77crewcab
1/2 ton status
for towing say 8000 lbs, a dropstep bumper or a receiver hitch?
CK5
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Which is better?
- Thread starter 77crewcab
- Start date
84_Chevy_K10
Banned
Absolutely no question, a frame mounted weight distributing style hitch complete with spring bars and sway control is absolutely essential to pull a load that heavy from a ball hitch. The trailer needs to have its own functional brakes as well.
If you're thinking of doing it with a 1/2 ton or a K5 I would definitely think long and hard about it too.
8,000 is much more than it sounds like.
Me personally I don't pull on a bumper unless it's 2,000# or less.
If you're thinking of doing it with a 1/2 ton or a K5 I would definitely think long and hard about it too.
8,000 is much more than it sounds like.
Me personally I don't pull on a bumper unless it's 2,000# or less.
77crewcab
1/2 ton status
Just wondering cause I currently have a FEY dropstep that is rated at 10K and would hate to replace it if it would work fine. What about the bumpers like Ranch Hand that are dropsteps with a built in receiver hitch?
sled_dog
1 ton status
I would never trust a bumper. All that weight on the end of the frame rails, no way. A nice hitch spreads the load along the frame and just so much better.
77crewcab
1/2 ton status
Okay thanks
Hossbaby50
3/4 ton status
Here is a questoin for you. If you wouldn't trust a bumper with all that weight right on the frame rail ends why do people trust 9-15K winches mounted to the same place? /forums/images/graemlins/dunno.gif
I know a step bumper isn't great for heavy towing, gooseneck or a load distributing hitch is a much better choice, but people use the end of the frame rails to pull themselves out of things all the time.
Harley
I know a step bumper isn't great for heavy towing, gooseneck or a load distributing hitch is a much better choice, but people use the end of the frame rails to pull themselves out of things all the time.
Harley
If you have a 15K winch mounted only to the end of the frame rails, you're gonna rip the bumper off just like you would a big trailer on a step bumper.
I inherited a Warn Classic front bumper, I think it is, and it has C-channel that extends back, I donno, a foot or a foot and a half along the frame, with multiple 1/2" or 5/8" grade 8 bolts through the frame (three or four on each side.) Maybe they're 3/4", I forget. They're bloody huge.
I'd say that's enough for a 9K, and while I'd be a bit worried with a 15K, I like overengineering /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
Anyway, point being that for winches, especially big ones, a special mounting system, much like a frame-mounted hitch, is in order.
-- A
I inherited a Warn Classic front bumper, I think it is, and it has C-channel that extends back, I donno, a foot or a foot and a half along the frame, with multiple 1/2" or 5/8" grade 8 bolts through the frame (three or four on each side.) Maybe they're 3/4", I forget. They're bloody huge.
I'd say that's enough for a 9K, and while I'd be a bit worried with a 15K, I like overengineering /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
Anyway, point being that for winches, especially big ones, a special mounting system, much like a frame-mounted hitch, is in order.
-- A
77crewcab
1/2 ton status
Thats what I thought but I guess I should just look at how they mount. I would be using a weight distrubuting and sway control setup with it as well.
