I thought I'd post about towing a 2013 Ford Edge Limited AWD (with Adaptive Cruise Control and keyless ignition), since there seems to be a lot of questions on the different forums regarding this setup. I think we are the only folks on this forum that tows this particular vehicle, but it may help others in the future.
We have the Blue Ox baseplate and SMI Stay-In-Play supplemental braking equipment. We also have a trickle charge line from the coach to the Edge and are using the Edge's brake lights and turn signals (with diodes)
We have had no problems with the battery running down and everything works as expected. Having said all that, I think that folks may have problems and/or confusion for a couple of reasons....
The Ford instructions seem a bit counter-intuitive, but they work! I keep this checklist handy and use it religiously every time once the car is hooked up to the towbar:
- Start car.
- Put climate control in recirculated air mode to keep
exhaust fumes from entering car from motorhome.
- Put headlights in off, not auto.
- Turn off radio.
- Run engine for 5 minutes.
- With the engine running and your foot on the brake,
shift into position D and then into position R before
shifting back into position N.
- Release parking brake
- Place ignition in the accessory position (put foot on
brake, press button to shut off engine, remove foot
from brake, press button to place in accessory mode)
- Switch on SMI braking system (flip switch to the right)
- Pull breakaway pin to test that brakes work. Reinsert pin.
- Check operation of brake lights and turn signals on Edge
when activated from coach.
- Do not exceed 65 mph. Do not back up.
- Start engine and allow it to run for 5 mins at the
beginning of each day and every six hours thereafter.
The part that doesn't seem to make sense initially is where you need to shut off the engine and then put the car in accessory mode. With keyless ignition, you would think this is a bad idea because it powers up some stuff and you don't have or need a physical key in the ignition to unlock the steering column. However, if you just shut the car off it will display a message to 'Place Vehicle in Park' and the two information screens remain on. At this point, pressing the ignition button without a foot on the brake activates accessory mode and that message goes away. After a few minutes all displays automatically shut off if you are in accessory mode.
Having a trickle charge line allows the use of the Edge's lights without killing the battery.
Now, the issue(s) with adaptive cruise control.....
1) Installing a supplemental braking system in the engine compartment might be a little trickier, due to the room that the adaptive cruise equipment takes up.
2) Not sure if this is totally due to having adaptive cruise equipment, but the baseplate will need to be mounted between the Ford emblem and the license plate, which is about halfway up the front of the car. This requires that you have a hitch riser on the coach receiver (well, on the PC anyway)
So far setting up and towing the Edge has been very easy and trouble free for us.
- Mike
Mike,
Thanks for the information. We bought our 2552 4/1/14. I had my trade (Sunseeker) rigged with the Blue Ox and Ready Brake tow bar and brake system on our Ford Focus. Seems that it worked fine on the Sunseeker but I think I need to lower the tow to be more level with the Focus to get the Ready Brake to work well.
We have a 2012 Edge and have been thinking about rigging it up to tow because the Focus is just to small. I am 6'1', 230 and my wife has long legs (she would kill me for putting this in the email). I was hesitating with the Edge because of the weight. It is on the 5,000# bubble. Does this concern you? I opted out of the key-less ignition and cruise control that you bought. I am hoping this will alleviate problems with towing. Also, I was thinking about having the Stay-In-Play installed and not the ready brake. Do you like the Stay-In-Play?
Thanks,
Jim
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