F150 Front 2" receiver hitch build (8" offcenter for V8 )

[GPintheMitten]

Nice job Sodo. What does anyone think about using this for a front winch?

 

[Big Barn]

F150 Front 2" receiver hitch build (8" offcenter for V8 )

Re : "Crows and Steve"


Give him time. Prolly not UP yet.


BEAUTY.

Terry

 

[Sodo]

Nice job Sodo. What does anyone think about using this for a front winch?

I happen to have a beautiful winch with good sense!

 

[BukitCase]

"Give him time. Prolly not UP yet" - Was too - I'll have you know I was up at the crack of 8:32 this morning :laughing:

Jeez, Sodo, ya give a guy a solution to not one, but TWO problems and he STILL makes fun of ya... (how soon we forget whose ideas we steal ) - Oh well, you keep on tiggin' HF junk together and I'll keep on usin' REAL receiver tube - twice as thick an' less than HALF the cost per foot (can't help retaliation after all the "shiny" digs - but at least I never have inclusions in my welds) Downside is I gotta find OTHER excuses when I make "less than stellar" welds

I do like you're "sneaky hitch pin" though...

Whatswrong - "only thing I could think of was launching a boat and wasn't to sure that would work well" - from experience, it WON'T if ramp is very steep/wet and your pickup is 2-wheel (rear) drive - since most of the weight will be on the front wheels. But 4x4 works GREAT.

First one of these I built in 1976 was on a '73 F250 4x4, and I regularly did "impossible" things with it. Did mine with two receivers, each lined up with one of the frame rails - that way I could move the hitch from one side to the other depending on conditons and which side I needed to see better... Steve

 

[Sodo]

Weld is stellar, for having powdercoat inside unch: the joint..... But how did you notice that with all the "shine"?

 

[BukitCase]

I wear SHINE glasses (other people call 'em SUNglasses ) 'sides, it all looks the same thru a welding hood

 

[two_bit_score]

Excellent!

 

[Sodo]

I've since beefed it up.
The whole receiver was bolted onto the front side of the F150 frame flange.

I made it mainly to move empty trailers and hold stuff like a lumber rack.
Then wouldn't you know it I had to maneuver a heavy one.
I knew that day was coming and it came.
Had to horse a 5,000 lb boom lift around and it was visibly flexing.
I had to push the boom lift over very uneven ground over tree-roots etc, in granny & 4wd & locked up!

I kinda knew it needed an a brace on the backside for any weight on the receiver, but didn't wanna build it at the time.
Nows the time.

Here's the back-side brace, looking down, from behind the grille.
To the right -----> is forward.
That's 1.5" square tubing with .25 thick walls.
Those tabs are all 3/8" thick.

This basically braces the inside of the front frame flange.
The hitch is bolted to the outside (front) of this frame flange.

I attached it to the truck frame with this 3/4" all-thread rod.
There was a hole thru the frame box section with appx. 7/8" holes
Note the "shoulder-nuts" that I made with the angle grinder.
These engage existing Ford holes in the F-150 frame.

It's firkin' solid now!
But..... I have never had to push any real weight around since.

 

[masscity]

There wasn't anyplace to hook on to my 1997 Dodge 2500 4x4 diesel if I got stuck. I went to a shop somewhere in the Detroit area and told them I wanted hooks installed. They said for some more money,

don't remember how much, they said they will install a receiver hitch and hooks at each end.

Never used it, but I liked having it in case I got stuck or needed to back a trailer into a tight spot. I still have the truck.

People see the receiver hitch on the front and ask me if it's hard to go down the highway that way with a trailer. I tell them it's not too bad once you get used to it.

 

[Xfaxman]

I can push this one pretty fast on the driveway and through the pasture:

Pushing two, I have to slow down a little bit and concentrate more:




It is muchly easier to pull them: