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Rich and Cork · 11-11-2012, 03:36 PM

The following shows the installation of Blue Ox tow setup and US Gear Unified Tow Brake:

Solenoid Mounting:
I wanted to mount on the passenger side and route the cable for the solenoid to the throttle behind the AC. I also routed the electrical connection in this area. I wanted to use an existing bolt, so I drilled a hole for the bolt at the front of the solenoid mount. To help the solenoid hold in position I added a piece of aluminum angle to the mount and let it rest on the plastic of the kick panel.

Vacuum pump:
The vacuum pump is tie-wrapped near the brake booster.

Battery:
The picture shows the mounting of the circuit breaker on the battery box. One wire is from the MH and the second goes to the brake controller.

Wiring from engine compartment to interior:
Hard to take a picture, but I routed all the wires through the firewall through and existing larger rubber grommet. There is a little nipple on top of this rubber piece that I cut off and routed all the wires through that hole.

Pulley bracket:
The instructions want you to cut a hole in the carpet and bolt the pully to the metal. The carpet was too thick, so I made the bracket shown to hold the two pieces of the assembly. I had to angle the bracket to allow for a straight pull on the pulley. I once again used one existing bolt and drilled a hole through the firewall for the second bolt. This is the one that would really see stress when engaging the brake. To take up the gap in the carpet to my bracket, I put a sleeve around the bolt so I could tighten the bolt.

Blue ox brackets:
The instructions on the Blue Ox are very good and I think highly of this product. The installation was nice and the fit and finish is wonderful.

Towd vehicle lights:
This is one thing that I did not like how it turned out. I have always used diodes, but since everyone talks about how they like the add on bulbs, I did that. I would not recommend doing this at all on the Ford. What a mess. The reflector on the inside has quite an angle. Drilling the one inch hole creates a whole lot of plastic. This plastic goes everywhere! You cannot shake it out. I used a lot of water to remove most of the plastic pieces, but there is still some in there. Don't do it this way!

I need to buy the Aladdin tow bar and then I can do a full test.

Not sure why I cannot organize the pictures to go under my headings, but I will go to press anyway.