Hitch vs. Bumper

[SS182]

Just purchased a used 02 Dodge Ram 1500 with 4.7 V8, auto... Bumper is rated for 5000lbs and vehicle is rated for 6000lbs. Is there any reason to purchase a receiver hitch? I will be pulling about 3200lbs.<br /><br />Thanks,<br />SS182

 

[roscoe]

Re: Hitch vs. Bumper

Don't know about your bumper, sounds high to me.<br /><br />Make sure you have brakes on your trailer.

 

[jlshields]

Re: Hitch vs. Bumper

SS182, I would go with it. You're only at about 65% of it's rating. My '96 F150 has a bumper rated the same. It's really a hitch with a bumper attached to it.<br /> john

 

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: Hitch vs. Bumper

As roscoe stated, the height is the issue here if you are not going to pull anything else besides the boat.<br /><br />My preference was to always put on a class3 hitch and that way I could pull whatever i needed to and adjust my height.<br /><br />Had a bad experience with a Dodge once where the bumper bolts got loose and dang near lost a boat, and after that, all Reese for me.

 

[ndemge]

Re: Hitch vs. Bumper

Personally, I would want a ClassIII hitch bolted/welded to that frame. You can get them pretty cheap, lots of places install them if you don't want to install it yourself. You'll get your money back in resale nooo problem.

 

[KennyKenCan]

Re: Hitch vs. Bumper

Check to make sure that it is legal to tow with the bumper in your state.<br /><br />Here in NY, it is illegal to use a bumper mounted hitch on state roadways, no matter what the bumper is rated for.<br /><br />Class III chassis mounted hitch is required for travel on state roadway's here.<br /><br />Kenny

 

[blifsey]

Re: Hitch vs. Bumper

Like someone else said, the bumper on the '92 Ford F-150 I have is basically a receiver hitch without the receiver part and a "bumper" bolted to it. I looked behind bumper and there is a steel sub-structure just as beefy looking as any receiver hitch I've ever seen bolted to the frame of truck with bolts just as big as bolts on my '98 Durango's receiver hitch. The Ford manual states that there was also another non-towing bumper that came on the truck and to NOT use it for towing. A receiver is nice for accessories other than a draw bar and ball like bike racks, steps, support braces for items longer than truck bed, etc. Of course, since this involves safety issues, only you can decide.

 

[Mikevn1500]

Re: Hitch vs. Bumper

I had a 86 Ford F150,used it to pull an old Jeep offroader with a bumper mounted tow bar. After getting home went to un-hitch it and noticed the metal under the ball(where it looks like the factory doubles it up) was split on 2 of the 4 sides and working on splitting the other 2 sides. I know it wasn't a boat I was pulling, but I wont use a bumper again. Just my 2cents

 

[SS182]

Re: Hitch vs. Bumper

Thanks for everyone's input. I am ordering a hitch... I am now looking at the cushioned ball mounts. They are about $60 or so. Again thanks for everyone's input.<br /><br />Happy Boating<br />SS182<br /><br />I found these sites to have pretty good deals:<br /><br /> E-Trailer <br /> Hitches4Less