Need help with towing question

[silverz51]

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...

 

[Alvin in AZ]

Oooo... good question.

What are the stock step rear bumpers rated at?
Looked and couldn't find it in my 1991 Specifications Book. :/
Ford's always been kinda weird about their specs, IMO.

Alvin in AZ
ps- What's the curb-to-curb turning radius on the Gen-8 Bronco?
That's not in my spec-book either, pickups-yes, Bronco and vans-no.
pps- "bump"

 

[Evan's f250]

They are rated @ 8000 lbs. I have that type of bumper on my truck and it has a sticker stating 8000 lbs max.

 

[Alvin in AZ]

They are rated @ 8000 lbs.
I have that type of bumper on my truck and it has a sticker stating 8000 lbs max.

Cool, thanks, Evan!

Hey Dennis, got the curb-to-curb on my '91 Bronco by any chance?
(and cab height too, while you're at it?

OP, can we turn this into a "specs thread"?

Butthead in AZ

 

[Evan's f250]

Cool, thanks, Evan!

Hey Dennis, got the curb-to-curb on my '91 Bronco by any chance?
(and cab height too, while you're at it?

OP, can we turn this into a "specs thread"?

Butthead in AZ

No problem. After so many years that sticker comes off, I know mine is about to, but i can still read it. I like these type of bumpers, mine is the same as yours but without the black on top(its got diamond plate on top). It was a pain to put on my '78 though.

 

[Alvin in AZ]

Opps... Dennis, just now found where I wrote this information down
from the last time you gave it to me. LOL

Wrote it in my Specs Book this time.

Hey Dennis, got the curb-to-curb on my '91 Bronco by any chance?
(and cab height too, while you're at it?
Butthead in AZ

 

[silverz51]

OK gentlemen, here is what I've found out. The bumper itself is *not* a towing member in my case. You might want to make sure of your particular application, but in my case the truck is equipped with an optional step bumper, which is in effect a towing package.

According to the owners manual, the step bumper hitch is rated at 5,000 lb. It's a formed 5/16" thick (approx) steel box and it's secured to the frame with pretty large metric bolts class 9.8 which means they are medium carbon heat treated bolts with 130,000 psi ultimate strength.

Here are some pictures of the manual page where the tow hitch rating is listed. In a previous page the GCWR (gross combined weight rating) is listed as 11,000 lbs for my particular truck ('94 XLT extended cab, 6' bed, 5.0 with A/T). Also there are pictures of the actual tow hitch which is only nominally part of the bumper itself. I did not see a sticker, but I did not look everywhere yet.

 

[john112deere]

Me...I'd pick up a 2" receiver hitch for a couple hundred bucks and bolt it on in a couple hours.

If nothing else, those bumpers are way too high for most trailers. Even my little baby 2wd Ranger, the bumper was a little on the high side for most standard utility trailers.

 

[Evan's f250]

OK gentlemen, here is what I've found out. The bumper itself is *not* a towing member in my case. You might want to make sure of your particular application, but in my case the truck is equipped with an optional step bumper, which is in effect a towing package.

According to the owners manual, the step bumper hitch is rated at 5,000 lb. It's a formed 5/16" thick (approx) steel box and it's secured to the frame with pretty large metric bolts class 9.8 which means they are medium carbon heat treated bolts with 130,000 psi ultimate strength.

Here are some pictures of the manual page where the tow hitch rating is listed. In a previous page the GCWR (gross combined weight rating) is listed as 11,000 lbs for my particular truck ('94 XLT extended cab, 6' bed, 5.0 with A/T). Also there are pictures of the actual tow hitch which is only nominally part of the bumper itself. I did not see a sticker, but I did not look everywhere yet.

my sticker is located under the license plate. cnt be seen with plate on

 

[73F100Shortbed]

Me...I'd pick up a 2" receiver hitch for a couple hundred bucks and bolt it on in a couple hours.

If nothing else, those bumpers are way too high for most trailers. Even my little baby 2wd Ranger, the bumper was a little on the high side for most standard utility trailers.

Personally I wouldn't tow a car with a bumper hitch. But that's just me.

 

[silverz51]

Me...I'd pick up a 2" receiver hitch for a couple hundred bucks and bolt it on in a couple hours.

