Towing a Lincoln Navigator

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Joenew61

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We are looking to get a full size SUV to use as a Toad behind a soon to be purchased Super C. At the top of the short list is the 2023 Lincoln Navigator, and after a lot of research have learned that it has to have the Heavy Duty trailer tow package, which has a lot of features to allow the Navigator to tow a trailer, but also has a Slow climb mode needed for neutral tow, and had tow hooks on the front. However, the installer we were talking to said that there is no wiring harness for the Navigator, and that he couldn’t use the tow hooks and would need to replace them with a new face plate. Anyone have any experience with using the Navigator as a Toad? Or an Expedition, which has the same requirements and similar specifications? Thanks! Joe
 
If you are towing it 4 down behind the "C",, why does it need a tow package?? ( unless you intend to tow triple).>>>Dan
 
I'm thinking that you might have misunderstood what he meant. The heavy duty tow package needs to be on the super C because the Lincoln is a heavier vehicle. Some Class Cs only have a 5,000 pound tow rating.

I think the Lincoln Navigator is based on the Ford Explorer, which is similar to an F-150. It's way over 5,000 pounds. My 2016 F150 is a 4x4 and to tow it behind another vehicle I only have to turn the 4x4 engagement dial 5 times in 5 seconds. This shifts the transfer case into neutral. Your Navigator may be different!

You will need to have three things installed on the Lincoln. A tow plate, a auxiliary brakelight harness, and an auxiliary braking system.

On the motorhome you'll need a towbar capable of towing a 10,000 vehicle.

I chose to tow my wife's Edge instead. It's much lighter.
 
Right - that was surprising to me as well. The tow package has mostly features that are used for towing something behind it, but there are two components to the package that are meant to allow it to BE towed. One is the Slow climb gear which is needed to put it in neutral tow, and the other is the front tow hooks. At least that’s what I read on the internet :)

I was hoping to use the tow hooks that came with the tow package, but I guess unless it is rated for long distance towing, and has something that is wired for a harness relay to the brake lights, I would need to scrap that and install an after market tow plate.

It just seemed odd that the package that allowed for neutral tow mode AND had the tow hooks, didn’t have the other components required for flat tow, and the tow hooks can’t be used to flat tow.

I am also amazed at how little car dealers know about setting this up, or what is needed in terms of options. None of them had a clue about this.
 
jymbee said:
Inquiring minds would like to know. :unsure:
Click to expand...
I’ll ask the geniuses at Lincoln why they put an isolated transmission feature that is needed for flat towing into a tow package that is primarily used when the SUV is doing the towing.

It probably went something like this for the design engineers when they put the packages together.

Global>search>tow on their option list.
Group by “contains tow”.
List results
Combine and enter into Tow package.

They have no idea what the difference is between Towing and Towed.
 
Tulecreeper said:
Who tows a Lincoln Navigator as a TOAD? You may as well tow a Cadillac.
Click to expand...
Well the Escalade made the short list as well, but the market availability is so bad that dealers are selling the higher trim levels at 15k over MSRP.

We will be travelling with two dogs, and occasionally extended family members, so we wanted a full size SUV for the comfort and ease of entry/exit for the dogs.

None of the mid-sized SUVs had the space and comfort we are looking for.
 
I'd go to e-trailer, enter the vehicle info and search what type tow plates, harness, etc you'd need to flat tow. It could be just a matter of swapping the tow hooks for plates. You can email one of the techs or chat online, they're pretty good about sorting these type things.
 
Onyrlef said:
I'd go to e-trailer, enter the vehicle info and search what type tow plates, harness, etc you'd need to flat tow. It could be just a matter of swapping the tow hooks for plates. You can email one of the techs or chat online, they're pretty good about sorting these type things.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the suggestion. Last night as I was searching after my last post, I found a video that e-trailer made showing the setup for a 2019 Navigator behind a Class A. They mentioned a wiring harness that was rated for that configuration Roadmaster RM38FR.

2023 Lincoln Navigator - Roadmaster Smart Diode 7-Wire to 6-Wire Wiring Kit for Variable Voltage LED Tail Lights​

I'll give them a call and confirm. Then I probably need to find a different installation company than the one that told me there was no available harness. I am in SW Connecticut so if anyone has a recommendation, I'd appreciate it.
 
I agree with others. The tow package on the Lincoln has nothing to do with it being able to be towed 4 down. I think they are getting you to pay for more then you need, unless you plan on towing something separately with the Lincoln when not being towed 4 down by the Super C.
 
