I'm new, and I'm seeking advice on rigging a 2" front mounted receiver for the purposes of using a light plowing rig for my own drive and parking area. I've got a 94 XLT, standard cab, 4x4, 4.0, standard 5 speed with the dreaded "cross member" that pops up on the literature for every commercially produced front receiver rig I can find online. It always says ' except for model with front cross member.' I'd be interested in knowing of proven workarounds to modify a commercial receiver rig, or other brilliant ways to solve the cross member dilemma. Perhaps somebody found a niche business making receivers for odd ducks? I don't know how many years and models had this cross member, but it's located directly in front of the torsion bar mounting brackets in the front of the vehicle, and the torsion bar mounts are always where the commercial receiver rigs are designed to be mounted. I did find some older threads here that noted it was welded on and was supposedly to protect some of the vitals up front. A few limited solutions involved breaking the welds and replacing the unit with some heavy plate to continue the protection. Open to interesting ideas and any experiences trying to solve the problem. Thanks for whatever you've got out there in advice.

 

Torsion bars didn't start until 1998, so the front crossmember info is irrelevant for your 1994.

 

If you have welding experience and a mig then custom make a hitch. That used to be how all hitches where done. Before there was a market for custom made hitches for every vehicle they used to have more of a universal template they welded to fit vehicle. Or at least that's what the old time hitch mechanic that trained me said.