Towing Capacity of 2004 Mercury Mountaineer with a Weight Distribution System  

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From my research your 2004 Mercury Mountaineer AWD with the 4.0L V6 and Class II tow package has a maximum towing capacity of 3,275 pounds. I recommend checking your printed owner's manual or with Ford to verify this. I also found that you're required to use a weight distribution system when towing over 3,500 pounds. So if you find you can tow your 4,500 pound camper with your Mercury you definitely want to use weight distribution. In which case I also recommend replacing your Class II hitch with a Class III, part # 75132, so there's a shank to fit your receiver.

You should know that just adding the Class III hitch does not increase the towing capacity of your vehicle. There are other factors that decide the towing capacity and just replacing the hitch is not going to increase what your vehicle can tow. So if you find that your Mountaineer can only tow up to 3,275 pounds like I did then replacing the hitch is not a solution and you should not use this vehicle to tow that trailer.

If you're still able to go forward with towing and need a weight distribution system it comes down to the tongue weight of the loaded trailer added to the amount of weight you have stored behind the vehicle's rear axle. You want this number to fall right in the middle of the system you use's range. For example, the Fastway e2, part # FA92-00-0800, has a tongue weight range from 400 to 800 pounds of tongue weight. If you let me know what that figure is with your trailer and vehicle loaded I can make a specific recommendation for you.

expert reply by: Charles S

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