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Old 01-10-2015, 11:30 PM   #81
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.....today we spent the better part of the day in the process of buying a new (0 miles) 2014 Ford Escape with a trailer tow package on it.

The salesman told (warned) us that this package would DECREASE the cars towing capacity by a coupla hundred pounds!!! Our Trillium probably weighs in around 1500 lbs with all the junk we pack. Wondering now (and you know what 'they' say about hind sight...) did we do the right thing???

We needed a tow vehicle that would 'fit' in our garage and, and, and.....
Car FITS and has the trailer tow package and all, but.....????
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Old 01-11-2015, 08:07 AM   #82
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Doug,

Is it a "factory tow package" and the 2.0L Ecoboost engine?
If so, your ratings are 3500 lbs tow and 350 lbs tongue weight.

Earlier in this thread, I mentioned that page 197 of your owners manual
gives a "Ford" limit of 2000 lbs with an add-on aftermarket hitch, etc.
IIRC, 4WD vs FWD might influence your tow weight slightly.

Ford has both the owner's manual and a towing document on their web site in .pdf
form.

Ray


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Old 01-11-2015, 08:27 AM   #83
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In lieu of having my own photos at this juncture, I'm going to "try" to insert the link here for Buffalo Craigslist where the posting appears for the 2007 Chevy Express 1500 I plan on buying. If the link works, what appears as "cracks" or scratches on the van are actually those 'swoop" decals or paintings you see on vans. Hope this works, please let me know your thoughts!2007 chevy van handicapped equipped
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Old 01-11-2015, 08:43 AM   #84
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I'm thinking you could look for a year and a day and not do much better for the price. Simple and old-school. The Scamp should draft well behind it, but I wouldn't look for great fuel mileage, with or without.
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Old 01-11-2015, 09:17 AM   #85
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Thanks, Jon. I agree. The factory specs say 14/19 for gas mileage, but one can easily reason that with the high top and the wheelchair lift, that would decrease somewhat. However, I think that the extra cost of running will probably outweigh keeping two vehicles maintained, insured, registered, inspected, etc. My current wheelchair van is just rotted and I paid to have all new brake lines put in before Christmas so I could bring my brother home.

My S10, with same motor, gets similar gas mileage (as stated in specs), but I know the extra weight of the van, coupled with the other add ons will decrease the gas mileage. I just think that, in the end, driving the wheelchair van that I am babying and maintaining is the right decision for me. I just cried yesterday thinking that, with the power bed in the back, I can take my beautiful brother to my campsite on Lake Ontario and watch the waves roll in. That's priceless; enjoying one of God's gifts with my brother at my side. I am motivated in love here!

I am a bit worried about not being able to see the Scamp tow behind me as well as I could with my truck. I learned how to drive with mirrors this past year (as I always had a flat pop up behind me), but my mechanic said you can get mirrors installed on the back of the van to help you see your trailer.

I'm excited and am going to offer the lady $15,000 for her van. I was gonna sell my S10, but now my son is realizing how much I've babied it and the $ of a great used truck....so now he wants me to sell it to him. Sucker that I am as a mom, I know I'll let it go to him for way below book value... We'll see!
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Old 01-11-2015, 10:00 AM   #86
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Ford Escape and Scamp 13: Is Class II hitch ok?

So your Scamp will have a guest house...
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Old 01-11-2015, 11:37 AM   #87
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Wendy, by all means dicker if you like, but be prepared to give the full amount if the seller declines your counteroffer. After all, you've made up your mind that this is the right one for you, and you don't want it to get away.

Doug, that salesman doesn't sound incredibly competent. Believe the mfr specs, not the dingbat.
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Old 01-11-2015, 12:06 PM   #88
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Agreed Mike; don't want her to get away! The seller told me she'd take 800 off the 16, so I was going to try for 200 more based upon some things I saw that need a bit of work or replacement. For example, the van has a shore power plug on outside and casing is bent, warped. Window screens tore in a couple places, wood faceplate for power bench seat is cracked. Needs a new serp belt, fuel filter. All small things, but might offer some bargaining. If not, she gets what she wants.


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Old 01-11-2015, 12:44 PM   #89
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Wendy as others have said what you have found may be hard to find again.

No not great gas milage but it does what you need which is a pretty tall order to fill and the fact you are able to take all your family with you on trips is in my books priceless and would more than make up for the loss in gas milage.

There are lots of fairly inexpensive options out there for extended mirrors etc that will help you with the visibility when towing.
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Old 01-11-2015, 12:55 PM   #90
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Resale Values

Quote:
Originally Posted by CampyTime View Post
Agreed Mike; don't want her to get away! The seller told me she'd take 800 off the 16, so I was going to try for 200 more based upon some things I saw that need a bit of work or replacement. For example, the van has a shore power plug on outside and casing is bent, warped. Window screens tore in a couple places, wood faceplate for power bench seat is cracked. Needs a new serp belt, fuel filter. All small things, but might offer some bargaining. If not, she gets what she wants.


