Tow Package?

[Panzer948]

You do NOT need to remove the seats, or anything else for that matter, in order to install a hitch and 4 pin wiring harness. I hope they did not overcharge you.

They indicated the connector was back in the middle underneath the seat and they had done two other Broncos before me and learned the hardway. I didn't believe it either until I came on here a month ago and confirmed that is what others were having done. They did give me a nice discount though so it didn't hurt as much as I thought (but also used my points).

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[Panzer948]

NIce....another Charlotte guy....there's a lot of us...are you in the Carolina Club ? You already have your Bronco? Being an NC lawyer I should probably check this e-brake law, ha

Yes I have my Bronco (same one in avatar which was taken near Mtn Island Lake ) but no to the Carolina Club. I am on a couple of FB clubs but not the same. I need to join up. I am getting ready to go to Fl and hang out with Bronco owners there. I need to find some more local!

 

[johndeerefarmer]

If you are waiting on a hard top you are just as well to wait on the tow package

 

[MillerBuilt]

I’ve been a 7/14 res holder and have been bounced to a 22. Last Saturday my dealer called and said if you remove tow you’ll get your date quicker. Went in same day to do paperwork and remove tow package, got my build date Thursday. He doesn’t think it’s coincidence and neither do I. I don’t know why you need trailer brakes on a 3500# rated vehicle so I’ll opt for aftermarket 4 pin and be just fine. There is a shortage of chips for the 7 pin connector which is constraining the tow package. My advice, drop the tow.
Tow, 2 door, wild tram and PPF are constrained now.

Same here. Dropped the Tow…..and got picked up 1 week later!

 

[Tarheel_Wes]

Yes I have my Bronco (same one in avatar which was taken near Mtn Island Lake ) but no to the Carolina Club. I am on a couple of FB clubs but not the same. I need to join up. I am getting ready to go to Fl and hang out with Bronco owners there. I need to find some more local!

Yea, join up....I'm trying to put something together for western NC

 

[idobleedblue]

My tow on a 4.7L Lux badlands Sasquatch 4door with MIC got a VIN 8 days ago and is scheduled for the week of 2/28.

 

[rhymeswithbronco]

Same here. Dropped the Tow…..and got picked up 1 week later!

Same here!

 

[Lakelife36]

For those still deciding…

The primary benefit of the tow package is the 7-pin connector and compatibility with a trailer brake controller. Note the trailer brake controller itself does not come with the Bronco, but it’s easy to add one on with the tow package. You still have to take apart and drill a hole into center console for the gain knob to install it, but it’s relatively easy.

if you have no intention on ever installing a trailer brake controller, I would drop the tow package and get the following:

• Hitch
• 4-pin wiring harness

You can either install them yourself or have your dealer do it. And if you pay for it with your FordPass points it becomes cheaper than the tow package. You may even be able to have your dealer wave the installation fee—they also have a vested interest in getting your Bronco built and sold to you.

—

Now you may be asking to yourself… do I need a trailer brake controller?

That depends on many factors. In most states, you do not need trailer brakes until you tow above 3000 lbs. The Bronco’s max tow rating is 3500 lbs, but if you load the Bronco itself up with additional gear, that tow rating drops to around 3000-3100 lbs.

So while the answer is,”it depends”, I can make generalizations….

• If you are towing a marine trailer for a boat, jet skis, etc. the answer is NO. Marine trailers almost always have passive surge brakes that do not require a brake controller.
• If you are towing a utility trailer, the answer is NO. The vast majority of utility trailers small enough for the Bronco to tow will either have no brakes or surge brakes.
• If you are towing a pop-up camper, teardrop trailer, or other small camper, the answer is PROBABLY NOT. You can buy these trailers with electric brakes, but usually it is an optional upgrade and not a standard feature. Whether you’d want electric brakes or not is up to you (see the next bullet).
• If you are towing an overlanding or off-roading trailer, the answer is PROBABLY YES. Most expedition trailers will come with electric brakes. If you are doing more extreme off-roading with a trailer, having electric brakes helps dramatically when trying to control your vehicle. But if you aren’t doing extreme off-roading with your trailer and will be driving on decently maintained forest service roads or camp ground roads, electric brakes don’t really help you that much.

