Explorer Bumper Hitch - Should I use this or add a frame hitch?

[Gary H NC]

Re: Explorer Bumper Hitch - Should I use this or add a frame hitch?

I know that was a wild ride Jay! Thats good old U-Haul equiptment..lol
My travel trailer has the break away emergency brake set up on it.If it comes loose it applies full power to the trailer brakes.I have it setup to do that before the safety chains stretch tight.All of our car hauler trailers at work use the same setup.I hope i never have to test that feature out.
I did have a 17 ft boat come off the ball and know what you mean by getting jerked all over the road.I could not imagine a 6000 pound trailer doing it!

 

[kyle f]

Re: Explorer Bumper Hitch - Should I use this or add a frame hitch?

My trailer has the same feature to lock the brakes should it break loose as well. Lucky for me, my F-250 bumper has an extra hole above the license plate to hook this to. The chains I use are the ones that came with the trailer. Another nice thing about a receiver hitch is that they have a good spot to hook the chains to.

 

[D445547]

Re: Explorer Bumper Hitch - Should I use this or add a frame hitch?

Frame mount, no question about it.

 

[jay_merrill]

Re: Explorer Bumper Hitch - Should I use this or add a frame hitch?

One thing I will say for U-Haul - my incident happened at 3:00am on I95 in Connecticut and they had a service truck out there within 90 minutes of my call. The trailer ended up with the tongue jammed up in between the wires of a "three wire guardrail" and he was able to free it, repair the damage to the surge brake system and get me back on my way within a couple of hours of arriving. A few days later, an insurance adjuster showed up and inventoried all of my completely trashed furniture. He asked me what I thought it was worth so I "crunched" some numbers, added a bit because I thought I would have to fight about the whole thing, and gave him the total. He accepted the number without argument and told me that I would have a check in a week or so. About a week later, that check showed up in the mail with no deductions. I guess the moral to this story is, if you do a move yourself, buy the insurance!

 

[rocket1968]

Re: Explorer Bumper Hitch - Should I use this or add a frame hitch?

Let the shopping begin, I am the process of looking for frame hitch before the season. Anyone looking to sell? There is one for sale on Ebay just north of me for $50, so I will take a look.

To add to this post, I think many people overlook the obvious, brake maintanence on the tow mule is the most important part. It is the first thing I do each year, rotors turned/replaced if needed, and always new pads. Even if there is life left in the old ones the heat disappation and stopping power are beter with new pads.

I plan on upgrading to a new boat within the next year and will either use the explorer or negotiate a deal with my dad for his durango (already tow optioned)

 

[NSBCraig]

Re: Explorer Bumper Hitch - Should I use this or add a frame hitch?

Didn't he already get a new hitch for his truck?

Funny thread

 

[hal2814]

Re: Explorer Bumper Hitch - Should I use this or add a frame hitch?

If you think that the steel of that bumper and a receiver hitch steel are the same you are severely mistaken. First the bumper steel is about half as thick. As far as the mounts, you are wrong Again. The bumper brackets mount to the side of the frame rail with two bolts each that are anout 1.5 inches apart, and then stick out about 4-6 inches. You understand that it makes the bumper a big lever? A receiver hitch bolts to the bottom flange of the frame with two to 3 bolts and they are spaced at least a total of 3 inches apart (more like a foot on some vehicles). No lever action there.

Just look under an Explorer without a receiver hitch and then under one with a receiver hitch, and if you can't tell which is better, then there is no hope for you.

I've looked under my old Explorer. It's kind of like you have two things going on: the "bumper" is sort of separate from the "hitch" in the Explorer's setup. They're attached but they're not even the same material. In addition to the two bolts holding the "bumper" on, there are two steel rails coming off the "hitch" that connect to the frame in roughly the same places a Class II hitch would connect with either 4 or 6 bolts connecting the rails to the frame. (I forgot the exact number.) It's a lot sturdier setup than I've ever seen on a bumper hitch. BTW, I did all that looking because I initially balked at the idea of a bumper hitch being able to tow 3500lbs.

The point is moot now anyways since the original poster is going receiver but I think it's more than a small bit of misinformation to claim that the mounting points on an Explorer's bumper hitch are much different than a receiver hitch designed to tow the same weight. If you want to talk about thickness of steel, safety chains, etc, you have some very valid points but that sucker is at least mounted properly for carrying a 3500lb load.

 

[jay_merrill]

Re: Explorer Bumper Hitch - Should I use this or add a frame hitch?

Which goes back to a point that I made earlier - Ford isn't dumb and they don't like to get sued successfully. A properly constructed "bumper hitch" is fine as long as you don't exceed its rating.

 

[sickwilly]

Re: Explorer Bumper Hitch - Should I use this or add a frame hitch?

and with gas rapidly approaching $4 a gallon, why bolt on an unnecessary real heavy piece of steel to a vehicle with already marginal gas mileage, especially when the boat will most likely be towed 10-15 times a year.

 

[kyle f]

Re: Explorer Bumper Hitch - Should I use this or add a frame hitch?

and with gas rapidly approaching $4 a gallon, why bolt on an unnecessary real heavy piece of steel to a vehicle with already marginal gas mileage, especially when the boat will most likely be towed 10-15 times a year.

Yea, I am sure the 30lbs of hitch on my 7000lb truck makes a difference with gas milage.

Seriously, a complete hitch set up maybe weighs 60lbs with ball and all sitting on it. Even an Explorer is pushing the 5000lb mark with driver in it.

 

[HoShorts]

Re: Explorer Bumper Hitch - Should I use this or add a frame hitch?

I wish I knew how to link pictures on here, I seen an explorer today that someone had fabricated brackets to lower thier bumper down about 6 inches or so so that thier load pulled level......looked real dangerous like they had used flat steel pieces.....oh wait that's all that holds a bumper on in the first place......just my two cents
DK

 

[Weldor]

Re: Explorer Bumper Hitch - Should I use this or add a frame hitch?

I've been building and installing hitches for well over thirty years now. And I'll be danged if this ain't the wildest thread I've read in quite some time. One thing no one has mentioned yet is that just because you've got a reciever type hitch, don't mean its better. Some are no more safe than the bumper hitch the vehicle came with. This is because of cross member placement and/or attaching points.

Now after saying this I will say If ya had to ask you already knew you needed the hitch. Cause if ya felt good about it we would have never been intertained with this fine thread.