Hi all!

I found a Class III box hitch on a junked 96 Extended cab. Looked like it had a stepside box on it.

When I hold the box hitch up to my '96 F150 XLT frame, there are no holes.

Is there a lot of variability between vendors, therefore Ford doesn't put holes in the frame?

Can/Should I drill the frame to hang this receiver?

Are there different receivers between the extended cabs and the standard cabs? ie Different frame/different box hitches?

I will be towing a 22' cuddy cabin w/225 hp motor on a dual axle aluminum. I have 5.0 litre V8 with tranny cooler. The tranny is a 3 spd w/OD Auto.

While the stock Step Bumber is pretty beefy, the brackets look a little light to operate at the above level. What is the factory bumper rated for?

Your thoughts?

T.I.A.

Greg

 

I just had a hitch mounted on my 94, the holes had to be drilled to hang the receiver. It is better to drill than to weld, welding may weaken the frame causing greater problems in the future.
I don't know if there is a difference between SC and Reg Cabs, I think, they don't drill in case you decided to go with a 5th wheel.
As for pulling your boat, I don't think you will have a problem, I pull a 26' mobile home that weighs in at 7500lbs. I have the same engine/tranny set up as you, mines a SC 4x4. just remember to turn off the OD and you should be good to go. The bumper on your truck is probably rated at 5000lbs. your owners manual will tell you for sure.
I hope this info helped happy towing

 

The hitch is the same for both trucks. Drill out the holes do not weld on the frame. Make sure you use a grade 8 bolt fine thread for the frame mount. Make sure you use the proper locking washers and what I do is use lock tight on the frame bolts.


Dave

http://a2ztowing.homestead.com/a2ztowing.html

 

I've got a Class III (Hidden Hitch) receiver on my Supercab. The installer drilled the frame(bottom) to hang the hitch. The whole process took him a grand total of 15 minutes with me being his second set of hands. One thing he was happy about though was that my truck has dual gas tanks and no spare tire hanging underneath. He said that if the spare is there it has to be moved forward a couple of inches to get it out of the way of the hitch. That turns it into a 2 hour job. One thing for sure. You don't want the receiver to stick out farther than your rear bumper. If it does you won't be able to keep any skin on shins when you walk around the back of the truck!

1992 F150 Supercab SB 4x4 302 AOD 3.55 31x10.5 All Terrain on Ford 15x8 Ralleys

 

I put a receiver hitch on my truck a couple of years ago. But oddly enough mine was already drilled in the right spots for the hitch. My fathers 82 was the same way and niether of our trucks had hitches on them previously.

What's the deal, anybody know? Did Ford do this or am I losing my mind.


1988 F-150 2WD 5.0 (formerly 300 six)
5 speed, XLT Lariat Conversion!

I love my Ford!