2004 Ford Excursion hitch / bumper question(s)

FishinPole

Cadet
Joined
Jul 5, 2009
Messages
10
Use my boat in saltwater only. Used to tow with a Ford 1 ton Club Wagon which worked very well. Hitch and connector were located up high. Now tow with a 2004 Ford Excusrion (V10) and factory tow package. Factory hitch and wiring connector are located very low, under the rear bumper. This puts trailer connector very close to the water. I was considering relocating the connector up higher and installing it in the bumper. This would require drilling / cutting holes in the bumper. Question(s). Anyone have any ideas as to how hard the bumper material is??? Can a hand electric drill do this kind of job, or do I need something more professional. ???? Would drilling through the chrome expose the bumper base material to easier saltwater corrosion??

Thanks
 

Thalasso

Commander
Joined
Jan 18, 2011
Messages
2,876
Why not just run the wire longer and put the plug inside. Let the wire run under the rear hatch/door. Trying to drill into a chrome bumper is going to be darn tuff and it will rust. You have now removed the chrome that was protecting the bumper
 

smokeonthewater

Fleet Admiral
Joined
Dec 3, 2009
Messages
9,838
I drilled the back bumper on my 99 f-350 (same as your excursion)

Was very easy to drill with a quality holesaw and my cordless drill.

I then deburred the hole, scuffed, primed, and painted all by hand 1/4" around the hole.... No rust issues in 4 years...

Why are you backing in so deep tho? .... Maybe some bunk slicks are in order.
 

FishinPole

Cadet
Joined
Jul 5, 2009
Messages
10
Thank you Thalasso and Smokeonthewater for your input. The wiring is on the outside and the rear doors are wide and fit tight. Not a good option to run wires this way. Kevin, my old 1 ton Ford Window Van was much higher off the ground. Towed and launched very easily for about 20 years. Van just wore out.....had 530,000 miles. Newer Excursion is very low to ground. I had to get a 4 inch riser for the hitch ball and I added air bags to get trailer level. I also added slicks to the bunks. With old van, when launching or retriving, electrical connector was about 6 inches above the water. With new Excusrion, electrical is about 1 inch above the water.

I did not realize how low the hitch was. When I found a V10 Excursion with very low miles and factory tow package at a good price, I snapped it up. Later realized how low the rear end was.

Again thanks to both you guys. I will probably relocate the electrical since it sounds like something I'm capable of doing.
 

smokeonthewater

Fleet Admiral
Joined
Dec 3, 2009
Messages
9,838
Maybe some tall skinny tires on the excursion are in order... I assume it's 2wd if it's lower than a van....

Maybe some 235/85/16's (31" tall)

If it's 4wd I recently put 255/85/16's on my dually and love em... They are 33.5" tall
 
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