Bumper Mounted Ball vs Receiver Hitch

[Kevin in OK]

My current tow vehicle is a 1997 F150 with the 4.6L V8. It doesn't do much towing, but it's all I've got, and what gets towed doesn't weigh enough to generate concern. It currently only has a bumper mounted ball, but I have the opportunity to purchase a used receiver hitch, Reese model 37069. I did some homework, and according to the Reese website, it fits.

Here's the real question. The hitch is a Class 3, pulls a 5000 pound trailer with a 500 pound tongue weight. However, my bumper says that it will do the same thing. If weight ratings are equal, what is the benefit of using a hitch over the bumper? Aside from ease of switching ball sizes, which I rarely use anything other than a 2" ball, I can't see any major improvement.

Are my thoughts out of line?

Kevin

 

[rustyfarmall]

The reciever hitch allows you to use different inserts of varying amounts of "drop" so that you can get the trailer to be level behind your truck. A "level" trailer pulls much nicer, and it puts less stress on the trailer axles. Plus, no matter what the rating on that rear bumper, the reciever hitch is still better, and stronger. If you use that ball in the bumper enough, eventually the rear bumper will begin to sag and bend. Take a good look at how the bumper is attached to you truck, and compare that to how the reciever hitch is mounted.

 

[showcrop]

I agree with what RF says and will add that to me a big factor would be how long do I plan to keep the truck, and 2" ball that you are using usually means a moderate sized trailer, (bigger than 1 7/8") so you bumper hitch could be light for the trailer.

 

[Dennis Benson]

I bought a 1997 F350 a couple years ago that had the ball mounted to the step bumper. I noticed the bumper brackets were broken almost all the way through. The bumper brackets are designed to crush in a collision to prevent damage to the truck, they aren't strong enough to pull a trailer. So besides the other ideas, which are good, it's good to keep in mind that the bumper brackets aren't meant to support a load. It might be good to check and see if they are OK right now.

 

[mkirsch]

Are you sure the bumper is rated for that?

The ones I've seen certainly won't take that kind of abuse. We had one guy pulling a little 5x10 utility trailer with maybe 200lbs of tongue weight on it. He practically pulled the bumper off the truck. It just flexed like a pop can.

 

[Kevin in OK]

To rustyfarmall and Showcrop, excluding a major collision or me stumbling upon a large sum of money, I plan to keep the truck for a long time to come. It only has 100,000 miles, and has never been wrecked. My trailering is infrequent, three or four times a year usually. The trailer is usually a borrowed single axle 5x10 for a lawn mower, however I have been considering a 16' utility for a while now. I should still be within my limits if my largest load is a 3000 pound Ford tractor.

Dennis and Mkirsch, I am sure the bumper is rated at 500 tongue weight and 5000 GTW. It is labeled in the plastic surround on the step bumper. I don"t think that Ford would knowingly overrate their bumper pull capacity.

I can see the argument about drop hitches but so far I've been pretty lucky on how well everything levels out. Attached is the old 8N on a borrowed tilt bed trailer.

I don't want to sound like I'm making excuses, but the only benefit over the particular model I'm considering is the universal receiver.

Kevin

 

[rustyfarmall]

You asked for advice, and we gave you some based on our own experiences, and I will also tell you, based on experience, that ALL truck manufacturers DO over-rate the rear bumpers. A proper class 3 reciever hitch is money well spent.

 

[scotc]

It also gets the hitch point out behind the truck a little more, which will allow you to turn a little tighter without a bumper-trailer collision.

 

[Kevin in OK]

Thanks for the advice everybody. For the price he's asking, I see no reason to hold off on the purchase. I need to talk to Reese. It is missing a couple mounting bolts and some spacers, but should not be a big deal.

 

[Brad Buchnan]

Bumpers and bumper hitches are made out of stamped steel. They are subject to corrosion and routinely fall off or are hanging due to their own weight.

Receiver hitches are bolted to the frame and are made of heavy (1/4") and up tubing. In my short life (50 yo) I have yet to see a receiver hitch fail in normal service.

Brad

 

[scotc]

The harvester I was hauling wheat for this summer has lost two receiver hitches. One with the brand new 1100 bushel grain cart hooked to it. The other was pulling their camper.

 

[Oldmax]

Go with the recever hitch. Would never use a bumper to pull anything.

 

[ericlb]

a couple of advantages, first you can swap out the ball mounts for different sizes, and other usefull things,back in the '80's i had one factory bumper ball hitch bend like a banana, and the trailer wasnt even that heavy,this was on a f150 i went and ordered a bumper for a f350, which had a 1 inch thick step plate and weighed around 600 lbs, it didnt bend but i found some trailers that when hitched, would not fit between the ball and the licence plate, finaly got a reciever hitch, i have never used a bumper ball since

 

[mkirsch]

(quoted from post at 09:12:52 12/07/10) Bumpers and bumper hitches are made out of stamped steel. They are subject to corrosion and routinely fall off or are hanging due to their own weight.

Receiver hitches are bolted to the frame and are made of heavy (1/4") and up tubing. In my short life (50 yo) I have yet to see a receiver hitch fail in normal service.

Receiver hitches rust out too. I'll have to get pictures of the one Dad took off his 2000 Chevy. The side plates were rusted clean through most of the way.

What was scary was he was towing trailer loads of cattle with this receiver for who knows how long, with only a paper-thin layer of steel keeping the truck and trailer together.

It was a cheap aftermarket receiver that the dealer gave him. They had pulled the factory receiver off the truck to put it on another truck, but wouldn't discount the price of the truck for the receiver delete. He had to complain for weeks until they finally gave him this receiver.

 

[John M]

If youre pulling that Ford, on the bumper, your asking for trouble. Ill agree with that, but some of the comments here, nope!

 

[BillinCentralMO]

That bumper hitch may be ok to tow a small trailer and atv.Pulling that tractor with it is bad bidness. An old man told me , when you're hauling a tractor , that's heavy weight.It's not like hauling mulch or something. Do your family a favor and get the receiver hitch. Funerals are almost ten grand and times are hard.

 

[F-350]

Back in the 1970's I and lots of friends all pulled bumper hitch trailers with 3/4 ton pickups..We ordered our trucks with factory HD horse bumpers and welded them on.Several got DMI bumpers or built their own.I pulled a 3 axle 18 ft bumper hitch trailer over 50,000 miles with no problems.

I wouldnt pull much more than a lawn mower behind a stock factory bumper.They are pretty weak.

 

[Brad Buchnan]

Don't doubt you a bit as I am not a farmer. I do haul a bit of corn to heat my house and it comes in at somewhere around 56 lbs per bushel. 1100 bushels of corn would be over 61,000 lbs. Yhis would seem to be a tad over the design specs for a receiver hitch.

Far be it for me to criticize. I got some funny looks pulling 16,000 lbs over the us/can border with my 8N.

 

[scotc]

It was a brand new cart. Hadn't even been hooked to the tractor yet. But it was still a bit of a load. Don't know what happened to the one on the pickup that was pulling the camper.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Yes the receiver hitch attaches to the solid part of the frame, where as the bumper attaches to the end of the frame. Good insurance to get a receiver type hitch.

 

[thebigyellowtruck]

you can go to uhaul and get a reciever installed for less than $200. i bought one for my gmc sierra for $100 i just installed it myself. it hasnt failed me. in my experience the round tubing frame recievers rust out less than the square tube frame recievers if you can get one for a good price.