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Just checking, but was the book value you mentioned "Retail" or "Private Seller" value. Private sellers shouldn't expect to get retail dealers price.
Check the prices in NADA.com and key in on the private party prices and see if that comes down a bit. If nothing else it will give you some ammunition for your offer.

But certainly, the low mileage will work against you. I recently bought a 10 y.o. Blazer with only 50k on it and that pushed the price way up.



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Old 01-11-2015, 01:50 PM   #91
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Private seller. However neither kbb or nada can accommodate all the handicap add ons such as the lift, high top, power bench bed, shore power, qstraint tie downs, etc. kbb said $13,800 with the tow package. So....? Also has tekonsha brake controller.


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Old 02-12-2015, 03:02 PM   #92
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Soooo.... all this being said, How Do I Tell If I Have A True Ford Trailer Hitch (package) or something added by our dealer to help flog the 'Scrape' (as I've heard them/it referred to as....). I know there seems to be a towing weight difference between an after market hitch and a factory installed hitch.

On our Dodge Dakota, it has larger sized (volume) rad, and a larger alternator, but I do NOT know how to tell IF our 2014 2L Eco~boost does indeed have a Ford installed hitch or one installed later.....

I guess it boils down to 'do I TRUST' what the build sheet says...???
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Old 02-12-2015, 03:17 PM   #93
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The "Build Sheet" is supposed to be just that, how the factory build the car.


Dealer installed options are usually not listed on the build sheet. Contact your local Ford regional office to verify that. If you think it has been changed, ask Ford for another, just supply the 17 digit VIN.



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Old 02-12-2015, 03:40 PM   #94
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Thanks for the speedy reply Bob.... I'll do just that I guess, call with a vin number. We don't plan to be towing with this l'il gem until its (the 'Scrape) is properly broken in.
Can't wait for glamping season to get started up here.... , !!!
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Old 02-12-2015, 08:27 PM   #95
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Your local Ford dealer can run an Oasis and build sheet for you or if you want pm me vin and I'll do it for you from work.


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Old 02-21-2015, 03:28 PM   #96
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I have a 2014 Ford Escape with the 2L Ecoboost. I have been looking at the Scamp 13' trailers. I know pretty well for certain that I would have not problem towing it. I have also noticed the 16' Scamps. I know that they weigh under the 3500lbs that my Escape is rated to tow. My question is, would towing the 16' Scamp be a problem or should I just stick to the 13?
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Old 02-21-2015, 10:49 PM   #97
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The 16' will have very little additional wind resistance vs the 13'. The extra weight might mean slightly less acceleration and a bit more grunt needed going up steep hills. It should still be well within the capabilities of the Escape.
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Old 03-03-2015, 09:33 PM   #98
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...after doing some research on our 2014 Ford 'Scrape' I was able to find out the hitch is (in fact) a FoMoCo hitch with a 350lb tongue weight limit. So, towing our little 13ft Trillium will be a walk in the park for the suv. The wiring, while restricted to a 'flat four' configuration, is somewhat restricted but will work well with what we have. The next big thing is BRAKES on the trailer (which it should have anyhow...). The wiring harness does not allow for anything other than a 4 wire set up, so I'm leaning toward surge brakes. (something is better than nothing. right??).
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Old 03-03-2015, 10:18 PM   #99
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On our 2014 Ford Escape, I went with a Hopkins Multi-Tow adapter that plugs into the 4-flat
and provides both a 7-way round and a 4-pin flat. That avoided cutting into the Ford harness.
I then ran a 12v hot wire from the 7-pin round up to the battery in the engine compartment.

If you want electric brakes and don't want to get into the Ford harness to run a cabin-mounted
electric brake controller, you could consider mounting the Tekonsha Prodigy RF on the trailer to
provide the proportional brake controller function.

Just a thought. As always .... YMMV. 😉

Ray


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Old 03-03-2015, 10:29 PM   #100
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Okey-Dokey.... The hitch has a 3500 lb capacity, but the vehicle may not... it's an old smoke and mirrors trick where they use the same hitch on all models.


Here's is an "Official" Ford website listing the towing capacities for different 2014 Escapes. As you can see, towing capacity ranges from 1500 to 3500 lbs depending on which driveline (and perhaps other different parts that go with them) is installed.
http://www.ford.com/resources/ford/g...cape_may13.pdf

As far as the "Flat-4 connector, that will plug into the lighting pigtail on many aftermarket 7 pin plugs and you will can run extra brake and charging lines. I don't know of any surge brakes that can be easily fitted to the frame tongue shape on most FGRV's, and that modification would cost a lot more than electric brakes as well.



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