Reinforce hitch on my ranger

[Kolby198]

Heyo,

I've got a 2008 ford ranger XL 2.3l 2wd . The most basic as basic can be. I love the truck . For Montreal, QC its a real gem since the frame has no rust on it. Most rangers here are rotted to death.

Although this truck is my daily il be using it as a camper/moto hauler in the warmer seasons. Il be mounting a 250lb dirtbike off the hitch of the truck. I already tested it last summer and it drove well with the extra weight. It defenitly needs some stronger springs in the back but handling was fine.

Now heres the question. although my hitch had proven it can take it i still want to reinforce it and add an extra attachment point to the frame. This summer i plan on doing a 10,000km trip with the bike and i would hate to have the hitch break on the way.

My current approach is to weld some extra plating to the main bar and two extra tabs that ill mount to the side of the frame instead of only having it bolted from under.

Any suggestions?

 

[Brain75]

Do you have a class 2 aftermarket, class 3, factory or?

What I would tend to do is look at class 4, see how they differ from a class 3, and then reproduce that... or just buy a class 4 (if such a thing exists for our little light trucks, probably doesn't)... in the bigger trucks what Reese does for example is thicker metal and longer arms running parallel along the frame. just making it only longer will yield in a bend point, and just making it thicker (still short) will just cause it to bend the frame... upgrading the hitch to a much higher capacity means spreading the load out across even more frame area.

Edit: add 1 to all my numbers - where I said 2, think 3, etc... and I see there are class V for rangers after a quick skim online...

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

So, first off, how good of a welder are you? Be honest.

I‘m not sure that there is a class 4 option anymore for our little trucks. That’s kind of the ideal. Since it’s not really an option and I’m a decent welder, I’d be more inclined to build something custom from scratch than to try and add to a stock hitch. And if I was going to do what you are, I’d probably buy a pre-made 12” long receiver tube piece and have the part of the dirtbike mount that goes into the hitch be long enough to use the whole length, then have extra bracing and stuff on the hitch to spread the load back the frame rails a good 18” or so. Of course, that may negate having a spare tire

 

[Kolby198]

Do you have a class 2 aftermarket, class 3, factory or?

What I would tend to do is look at class 4, see how they differ from a class 3, and then reproduce that... or just buy a class 4 (if such a thing exists for our little light trucks, probably doesn't)... in the bigger trucks what Reese does for example is thicker metal and longer arms running parallel along the frame. just making it only longer will yield in a bend point, and just making it thicker (still short) will just cause it to bend the frame... upgrading the hitch to a much higher capacity means spreading the load out across even more frame area.

Edit: add 1 to all my numbers - where I said 2, think 3, etc... and I see there are class V for rangers after a quick skim online...

Good Question, im 99% sure its the stock factory hitch. Is there a way to know what class it is aside from the size of the receiver?

Also great point about the hitchs preasure points and thickness. I had looked online aswell but the only class v hitches i found were for a 2019+ ranger.

 

[Brain75]

(assuming you have a square receiver not a 1 piece with just a ball hole)

class 1&2 are 1 1/4" square receiver, 3&4 are 2" square receiver, 5 is 2 1/2" or 3"
from there it would either be finding a label (required after a certain year... but may be gone), stamp, or figuring out what make/model it is from comparing to pix online.

 

[Kolby198]

So, first off, how good of a welder are you? Be honest.

I‘m not sure that there is a class 4 option anymore for our little trucks. That’s kind of the ideal. Since it’s not really an option and I’m a decent welder, I’d be more inclined to build something custom from scratch than to try and add to a stock hitch. And if I was going to do what you are, I’d probably buy a pre-made 12” long receiver tube piece and have the part of the dirtbike mount that goes into the hitch be long enough to use the whole length, then have extra bracing and stuff on the hitch to spread the load back the frame rails a good 18” or so. Of course, that may negate having a spare tire

Mediocre at best . Two of my friends used to be professional welders though so i would definitely lure them into this project with some pizza and beers.

Il run what you said past those guys to see if its something they would maybe want to help out with. My spare wheel carrier is busted and im not about to pay the 380$CAD for the piece so it could work out.

if i found a class iv/v hitch with the right dimensions from another truck, would it be a bad idea to try and install it? Or would i run into more issues?

 

[Kolby198]

(assuming you have a square receiver not a 1 piece with just a ball hole)

class 1&2 are 1 1/4" square receiver, 3&4 are 2" square receiver, 5 is 2 1/2" or 3"
from there it would either be finding a label (required after a certain year... but may be gone), stamp, or figuring out what make/model it is from comparing to pix online.

Gotcha, in that case its either a class 3 or 4. my money is on 3.

 

[Brain75]

If it is factory, then it will have the ford oval stamped somewhere on it, and should have the class I think stamped too.

Also if factory, then the wiring will almost certainly be different than aftermarket.

1st and 2nd gen almost all the aftermarkets were a 6 or 7 pin splice in until the 4 pin/5pin connector came about (3rd gen I think) with the T connector you add between box wiring and frame wiring.
I don't know 100% for sure how Ford did it in 3rd+ gens, but in the 1st and 2nd you have a dedicated fuse for "Tow Package" which is completely unpopulated with no lug behind it to use should you want to add.

