How much can this Ford Explorer Bumper Hitch Tow?

[Bryan Bashin]

Hello all,

I want to use a 92 Ford Explorer XLT to tow my Coleman Arcadia, which
weighs in at about 1,700 pounds.

The Explorer is equipped with the factory tow package, which includes a
bumper-type ballmount installed at the factory.

My question: how much can I tow if I use the existing hole to mount a 2"
ball? And should I invest in a standard hitch?

Thanks for your advice.

--Bryan

[Paul]

Technically, yes your ball on the bumper is sufficient to handle your
trailer. BUT, in the real world, you will one day hit a good size bump in
the road, and your rear bumper will turn up or down.
Use it for now, and if you have some extra cash some day, go to Walmart and
get a bolt on receiver.

--
Paul
Coleman Grandview SP
N. Central Massachusetts

[DonkeyHody]

>My question: how much can I tow if I use the existing hole to mount a 2"
>ball? And should I invest in a standard hitch?
>

I can't say for sure about your vehicle, but those bumper hitches typically are
rated at 200# tongue weight/ 2000# trailer weight. It is usually stamped in
the ball mount somewhere.

DonkeyHody

[Lepooner]

I towed a Jayco 1006 (~2000# loaded) on an Explorer with a V-6 and had
absolutely no trouble. The bumper is rated for that light weight, and I would
not invest in a receiver hith unless you have a larger trailer to tow (ie.
boat, lowboy, etc). Hope that helps.......Pooner.

[Spudman]

Look around and you will see a number of dinged Explorer bumpers that
have a hitch ball. If you don't mind a ding then do it, provided your
towing level. Otherwise invest in a good hitch....it is well worth
it.

[mrw...@my-deja.com]

Hello Bryan:

We have a 99 Coleman Santa Fe (cr. 1600 pounds) and we tow it with the
bumper mounted hitch ball of our 97 Ford Explorer Sport. I think I
read on the bumper itself somewhere that it is rated for 3200 - 3500
pounds. We have no problem pulling the camper with the Splorer even
with the camper and truck loaded up with our stuff. To date I have
noted no problems with the bumper either.

You should have no problems unless there is an issue of towing height.
Our camper tows perhaps an inch higher at the tongue than perfectly
level, but this has not been a problem. I think if our camper had
smaller wheels then I would probably want it to be lower, but our SF
has the 13 inch wheels and they seem to compensate well for any
discrepency.

Happy Camping

Don C.

Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.

[Bill Gee]

I towed my first popup (1986 Jayco 806) on a bumper hitch of a Chevy S-10.
It worked OK, but the trailer wasn't level and it was hard to backup. After
two years of that I spent the money (under $200 at the time) and had a frame
receiver hitch installed.

I noticed two things immediately: 1) Towing the trailer level makes a BIG
difference in how much it bounces and sways, and 2) the frame hitch is WAY
stiffer than any old bumper. The back-and-forth rocking was completely
gone.

I'm sold: I'll never pull another trailer on the bumper. My current S-10
has a 6000 pound receiver hitch which cost me less than $250 installed at
U-Haul. It's worth every penny. I probably could have done the install
myself on this one. The older S-10 had to have some mods to the exhaust,
some frame extensions and a little welding to get the hitch on.

Bryan Bashin <bas...@calweb.com> wrote in message
news:Pine.BSF.4.05.991017...@web1.calweb.com...

> Hello all,
>
> I want to use a 92 Ford Explorer XLT to tow my Coleman Arcadia, which
> weighs in at about 1,700 pounds.
>
> The Explorer is equipped with the factory tow package, which includes a
> bumper-type ballmount installed at the factory.
>

> My question: how much can I tow if I use the existing hole to mount a 2"
> ball? And should I invest in a standard hitch?
>

[seymour goodman]

Current Fords have the bumper hitch capacity imprinted on the plastic top
part of the bumper. My Ford truck says 500 lbs hitch weight; 5000 lbs
maximum trailer weight.
Bryan Bashin wrote in message ...

[Skip P]

Our tow-package equipped '96 Explorer came with a bumper rated for 350#
tongue weight and 3500# towing weight. I went ahead and installed a receiver
hitch to keep the trailer level. Simple job, took about an hour.
seymour goodman <sgoo...@pinn.net> wrote in message
news:ZN6P3.1222$Mg4.1...@newshog.newsread.com...

> Current Fords have the bumper hitch capacity imprinted on the plastic top
> part of the bumper. My Ford truck says 500 lbs hitch weight; 5000 lbs
> maximum trailer weight.
> Bryan Bashin wrote in message ...

--
Skip Pudney
See our Outdoor and Nature web site at
http://www.ipass.net/~rob01/index.html

[William Moore]

I strongly agree with this statement. Just look around at vehicles on the
highway that have balls mounted to the bumper. You won't have to look
very long before you start seeing bumpers that are bent down at the hitch.
If you only ever tow on good smooth roads, you'll probably be fine, but
the reciever hitch really is worth the money in the long run. Plus, there
are all sorts of accessories you can get that attach to a receiver hitch...

Regards,
Bill Moore
98 Coleman Santa Fe

[Dwatson714]

>
>I can't say for sure about your vehicle, but those bumper hitches typically
>are
>rated at 200# tongue weight/ 2000# trailer weight. It is usually stamped in
>the ball mount somewhere.

They come is a WIDE variety of ratings. There is no
"standard" size. Mine is rated for 600# tongue wt and 6,000# max trl.wt. It
should be on a sticker or
something on the bumper.

Dave Watson -"Big Voodoo Daddy"