Hitch in bumper
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Freshman User
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 28
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Hitch in bumper
Greetings all -
My '85 302 auto, 2-wheel drive has a hole in the bumper
for a hitch ball. Someone also wired up the electrics nicely
underneath.
Can I really haul with this setup? Meaning, is the bumper
really capable from the factory of handling that kind of
stress?
I ain't talking about hauling anything more than 1-2,000
lbs., so...
Thanks...
My '85 302 auto, 2-wheel drive has a hole in the bumper
for a hitch ball. Someone also wired up the electrics nicely
underneath.
Can I really haul with this setup? Meaning, is the bumper
really capable from the factory of handling that kind of
stress?
I ain't talking about hauling anything more than 1-2,000
lbs., so...
Thanks...
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 1,575
Likes: 11
From: Puyallup, WA
Franklin2 hit it on the head. I concur that up to 2k you will be fine. I have never ever ran into a bumper hitch that was not rated at this.
Some of the bumper hitches were good for 3500 lbs though. Sometimes the rating is on the underside of where the ball mounts. Have you looked under there? Yup, to make things real convient you have to lay on your back to read it if it is there!
David
Some of the bumper hitches were good for 3500 lbs though. Sometimes the rating is on the underside of where the ball mounts. Have you looked under there? Yup, to make things real convient you have to lay on your back to read it if it is there!
David
Cargo Master
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 2,058
Likes: 424
From: Too close to Houston
Should be good, but to be on the safe side crawl underneath and tighten the bolts that hold the bumper brackets to the frame. Remember seeing all the old pickups and wondering how come the bumper is up at an angle like that? Tongue weight varies a lot positive to negative as the trailer bounces over stuff...
Laughing Gas
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 837
Likes: 2
From: Minnesota
Be cautious of these OE step bumpers for anything other than light towing. What looks like a weld between the bumper and the ball mount plate on some of these argent colored step bumpers is actually a bead of silicone (or such).
I had a little cushion hitch bolted to this plate through the "chain hook" holes on an '84. Came back from the elevator with an empty 300 bushel gravity box and one of the guys asked me what was wrong with the bumper. Went back and looked and the puny! little welds that actually held the plate in place had all but pulled loose from the main body of the bumper which was still securely attached to the truck frame.
We replaced the "silicone sealer weld" with the real thing and ran a couple pieces of heavy flat stock (welded into a "T" for extra strength) from the frame to the cushion hitch bolts.
I hate to think what might have happened if that had let loose with a fully loaded wagon in tow
Check it with a pic and if its soft tear it out and throw a real weld at it before you use it that way ... or add a Class III/IV receiver hitch and do it right.
I had a little cushion hitch bolted to this plate through the "chain hook" holes on an '84. Came back from the elevator with an empty 300 bushel gravity box and one of the guys asked me what was wrong with the bumper. Went back and looked and the puny! little welds that actually held the plate in place had all but pulled loose from the main body of the bumper which was still securely attached to the truck frame.
We replaced the "silicone sealer weld" with the real thing and ran a couple pieces of heavy flat stock (welded into a "T" for extra strength) from the frame to the cushion hitch bolts.
I hate to think what might have happened if that had let loose with a fully loaded wagon in tow
Check it with a pic and if its soft tear it out and throw a real weld at it before you use it that way ... or add a Class III/IV receiver hitch and do it right.
Last edited by ClydeSDale; Jun 29, 2007 at 04:27 PM.
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