

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Full transcript: https://www.etrailer.com/tv-install-c...
Ryan: Hey, everybody, Ryan here at etrailer. Today on our 2020 Ford Explorer, we're going to be taking a look at and showing you how to install the Curt Class III Trailer Hitch Receiver. These Explorers really have come a long way. Not only do they look great, but they're extremely versatile. You can use them to do a little bit of everything. So if it we're me, I would want a hitch to be the same way, and that's exactly what this one is.

Not only is it going to look really good, but it's going to be able to handle pretty much anything you want to throw at it. The hitch is going to be completely hidden for the most part. Really the only thing you're going to be able to see here is a receiver tube opening, so that's really going to help maintain that factory appearance.Now, before we get too carried away. One of the big questions we get asked is if you're still going to be able to use your hands-free lift gate assist. It will still work.

You might just have to play around with it a little bit and find that sweet spot. Many times, you'll just have to kick either to the left of the hitch or to the right.Whether you plan on doing some towing or primarily using accessories, this hitch will really work out well for either one of those, and it's going to set in that perfect spot. It's going to give us some really good clearance. It's going to be nice and tight up against the bottom of our Explorer, so it'll give us that good ground clearance. The end of the receiver tube opening is going to be kind of just behind our bumper, and so that that should work out really well for those folding accessories.

That way when you put them up in that stored position, you shouldn't have to worry about them hitting your bumper.Now this is a Class III hitch, so it's going to give us that 2" x 2" receiver tube opening. That is a extremely common size, and you should have no issues finding pretty much whatever accessory that you'd want to use with this hitch. It's also going to have a reinforced collar for extra strength. It's going to have that standard 5/8 size pin hole. Now keep in mind a pin and clip does not come included, but if you need one, you can pick it up here at etrailer.

Going to have loop-style safety chain openings, which are actually very thick and would put my mind at ease, knowing that I had a solid connection point if a disconnection we're to occur. With that being said, they're going to give us plenty of room here to use just about any size hook that we might have.The hitch is going to give us some pretty high weight capacities. As far as the maximum gross tongue weight rating goes, it's going to be 600 pounds and that's going to be the amount of weight that's pushing down on the hitch. So that's a pretty high number and you should be able to use just about any size bike rack or cargo carrier that you'd want to, for example. As far as the maximum gross trailer weight rating goes, it's going to be 6,000 pounds, and that's going to be the amount of weight that's pulling on the hitch. So that is the weight of your trailer plus anything that you might have on it. Now I do always suggest it's never a bad idea just to check in your Explorer's owner's manual to make sure your Ford can pull that much weight safely.Now let's go ahead and take a couple of measurements. That way we can figure out which hitch-mounted accessories will work best for us. To go from the ground to the top inside edge of the receiver tube opening, that's going to be right at 15". So if you do plan on doing some towing, chances are pretty good you're going to need to get a ball mount with a slight rise. If we measure from the center of the hitch pin hole to the edge of our rear bumper here, looks like that's going to be right at about 4". And you're going to use that measurement to help figure out that if any folding accessories you might have can indeed be stored in that upright position without contacting our bumper.If you do plan on doing a little bit of towing, I would suggest picking up some trailer wiring. That way the lights on your trailer will sync up with the lights on the back of your Explorer, and you'll be safe and legal, but at the end of the day, a hitch you really can't go wrong with. Not only is it going to look good, but it's also going to get that job done. Now, as far as the installation goes, believe it or not, it's really not too bad. There is a little bit of trimming and cutting involved, but as long as you take your time, you should have no issues of getting that done. Speaking of which, let's go ahead and put the hitch on together now.To begin our in