Tow Hitch

[dantheman222]

Yeah in hindsight I probably should have done that...The guy who is painting it for me already started on it though...so now I am committed. This danged rig has been more than a 2 year journey and I swear if I could start again right away I could build one twice as nice twice as fast since I have learned so damned much ;D

 

[DirtDonk]

Yeah, nothing wrong with listening to your grandpa dantheman. It's just that when he was building a lot of his stuff, they probably didn't have so many options. And even if they were, I remember that, way back when, it wasn't recommended that you get one with more than just a few inches of drop, because of all the leverage. Might be what he was thinkin' at the time too.
With tons of super-heavy-duty products out there though, and the fact that your Bronco is probably (hopeully!) never going to see any heavy towing duties, any concerns he might have aren't as valid as they were years ago.
Deep drop mounts for 2" receivers are so common now though, they're probably sold at Wal-Mart.
Oh well, next bumper!!

Paul

 

[zeeman1]

Deep drop mounts for 2" receivers are so common now though, they're probably sold at Wal-Mart.
Oh well, next bumper!!

Paul

Funny, thats where I got mine!

 

[12-Pack Jeff]

Heres a pic of mine that has a hitch through the bumper... dont know who makes it, came on bronco when I got it.
Click to enlarge

 

[DirtDonk]

No doubt about it Fooshizn1x, you and Seymour have some clean, heavy-duty looking hitches there!
Either one can probably tow more than the Bronco should. So I guess not all PO's were dummies all the time.

Paul

 

[blubuckaroo]

I never could understand why anyone would make a hitch out of material that is heavier than the frame it is connected to??:? Looks like a weight loss program is in order!%)

 

[76 bronco J]

I never could understand why anyone would make a hitch out of material that is heavier than the frame it is connected to??:? Looks like a weight loss program is in order!%)

>>>> that brings up a good point.... using only the stock holes makes is very easy to rip a bumper from the frame on a early bronco if you really start yankin' on that sucker .... like severals others it happen to mine on the drivers side..... I used pieces of U shaped steel in the frame to add more bolts.....

 

[DirtDonk]

I never could understand why anyone would make a hitch out of material that is heavier than the frame it is connected to??:? Looks like a weight loss program is in order!%)

Maybe because to make it out of lighter material would just be plain stupid perhaps?
And to waste your time trying to find a trailer hitch, or components, made from material just exactly the same thickness as your frame would be a stupid waste of time perhaps?
And since, even though often using a thinner material, most frames are of much greater cross-section, multi-layered, bent and channeled (and, in the case of a Bronco, fully boxed), so have a much higher specific strength than just the material thickness alone would indicate, under-engineering any tow device simply to save weight on a truck that nobody really knows how much might be tow with it someday, would be stupid?
So to not make it stronger than the surrounding material, when you have to build around existing obstacles like a gas tank, where you want to keep flexing to a minimum and impact resistance to a maximum, would be just as stupid. Especially if it's your business.
And since most anybody making hitches for a living (which just might be who made his hitch after all) is going to have much of their on-hand material of the strongest stuff they would normally have reason to use, so that they can get the best price on bulk material. And so they won't be under-building a product for the guy with a 1953 ex-military Power Wagon that needs a hitch, yet don't really see using the same material for a vehicle (like a Bronco) with less towing need as "over-building", and don't want any complaints or lawsuits when something does happen because, instead of the hitch failing when the guy overloaded it, the truck's frame failed. So it's not his problem any more.
And even when done by an individual, a lot of times that's the only material they have laying around the ranch or garage at the time. So they used it. Or it's what they could source at the time. So they used it.
Or, maybe they need a bigger surface (in the case of a bumper) to fill a specific purpose that we don't know about.
Or, maybe they just like the look.

What's to understand?

Paul

 

[66broncofan]

77broncoguy any way you could post a pic of your stock hitch with the receiver mounted in it?

I bought the Duff hitch mentioned above....then modified it to exit through the center of a stock bumper. It hung too low the way it was for an uncut rig. I bolted hooks to the underside of the frame horns up front...works really well pulling my wife out of the ditch 3 or 4 times every winter....Texas gal %)

 

[garberz]

Tell your Grandpa to relax, put the hitch up where you want it and get whatever drop receiver you need for your trailer's. That's going to drag on all kinds of stuff.

 

[blubuckaroo]

Maybe because to make it out of lighter material would just be plain stupid perhaps?
And to waste your time trying to find a trailer hitch, or components, made from material just exactly the same thickness as your frame would be a stupid waste of time perhaps?
And since, even though often using a thinner material, most frames are of much greater cross-section, multi-layered, bent and channeled (and, in the case of a Bronco, fully boxed), so have a much higher specific strength than just the material thickness alone would indicate, under-engineering any tow device simply to save weight on a truck that nobody really knows how much might be tow with it someday, would be stupid?
So to not make it stronger than the surrounding material, when you have to build around existing obstacles like a gas tank, where you want to keep flexing to a minimum and impact resistance to a maximum, would be just as stupid. Especially if it's your business.
And since most anybody making hitches for a living (which just might be who made his hitch after all) is going to have much of their on-hand material of the strongest stuff they would normally have reason to use, so that they can get the best price on bulk material. And so they won't be under-building a product for the guy with a 1953 ex-military Power Wagon that needs a hitch, yet don't really see using the same material for a vehicle (like a Bronco) with less towing need as "over-building", and don't want any complaints or lawsuits when something does happen because, instead of the hitch failing when the guy overloaded it, the truck's frame failed. So it's not his problem any more.
And even when done by an individual, a lot of times that's the only material they have laying around the ranch or garage at the time. So they used it. Or it's what they could source at the time. So they used it.
Or, maybe they need a bigger surface (in the case of a bumper) to fill a specific purpose that we don't know about.
Or, maybe they just like the look.

What's to understand?

Paul

I don't know Dirty Donk. I've seen some butt ugly badly engineered overweight hitches even on this fine site. Looked pretty stupid to me.

 

[DirtDonk]

True enough.

Paul