I wouldn't go so far as to entirely dismiss or condemn the intelligence of DrawTite. Rather, I would say that the DrawTite product, limited by the manner it which it is mounted, is adequate only for the loads that DrawTite rated it for (9,000 lbs. line pull, 500 lbs.carrying), and only for intermittent and infrequent use (which is a reasonably applied expectation).

The issue that Warn found, following the long accepted principal that a winch should be rated for 1.5 times the weight of the vehicle, is that for a diesel powered 4x4 Super Duty that weighs between 6,500 lbs to 8.500 lbs EMPTY (mine weighs 11K "empty" with boxes and tools), obviously a 9,000 lbs winch is not adequate.

Once Warn started testing 12K, 15K, and, later, the 16.5K winches, the weaknesses in the anchoring systems began showing themselves, even in Warn's own products, which Warn promptly redesigned (in both material specifications, shaping, hardware, and attachment points... as explained to me in conversations with Warn engineers at an industry trade show back at the time when the Super Duty was new).

For me, the concept of "adequate" isn't enough. I think about the "what if." It isn't often that the "what if" ever happens, but when it does, the feeling of victory that comes from previously anticipating and preparing for that "what if" is satisfying beyond the failure that was averted. Rich, I suspect that you think somewhat the same in those regards, which is why I bring up some of these other points to consider.

It isn't like you are going to "tow tow tow your boat, backwards to the sea" over many miles of bumpy roads where pot holes and peak amplitudes of stress risers will challenge the relatively meager tow ratings of a front hitch. More likely, the use of the front hitch as a towing tool will be limited to very slow speed precision positioning to park it, or to disembark the boat from the trailer on the ramp. This doesn't call for a Class V Titan V 2.5" hitch, nor does it call for a revamp of your front suspension with air bags. The boat's tongue weight won't even cause the springs to hit the jounce bumpers.

Metal fatigue is something that happens over time. It usually takes more than one bend back and forth to break a collapsed coke can in to. Bend it back and forth a few too many times though, and it is guaranteed to separate.

We know that the Ford foldaway flanges that the factory bumper attaches to are thinner, and less robustly attached to the frame on purpose. The only Warn product that I am aware of that attaches to these foldaway flanges is Warn's lightbar, and even it has several safety yellow labels on it that state "not to be used as a push bar". Every other Warn product mounts directly to the frame itself, often by replacing the factory tow hooks and utilizing those holes. From Warn's full bumper replacement, to Warn's external winch and guard mount like the Transformer Series, to Warn's hidden and semi hidden winch mounting kits, to Warn's front receiver hitch... they mount to the frame, not the bumper tabs.

I'd sort of recommend the Warn receiver hitch (if it is still made), but a good (imho) installation is not for the faint of heart, and could be improved by (imho) more than what Warn provided in the kit. The front leaf spring eye bolts must be removed, and in Ford's opinion, if they are removed, they should be replaced, and if they are replaced, you might as well buy longer ones (between 4mm to 7mm longer, depending on what is available in a 12.9 metric class flange head bolt of a matching diameter and shear shoulder).

The replacement recommendation of the bolt follows the same principal as found in Ubolts, where once torqued to spec (the spec on the front leaf spring eyebolt is over 200 ft lbs) the bolt stretches, and therefore loses the range of elasticity available for the next torque cycle. After a bolt has reached its yield limit, the next step is tensile failure, so better to have a new bolt with a fresh range between yield and tensile limits. The bolts are not cheap, however. They probably retail for over $50.00 each at Ford. I think I paid $30.00 each 16 years ago. So, this isn't the route for everyone, and is why I say "sort of" recommend, rather than whole heartedly. At the time I wanted what I felt was the strongest attachment achievable that was still removable without a trace. This was it.

The increase in bolt length is recommended in order to double the side plates of the hitch to increase resistance to yaw influences (or offset/angled pulls in winching), and still leave at least three full threads of the bolt exposed past the crown of the flange nut when torqued (Navy submarine practice). I doubled the thickness of my side plates from 1/4" plate to 1/2" plate. Note that Warn uses 1/2" plate minimum on all their products that mount to the tow hook holes.

Thicker side plates make them less bendable when tightening to the frame, so I found that two out of the four metal bushings that Warn provided must be machined down a bit to make up for the contour in the side of the factory frame and keep the now stiffened sideplates dead flat when torqued down. The amount will be self evident by eye when doing the install.

At the time I did all of this, the lower mounted Curt receiver hitch had not been invented yet. In fact, Ford hadn't even introduced the Blocker Beam yet (my truck never came with one, but my receiver hitch now serves as one). So the only front receiver hitch available at the time when I decided that I wanted one was the DrawTite style, which I rejected for reasons already explained.

