diy tow receiver on 88 f250

[rreegg]

Hey all,
I've had this truck for a couple years (88 f250 same as profile pic) and the previous owner who's a farmer in Idaho (i live in WA state) welded this tow receiver. He said he's towed up to like 9k pounds - and I believe him.
The receiver is bolted on either side of the plating to the factory(?) bumper with like 1/2" (or bigger not sure) through bolts.
I don't have any real issues with this hitch and have towed up to maybe 3k pounds (don't tow much in general). I've seen this "style" of hitch on exactly one other truck (and think it was also in eastern WA or maybe ID) - so it seems to be something that works. But it doesn't make me feel as confident as if the hitch were "factory made".

First question - does anyone have any good reason to not use this hitch for personal towing?

I may end up using this truck for work in the future (small scale construction/handyman type work) - while I don't have any big concerns using this for personal towing it seems a bad idea to use it for commercial work. Just because it's not a "real" class 4 hitch and I don't want more liability when towing.

Second question - does anyone have any good reasons TO USE this hitch for commercial towing?
Third question - if I end up removing this and getting a different receiver does anyone have recommendations?

Cheers

 

[hacked89]

1. Yes
2. No
3. Any one of decent quality should be fine

Back in the day, not bricknose back in the day, before receivers bumpers were built for some heavy duty weight bearing. My one vehicle from the 60s you jack it from the bumpers and it has almost 1/2 steel brackets to the frame.

Also, notice the weight bearing posture on a receiver in accordance to the c channel versus how a bumper bolts on.

 

[The_Josh_Bear]

1. Yes
2. No
3. I got a Curt class 5 shipped from etrailer and love it. It's beefy and was $235 or something, I think free shipping at the time.
Somehow they are similarly priced nowadays, dunno about shipping.

Trailer hitches @etrailer
Above ^^^ are for my 1989 but your 88 is the same.

I had to drill 2 of the 6 mounting holes I believe. A tip I learned the hard way: use a step bit and cutting lube. The frame is no joke to drill.

 

[chillman88]

Those bumpers are usually rated for something like 500# tongue weight, but that is centered over the plate on the bumper. Adding a receiver like that adds significant leverage depending on how far the ball sticks out.

A similar receiver to that one resulted in my bumper getting quite bent with a very light trailer, yours may be stronger but I still wouldn't trust it. I also bought a Class V Curt hitch and have been very happy with it. It's cheap peace of mind especially in this lawsuit happy world.

 

[Shadetreemechanic]

Curt class V is the way to go.

 

[Olds64]

I've never towed with my Bullnose truck but I have a Curt trailer hitch on my Oldsmobile. While it's only a little class 2 hitch, the quality is superb and it went on easily. I wouldn't hesitate to buy a Curt hitch for my truck. Better to be safe than sorry.

 

[rreegg]

Thanks for the input and affirmation all - good suggestions to go class V as well hopefully can pick up something good during Black Friday etc

This truck seems to have had a gooseneck to tow previously and wish I could do that but have a canopy on the bed.

 

[rreegg]

cool cool - fwiw I’ve been wanting to put a receiver on the front of the truck (just for smaller stuff probably not a winch explicitly) and may just try to repurpose the old rear receiver on the front after getting a class V for the rear

 

[ISPKI]

The configuration should certainly handle some load, the bolts arent likely to shear easily if they are grade 8 or higher. The issue is over time, the bolt holes are going to wallow out and the bolts will become damage where the plates are grinding against them. As soon as those holes loosen up, the strength of that setup plummets and everything starts wearing out rapidly. Probably fine for a little firewood trailer if you keep an eye on it.

I will beat the dead Curt Class 5 horse. Had one on my F250 idi. Put it through the ringer many a time dragging trees through the logging trails, pulling out sunk skid steers, etc. Theyre a pain to install but tough to beat for the price.

 

[IDIBRONCO]

This truck seems to have had a gooseneck to tow previously and wish I could do that but have a canopy on the bed.

You still can. All you need is a flip over ball. Now if your canopy never comes out of the bed, that's a different story.

 

[rreegg]

finally got the new curt class v in the mail today - went with model 15511 from etrailer. without a doubt this is the way to go, was less than tree hundo shipped. thanks for the tips and recs y'all.

 

[Olds64]

Awesome. Post some pics of your install or show us your truck hard at work!

 

[rreegg]

Ugh, started to remove the old hitch and didn't realize it's actually welded to the backside bumper in addition to being bolted. wish i had a plasma (or oxy) torch! no wonder previous owner would tow 9k with this lol, this is gonna be annoying to remove. part of me want to leave it.

mostly curious how much of this receiver unit/bracing is factory and how much was added. there's a bunch of probably 1/4'' plate welded to the frame.
but if the p/o went through all the trouble of fabbing this receiver why didn't they just buy a legit one..

still gonna use the curt though for all the reasons discussed above in this thread.

 

[Olds64]

Sort of difficult to see the hitch in the pic. Looks like I see a bolt threaded onto a stud on the left side. Can you remove the bolt and take out the 1/4" gussets that were added as a hitch? If not, like you said you will probably have to do some cutting with an acetylene torch to get your Curt hitch to fit.

 

[FrozenMerc]

My '85 F350 has a similar DIY receiver hitch created by the previous owner. It utilizes all 3 ball holes in the bumper with 3/4" bolts. I have dragged my 10K lb enclosed trailer all over the country with it. I imagine the bumper will come off the truck long before the receiver gives way.

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