I might need to tow a Mazda 626 on a dolly with my truck. The rental places say I need a 5000 lb rated hitch for this. I wonder if I can do this with a ball hitch mounted on my step bumper...

 

The bumper hitch rating should be stamped on there somewhere.

I think those dollys have electric brakes. Do you have a 7 pin and a controller?

 

How far are you going? I would think you'll be ok for a 1 time tow. Just remember that your tow rating is only as high as the lowest rated component... IE check the ball, factory tow spec for bumper, ball mount, and pin (if class 3 or 5 frame mount hitch used).

IF i were you I'd feel more comfortable with a class IV hitch mounted to the frame, but... There should be negligible tongue weight so the bumper should be fine for 5k towing.

 

If you dont see it stamped on the bumper, check the owners manual. I think its only 2500 lbs but I'm not sure.

 

most 2 wheel car dolly's I've seen are a 4 pin and no trailer breaks...

 

also unless I am missing something the curb weight of a 626 is about 2800 lbs... add 400 for the car dolly and you still only have 3200 lbs. Overkill is always better than short cutting when it comes to towing heavy loads safely... Check your local CL for a class IV hitch for a 87-96 F150... They are usually hanging around for $50 or less.

 

I went and looked at my F250, it looks like the same bumpeer. I didnt see anything stamped on it but my manual says the step bumper is rated for 5k lbs and 750 lb tounge weight. The rental place will probably need to see it in writing before they will rent you a dolly.

 

Thanks guys, this is all good info. My friend is moving to Chicago, so the tow is a one way 750 trip. The local shops want over $300 to sell and install the complete package. U-Haul quoted me $192 for the 5000 lb hitch installed (I thought that was high before checking else where).

bashby, thanks for the tip. I will check the manual and see what it says. Purchasing a 2" ball is a hell of a lot cheaper than the alternative. My only concern with that would be the potential height of the ball might be too much for the dolly, although since I'm loading the bed with several hundred pounds of other household items, that might not be such an issue...

 

FYI: Read the U-haul web site!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It says you only need a class 2 hitch or 3500lb weight rating and a 1 7/8 or 2in ball rated for 3500lbs...

U-Haul: Equipment specs

Go buy a 5K 2in ball and a 4pin wiring harness and you'll be fine to bumper tow that car and anything else you want in the future!

Hope you have a 351w or bigger in that truck or it's going to be along slow drive!

 

You were so right! All the naysayers are wrong.

 

If you read that last paragraph it starts to talk about added bracketry to lower the ball. Years ago I bought a reciever that bolts to the bottom of the bumper that you could slide in a 2" square hitch to lower the ball down. With the weight behind the bumper like that it flexed the bumper "twisting" it. I could stand on the ball and bounce to see the amount of flex. If the ball is too high I reccomend getting a full bolt to frame type hitch.

 

again... go back to U-haul and read the specs required for a car dolly!!!!!

YOU DON"T NEED A 5K TOWING CAPACITY!!!!

Also car dolly's usually have bend in the forward shaft so that it automatically has a little bit of a drop in it...

 

Good point, I'll check then height.

When I spoke with the lady on the phone, she said 5.000 lb "to make sure". I read on-line 3,500 lb would work based on their inspection and acceptance of it.
Since the tow package in the truck is rated at 5,000 lb, it's probably a moot point.

BTW, the brackets look to be heavy duty, I took these pictures a little bit ago. The steel is thicker than 1/4", maybe 5/16". Looks like there is a connector there where I might be able to hook up the electric pigtail too...

 

errrrnt! (buzzer sound...wrong!) the wire in the pic is only for your licence plate light. you either have to get a plug and play harness that will plug into the wires behind the taillights or splice into the wiring harness running across the rear underside of the bed. Unless there is a factor plug-in in the harness that we can't see in the pics. You can get a 4-pin wire setup at walmart for $20 pretty easy.

As to the previous comment about the heavy 5/16 plate steel... Grumble Grumble... Lets go back and revisit what Nathan previously said about towing... "Just remember that your tow rating is only as high as the lowest rated component..."

Why is this important to bring back up you ask...??? This means the bolts holding the bumper to the bracket and the bracket to the truck need to be grade 5 bare minimum if not Grade 8 for anything over 5K... This may be a moot point right now but I don't see any tick marks on those bolt heads. So keep your tow loads 5K or less.

I have a HD bumper on my truck and the metal is way thicker than that stuff. Plus the tow package to give you 5K+ towing would have come with trailer light hook ups... Just adding in extra info i guess...

Oh and make sure your breaks are up to snuff! You won't be stopping that truck with the E-brake (ie rear drums) if any kind of hydralic break failure should happen... SAFTEY FIRST!

And not to complicate anything further but if you have an automatic tranny I'd consider a aftermarket tranny cooler for to help your tranny while towing. Seriously you just saved $300 not having to put a hitch on... why not spend the $75 on a cooler to help extend the life of your tranny... Long heavy hauls can be brutal on transmissions... Just my 2 cents...

 

The connector I saw is in a different picture. I dont know if I can tap out of it to wire the pigtail or not. Here is the picture:



The screws are big metric units grade 9.8 so they are medium carbon steel heat treated with 130,000 psi strength





The brakes are good although they could use a change of pads in the front. The truck tends to run cool according to the gauge and it has never even begin to overheat in the Atlanta heat of summer. Perhaps an oil cooler for the tranny would be a good idea. How difficult are those to install?