# 2005 25rss & Ford Expedition - Hitch & Brake Controller Questions



## The Stephensons (Jul 10, 2007)

Hi - TOTAL newbies here; never owned a travel trailer before.

We're picking up our new (to us) 2005 Outback 25rss this Saturday. Yeah!!!! Will be towing it from Portland to Tacoma - what do we need to safely get it home? What will we need (safety wise) before we go camping?

It includes a heavy-duty Reese Dual-Cam weight-distribution system, stabilizer bars, & hitch they no longer need which they gave to us ahead of time to install it before we come pick up the trailer. Is this a good WD System?

However, their TV was a 4x4 Hummer which sits about 2-3 inches higher than our TV - a 2005 Ford Expedition (EB 4x4 5.4L V8). I think the hitch is too big for our Expedition because after we installed it, the bottom of the hitch drops and sits only about 5" off the ground. Will this be okay getting it from Portland to Tacoma? What size hitch would be ideal for our TV? I've seen posts about measuring the height of the trailer from the gound (which of course we didn't do when we inspected it) - can someone who owns the 25rss give us these measurements?

ALSO ... we need to get a brake controller. Apparently our Expedition is already wired (standard with our updated tow package). Which one would you recommend? Will it just plug in and work, or do we need to get it professionally installed?

So with the Reese Dual-Cam WD System, hitch, and brake controller - is there anything else required to tow our trailer safely? The went over everything else in the trailer with us, but we may try to see if Curtis RV (where they bought it new) or Camping World to go over everything for us if they'll do such a thing. Otherwise our neighbor (not an Outbacker) who has owned several different types of RV has agreed to show us how to operate a travel trailer. Would love to get an Outbacker's opinion(s), though.

Thanks in advance for putting up with a total newbies questions!

The Stephensons

We sure are excited about our new travel trailer! Goodbye 'ole pop-up!


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## kyoutback (Jul 12, 2004)

The Stephensons said:


> Hi - TOTAL newbies here; never owned a travel trailer before.
> 
> We're picking up our new (to us) 2005 Outback 25rss this Saturday. Yeah!!!! Will be towing it from Portland to Tacoma - what do we need to safely get it home? What will we need (safety wise) before we go camping?
> 
> ...


That is an excellent WD and Anti-Sway system, when installed properly. You do need to get the hitch set up correctly for any WD and anti-sway system to work properly. Take the time and get it set up right.

I don't know about the tow capabilities of the Expedition. Power wise it's probably ok. What is the wheelbase?


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## Bakerman (May 1, 2007)

Hi,

You'll probably need extended towing mirrors, there are basically 2 styles, clip-on that clip to existing mirrors, or those that mount to the door with their own brackets & straps (McKesh mirrors have a devoted following), I have a set I used on my Expedition.

Regarding the hitch height - 2 things may be at work giving you only 5" clearance. Reese hitch shanks come in 2 sizes that I know of, regular and extended drop. The 'regular' has 6 holes, the extended drop (used for taller pickups etc) have 7 holes. The holes are where the large bolts go through to mount the actual hitch. I had the regular hitch shank for my 2001 Expedition, I recently upgraded to a larger truck. The regular hitch was now too high due to the higher tow vehicle, so I bought the extended hitch shank (7 holes and more drop) so I could level the trailer. Its possible you have the extended shank, which is probably not a good match for your Expy.

My 01 Expedition had 'auto leveling supspension'. As you drive an air lift system engages and the rear end rises up a couple inches. If you have this, and you measure after the vehicle has been sitting a while, then you'll get a lower measurement than with the auto level engaged. Check if you have that, if necessary measure the rear bumper height first thing in the morning, drive around the block and measure it again with the vehicle returned to the same spot. On mine the compressor was rather loud, and the vehicle sagged noticably when the air lift wasn't 'inflated'. I had make sure the auto level was engaged before doing anything with the hitch, when it wasn't pumped up the hitch sat too low.

In either case, what's important is the ball height when towing, I have the 2006 25rss and the top of the ball is at 19.5" resulting in the trailer being pretty level.

Brake controller you'll need, probably a wiring harness specific to the Ford also. It will come with mounting instructions, they want to be level or not more than a certain angle, and mounted in a place where you can reach it easily to engage the manual braking lever. Also, adjustments will be necessary to get the right level of braking force.

