I bought a new boat and it weighs 2,900 lbs. My bumper says 500/5000. The guys at Uhaul say I should get a receiver hitch.

Am I safe to pull the boat with just the ball on the bumper? I looked under the truck and it appears that it is attached to the frame.

 

Yah you can do it, Just don't miss any insurance payments on the boat....

 

Another guy asked just recently about towing somebodys jeep on his bumper.
He was going 15-20 miles one time and doing a favor.
The consensus in replies was to give him a blessing.

You on the other hand.
You need to get knocked upside the head with a piece of wood.

How can you possibly consider spending your hard earned money on a new boat and not fork over $200 for a trailer hitch?

If your boat holds six people, are you going to buy three 'fat boy' life jackets and tell everyone they gots to share?

 

Where are you gonna hang the safety chains? Do it right, please.

 

sorry, but someone has to be resonable here.
1: sure the truck can handle that on the bumper alone
2: is it wise.....hell no. why you ask? several reasons

1: no proper place to attach safety chains
2: backing that boat into and out of the water will STRESS the bumper cause of the ramp angle.
3: the bumper is held on with 4 bolts, where as most hitches have 6-8 bolts to spread the load more evenly across the frame.

me personally, i'd NEVER pull anything over 1000lbs on a bumper, sometimes not even then.

 

Although I'm not a fan of towing on a bumper no matter what the load is...
1. Yes there are proper places to attach the safety chains on the bumper.
2. Stress, yes. It will tweak the bumper and give it that custom slanted look...
3. The factory hitch is held on by 8 bolts too (usually). That's how it was done on my 1999 F-150 and 2000 F-250, both with Ford hitches, although the mounting system is much different on the 04 up F-150s.

Spend your money on a good hitch. Don't cheap out now, or you did the wrong thing by buying a boat...

 

A missed reason to get a hitch.

Height of tow. The ball has to be at the proper height to tow. Otherwise the tongue weight will be too high or too low. That can put you and your boat into a ditch. When the tail starts wagging the dog. With the hitch and proper drop/raise of an insert, and proper loading of the boat, you get the proper 8-15% tongue weight to keep that from happening.

 

Thanks for the responses (even the smart a@@ ones).... Looks like I am going to have to get a receiver hitch installed....

 

Good choice

 

Ok

I'll just keep this piece-o-wood leaning in the corner for your first boat ramp thread.

 

I would go with a hitch. Yes you can tow with your Bumber, even though it says 5000, I would no tow anyhing over 3500 with the bumber. The weight distribution & all will be better with a hitch. Plus a truck is not complete until theres a hitch on it. So go get one!

 

You're a ding-dong for even considering it. I haven't and will never put a ball on my bumper. I don't care if I'm only pulling my small trailer with my lawn equipment on it, it still gets hooked to the receiver.

 

I have been pulling my 3600 pound pontoon with my bumber hitch for 3 years, never had a problem.


Theres no need to waste good money on a hitch when you already have a perfectly good one.

Ford wouldnt give it a 5000 pound rating if it couldnt take it.

I think alot of people are just assuming its a regular bumper hitch. They arent taking into account the steel reinforcement that Ford put in there. Its a solid peice of steel thats attached directly to the frame. What do you think a receiver hitch is going to get bolted to????

Thats right, the frame. Your bumper can take it, thats why it has a class II rating.

 

Podunk, he has a '99 just like me not an '04 just like you.

The bottom line is I have no problem sitting at my keyboard spending somebody else's money.

And SlammaJamma, you should watch that name calling.
When we're all out on his boat and come up one life jacket short, you know who it's gonna be....

 

My '04 is the old 97-03 style.


The only thing to be gained by using a hitch over his bumber is better weight distribution and height adjustment.


I dont think his 2900 pound boat is going to cause much of a weight distribution problem, and if the hitch is already the right height then it wont matter.


He doesnt really need a hitch. I cant figure out why every body is telling him to blow his wad on a hitch he isnt required to get?


UALRGRAD When in doubt, read your owners manual. You can tell by the fact that people are talking about bumpers getting ripped off and having no where to hang safety chains that they really have no idea what you are talking about.