I was just wondering what is the heaviest trailer anyone has towed on the bumper with a ball? How strong is the bumper itself?

Also where would a good place for tow hooks be under the bed? Any setups?

 

its not a good idea to tow much of anything with the bumper. you can go to any "u-pick it" junkyard and pick up a reese style frame mount hitch for close to nothin. theyre a dime a dozen in the yards.

 

Ok, I'll see if the next time I head to a JY if I can find one, hopefully the bolts won't give me hell.

Thanks for the info.

 

The only thing I'll two with the bumper is a wood splitter.

 

I think the stock bumpers on these trucks are rated for something like 3000 lbs. So if you just have a small trailer the bumper should be fine.

Bumpers used to be rated for more weight back before receiver hitches became common, but these days they are pretty much just for looks and to absorb the impact of an accident. I had a drop bumper on my old 85 F-250 that was rated for something like 10,000 lbs. I pulled a Bobcat around all the time with that thing. A guy rear ended me and totaled his Suburban, but it didn't do anything but take some dirt off my bumper.

Your best bet is to just get a receiver hitch. Definitely stronger than your bumper and it gives you many more options for towing different trailers. If you need a tow hook, just get one of those inserts with a hook on it.

 

There should be a rating stamped into the bumper. I was shocked to see that my 1/2 ton has a step bumper rated for 8000 lbs. The frame has an extension that extends back to the bumper. I have hauled a 3000 lb tent trailer. My 92 work truck had a step bumper rated for 3500 lbs.
regards
rikard

 

aren't bumpers just big license plate holders ?

 

The step bumper is/was rated for 500lb tongue weight and 5000lb pull, but you would be foolish to attach anything close to that much to the bumper of a 20yr old truck. I have pulled 2-3k on the bumper of these trucks with no problems at all.. no bending or sagging so it is stronger than it looks. A while back in another similar post sombody posted a pic of one of these trucks with a tandem travel trailer attached that was in an accident, and while the bumper got bent the trailer and bumper were still attached to the truck.

 

for me the first thing i did was remove the bumper pull and made sure the hitch was on nice and tight, truck came with the reciever hitch so i figured why keep both....

 

Wow guys, thanks for the info! I'm not planning on doing anything big, just a junk trailer I throw wood, scrap, or feed in for the ranch. And the hooks would be used for the beach and pullin out people. Some people just don't seem to understand what their vehicle is capable of, say a new ford focus dug in to the front axle? Too many FWD cars get f****d by the sand.

Anyways thank you all for the info.

 

Well, the truth is... I have a 1987 f 150 XL 4.9 efi 4sp w/O. I too was looking to have a hitch put on to pull a 3000 tare weight travel trailer My GCWR is rated at 7000lbs. Now... I bought this from the original owner with 93,000 miles. To my amazement, and after talking to idiot trailer sales people who wanted $850 to install the hitch. When I asked about my bumper said it wouldn't do the job. BS... I finally checked my line sheet and he had the optional step bumper, steel and hooked and bolted to the frame like a tank. This is not a stock bumper. It is rated a class III bumper with safety chain holes and place for a 7 way plug. The tongue weight is rated at 750lbs printed right in the owners manual. If all else fails check with your Ford dealer and find an old time mechanic there and have him look at it or somebody with some savvy. But I think their all dying off LOL. It must be heavy steel not aluminum or flimsy chrome obviously.

 

And steps...

 

epic first post 4 year old thread revival on bumper tow rating. welcome tot he site

 

I agree the 92-96 bumpers are weak but the 87-91 bumper is pretty stout. If you look at the back of each, you will see the diff. The 87-91 has a beefy steel box that is between the brackets which the 92-96 lacks. The 87-91 factory step bumper is rated 500/5000 and I towed up to about 7500 with mine and never had a problem.