—

And finally… the states where trailer brakes are required under 3000 lbs (to the best of my knowledge):

• California
• Idaho (kinda, it’s complicated)
• Nevada
• New York (kinda, it’s complicated)
• North Carolina
• Mississippi

If anyone needs more info on the “it’s complicated” states, let me know (trying to keep this post short). Also apologies to our Canadian friends up north, not super familiar with the trailer brake laws and only have a rough idea what is required in Quebec and Ontario.

That’s it, hope that was helpful.

Fantastic write-up and very informative. One clarification is that your tow rating will drop substantively as you load up gear in heavier trims - potentially below 3000lbs - but in lighter trims you can add quite a bit of weight before your tow rating is even affected.

 

[Ksjrb03]

You only get trailer sway control with the tow package. If your planning to pull a small camper or something else with high walls you should consider this as well as the need for a 7 pin.

 

[RagnarKon]

Great post, Bryan! Too bad it’s buried inside a polling thread, where it may not get read by many members. You should consider creating a brand new thread and using this as the OP.

Good idea!

Well, I'm in NC...I did NOT know this was required......? I guess if that's accurate I was shirking the law this spring when I (stupidly) towed TWO pallets of sod with my FJ on a trailer with no brake control. (that was like 5000 pounds)

Yeah a lot of people don't realize what the laws are. I didn't know myself until I started studying for my commercial drivers license.

I will say in most states you do not specifically need a brake controller, you just need a "braking system". That includes completely passive brakes like surge breaks that don't require any brake controller. Most of the trailers Uhaul offers for rentals actually come with these surge brakes so they don't have to worry about whether the customer's vehicle has a brake controller.

And if we're being honest here... as long as you are driving safety and the load is secure, chances are you will likely never have a problem with law enforcement... regardless of what the trailer weighs. Up in New England the state police are usually pretty lax on the laws until it starts snowing. Then they start being MUCH more strict about trailer towing.

RagnarKon, you seem very insightful so wanted to ask you something similar. I had Ford go back and install the Ford hitch and 4-pin warning harness. But now I realize I should have gotten the full 7-pin and electric brake controller setup since I want to start doing some trailer camping in that 3000 to 3500 lb range. The labor was $$ since it was very difficult to get the 4 Pin installed, said they even had to remove my rear seats. Can I pickup a 7 pin and brake controller and have most of the labor done by piggybacking on the connections for the 4-Pin? I know I will need to run the controller to the front dash but that seems relatively easy. If so, do you have any recommended parts? I kind of need it in a hurry...

It is possible to wire a 7-pin connector after the fact, but it will be pricey unless you do it yourself.

The wiring itself is not technically difficult, but you have to pull out a bunch of the interior trim pieces to run the wiring where it needs to go. It is very tedious and time consuming, but not difficult, especially on modern vehicles that have tons of plastic trim. On the Bronco I would actually expect it to be easier than most vehicles since Ford designed it to be modular and customizable, but it'll still take some time. There are also some tricks and shortcuts that you can do for a 7-pin that work just fine. @Panzer948, you already posted one of them.

The 4-pin connector is usually easy to install, just a little time consuming, which may be why they charged so much. As @BudgetBronco mentioned, you should not have to remove the rear seats to do it, but it would not at all surprise me if some of the crossover vehicles on the market these days make it overly complicated.

If you go with the Ford Accessories 4-pin harness I posted on my first post, Ford offers you to add on the installation cost at time of checkout. But again, if you work with your dealer they probably will discount or completely remove the cost of installation just because they too want to sell you your Bronco sooner rather than later.

Fantastic write-up and very informative. One clarification is that your tow rating will drop substantively as you load up gear in heavier trims - potentially below 3000lbs, but in lighter trims you can add quite a bit of weight before your tow rating is even affected.

