Teach me about trailer hitches

I want to get a trailer hitch for our Escape.

Should I just go with the hitch and trailer harness from Ford? Or how well do aftermarket ones work and who is recommended?

I saw Drawtite and eTrailer as options.

Look at the design. Does the Ford hitch mount any differently to the Escape chassis than the aftermarket hitches? If yes, then I personally would stick with the factory unit.

Reese probably makes the hitches that Ford sells and installs on them... i'd wager that the exact same hitch is cheaper from anyplace that doesn't have a Ford logo on the front of the building.

Driven5 hit the nail on the head. Find the hitch that is made like the Ford unit. The biggest issue you will run into is the light interface. You just can't wire into the systems like you used to. My 94 ranger has a wiring harness interceptor that I had to replace after it started to fail and caused issues. My BMW actually had another computer that I had to install (factory hitch package) There were other companies that made an interceptor like my ranger had, but none had the extra box. What was the extra box? It tells the primary ECU when I have a trailer attached and if it detects sway it activates the back break individually to stop it. This is on a 2004!

The moral is find factory similar hardware and when it comes to the lighting, find the closest to factory there too.

I just bought a hitch for my '93 F150. Aftermarket $200+. Junkyard price $20. They were everywhere. Pick the style you like or get the OEM.

ETrailer is excellent. Courteous and fast. Arrived in three days even though I ordered late in the afternoon. I wired the Harbor Freight trailer but yesterday had U Haul wire from the car's tail lights for $30.00 and tipped the guy $10.00. Glad I had it done as the guy really knew what he was doing. Turns out he is a GRMer and was trying to figure out what to do with an STI lump that he bought from a friend for $600.00

Curt hitches. It's what we sell the.most of from work and the local ford dealer sends trucks to us if they don't have one from the factory already installed.