If nothing else, those bumpers are way too high for most trailers. Even my little baby 2wd Ranger, the bumper was a little on the high side for most standard utility trailers.

Yeah, I'd rather get a nice hitch too, but I don't have $250 or so bucks to spend on that now. I just ordered a class III receiver for 2" sq ball mount from Amazon for around $32 shipped. I can either bolt it to the underside of the step bumper or get it welded. Northern tool has ball mount kit with 2" drop (mount, 2" ball, pin, latch) for $27.99

I only intend to pull this one car dolly for a friend and I don't want to spend any more than absolutely necessary. I might use it again, but I doubt it will be for more than very light applications. $60 plus the T adapter for the lights is about as much as I want to spend. If it will work, I will be happy. Otherwise, I might forget the whole thing.


http://www.amazon.com/ACMES-Univers...4?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1305599020&sr=1-14

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/to...=mode+matchallpartial&Dx=mode+matchallpartial

 

[silverz51]

Correction

I screwed up by not reading further in the manual. It seems that any sort of extension or lowering of the ball position weakens the bumper mount considerably and should not be done. "If it is necessary to relocate the trailer hitch ball position a frame mounted trailer hitch must be installed" Page 230.....

Back to the drawing board....

 

[Truckin4life]

How far are you moving it and what kind of setting? City highway back roads?

 

[Alvin in AZ]

How far are you moving it and what kind of setting?
City highway back roads?

x2

How many times ya gonna try to jerk the frame out from under the car?

Etc.

I towed a 1957 8x45 "travel" trailer with my '75's bumper, three times.
2+5/16" ball, no bent plates and didn't even "scoot" the plates and no,
they were-not resting down against the bolts.

5000 pound rating?
8000 pound rating?
...as if that's all it can take! LOL

Butthead in AZ

 

[silverz51]

x2

How many times ya gonna try to jerk the frame out from under the car?

Etc.

I towed a 1957 8x45 "travel" trailer with my '75's bumper, three times.
2+5/16" ball, no bent plates and didn't even "scoot" the plates and no,
they were-not resting down against the bolts.

5000 pound rating?
8000 pound rating?
...as if that's all it can take! LOL

Butthead in AZ

My friend is moving from Atlanta to Chicago. It's about 750 miles each way on interstate highways. I hope I don't jerk the frame out from under the truck (or the car), but one never knows....
The step bumper is a factory option with a buil-in tow package rated at 5,000 lb. The GCWR is 11,000 lbs and the curb weight of the truck is around 4,500 so I think I can safely pull the 626 Mazda on the dolly as well as whatever household items would fit in the bed of the truck and in the cab up to around 1,000 lbs (including the passengers).

 

[Truckin4life]

Its your personal call, but the "hitch" is rated for it. The car wont put 5k of pressure on the hitch. Heck i doubt the car itself weighs 5k.

 

[silverz51]

Its your personal call, but the "hitch" is rated for it. The car wont put 5k of pressure on the hitch. Heck i doubt the car itself weighs 5k.

You are right of course, I doubt seriously that the 626 and dolly would weight even 4K lbs. I just spoke with another U-Haul location and they seem cool with the idea (at least on the phone).

 

[SuperCab]

Wouldnt make a habit of it but we towed a ~10000lb trailer on a '79 Chevy 3/4 ton right on the bumper and it worked fine... did it more than once actually...

for the future though invest in a hitch when you have the money...

 

[5.0Flareside]

got a buddy that tows with his 3.7L 5 spd dodge ram hauling trucks and cars around on his BUMPER!!!!

man is on crack....

i can understand once... maybe twice with a lil car, but not 6-7k pounds consistantly...

 

[silverz51]

For what it's worth, the hitch height in my truck is 19" from street to top of ball mounting surface. The U-Haul truck I measured had 18" from street to the ball mounting surface. They said no problem since the hitch is rated at 5000 lbs.
All I need to buy is the connector adapter for lights ($15) and the 2" ball ($10).

However, after all this going around and around, my friend decided to sell/give away all his possessions and just drive the Mazda to Chicago... I don't blame him, pulling that car and carrying that stuff was going to cost him around $800. He can probably drive his car for $120 in gas and buy some stuff for the balance and whatever he gets out of his stuff.

Oh well, at least now I know exactly what I have and if I ever need to tow a trailer of pull a car on a dolly, I know what to do