Fast forward to today, and there are several options available, all of which are "adequate", and some of which do not rely on the controlled deformation flanges that the bumper mounts to. I'd be inclined to chose one of those later options if I wanted to just get something off the shelf, but I haven't found anything off the shelf that I prefer as much as what I cobbled together from the Warn front receiver kit, with doubled side plates, new longer Ford bolts, and machined bushings.

 

Looks like I may want to take mine back off and upgrade the flanges welded to the frame. I did use some large washers when I installed my hitch.


Whenever I use the winch I double the line with a ****** block and tie back to a tow hook so only half the load is on the hitch.

 

Brandon if you look closely at the design of the fold away bumper mounting flanges, they will give more when pushed in, rather than when pulled out. This is especially obvious when only considering direct front to back pulls parallel with the longitudinal axis of the truck frame. So I'm not sure you need to go pulling everything apart for a redo.

Once you get into side pulls, and offset angles, it gets a little dicey to try and figure out what will give first. The DrawTite does however, tie the two foldaway flanges at each frame rail together, which significantly distributes forces that might be disproportionately applied to one side. I still don't like that hitch mounting style, and would never install one, but at the same time, I wouldn't want the good points about it to be ignored.

 

2k, I stand in awe of your incredibly Large Brain Pan........

 

Embarrassing as this is, Y2K's news hit me hours after I ordered the one he recommended against. I went to "reject" the order and pay my lumps for the shipping and restocking, but I had a good look at the flanges before I made that call. My truck is different than the one in the pictures above. The flanges are really welded on there, like L-channel. Those flanges are not going to let go or fold easily, however.... the frame behind it is "accordioned" If I were to have a significant impact in the nose, the first section of the frame is engineered as a crumple zone. This would allow the bumper to retreat much the way the old shock method would have done, rather than just sheer off.

So... given that the hitch receiver was already paid for and within 30 feet of the truck (at the RV supply counter), and that I'm not overly concerned about the power steering cooling situation (I may ultimately regret that), and there is no way in hell I'm touching those front springs after melting the Buck$Zooka on the nose... I am now the semi-proud owner of the Draw-Tite 65022 front hitch. I should have it in soon, since it needs to be put to immediate use.

 

I doubt mine will ever be used in a heavy capacity. The trailer I plan to park is a 16ft BP. I'd estimate that it will be empty 99% of the time. It's just a PITA to park backing it up.

That being said, great info Y2K!

 

My "master plan" was to park the boat across the street for the time it took to install my new front hitch receiver, once we dragged it across the state to home. My wife wanted to forgo that part and just park the trailer the normal way. I told her it was going to be an ordeal, and she was going to get upset. After promising not to get upset, she broke that promise pretty quick. I had no problem getting the boat into the driveway, it was just the finessing it into the final spot that had her flailing about with all manner of Italian sign language. She was not going to let up until I asked her why she doesn't back her Jeep up the driveway and into the garage.

This is where she realized what I had to do with the behemoth was not so simple - taking into account the view through the mirrors, rounding the corners, that damn telephone pole in my way, and the sun glaring from behind the boat. Now she's wondering if we can rent a place to park it, and I'm assuring her that the next round of parking the boat won't be such an ordeal. I've always chuckled at couples at the boat launch, but my big dumb soft heart let her talk me into a situation I swore I'd avoid.

I'll report on the difference the next time I move the boat. It will be a while... we have ice flows from a big melt, and it's raining so much that I don't want to launch.

 

Sounds about right. I hate getting talked into doing something. I am going to get a set of walkie talkies to keep in the truck for spotting.

 

My wife, God bless her, has always had problems with right and left. I can hear the walkie-talkie conversation now "turn left, turn left, I SAID GO LEFT" as she's frantically waving her right arm.

 

Well... there's "LEFT", and then there's "THE OTHER LEFT"!

 

Oh... you had to bring that up.

 

Holy cow! My wife isn't the only one? If I'm driving and she's navigating, eventually she'll scream at me that I need to go the direction she's pointing. I'm better off with the GPS. Though it made for some good stories in Italy, but let me tell you the autostrada is not as forgiving as US freeways.

 

Lol... It's why I installed the reverse camera. So no confusion she hooking up the toyhauler....Hunny, babe..i can't move to the right, once the bank is even with the tongue...lol
I'll ask, lets see the driveway maze, Tug

 

Courtesy of Google Earth 3D:




If it's not clear, the arrow point is right at the base of one of the two poles at the entrance to my driveway (you can see the shadow from it), the other side has a phone/cable pole.

As I'm looking at this, I have a voice in my head "Thawt rat thar is a recipe fer divorce".

 

I can see why you'd rather push in the boat with a front hitch than try and take directions and not see if your moves are the right ones.