Sudden stop, bent hitch.

[robepa]

And there it is in a nut shell. It's not really a tow vehicle, it is really just for very light duty stuff, great for bikes, small little trailers things like that.

I'd be willing to bet you're going to run into bigger issues if you start reinforcing and ,whether directly or indirectly (6 inch drop hitch) start towing above max weight.

I say, keep the weak breaking point a cheap fix, and it will hopefully keep you from pushing its limits, really bad things will happen.

Tow ratings are funny, I used to assume the real max was ~50% of the rating and ~30% for comfortable towing. This roughly lines up with my 2nd gen Tacoma which is rated at 7,000 lbs. which would be insane and scary. With my 3,000 lbs. trailer it had acceptable power, good stability, no issues with the hitch receiver but braking was not acceptable so I added a trailer brake controller and changed the front rotors and calipers to gen 1 Tundra.

SAE J2807 was intended to fix that and includes accelerating, braking, stability and structural performance of the hitch receiver. Obviously this is for a stock vehicle and rated trailer weight. Bronco's tow rating is to the SAE J2807 standard, so I expect it to perform to that standard. Neither of the two failures I know about (this thread and the person that backed into a rock) have a Bronco failing under rated conditions.

Anecdotally, I am speculating that there is not much margin because of the extra reinforcement on the Raptor to get to a 4,500 lbs. rating and coming from Tacoma I have never heard of a hitch receiver failing/bending in anything less than obscene abuse.

For me there is a lot of speculations on how towing off road compares to the on road rating, it seams more sever to me. With the SAE J2807 how close to the max tow rating should (not could) you go? My friend towed a RBS with his gen 2 Tundra which 83% of the rated towing from Maine to Seattle and said it did great.

I think we should give the Backwater the same respect we would want. While best practice would be to list his mods in the original post, it seams like he puts on his big boy pants every day and is willing to deal with the issues and challenges he runs into because of his modifications. Sure he (and I) whish it was stronger, but that's a very different thing than expecting Ford to be able to responsible for modifications we make to the vehicle.

just my 2 cents.

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[DriveAllNight]

Tow ratings are funny, I used to assume the real max was ~50% of the rating and ~30% for comfortable towing. This roughly lines up with my 2nd gen Tacoma which is rated at 7,000 lbs. which would be insane and scary. With my 3,000 lbs. trailer it had acceptable power, good stability, no issues with the hitch receiver but braking was not acceptable so I added a trailer brake controller and changed the front rotors and calipers to gen 1 Tundra.

SAE J2807 was intended to fix that and includes accelerating, braking, stability and structural performance of the hitch receiver. Obviously this is for a stock vehicle and rated trailer weight. Bronco's tow rating is to the SAE J2807 standard, so I expect it to perform to that standard. Neither of the two failures I know about (this thread and the person that backed into a rock) have a Bronco failing under rated conditions.

Anecdotally, I am speculating that there is not much margin because of the extra reinforcement on the Raptor to get to a 4,500 lbs. rating and coming from Tacoma I have never heard of a hitch receiver failing/bending in anything less than obscene abuse.

For me there is a lot of speculations on how towing off road compares to the on road rating, it seams more sever to me. With the SAE J2807 how close to the max tow rating should (not could) you go? My friend towed a RBS with his gen 2 Tundra which 83% of the rated towing from Maine to Seattle and said it did great.

I think we should give the Backwater the same respect we would want. While best practice would be to list his mods in the original post, it seams like he puts on his big boy pants every day and is willing to deal with the issues and challenges he runs into because of his modifications. Sure he (and I) whish it was stronger, but that's a very different thing than expecting Ford to be able to responsible for modifications we make to the vehicle.

just my 2 cents.

As you know, towing has many factors you have to consider, weight of trailer, weight of tow vehicle, weight added to your vehicle (payload), GVWR. When you get to around 5000 pounds you’re looking at trailer brakes. When you get close to max tow and you start going long distances or up and down mountains you’ll probably have to watch out for the usual weak points, brake fade and trans temps climbing too high, then there is the fact that max tow ratings go down with elevation. Of course there is the tongue weight to consider, which in many trucks is not enough to match the max tow weight – I’m looking at you Tundra. We won’t get into trailer sway, weight distribution hitches and proper load distribution of the trailer.

The point is, when you start trailering at max weight, you have to know what the hell you are doing or people can get really hurt.

And yes modifying your vehicle will change the max tow cap, the suspension, the brakes, the height, the ability to cool the engine, the oil, the transmission fluid (people moving radiators to accommodate winches) all these thing matter. And it’s important to know that before you push the limits.

