Bumper Reciever or Hitch?

[mini_mull]

Excuse my ignorance, but I've got a question for all you towing guys. I know a hitch is stronger than a stock bumper with a ball, but I was wondering about an aftermarket bumper with a reciever. Would a bumper with a reciever (like the 4x4 iron rear tube bumper w/reciever) be as strong for towing as a conventional hitch? Thanks in advance.

 

[sweetk30]

hell ya it is, for the after market bumper setup like that. mounted to frame and pulls much staighter on frame .

 

[rjfguitar]

I prefer the tow hitch that is bolted to the frame. The bumpers are bolted to the frame also, but have a bracket between with less material there.

 

[Seventy4Blazer]

i doubt it would be as strong. not near as uch triangulation. bumpers are for jet ski's and little yard trailers. anything else you should have a hitch. just my opinion though.

Grant

 

[afroman006]

I've seen too many "beefy" Ranchhand type full replacement bumpers that have a receiver hitch on them bend under a heavy load. Loading hay, we would stack maybe 100 bales onto a trailer and that would make most of those kinds of bumpers sag. I would not use them to haul anything bigger than a boat, certainly not a loaded car hauler or similar weight trailer.

 

[woody9]

my 91 sub has a ranch-hand on it and being concerend about it's capability, i contacted them about it.
The reply i got back said it's listed as a class V, which is way more than i need for our 30' TT. Not sure the tounge weight, but it rolled across the scales a little over 7K....

It's BOLTED & WELDED to the frame. The think i don't care for about it is the actual location of the ball with a W/D hitch makes it about a foot or better behind where a traditional frame mount OR bumper hitch would be. I don't think that contributes much to overall stability.