Well now I need to get a hitch for my aerostar. In the manual it says I have about a 4000 lb towing capacity, so I'd like to get a hitch that can handle that. Is there any particular brand/type that's best? Any particular place offers the best prices? Also I have a bike rack that attaches to one of the smaller trailer hitches (on my Honda civic), I think it's a 1.5 inch x 1.5 inch square? Is it possible to have a trailer hitch that's this smaller size and yet it still has a 4000 lb towing capacity? I'd like to be able to use my existing bike rack easily without using adapters etc and would also like to tow small trailers without swapping out the bigger towing ball.

Also, does anyone know if 15" aluminum wheels off of a '92 Ranger will fit my '97 aerostar? Thinking about changing over to 15 inch tires for a wider selection instead of the seemingly outmoded 14 inchers.

Thanks...

 

rims yes they should. i don't thinke the smaller trailer hitches were designed to do much hauling... my aero has a smaller one, and was used to haul a smaller (like 1500-2500lb pop up tent trailer), and i wouldn't use it to haul much more than that, looks too dangerious.

 

you won't be happy pulling 4K lbs with a 3L engine, especially in hills or headwinds.

get a trailer hitch rated Class II, will pull smaller popups fine. i would stay under 2K lbs and/or 25 sq ft total frontal area

 

Thanks guys. And 96 I don't plan on hauling any 4000lb trailer cross country, but an occasion might crop up from time to time that may require me to tow something close to that over a relatively short distance (no big hills). For instance, I was thinking about getting a car tow dolly and when needed I might transport my Honda (or something similar) once in a while over short/moderate distances. So there will probably be cases here and there where I might actually need that capacity. With that said, is there any particular hitch that would be best? I'm assuming Reese but I see a lot of "valley's" too.

 

I would go with any good brand of hitch. I believe you can buy converters to go to a smaller hole or ball, that way you could have the class III/IV hitch for the Aero.


As for your question about the Ranger rim, yes it will fit, all Ranger/BII/Explorer/Mazda B series rims are interchangable.

 

I bought a Class II Valley hitch locally. 3500lb Gross, 350lb tongue. It's the cleanest looking setup I've seen on an Aero. All you really see is the receiver part. I don't see my model on their site. The must have changed them.

 

UHAUL.net Has hitch spec"s.

 

I have a Hidden Hitch Class II on our '96 extended van. We pull a coleman popup in summer, and occasionally one axle Uhaul trailers, with no problem. If I recall correctly, not ALL aftermarket hitches leave you room for a full size spare, so you might check that out, if you like to carry a full size spare.