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eTrailer.com Curt Trailer Hitch Installed


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Hey everyone,

Just wanted to share I recently ordered a curt trailer hitch from etrailer.com for my 2014 LWB Titanium and am very pleased. Great pricing, shipped fast, packed well, tutorial videos for install, and great instructions included made the installation a breeze. Definitely recommend these guys... 

https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Hitch/Ford/Transit+Connect/2014/C13167.html?vehicleid=201422753

All the best,

Justin

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No issue there with the hitch itself. When I put the bike rack on though, sensor screams when in reverse...glad I found that disable button by the shifter for when I've got the bike rack on. :)

 

Edited by doitdub
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8 hours ago, mdarren said:

Looks good. Did you make some drilling or cutting?

Thanks, no drilling or cutting required. The hardware they provide allows quick and painless install using factory holes.  You just follow the instructions and fish the bolt and plate through with the threaded wire.

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Edited by doitdub
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  • 4 months later...

Doesn't look like one of those would fit around my step bumper ... 

 

topper-done-02.jpg

 

Then again, that will keep me from being tempted to tow anything ... <G>

 

PS ...off topic but ... anyone know what that cutout at the top of the drivers side door is for? I would have thought backup camera, but that's built into the license plate light ...

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27 minutes ago, sKiZo said:

PS ...off topic but ... anyone know what that cutout at the top of the drivers side door is for? I would have thought backup camera, but that's built into the license plate light ...

 

ford_Transit_2008_08.jpg

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Aha!  Thanx for that ... I'll be able to sleep nights now ... <G>

 

Mine already had the third brake light on the roof. Wonder if the cutout is still there for a Euro version, or they were just too cheap to retool the die for the door ... same thing like the glued in panels instead of windows I suppose.

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2 hours ago, sKiZo said:

 

 

... same thing like the glued in panels instead of windows I suppose.

 

 

Possible.  Your van left the assembly line, and shipped to U.S.A. with windows.  The windows were removed once the vans arrived in the U.S.A., and then those panels were glued in.  All Transit Connects arrived in U.S.A. as wagons.  Then they are stripped down and converted to vans.  Unfortunately, all of those seats, windows, interior, headliners, et cetera, are destroyed and recycled.  To my knowledge, none of those parts are saved for resale.  Buyers of vans who want windows are left to look in the aftermarket, while the OEM parts are being disposed of.

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I gotta think they just filled a boat up with that stuff and sent it back to Turkey for "recycling" into the next batch of "wagons" coming over ... 

Edited by sKiZo
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I doubt it.    Imagine cost of shipping versus locally sourced textiles and cheap labor.    Hard to judge what the cost is to the environment, to produce unwanted parts, ship them across the globe, then destroy them.

 

It's all politics.  And not even Donald Trump's politics.  Can't blame Trump & a handful of Starburst candy for The Chicken Tax.  The same Chicken Tax which inspired Subaru to send that Brat pickup truck with the seats in the truck bed facing backward.

 

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  • 5 months later...

I finally got my van 'hitched' yesterday, woo hoo! Took me 20 minutes to install by myself. Still need to run power wire for the Curt 56218 trailer light adapter, though. My van doesn't have the rear power fuse panel, so I have extra work required to get power to the module. 

 

And talk about low, I'll need to flip that ball to get a decent height. I'm used to knee-busters on my past trucks, but this one is an ankle-buster! Never mind the dirtiness, I live in rural ranch country in a town with gravel roads. I can clean it in my yard, leave it out to dry and it'll be dirty again an hour later without any driving... So I just hose/rinse it off every so often. 

Hitched.jpg

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On 12/21/2018 at 12:18 PM, jrm223 said:

My van doesn't have the rear power fuse panel, so I have extra work required to get power to the module. 

 

 

 

Actually, it's not that bad.  Use an "add-a-fuse" in the fuse box under the hood, and tap into the OEM body ground next to the battery.  From the engine bay, on the side of the hood hinge, you can feed wiring behind the wheel well & in front of the door.  That wire will come all the way down to the rear of the wheel well.  From there, the wire will go behind the sill plate along the length of your van, over the rear wheel well, and you can then route it to your trailer light harness.  That is how I installed the lighting in the rear.  The lower sill plates are held on by those plastic body rivets.  Release 1 rivet, slide wire under, replace rivet, repeat at the next rivet.  Use fish tape or something similar for fishing the wire around.  

 

Related imagePittsburgh® Automotive 67021 5 Piece Auto Trim and Molding Tool SetCen-Tech® 65326 3/16" x 33 Ft. Fiberglass Wire Running Kit

 

 

tc wire run 1.jpg

tc wire run 2.jpg

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On 12/22/2018 at 11:42 AM, davidparker said:

@jrm223  I suspect your van has a powerpoint located on the right rear of the van.  If you don't need it, you can tap into that without running a new power wire.  It is fused at 20A, so you may still want to use the inline fuse supplied.

 

There's nothing back there except fuel inertia cut-off and taillight wiring, as shown here.

 

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Fifty150, the taillight converter has a ground ring terminal attached for a screw-to-body ground, so I temporarily put that on one of the hinge support bolts - in the pic above, they're on the right side D-pillar, but of course I used a driver-side bolt where the converter is. I ran a temporary power wire off the underhood fuse box on Saturday because I was expecting to be bringing a trailer home yesterday, but the tires on it ended up being real bad so first I need to get some tires this week, lol. The lights do work fine, though, I towed the trailer 3-4 miles to another buddies house. I did buy another ball hitch and set it up in the raised position and I can use that other drop ball on my F350 when I get it on the road. 

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Sounds like you are making it work for you.   

 

There's a triangle shaped plastic trim piece in front of your mirror and behind the door hinge.  Remove that. You will see a hole which will allow you to run wire into the cabin.  Then you can run your wires into the van, and to the rear, right alongside the OEM wire run. 

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