 

[da_jokker]

For anyone following this thread that haven't seen the other post, a member purchased the new raptor hitch and it's actually got a little bit bigger footprint and is thicker metal.

Add that to the braces and it looks like that's where Ford got the extra strength.

 

[Overlander22]

I decided to see how the new Bronco toed my 4 seat RZR on a lightweight 18' flat utility trailer last weekend.

The Bronco had plenty of power, and braking. The trailer did push the rear around a little on the highway, but it was tolerable.

While heading home a car cut me off in traffic, and I had to slam on the brakes a bit. Not a full on emergency skid, but definitely firm. I heard a crunching noise, but was only a block from home, so I continued on home. When I arrived, and inspected what the noise was, I discovered the receiver hitch had bent down around 3/4".

Has anyone had this happen? I can definitely see how it could happen. The hitch is fairly thin steel, and not gusseted anywhere. I plan on trying to bend it back, and reinforce, or replace with a Curt, and reinforce before mounting.

Trip to Moab with off-road teardrop, approx 2,600 lbs fully loaded. Think I bent the hitch. Can see in first pic the hitch is pointing down when it was level previously. Can't tell from hitch receiver bolted on frame pics where the issue is. Cross-member looks fine. Hitch receiver has a very minor bend in back but that was there when I originally installed due to gap between receiver and cross member when tightening bolts. Thought about spacers but didn't do it and the receiver closed the gap upon bolt tightening resulting in a slight bend in the receiver wall against the frame. But this was all in specs of install. Can't tell where new bend is.

Took it easy on her, was my first trip. Mostly fire roads. There were some minor technical sections but took it slow and easy. There was one washout dip on a paved road that came up suddenly when I was going about 15-20 mph that bounced things around a bit.

Questions, how do I confirm no damage to frame cross-member? If that is confirmed maybe I can warranty hitch and install with washers to close gap. Any other hitch receiver/frame cross-member strengthening solutions yet? Thanks in advance.

 

[broncojockey]

Trip to Moab with off-road teardrop, approx 2,600 lbs fully loaded. Think I bent the hitch. Can see in first pic the hitch is pointing down when it was level previously. Can't tell from hitch receiver bolted on frame pics where the issue is. Cross-member looks fine. Hitch receiver has a very minor bend in back but that was there when I originally installed due to gap between receiver and cross member when tightening bolts. Thought about spacers but didn't do it and the receiver closed the gap upon bolt tightening resulting in a slight bend in the receiver wall against the frame. But this was all in specs of install. Can't tell where new bend is.

Took it easy on her, was my first trip. Mostly fire roads. There were some minor technical sections but took it slow and easy. There was one washout dip on a paved road that came up suddenly when I was going about 15-20 mph that bounced things around a bit.

Questions, how do I confirm no damage to frame cross-member? If that is confirmed maybe I can warranty hitch and install with washers to close gap. Any other hitch receiver/frame cross-member strengthening solutions yet? Thanks in advance.

We have the exact same problem---I have an expedition trailer and was using an extension and had the same crumpling in the inside of the rear of the frame cross member. Got it straightened with reverse force (ugghh, hopefully not weakening it too much). I bought a new hitch because it was bent too, but it simply tightened up into that crumple. Looks just like yours. I'm now seeking to reinforce somehow. I'm in NorCal too. How did you tackle this?

 

[robepa]

We have the exact same problem---I have an expedition trailer and was using an extension and had the same crumpling in the inside of the rear of the frame cross member. Got it straightened with reverse force (ugghh, hopefully not weakening it too much). I bought a new hitch because it was bent too, but it simply tightened up into that crumple. Looks just like yours. I'm now seeking to reinforce somehow. I'm in NorCal too. How did you tackle this?

What the size and weight is your trailer? While I am not using an extension I have a Smittybilt Scout ~2,000 loaded and am wondering if I might want to add a raptor style brace to the hitch.

 

[Overlander22]

I had to have the rear crossmember of the frame that the hitch attached to replaced. It's not overly complicated, it's just cut out and a new crossmember welded in. You can have the frame laser measured to confirm if you need it done. Runs about $1,500 to have it replaced. Don't have your insurance cover it though bc they f'd me at renewal, bastards. Also, the hitch that I use has a 1/8" to 1/4" gap between it and crossmember when bolting on. If that gap is not filled with washers or a fabricated piece of metal then the hitch will bend to the crossmember when tightening that can create a fulcrum when under pressure that may make it easier to bend the cross-member. Just an fyi. It may have played a role in my issue.

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