by Squigie » Fri Aug 30, 2019 9:24 pm
I don't know of anything that comes standard with a hitch - not even trucks.
It's optional on everything that I am aware of.
But, as mentioned above, having the factory "trailer tow" package / "tow prep" package / "payload" package is generally desirable for improved cooling, factory trailer wiring, and usually bigger brakes.
My Ranger was optioned with both payload and trailer tow packages. Payload gave it different overload springs, a rear bumper step skin with different payload ratings molded into it, and a bigger transmission cooler. Trailer tow gave it a bigger transmission cooler (same as "payload" upgrade), a power steering "cooler" (a few extra bends in one of the hard lines, hanging out in the breeze), different rear shocks, bigger brakes*, and a 4-flat connector.
*There were at least three other "packages" optioned on the truck that upgraded the brakes, as well. So that's really a bit of a "Who's on first?" kind of debate, as to which package really upgraded the brakes. But, the trailer tow package would have gotten it the bigger brakes, anyway.
What it did NOT have, however, was a receiver hitch. I could have paid a Ford dealer $900 to install one, but I opted for the $89 U-Haul self-install (a Curt with a U-Haul sticker on it). For that Ranger, at that time, it did not impact the warranty.
Same deal with current generation Explorers (and many other vehicles). All of them have the removable bumper cover where the receiver hitch and 4-flat and 7-pin connectors are accessed. ...But the actual receiver hitch and connectors are not present unless the vehicle had the 'trailer tow' package optioned when it was built.
Minor bit of trivia while we're on the subject of Explorers and receiver hitches:
For at least the first few years of the current Explorer (2011+?), Ford was installing standard Class III 'factory' receiver hitches on the Police Interceptor, but giving it no tow rating. ...Because it was the easiest, cheapest way to stiffen the chassis near the rear suspension, without having to engineer new parts. They didn't intend for the cars to actually tow anything.