I'm only going to be pulling one quad....think one of these would do the trick?

I'd just put a ball on it but I'd like the trailer to be decently level.

http://www.drophitch.com/index.asp?P...TS&Category=34

 

I think a trailer and a quad might be a little too much for the bumper alone.....you guys that haul stuff have to help me out here. FYI.. its an 01 Ranger 4x4 with a 4.0L. I beleive the tongue weight of the bumper is 200 lbs.

 

I try to never even step on the bumper.

If your going to tow anything, be prepared for anything. Get a class 3...

 

yea...i agree. after i posted that i thought about it some more.....it wouldnt cost too much more to have the hitch put on. i just need to figure out what to do with the exhaust......hmmmmm

 

wheres your exhaust come out at? strait out?

 

Yea...



I was hoping to get some pictures of the exhaust coming out of both sides behind each rear wheel. I was told by the local shop that they might be able to fit a hitch between there but they might have to lower the pipes. I was thinking of going back to the guys that put the exhaust on and seeing what my options were. that's probably my best bet. It's not a half *** exhaust job, the pipes are welded to the hangers and on rubber mounts....he did a really nice job, and it was $$$$$ lol so i guess i cant complain. i just wish i woulda thought about that before i got the exhaust lol. #@!@%$

 

You can buy a Drawtite Class III which should still allow for your exhaust, However you might have to drop the rear hangars to get it in. the hitch bolts to the bottom of the frame rails. Then after you are done you should be able to reattach the rear hangars and your exhaust will be back where it was.

I paid 90 dollars for my hitch and it took about 30 minutes to install and that includes a Beer break LOL!

Looks Like I have very similar exhaust to you also, although it was installed the day after I put the hitch on



Good Luck!

~HJ

 

that or i just got a class three hitch. Tourched my exhaust up and bent my tips out ward to fit the hitch. way easy!

 

After looking at yours John, I think i made a decision. I'm going to take it back to the guys that put the exhaust on. They install hitches too, so I think I'll ride up there on my day off and see how much it would cost me to route the pipes around the hitch like yours. Is yours a hidden hitch/class 3? im kind of worred that the pipes coming out of each side behind the rear tires will look corny on a flareside.....corny to me anyways lol

 

What the hell are you guys talking about? Last time I checked the Ranger still comes w/ a step bumper good for 2000/200lbs. If you're looking to tow anything under 2k lbs and a tongue weight of less than 200lbs (ie a light utility trailer, even some small boats!) then just go down to your local parts store and get a 1 7/8" ball and slap it on there. I towed my father's 16.5' Glastron tri-hull outboard all over creation using the step bumper on my old '99 w/o a single problem..

Crikey! A friggin' Subaru wagon can tow that much. If a Subie wagon can handle it, so can your truck's bumper..

 

to do that i'd need to get some sort of bumper mounted hitch so the trailer would be level.
Something like this...
http://www.drophitch.com/index.asp?P...ROD&ProdID=177

If the quad weighs 400 pounds and the weight of the trailer (5'x8') might be....250 pounds if that.....i dont want to twist up my bumper either which makes me nervous. i might throw up if i pulled the bumper off. lol So what do you guys think I'm better off doing? Forget the $$$$ part of it, what do you think is better for the truck? I'm not going to be pulling campers or logs or anything crazy like that.

 

Why are you so hell-bent on having the trailer level? How far from level is it now? You must have a lifted truck or something. I never had a problem w/ my '99..

 

If I'm going to be hauling the quad, I'd like the trailer to be as level as possible. Maybe a 2" drop would be good. Regardless of it being level, I want to do it the right way and not half-a** it. If I can pull the quad with just a bumper mounted hitch, great. But would it be better to actually have a hitch installed over the bumper mount? I don't want to be crusing down the highway, hear a noise and find my bumper all twisted sideways.