Something I am looking at doing even though mine has a ball and 6 pin wiring, at the junkyard I found a class 4 with 4 pin wiring on a 3rd gen... just need a decent weather day to go get it (and lots of pb blaster and an impact). My yard is stupidly cheap on accessories like that, they are not in the computer so they just make up a price on the spot.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Mediocre at best . Two of my friends used to be professional welders though so i would definitely lure them into this project with some pizza and beers.

Il run what you said past those guys to see if its something they would maybe want to help out with. My spare wheel carrier is busted and im not about to pay the 380$CAD for the piece so it could work out.

if i found a class iv/v hitch with the right dimensions from another truck, would it be a bad idea to try and install it? Or would i run into more issues?

Possible to cut down a hitch and modify it.

There was my hitch bumper before I finished some things out. The notch in the side plates is so that it goes around the rear leaf spring hangers

 

[JoshT]

Your dirt bike only weighs 250lbs? The factory hitch is a Class 3, I can;t check the rating listed on mine at the moment, but those are typically rated to carry 5-600 lbs tounge weight. They're actually rated for more than that with a weight distributing hitch setup. I think you've got a good margin of error to just load it and go.

I regularly see mobility scooters in the same weight range as your bike being carried on bigger hitch mounted platforms, and same sized hitches.

I'd probably be more concerned with the suspension. Since this is not a permanent load added to the truck, I think this is a situation where you could be well served by air shocks in the rear. You are still within the factory load range for the suspension (assuming the bed isn't overloaded), you're just trying to level it back up. Air shocks can do that no problem and be cheaper than a lot of the other options.

Back in the 90s My dad had a BII. He built a reciever hitch platform that he would load down heavy. Not your dirtbike weight, but I'd say 150+ easily. His biggest complaint was the way that the platform jossled in the reciever driving down the road, and how anything extended out like that is going to appear to sag away from the bumper. To help support and stabalize the platform, he ran chains with turnbuckles from the aft corners of the platform up to hook over the top of the bumper. Worked great, but those were the old solid steel bumpers. I don't know if the newer bumpers are built in a way that you could do that.

Maybe there's a point higher up on the bed that you could do something similar?

If I had time, materials, and need for something like that on my truck I'd probably make anchor plates that bolted in under the tailgate catches and extended back past the surface of the bed. Have holes in them to hook a chain and tighten down. Kind of like old school anchor points for a slide in camper.

 

[racsan]

Ive always liked these for a rear suspension upgrade, Think it was $30 at autozone, been a few years so might be $50 or more by now. Ive even put a set on my ranger trailer

 

[don4331]

Your truck will have a cat III hitch, and that is basically the limit of the frame. As @JoshT says, the cat III hitch has a capacity of 225 kg - but that assumed the load will be on a trailer ball - about 15cm behind the hitch, for your bike, you are probably looking at 40+cm and that lever is doing bad things to the frame

The frame is designed to fail over the rear axle - so, if you are hit from behind, some of the force is dissipated by the frame bending (preventing your neck from being broke). There's a recent thread of a Ranger with this exact damage (afterwards, the box didn't sit straight...) example of Chev Silverado with similar but exaggerated issue.​

@racsan : I'm on the fence on your solution for this upgrade...while it reduces the rear end sag, it doesn't help with the lifting on the front axle and you're actually putting load right where the frame is supposed to fail.

 

[JoshT]

example of Chev Silverado with similar but exaggerated issue.

funny looking Silverado...

Not downing your advice, but... Those TuRDs are known for frames rusting, failing, and breaking like that. Bodies that look perfect, but the frame rusted in half. That example just happened to have a load on it when it let go, so it lifted instead ofsagging like they normally do. At least that's what I get from the picture.

 

[sgtsandman]

funny looking Silverado...

Not downing your advice, but... Those TuRDs are known for frames rusting, failing, and breaking like that. Bodies that look perfect, but the frame rusted in half. That example just happened to have a load on it when it let go, so it lifted instead ofsagging like they normally do. At least that's what I get from the picture.

I've seen pictures of Fords doing it too. I think the last one was with a massive slide in camper in the bed.

To the OP, why don't you want to load the bike in the bed? The load would be much better distributed on the frame and not trying to lift the front tires off the ground.

If it is to keep the bed free for gear, load the heaviest stuff in the bed with the bike and the rest on a hitch carrier tray. Or, get a trailer to haul the bike. Used Harbor Freight trailers can be had for cheap.

 

[arse_sidewards]

Did I mis type the URL and wind up on the Tacoma forum? FFS y'all should be ashamed of yourselves. Dude isn't gonna break the hitch or bend a frame with a dirt bike on hitch cargo carrier.

This is stock springs, bump stops have been replaced with '99ish Town and Country (they bolt right on but need a 3/8 spacer to clear the frame lip, I made one out of aluminum) because they're more cushy. I don't advise doing this but I didn't break anything doing it either. OP's dirt bike will be fine.