GEN 1 Retaining Towing Capacity with dovetail style rear bumper

[tractorpole]

I searched and was unable to find the information I was looking for.
I am looking to get a new rear bumper similar to the Forged Offroad, SVC BAJA V3 or the Mazzulla Off-Road offerings. Forged Offroad states the towing capacity is reduced to 5000 so it may not be an option.
The concern I have with a bumper that requires the frame to be trimmed is that the towing capacity is reduced. I recently bought a travel trailer and the Raptor is my tow vehicle. i use a weight distribution hitch when I tow the trailer. It weighs 5060 lbs dry, loaded for camping it is about 6000ish but I still want the ability to tow up to 8000lbs.

Has anyone done a custom hitch setup that retains factory towing capacity?

Thanks,
Ben

 

[John813]

When I went with a frame cut bumper, mainly to fit in the garage at the time, the rule of thumb given by some bumper manufactures was 2/3 of the towing capacity. So, 5,400 for a screw. Some said 6k, but I never tried to test it.

I kept the 3rd row of the frame that connected from the former hitch to the new bumper in case I needed to tow heavy. Spray painted it black to match the bumper, so it wasn't obvious.
It didn't look "clean" but I didn't really care. Rigged up some lights in the holes when I rocked the smaller bumper.

If you want the legal capacity to tow up to 8k, either do what I did and not trim off the 3rd row or don't get a frame cut bumper.

jmo

 

[JefeAZ]

I just put a Mazzulla on and my fab guy is going to be drawing up a CAD hitch and getting it built whenever I tell him to start on it. Are you in a rush? Im sure he would build more once we test fit on mine. It will be beefy and he thinks just as strong as the stock setup.

The reason Mazzulla stopped selling the hitch was for liability concerns. They did not want to hire a company to test the towing capacity.

 

[tractorpole]

I just put a Mazzulla on and my fab guy is going to be drawing up a CAD hitch and getting it built whenever I tell him to start on it. Are you in a rush? Im sure he would build more once we test fit on mine. It will be beefy and he thinks just as strong as the stock setup.

The reason Mazzulla stopped selling the hitch was for liability concerns. They did not want to hire a company to test the towing capacity.

I am interested in seeing how your hitch turns out, I really like the way your bumper turned out too. I am definitely not in a hurry.
I get that there is a huge liability behind rating a hitch to sell as a kit.

BTW do you have the paint or powder coat code that you used?
Ben

 

[JefeAZ]

I am interested in seeing how your hitch turns out, I really like the way your bumper turned out too. I am definitely not in a hurry.
I get that there is a huge liability behind rating a hitch to sell as a kit.

BTW do you have the paint or powder coat code that you used?
Ben

Sounds good. Im in the process of a custom front bumper build so it may be a while until I get back to the hitch. Anyone else thats interested in a replacement hitch due to a dovetailed bumper let me know. The more he can make the cheaper they are for all of us.

I used evo grey from prismatic powders. Its nearly identical to the stock bumper and fender flare color.

 

[tractorpole]

Cool! I am interested, let me know what he comes up with.

 

[Canuck714]

From a liability standpoint you probably want to build a custom bumper around the factory 3 bolts per side hitch if you are going to tow often. Last thing you want is to be in an accident an the lawyers find out you did something they can manipulate and make it your problem.

There is a good chance that a well built high clearance hitch will be fine, but I would not want to be the scapegoat....

 

[JefeAZ]

My fab guy got a good look at it he said the best way to do this is to weld a new hitch in. He drew up some mounting plates that will be welded to the frame and will be picking up some square tube and a receiver. Everything will be beefier than stock. We measured the main cross tube on the stock hitch and its about 1" short so its not worth hacking up. We will be removing the wiring harness adapters and building one from scratch in the new few weeks. Should tuck right under the plate like this

 

[JefeAZ]

All done and beefier than stock. If you're in AZ he can do one for you for under $500

 

[tractorpole]

that is clean looking!

I might have to plan a road trip to AZ. is your fab guy in the Tuscon area?