 

Like you said, a 5x8 trailer is likely around 400lbs, call it 500lbs to be safe. Your quad weighs 400lbs. Add a spare fuel jug, maybe a spare tire or two and some tools and you MIGHT get to 1000lbs GTW.. that's still 1000lbs shy of what the bumper is rated to. Your bumper will be just fine.

I have towed boats and utility trailers w/ the step bumper. At stock ride hight a 5x8' utility trailer or a ~17' boat is pretty level. If you've lifted your truck or have oversize tires, then the level could be an issue, but otherwise you will likely be fine.

My new truck has a Class III reciever factory installed as part of the 'tow package'. I would not have bothered w/ it though. I simply don't tow stuff that heavy and everything I tow is class I/II (1 7/8"). I have a 1 7/8" ball mounted on a draw-bar w/ a little bit of drop maybe 3-4" below the step bumper, but I don't think that much drop is needed. ...and that's w/ 31" tires!

 

good deal, maybe I'll just go with something on the bumper since that's all I'll be pulling. It'd save me alot of agony over getting the exhaust redone. Thanks for the help Colin, I think I might just go that route.

 

I have one of thouse and it works great but its on the 250....i dont know if the ranger would handel it i only use it for pulling the boat

 

my brother haulled a 6x12 ft trailor up from Myrtle beach to cleveland full of his crap on his step bumper on his exploder with no problems...

 

Guys umm, our bumpers aren't that weak. To date I've towed a chevy 2500, jeep wrangler, etc etc off of that bumper. I jus hook my chain to it and pull. The bumper hasn't tweaked at all. DONT WORRY!

Aaron

 

The bumper is rated for 2k lbs GTW or 200 lbs tongue. It is stamped right into it. Stay below that and you're golden..

 

Just something to consider, I have a buddy that thought bumpers were tough too until he was hauling a couple of sleds (Snowmobiles for you southerners! ) and he lost the trailer and sleds down into a ditch. Totalled the trailer and one of the sleds. It was on a 1998 Dodge dakota and it was rated the same as my truck, but over the years of pulling his boat out of the water and hauling sleds, that step bumper twisted and got so weak it finally let loose, now a $90 (even cheaper if you get a Curt Hitch, I can get one for 65 bucks) IMO is a wise investment.

~HJ

 

200lbs tongue? Guess I should stop standing on it
Though there's gotta be some sort of factor of safety on there. The engineers have to realize if the public sees 200lbs they're gonna try and put 225 on there. Damn I just classified myself with the general public...agh!

 

Well I talked to a few different people who install bumper mount hitches and hitch receivers and was basically told the same thing, an actual hitch is a good investment. It's better to have something that's too strong then find out if something is too weak...i.e. the bumper. I'd rather spend a little more money and get it done right instead of possibly learning the hard way. Not worth the chance IMO.

So I'm taking a field trip tomorrow to see the guys that put the exhaust on and see if I can squeeze a hitch in there without having to modify the exhaust or if he's going to need to route the pipes around the hitch. Either way, I think I'll be better off and I think it'll be better looking. An actual hitch receiver will keep me from looking in my rear view mirror all the time to make sure my bumper and trailer are still attached lol.

I'll let you guys know how it goes and post some pictures when its done.

 

See if they have a Hidden Hitch rear hitch. It's round tube and is fairly more compact, though all of them mount to the frame relatively the same. But if your exhaust is outside the width of the frame you might be ok.

EDIT: hmm...here's a pic. guess it's still gonna interfere the same most likely since as i stated above it's still gonna mount the same (or similar) to the frame.

 

When I moved back to Indiana I towed a 4x8 Uhaul trailer with just a trailer ball on my explorer. I had no issues and I had my tool box in the trailer with everything that I owned.

 

well its done. I'm getting it installed thursday.

I went and talked to the guys that installed the exhaust and he's going to put the class III hitch on and rebend the exhaust for me to fit around the hitch.

i feel better not having to worry about that anymore.