Yeah this is important and has to do with the GCWR -- Gross Combination Weight Rating. I left that out because it can be very confusing for most folks and I didn't want to overwhelm them with a giant block of text, but maybe I'll do a write up on that too.

If, for example, load up the Bronco with 4 adults, a dog, and 500 lbs cargo for camping... on the upper trim Broncos you really only have 2700-ish pounds left for towing.

 

[njcoach24]

if you have no intention on ever installing a trailer brake controller, I would drop the tow package and get the following:

• Hitch
• 4-pin wiring harness

You can either install them yourself or have your dealer do it.

So when I do the math on both those items + install it is pretty similar to the cost of the tow package. I only ever plan on having a bike rack so the tow package is overkill for me. In the description of the Hitch they say wiring harness required. I'm a dummy on what exactly I will need to use a bike rack so can someone clarify for me if the electrical part is actually required.

 

[RagnarKon]

I have been contemplating dropping the tow package but...My ultimate plans for the tow package is to tow this popup camper. Its under 3000lbs. But from your post it sounds like it is recommended that I will need the 7 pin vs the 4 pin setup, right?

Most of Forest River campers come with electric brakes so they can make them 50-state compatible.

That doesn't necessarily mean you need the tow package or a brake controller though. Depends on what states you intend on traveling through and where you intend on camping. If you aren't going too far off the beaten path, then you don't need trailer brakes. If you intend on hitting the public lands out west and are on traveling on back-country roads that aren't maintained by the Forest Service or BLM, then yeah... it'll be helpful.

So when I do the math on both those items + install it is pretty similar to the cost of the tow package. I only ever plan on having a bike rack so the tow package is overkill for me. In the description of the Hitch they say wiring harness required. I'm a dummy on what exactly I will need to use a bike rack so can someone clarify for me if the electrical part is actually required.

If you are just doing a hitch-mounted bike rack the wiring harness isn't required unless your bike rack has a 3rd brake light on it (some do, most don't).

The say it's required because... well... it's illegal to tow a trailer without brake lights and turn signals. But it isn't required for a rack.

 

[RagnarKon]

You only get trailer sway control with the tow package. If your planning to pull a small camper or something else with high walls you should consider this as well as the need for a 7 pin.

Seems to be some confusion around that, and admittedly I don't know the actual answer. I know on the Ranger you did not need the tow package to get trailer sway control, but I don't know if that's true for the Bronco.

I would be awesome if someone with a MY2022 who DOESN'T have the tow package could confirm that for us.

It's listed as a standard option on Ford's 2022 towing guide:

 

[Tripodbruno]

Thanks for the post and info this dovetails with a post I started last night. Yes this may be a 'dead horse' but as long as they are constrained its worth considering options. The aftermarket here has been addressing some of the problems and constraints so this is worth rehashing from time to time.

Trailer brakes will make a world of difference to anyone who plans to trailer steep terrain, off-road, or bad weather, regardless of trailer size and laws. This said I hope to get the factory option and a trailer brake installed after. Eventually if the aftermarket presents a better/cheaper/immediate solution it may be worth taking that route.

Not that any of us help each other out but may be worth suggesting that those that don't need tow package drop to boost the chances for those that do. If there was an easy way to do it I would be willing to buy an aftermarket set up for someone that only needs the hitch for bikes, if it guaranteed mine with the tow package would be built.

 

[Ksjrb03]

Seems to be some confusion around that, and admittedly I don't know the actual answer. I know on the Ranger you did not need the tow package to get trailer sway control, but I don't know if that's true for the Bronco.

I would be awesome if someone with a MY2022 who DOESN'T have the tow package could confirm that for us.

According to Ford's order guide the sway control is part of the Base safety package.
View attachment 250523

It's also listed as a standard option on Ford's 2022 towing guide:

No, there is zero confusion about it. It’s not there unless you have the factory tow package. Show me a Bronco without the tow package that has the towing menu. Its not there. The forscan guys haven’t found a way to enable it because the self sense module isn’t there to enable towing features, disable proximity sensors, modify BLIS, etc.

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