Just bought a used hitch locally for cheap. It's only the hitch itself, no hardware with it. So, what all do I need to round up for this thing to be able to mount it.

 

Bolts, nuts, and lock washers. I am not sure what grade tho, I would look under there and see how big the holes are, and get the biggest strongest ones you can.

 

I was hoping I could just get this stuff at home depot or lowes, they sell some grade 8 stuff but they're not exactly cheap. Of course, then again....having my hitch fly off along with whatever I'm towing wouldn't be cool either.

 

right, this is not the place to skimp on parts!

 

How much did you pay for your hitch? Ive been looking into getting one cheap somewhere.

 

I found many class 3 hitches at auto zone. If you had access to a welder I would weld it on that way you dont have to worry about finding bolts and stuff. Plus you have the satisfaction of knowing that it won't fall off either.

 

You are not supposed to weld hitches on, they are held on by bolts for a reason. If someone were to overload it to the extream then it is suppose to break away to avoid bending the ever loving sh*t out of your frame.....

 

That is why from the dealer they weld hitches on? My dad Megacab they weled the hitch on. We loaded up two front loaders on a regular car trailer and nothing happened. My bro's dodge 2500 it is weled. My 1969 K2500 is welded on. I could go on and on and they all came from the factory that way. If you know how to weld and put heavy beads on it it wont break off.

 

On a heavy duty truck like that, yeah, thats fine, but our little rangers are not nearly as strong. My point was that it is better to have it break away, than to bend the frame, and bending the frame on a ranger (1/4 ton) is allot easier than on any 3/4 ton truck. No need to get smart bro.....

 

Not trying to get smart. Didn't think about are 1/4 ton truck vs. there 1ton or 3/4 ton trucks.

 

Yeah its just a safety thing thats all. I mean, they say a 2500 diesel dodge can pull well over 20K when they rate it at 15K or whatever, but when they rate a ranger at 5-6K they mean it. I pull my boat and it is 5500 pounds loaded, the truck works allot. Its a good thing I don't pull it far or often.

 

LOL. When I load whem my quad up in the back with all my gear a eazy up,ramp cooler,tools and such just that about 600lb's makes a huge difference with power then when I get loose dirt I can really feel it. Put it gets the job done and that's all that matters.

 

On my girls 02 explorer the class II htch is actually the rear Frame rail

 

Hmm...I've had 2 Rangers & an F-150 & none where welded on from the factory. Tell me the advantages versus disadvantages of bolted versus welded?

Rick

 

When I got it, it did have the bolts after all. I just wanted to make sure that if I had to buy hardware, it would be as strong as what came with it originally.

As far as welding it goes, I thought that flex from the frame may be hard on the welds. I don't really do any heavy towing, so I'm not sure about if there is any added strength. Plus the fact that I have another ranger, so if I sell the one that I have now, the added convenience of unbolting the hitch and putting it on the other truck is nice.

Thanks for all the replies.

 

a friend gave me a reese class III that he was on longer using for free, the way mine mounts is it sandwiches the bumper and the frame, so you have the frame on top, then the bumper and then the hitch, i could have used the stock bumper mounting hardware but that did not look strong enough to me, i went to the home depot and bought all grade 8 hardware, currently there are 4 bolts holding the bumper and hitch in place, i need to make spacers for the front most holes because the bumper mount brackets do not extend that far forward, i have never heard of welding a tow hitch before, the factory one on our F250 is bolted on