Not sure how comfortable you'll be with all this, or how much experienced help you'll have getting all this set up - and as you've probably seen some of this setup is 'try', then adjust, repeat as needed. Bringing some experienced help with you is probably a good idea, allow lots of time, and do your driving during periods of low traffic.

Congratulations and good luck!


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## Dan H. (Jul 14, 2006)

We use a "Prodigy Brake Controller" in our 2005 Expedition to tow our 21RS. Never had a problem in over 2 years.

It is mounted using short screws to the panel on the right side of the steering column, just above the drivers right knee (quick access). Since you have a tow package, you need to connect the brake controller to the electrical connector provided by Ford (the connector is part of the tow package and may be in a plastic bag in the glove box) into the Expedition's wiring harness connector located to the right of the steering column behind the dash panel near the drivers right knee.

I connected and installed it in less than 30 minutes.

In regards to extra mirrors. The mirrors on our Expedition are very large and we found that they provide excellent visibility beyond the end of the trailer. Test yours before buying additional mirrors. I added some large aftermarket, stick-on, parabolic "blind spot" mirrors to the lower portion of both mirrors for added safety.

I hope this helps.


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## Bakerman (May 1, 2007)

Hi again,

Let us know how you're making out with the hitch setup. Probably kind of difficult since you don't have the trailer available, but probably that 5" of ground clearence probably means some change of equipment is in your future.

Towing mirrors also deserve your consideration. Many will do their own thing and that's personal choice I guess. Personally I like to err on the side of caution, stay within state laws etc. Oh, and your mirrows are your only visual aid in backing up, something you'll be enjoying soon.

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/auto-parts/t...s.htm/printable

"Not only will towing mirrors help keep you, your cargo and people around you safe, they'll also keep you within the bounds of the law. States mandate their own towing mirror regulations, but the general rule of thumb is that the driver should be able to see the entire length of the trailer and beyond to the traffic behind it. Depending on the size of the trailer, that may require towing mirrors."

On my full size pickup, the outer edge of the mirror extends 19" from the door, and I can just see down the length of the trailer. I don't know the specs of your Expy mirrors, so just fyi.


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## The Stephensons (Jul 10, 2007)

Hi - sorry I'm so tardy in following up with this post. Thanks everyone for your help/info. This site is amazing. We met the seller at Camping World and was unable to use her shank (too low, unable to flip it). Camping world was able to switch it out for us and we purchased a Prodigy Brake controller and Ford connector. DH installed it in the parking lot in - took about 30 minutes. The folks at Troutdale Camping World were great - "Steve" (a fellow outbacker.com member) came out before we headed out and said everything looked nice and level and the Reese WD System was hooked up fine. He showed us how to fine-tune the Prodigy Break Controller and we towed the trailer home without any problems. We can definitely "feel" the trailer while towing (compared to our pop-up), but it was very sturdy and absolutely no sway. We have a 2005 Ford Expedition 4x4 Eddie Bauer edition 5.4L V8 with upgraded tow package. It does not the extended wheelbase.

This last weekend was our maiden voyage and other than the black / grey tank sensors, all went well. That and the lousy gas mileage (hilly and winding roads). We are definitely going to look into upgrading our mirrors.

Thanks again everyone....


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## Airboss (Jul 14, 2007)

Glad to hear everything went well!

Just a friendly word of caution to take it easy towing with the Expy. I started out towing my 25RSS with a Land Rover LR3 (same wheelbase, little bit stronger engine, about the same payload capabilities) and was pretty quick to get rid of it after towing just twice. Don't get me wrong here, the LR3 and your Expy are capabable of doing the job, but not without taking its toll on both the driveline and the passengers. The short wheelbase is what's going to make things uncomfortable.

Please don't take any of these comments as criticism, I'm just offering my opinion since I once had a similar setup.


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## GarethsDad (Apr 4, 2007)

Like Airboss I was towing with a tahoe diesel. I had the power but lacked the wheelbase and after one to many white knuckle rides I upgraded to the biggest truck I could find. James


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## Toolmaan (Jan 11, 2007)

Congrats on your new Outback. As warned by others be careful with the Expedition. We had a 01 Expedition and we pull a 21RS. It can do the job but those semis passing you on the highway is hard to handle. I upgraded to a F150 supercrew and now have a longer wheelbase. It makes all the difference.


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