towing with a ford F150 pick up

[printman]

I have a F150 ot has a tow ball on the bumber and it says
Max torque load 500lb
Max gross trailer weight 5000 lb
now I have a 23 ft chaparral with a double axel horizon trailer, will I lose my bumber if I try to tow this with the F150

 

[tommays]

Re: towing with a ford F150 pick up

Well just a guess BUT i would say it excedes the bumper rateing which would lead to BAD things


Tommays

 

[Pony]

Re: towing with a ford F150 pick up

I refuse to tow a 14ft tinny with a bumper mount. Even though the truck may be rated for more than what the boat weighs, its rating depends on using the correct hitch (the rating with the bumper is prolly pretty low). In your case most likely a Class IV reciever. It also probably says tongue and not "torque" load..........................are you reading that off the ball or the bumper itself? I dont know that I have seen many (if any) bumper mounts that exceed 300lbs tongue weight.

Take a look at peoples bumper mounts next time you are out. A lot of badly bent, and a lot of bumpers are rusty in that area (weak). Like I said I have never and will never use a bumper mount on anything.....................let alone a 5,000lb boat!!:^:^

 

[DaveM]

Re: towing with a ford F150 pick up

The best truck bumper can handle no more than 3500#. I wouldn't trust it. You can get a class V hitch made for your truck (no drilling) for around $125 from etrailer.com. How much do you think your boat is worth?

 

[tommays]

Re: towing with a ford F150 pick up

All the GM pickup bumpers are rated at 500/5000 # and have NO problem doing it as long as what you tow is within the rateing


ALL the holes are allready drilled in it for the ball and there are taped in the bottom for eyebolts and other items

Its as strong as any other 500/5000# hitch and is fully bolted into the frame


Tommays

 

[anyfishlldo]

Re: towing with a ford F150 pick up

I would not tow anything of that weight from the bumper of any pickup, regardless of what it says it's rated for.

A receiver hitch is cheap and easy to install, I would highly suggest it.

As a matter of fact you could probably go down to the local truck accessory place or even U-Haul and have a reciever put on for around $250 in less than an hour.


I have seen very bad things happen while bumper towing much less than you are talking about.

 

[aggiedave98]

Re: towing with a ford F150 pick up

I agree with the fact that getting a regular hitch is better. Also remember that you want the trailer level and you may not get that w/ a bumper hitch, but can get that w/ a normal hitch and a drop or raised ball.

 

[aggiedave98]

Re: towing with a ford F150 pick up

A good example may be that a ford explorer is rated at I think 7300lbs towing, however there's no way I'd be behind the wheel at 7300 pounds through hills, etc.

so the same thing here... maybe the bumper says a number, but that doesn't mean it's smart...

 

[JasonJ]

Re: towing with a ford F150 pick up

I don't know about your F150, but mine has an 8500 pound tow capacity....with a reciever hitch. You are not going to be able to use all of your truck if you use the bumper. Just get a reciever hitch, you'll thank yourself....

 

[Silvertip]

Re: towing with a ford F150 pick up

And when you buy the receiver, make sure its frame mounted. There are receivers that simply bolt to the bottom of the bumper. You might as well use the bumper if that's what you buy. I saw a pickup towing a travel trailer (a big one) using that type of receiver. I questioned the driver about safety and he was absolutely clueless. Wasn't even using an equalizer. The bumber was twisted down about 15 degrees from the load. I made sure I got out of the rest area ahead of him.

 

[POINTER94]

Re: towing with a ford F150 pick up

Also, I think if the truck comes without a reciever hitch, it doesn't have the trailer package. This means no tranny cooler. A boat your size is around 5500 to 6000lbs. If this is the case you have exceeded the max tongue weight of the bumper. You need a tranny cooler IMHO. Check this out first. Also a bumper hitch affords you no flexiblity as to the attitude of the trailer. With a reciever hitch you can purchase recievers with different lifts/drops to "fit" your trailer for maximum safety and comfort.

Get a Reciever, its the right thing to do.

 

[Chopper Doc]

Re: towing with a ford F150 pick up

I have a 2003 f150 with the factory towing package. It has 2 coolers on it AND it came factory with a receiver hitch mounted to the frame. I think the gross tow weight is 8500 pounds and NO the bumper is NOT rated for the vehicle's max capacity. Besides, you cant replace a nice chrome bumper for the price of a receiver hitch and trans cooler. Let alone any busted trailer or boat parts or callateral damages caused by a bumper failure.

Good luck
Wes

 

[unixgeek13]

Re: towing with a ford F150 pick up

I have an F150 Supercrew... My bumper has the hole in it leading to something fairly solid that the ball would attach to. All this being said, even Ford knows not to use it... they factory mounted a frame receiver too.

Like everybody else has said... how many tow vehicles have you seen with bent bumpers or crushed license plates? Considering how much money our boats cost us in parts, labor, etc... this just is too inexpensive an item to even debate.

imho...

 

[ruf1967]

Re: towing with a ford F150 pick up

Save yourself the headache and get a frame receiver. No trailer should be towed using the bumper hitch.

 

[SwampNut]

Re: towing with a ford F150 pick up

(Rolls eyes) Why do people feel the need to post if they have nothing to add that's of any value? Do some of you really believe that if a bumper hitch has a rating of 5k pounds it is still unsafe? In today's litigous world you really think Ford, GM, or Dodge would sell something that is obviously unsafe, and you really believe nobody has ever called them on it? Think about it before opening mouth and inserting foot.

Relative to the original post, I don't know his boat weight, but am pretty sure it will be more than that. Doesn't matter if it's a bumper or a class III receiver at that point; he needs a properly-rated tow setup.

 

[Kywoodmann]

Re: towing with a ford F150 pick up

I went to U-Haul and had a V hitch put on for $160... It took about 30 min.

ky

 

[sumcat1]

Re: towing with a ford F150 pick up

You'll be living on the edge! If you get the trailer crossed up while backing you don't have much leeway before you damage the bumper and/or the coupler. And as someone else mentioned you need to be level. Hard to do with a bumper hitch.