Put on my hitch last night. After confering with Curt Mfg. I ordered the hitch they swore up and down worked on the FEH. Needless to say, but I will say it anyway, they lied. I then proceeded to think about various ways to make the cut that is needed to clear the A/C lines without resorting to going to a hitch shop, who would charge me an arm and a leg and if experiance is any guide break something in the process. I found a wonderful solution which I never would have tried except I was too cheap to pay somebody to do the work.

I used my Rotozip (http://www.rotozip.com/), equipped with a cutting wheel to make the cut. I have used this tool to cut lots of metal parts for various odd jobs, but I had serious doubts about going though that much metal. I was wrong. Within 5 minutes I had the cut I needed to clear the lines and I smoothed the edges of the cut with my Dremel. The whole thing was MUCH easier than using a torch and frankly gave a better looking cut once it smooth and painted (another 5 minutes). After that it was just a matter of bolting up the hitch and going for a test drive. The whole thing took less than 45 minutes.

The next project is wiring up the light modulator, at least I can use my hitch bike rack this weekend.

I did order my hitch before I knew about the www.hitch-web.com Hybrid set up and if I had know I would have ordered from them, but at least I know that somebody can make it work with a few simple tools.

My next project is the exhuast impact on the hitch, which I hope to do over the weekend. I am taking what I think is a unquie approach and I will post some pictures.

Chris Brown
Mendocnio County, Ca.

 

We ordered a "Hidden Hitch" from etrailer.com and had it on the FEH in under an hour. No cutting, no notching, no problems.

They just started manufacturing it for the FEH and cost was $140 + shipping to New England for a total of $160. Delivered in under 1 week.

C&J the Gas Pirates

 

What type of towing capacity does the Escape Hybrid have? Is the reasons hybrids can't pull heavy trailers because the motor will overheat?

 

The Hybrid version of the Escape has a maximum towing capacity of 1,000 pounds but if you read the manual carefully you must do various calculations that take into account curb weight, passenger load, and cargo load in order to come to an exact figure, which is usually less than 1/2 a ton.

Ford has not officially said why they limit towing on the Hybrid Escape to 1,000 while the same carriage and configuration on the Gas Escape is nearer to 3,500 pounds. The only difference is the unique hybrid parts. I have found that under some load conditions (even without towing) the Hybrid Escape will slowly lose all power as it senses an increased torque. I know that the parts are not failing but rather the PCM (Computer) is shutting down the parts to protect them because I can turn off the key and restart (reboot) and everything is fine once again.

Ford intimates they have this built-in protection to protect the drivetrain from excessive heat and load. I assume that this also extends to the reason they limit towing capacity since towig will increase load.

 

Just a thought here, but do you think the 1000 pound limit may be due to the electric-only reverse? It may not be able to safely/effectively back up with more than 1000 pounds.

 

Especially backing up a hill! But you would think that the manual would at least mention something about backing with a tow load in electric.

 

Thanks to info provided by C&J, I've just placed an order for the same item

Mainly so I can mount a bike rack ... not planning on hauling a trailer.

david

 

Reverse is NOT EV only. It IS EV unless gas is needed. Once you go past 3/4 thottle the gas engine kicks in and away you go. \

Chris

 

I just put a Hitch on my FEH. I ordered the Ford Hitch that fits the 2005 Escape (non-hybrid). I checked with people at Ford to make sure it would fit first. Anyway, it came in last week and I installed it this weekend. It took only about 20 min to install the Hitch and every thing went exactly as the instructions sheet indicated.

The FEH, I found out, does not have the wireing harness for the Ford light kit. After talking to several people I was told that I needed a light processor that could power the tailer lights from the 12V batt and not just splice into the power feed to the tail lights. The light processor uses the tail/brake/turn light voltage just as a signal for the processor and does not draw any power to drive the trailer lights from these lines. I got a Hoppy light processor ($35) but have not fully installed it yet. I've run the 12v line to the battery, and since thats the hardest part I should be able to finish up tonight.

 

Thanks for the etrailer.com reference. I just ordered mine today. I'm simply hauling bikes, too, so weight isn't much of an issue.