BigRed17
New Member
My story begins in 2019 when my wife and I discussed taking some cross country trips with our kids before they left the nest as adults. In considering the cost of such adventures, including my interest in more fishing, hiking, and camping while I was still physically capable (at the time I was 47,) we discussed purchasing a travel trailer. As we narrowed down the choices for TTs, we started to settle in on units that were about 7,500 lbs dry. I knew an upgrade to my 2018 Ford Explorer would be a requirement, so I began searching options between F-150 Crew Cabs and Expeditions. I am partial towards SUVs having kids and requiring enough space to keep the peace with 3 teenagers and friends. I decided an Expedition with an HD Tow Package was ideal for what we needed.
This began a 4-month search for an Expedition that matched my criteria. First thing to note....dealers can be ridiculously low-information on the vehicles they have. I got frustrated talking to dealers who did not know if the vehicle was equipped with the HDTP or not. It got to the point where I would just request the VIN if it wwasn't already posted online and look up the vehicle original window sticker online (Monroney Labels.) It saved me a ton of time.
Fortunately I had a happy accident. A local dealer had listed a 2017 Expy Platinum Edition EL in white. After confirming it had the HDTP, I headed out to the dealer to see it. I wasn't thrilled with white, but the mileage was 25k and it seemed in really good shape, and the price was OK. I was immediately heart broken to see bubbled paint on the leading edge of the hood. The salesman said they would "fix" that. However, right next to it was a Ruby Red Metallic King Ranch EL in beautiful condition. I asked the salesman for the mileage. He checked something and said "7,200." It was everything I could do not let my eyes pop out. I asked him the price and was shocked it was only $2k more than the white one! I asked if we could drive it. He got a plate and it ran beautifully.
As I waited in the showroom to get the paperwork, I frantically searched for it online to try to figure out why I would not have considered it before (checking for sellers notes that maybe I had already seen.) To my amazement, the vehicle was not listed online at all! I don't know if they goofed or what, but I asked the typical questions, and learned it was a trade from the original buyer because he wanted a pickup instead. I bought it on the spot.
I drove it for a few months and noticed a glitch in the electronics where certain functions would stop working (radio, for example) while driving. Sometimes it would tell me there was no key present randomly. Replacing the batteries in the fob did not fix it. I started to suspect this was the reason it was traded. I decided to stop in at Bulbs + Batteries to test the fobs I had. The customer service tech working that day looked at my fob and told me "Yeah, Ford tells you to use 2 volts, but you should use 3 volt batteries." So I switched to 3 volt and never had another glitch again.
I upgraded my tires to 10-ply for towing. Ironically, we had an appointment to order our TT and a week before our appoint, the COVID shutdown started and we never ordered it. So I have yet to tow a travel trailer with it, unfortunately. Since our sons are now in trade school, and our daughter starting college it may need to wait a while longer --- or my wife and I will get a smaller one for us.
After 2 years of ownership, I was not a fan of the stock halogen headlights. The fog lamps were LED and seemed bright and white compared to the duller and yellowish halogens. I decided I would upgrade the headlights, high beams, tailights, 3rd brake light, and puddle lights under the mirror.
So I did some research and purchased the following:
Headlights: Fuzed LED 9005 - https://www.fuzedled.com/products/low-beam-9005-9145-f1-series-led-headlight-fog-light-bulbs-set
High Beams: Fuzed LED H9 - https://www.fuzedled.com/products/high-beam-fuzed-led-h9-f1-headlight-set
Dust Covers (must have for fit) - https://www.fuzedled.com/products/expedition-2015-2017-high-beam-led-dust-covers
Resistors to prevent hyperflash with front signals - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07HF47RV9/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Front Turn Signal Lights - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BXP49Q4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Brake Light - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0816HP154/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Taillights (resistors included) - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BL1519MQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Reverse Lights - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0728DYR9H/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Puddle Lights (for under side mirrors) - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07L69HF76/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Notes about the install:
1 - The Fuzed units went in like a dream. They have an install video online here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRQNvA62JH0 - not much to add to that...very easy.
2 - Do not forget to order the Dust Covers listed above. The stock covers go UNDER the lip of the opening, these new ones go OVER and you need that due to the size of the LED units.
3 - Make sure you get the resistors for the front turn LED signal lights. When installing these, the units have mounting holes molded into them. There is a frame/engine support mount that runs right below the headlight assemblies on both sides. I bought 2 metal screws for each and drilled holes using the mounting holes as guides into that frame/engine support, and then mounted the units to the frame. Always mount these to metal for heat dissipation. Then I used the included wire taps to splice them to the turn signal wires, and wrapped the taps in electrical tape. YOU MAY NEED SOME EXTRA WIRE (14g is fine) ON HAND WITH SOME BUTT CONNECTORS IN THE EVENT YOU NEED TO LENGTHEN THE WIRES TO GET TO THE HEADLIGHT, particularly since the headlight is out of the vehicle while you are working on it. For some reason they made the resistor wires too short in my opinion. Easy fix with extra wire added.
4 - I used high-temperature glue to hold the included resistors for the taillights in place on the metal inside the taillight opening on the truck. They come with sticky pads, but I didn't trust them.
5 - With the puddle lights I used heat shink tube over the connectors to prevent shorts. The factory puddle lights connectors were studs, and therefore did not move around. These are on wires and can move around, so use shrink tube over the connectors when putting these in.
