2008 Dodge Sprinter 2500 CDR - Towing Issues?

[GrandDad]

I finally did almost all the big renovations to get my van ready for the road. (Whew!)
Now the towing details...
Near as I can tell, this version of Sprinter is rated for 5,000 lbs towing capacity. Is that right?
I am planning on a small, open motorcycle trailer (1,200-1,500 lbs) to carry my touring bike (800 lbs). So I should be able to handle it easily, even considering all the additional weight I've built into the van itself. Does anyone disagree? Do you have any words of wisdom about managing with the motorcycle trailer?

The towing receiver is already attached (Factory?), but I can't find a wiring harness for the trailer connection. Would they have installed the towing receiver without installing a wiring harness?

Thanks for your thoughts/insights,
GrandDad

 

[sailquik]

GrandDad,
Does the towing cross member/receiver on your Sprinter have a capacity label or manufacturers label on it?
If it was the factory installed it should say ORIS on it, and yes, the capacity on your 2500 Sprinter is 5000 lbs.
total towed weight/ 500 lbs. tongue weight.
Normally if you get the factory installed ORIS cross member/receiver the factory also installs the towing wiring
harness and a 7 pin receptacle that sticks out toward the LH side of your Sprinter and is ty-wrapped to the
square tubing of the cross member.
If you start a conversation (at the top of this forum page....looks like an envelope) and send me your complete
VIN # (it's on the dashboard, just inside the windshield, and you may be able to snap a photo of it with your
smartphone. (it's also on the left hand side (outboard side of your Drivers Seat box which may be easier to get
in a smartphone photo) I will run the VIN Number and we can see if the hitch you have was installed at the factory
with the wiring.
I will also send you a copy of the complete OEM build data card for your Sprinter that lists all the options that were
assembled into your Sprinter in Dusseldorf, Germany at the MB Sprinter main factory.
Hope this helps,
Roger

 

[GrandDad]

Roger,

Thanks for the intel.
I just checked and the receiver is 'CURT' receiver, rated for 5,000 lb and 500 lb tongue weight. So they got that part right.
But I cannot find a wiring harness. The only wiring I see back there is the cable that goes to the sensors in the rear bumper.

To me, it's even more of a mystery as to why someone would install an aftermarket towing receiver and NOT put in a wiring harness.
Baffling.

Thanks,
GrandDad

 

[Winterbagoal]

Or, you could run your own VIN and get the datacard yourself.
https://www.lastvin.com

It's probably the easier task of the 2, to add the receiver. The wiring harness, not so much.

 

[GrandDad]

As a follow-up...

It didn't make sense to me that someone before me would've installed the structural receiver part of a trailer hitch but not install the wiring harness. So I crawled every inch of the underbody to find a connection or a wiring harness.
Finally, a friend of mine owns a horse trailer business, so I drove to his place. He had ordered a specialty wiring harness just for my Dodge Sprinter, in preparation for the installation.

As I was showing him the battery connections in the van's garage, he started looking at the wiring, before he said, "Why don't we just use this wiring harness?" as he started digging the trailer harness wiring out of one of the openings in the metal frame, near the rear of the vehicle.

Now I just feel stupid. Fortunately we're good friends so he just agreed with me and laughed it off.

In retrospect, I should've kept searching because it just didn't make sense. I've got an old adage that I didn't follow (don't tell me kids) - "If it ain't where you're looking, look someplace else".

Ah, well...

GrandDad