Hitch Receiver on the front

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Apr 7, 2006 | 12:36 AM

mikedoughty

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From: Pennsylvania

Hitch Receiver on the front

I was wondering if i still could put a Hitch receiver on the front of my 99 F150 even though i got a grill guard bolted to the frame on already and if not could i put a set of tow hooks somewhere, and finally last but not least I wanna mount a winch somehow to the grill guard. Any suggestions on how to do some of these. Help would be greatly appreciated

Apr 7, 2006 | 11:29 AM

rebocardo

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From: Atlanta GA

Your best bet if you are not going to weld something up yourself is buy a Warn, ARB, or Farm Hand type of winch bumper that comes with beefy D rings attached for winching, that is designed to work with your airbags, that comes with grill and headlight guards. They usually run around $1000 and are worth it.

In the FWIW department, I know from personal experience not only are most grill guards 1/8" wall pieces of junk, they stink as pulling points and are not even suitable for getting an ATV unstuck.

Apr 7, 2006 | 02:34 PM

chrono4

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From: Elkhart IN

if you need some hooking points, dont use hooks, they can straighten out. use d rings mounted real good.

Apr 7, 2006 | 03:20 PM

Pkupman82

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From: Muskegon, MI (home)

I prefer my front mounted receiver with a clevis D ring hands down to anything else!

Apr 7, 2006 | 03:33 PM

chrono4

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From: Elkhart IN

the hitches are good for constant pulling, but there not ment to handle the shock loads of a jerk or two. they may do ok, but it only takes on time to break a weld, or rip the metal.

Apr 8, 2006 | 07:26 AM

Pkupman82

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From: Muskegon, MI (home)

When I put my receivers on I added thicker pieces of steel to the inner portion of the frame rail where the bolts go through to strengthen the area and spread the load a bit more. Haven't had a problem yet! (knock on wood) I like receiver hitches because they distribute the load to both frame rails, plus they're just another crossmember to make the frame stronger.

Apr 8, 2006 | 08:14 AM

rebocardo

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From: Atlanta GA

Exactly how I do them, backed with metal channel.

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Apr 9, 2006 | 05:47 PM

ivanribic

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From: Spokane, WA

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrono4

the hitches are good for constant pulling, but there not ment to handle the shock loads of a jerk or two. they may do ok, but it only takes on time to break a weld, or rip the metal.

How do you figure? Hitches/receivers handle constant shock loads on acceleration and braking. Welded in D-rings use much less steel comparatively to handle these huge shock loads. There's no reason a proper receiver can't be used for extraction. It's not like they're using special brittle metals to build them.

My front receiver is mounted in my front crossmember with a back support to a second crossmember. We gave that pig some serious abuse extracting a Bronco on New Years.