Claiming that in order to tow a vehicle that vehicle needs to be equipped with a tow package is like saying... [anybody?]
 
8Muddypaws said:
I don't know for sure but I think the tow hooks are there so the tow truck can pull out of ditches and things.
Click to expand...
Yeah, or so another offroad vehicle can help it out of trouble on a trail. Also so it can pull things itself (backing up, that is). In any case, irrelevant for 4-down towing. For that a tow bar is needed, and that requires a "base plate" to connect to the Navigator chassis.
 
I can shed a little light on the seemingly bizarre option packaging. During my varied career at IBM I've gotten involved in many things, and one of them was a computer systems design consultant to the auto industry for several years. I learned a lot about why they do certain things.

One of the major computer challenges at Ford & GM was manage the huge number of vehicle options. The computer could keep track of them all, but every option has potential interactions with other options and that impacted both order entry and production. Making sure that each option package was buildable and compatible with other options got incredible complex because each option had to be cross-checked with every other option for that vehicle. Little things too often ended up causiong incompatibilities or reliability issues, e.g. wire harness lengths, wire gauge, fuse sizes, where things got physically mounted, different assembly line procedures to accommodate each combination of options, etc. Part of the solution is to limit the number of options packages so that the number of combinations was merely huge and not astronomical. The content of each option package gets determined primarily by two things: items commonly ordered together (popularity) and items that have some inter-dependencies. But in this case, I suspect Joenew61 is close to right - the Neutral Tow Switch didn't fit with anything else so Ford just tossed it in with other "Towing" stuff.
 
jymbee said:
Claiming that in order to tow a vehicle that vehicle needs to be equipped with a tow package is like saying... [anybody?]
Click to expand...
....in order to put the horse before the cart, you also need to be able to put the cart before the horse.

This is from the Lincoln towing guide:

Navigator/Navigator L 4x4 Yes8, 9

1 Maximum speed with hybrid transmission is 70 mph. 2Select “Stay In Neutral” mode – refer to Owner’s Manual transmission and towing sections to follow procedures. 3 Start the engine and allow it to run for one (1) minute at the beginning of each day and every six (6) hours thereafter. 4 Intelligent all-wheeldrive (AWD)/4WD vehicles cannot be towed on a dolly. 5Maximum speed with automatic transmission is 65 mph. 6Start the engine and allow it to run for five (5) minutes at the beginning of each day and every six (6) hours thereafter. 7 Enter Neutral Tow Mode – refer to Owner’s Manual. 8Vehicle equipped with optional Heavy-Duty Trailer Towing Package and 2-speed transfer case. 9Shift the transfer case in neutral. Refer to Owner’s Manual to follow procedure. *Equipped with eCVT transmission. Note: Some aftermarket camper centers off

I get that it should need the 2 speed transfer case, but bundling that with a tow package makes no sense.
 
Gary RV_Wizard said:
I can shed a little light on the seemingly bizarre option packaging. During my varied career at IBM I've gotten involved in many things, and one of them was a computer systems design consultant to the auto industry for several years. I learned a lot about why they do certain things.

One of the major computer challenges at Ford & GM was manage the huge number of vehicle options. The computer could keep track of them all, but every option has potential interactions with other options and that impacted both order entry and production. Making sure that each option package was buildable and compatible with other options got incredible complex because each option had to be cross-checked with every other option for that vehicle. Little things too often ended up causiong incompatibilities or reliability issues, e.g. wire harness lengths, wire gauge, fuse sizes, where things got physically mounted, different assembly line procedures to accommodate each combination of options, etc. Part of the solution is to limit the number of options packages so that the number of combinations was merely huge and not astronomical. The content of each option package gets determined primarily by two things: items commonly ordered together (popularity) and items that have some inter-dependencies. But in this case, I suspect Joenew61 is close to right - the Neutral Tow Switch didn't fit with anything else so Ford just tossed it in with other "Towing" stuff.
Click to expand...

Great analogy. I am going down to the Lincoln dealer later to see if they can find someone in the network to give me definitive guidance on this. I get that I need to install a faceplate, and have resigned myself that I may need to spend the $2,600 on the tow package - I could end up downsizing to a trailer later, but the wiring harness is still an obstacle.

The guys at E-trailer did a search on a package for the Navigator and mentioned again the Roadmaster RM38FR "universal Smart diode kit" for the wiring harness. But the specialist Trailer installation outfit I have been in discussions with said that Roadmaster doesn't sanction it for the Navigator, so he wouldn't install it.
 
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