The whole project took me 3 hours, with most my time spent on the front resistors. I love the new look and results. Much more visibility, and they go well with the factory fog lights in the bumper.
Here are the results.
I am happy to answer questions about this setup if you have any!
I love this truck and plan to keep it until its dead.
BTW, I have been here for about 6 months, but this is my first post. I hope it helps someone.
This began a 4-month search for an Expedition that matched my criteria. First thing to note....dealers can be ridiculously low-information on the vehicles they have. I got frustrated talking to dealers who did not know if the vehicle was equipped with the HDTP or not. It got to the point where I would just request the VIN if it wwasn't already posted online and look up the vehicle original window sticker online (Monroney Labels.) It saved me a ton of time.
Fortunately I had a happy accident. A local dealer had listed a 2017 Expy Platinum Edition EL in white. After confirming it had the HDTP, I headed out to the dealer to see it. I wasn't thrilled with white, but the mileage was 25k and it seemed in really good shape, and the price was OK. I was immediately heart broken to see bubbled paint on the leading edge of the hood. The salesman said they would "fix" that. However, right next to it was a Ruby Red Metallic King Ranch EL in beautiful condition. I asked the salesman for the mileage. He checked something and said "7,200." It was everything I could do not let my eyes pop out. I asked him the price and was shocked it was only $2k more than the white one! I asked if we could drive it. He got a plate and it ran beautifully.
As I waited in the showroom to get the paperwork, I frantically searched for it online to try to figure out why I would not have considered it before (checking for sellers notes that maybe I had already seen.) To my amazement, the vehicle was not listed online at all! I don't know if they goofed or what, but I asked the typical questions, and learned it was a trade from the original buyer because he wanted a pickup instead. I bought it on the spot.
I drove it for a few months and noticed a glitch in the electronics where certain functions would stop working (radio, for example) while driving. Sometimes it would tell me there was no key present randomly. Replacing the batteries in the fob did not fix it. I started to suspect this was the reason it was traded. I decided to stop in at Bulbs + Batteries to test the fobs I had. The customer service tech working that day looked at my fob and told me "Yeah, Ford tells you to use 2 volts, but you should use 3 volt batteries." So I switched to 3 volt and never had another glitch again.
I upgraded my tires to 10-ply for towing. Ironically, we had an appointment to order our TT and a week before our appoint, the COVID shutdown started and we never ordered it. So I have yet to tow a travel trailer with it, unfortunately. Since our sons are now in trade school, and our daughter starting college it may need to wait a while longer --- or my wife and I will get a smaller one for us.
After 2 years of ownership, I was not a fan of the stock halogen headlights. The fog lamps were LED and seemed bright and white compared to the duller and yellowish halogens. I decided I would upgrade the headlights, high beams, tailights, 3rd brake light, and puddle lights under the mirror.
So I did some research and purchased the following:
Headlights: Fuzed LED 9005 - https://www.fuzedled.com/products/low-beam-9005-9145-f1-series-led-headlight-fog-light-bulbs-set
High Beams: Fuzed LED H9 - https://www.fuzedled.com/products/high-beam-fuzed-led-h9-f1-headlight-set
Dust Covers (must have for fit) - https://www.fuzedled.com/products/expedition-2015-2017-high-beam-led-dust-covers
Resistors to prevent hyperflash with front signals - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07HF47RV9/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Front Turn Signal Lights - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BXP49Q4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Brake Light - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0816HP154/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Taillights (resistors included) - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BL1519MQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Reverse Lights - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0728DYR9H/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Puddle Lights (for under side mirrors) - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07L69HF76/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Notes about the install:
1 - The Fuzed units went in like a dream. They have an install video online here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRQNvA62JH0 - not much to add to that...very easy.
2 - Do not forget to order the Dust Covers listed above. The stock covers go UNDER the lip of the opening, these new ones go OVER and you need that due to the size of the LED units.
3 - Make sure you get the resistors for the front turn LED signal lights. When installing these, the units have mounting holes molded into them. There is a frame/engine support mount that runs right below the headlight assemblies on both sides. I bought 2 metal screws for each and drilled holes using the mounting holes as guides into that frame/engine support, and then mounted the units to the frame. Always mount these to metal for heat dissipation. Then I used the included wire taps to splice them to the turn signal wires, and wrapped the taps in electrical tape. YOU MAY NEED SOME EXTRA WIRE (14g is fine) ON HAND WITH SOME BUTT CONNECTORS IN THE EVENT YOU NEED TO LENGTHEN THE WIRES TO GET TO THE HEADLIGHT, particularly since the headlight is out of the vehicle while you are working on it. For some reason they made the resistor wires too short in my opinion. Easy fix with extra wire added.
4 - I used high-temperature glue to hold the included resistors for the taillights in place on the metal inside the taillight opening on the truck. They come with sticky pads, but I didn't trust them.
5 - With the puddle lights I used heat shink tube over the connectors to prevent shorts. The factory puddle lights connectors were studs, and therefore did not move around. These are on wires and can move around, so use shrink tube over the connectors when putting these in.
The whole project took me 3 hours, with most my time spent on the front resistors. I love the new look and results. Much more visibility, and they go well with the factory fog lights in the bumper.
Here are the results.
I am happy to answer questions about this setup if you have any!
I love this truck and plan to keep it until its dead.
BTW, I have been here for about 6 months, but this is my first post. I hope it helps someone.
