Ford Trailer Hitch HELP!!

[Petech]

I was about to purchase a Ford Trailer Hitch for my 1998 that I found cheap, but then I realized that I had a problem. I have 265/70R16 tires on my Eddie Bauer, so will the hitch fit with the rather large spare underneath? It is a square hitch, not one of those nice looking round tube ones. Thanks in advance.

 

[KeithZ]

Petech, I have the Hidden Hitch round tube hitch (that is mostly hidden). It was tight to fit my full size spare on my '98 XLT but it does barely fit. I don't know about the Ford hitch. Good luck. KZ

 

[jasonb]

my spare is a stock 255/60r16 but there looks to be plenty of room b/w it and the hitch for a 265. the hitch is not a straight one. it is tappered kind of so the middle is further out than the mounting points. try one like that if yours doesn't work.

 

[aldive]

I have no trouble with the stock spare on my 99 with the Hidden Hitch hitch.

Good luck....

 

[Jim F]

I have the tube style hitch made for the 98+ with the new style bumper. I bought it from UHaul (check here here). It's actually made by Valley Hitch in Lodi CA. They have been making quality hitch stuff forever. This is all my dad will buy. Anyway, what I've noticed is this hitch is not under the bumper as much as the tube style Hidden Hitch. This allows a little more room for the spare. There plenty of room for my 15 inch spare. The 16 inch will fit fine. The only part of the hitch that stick out from the bumper is the reinforcing ring around the receiver hole. This hitch bolted on like a dream. Everthing lined up perfectly and the receiver tube is very close but not touching the bottom of the bumper. Higly recommended.

Here's a picture from Uhauls website and it's the same color as my 98:
Dead Link Removed

 

[beavis195]

I should take a picture of mine. It's welded to the frame of the X right underneath the bumper and it looks a lot better than the hidden hitch or uhaul ones. It's also more hidden. It also is bolted to the frame farther back. I don't know where my dad got it, He might have built it himself. I'll look through the hundreds of repair and addition papers we have on the X.

 

[rogue]

I am having the same trouble. I have 275/70/16 on the X and can not find a hitch to fit. I plan on towing a 1970 Ford Torino GT Convert with it on a car carrier. So, 5,000 lbs is really necessary. The one I have seen are angled out, but not enought. I could re-drill the holes, but I do not want to weaken the mounting. I could have it welded on, but it will be there forever. I may do that. The 4wd shop here is looking for one for me.

Later,
Rogue

 

[aldive]

Another idea is to take it to a hitch installation shop and pay them to mount it. These fellows know all the tricks and gentile bends needed sometimes.

Good luck....

 

[rogue]

Well the cool thing is, you can use a eaz-lift hitch. I just put one on my 2000 with a 275/70/16 spare. We had to lower the spare. Install the hitch and then raise the tire back. It is snug, but it fits.

There is a bracket that holds the tire back, but unless you want some work, don't bother with trying to modify it. There were rivets in it and its thick enough to take an effort to bend it.

Later,
Rogue

 

[mikeh]

I found a reese hitch at Walmart ($100) which fits perfect. You have to lower the spare to install it. Then just bolt it on with four bolts. It took me about an hour to put it on.

Mike H

 

[01EB5.0]

I crammed a P265/70R16 under my 95 and since the 95 never came with these big tires, the hitch I have is a straight, square tube Hidden Hitch. The only way I coudl fit the tire under was to deflate it and carry an electric air pump under the back seat.

 

[Jon_Herr]

Leaf Spring Interference

I too bought my hitch at wal-mart. It was easy to install and seems well made.

The only thing is that the spring shackles are almost touching the mounting bracket with no load on the vehicle. When the vehicle is loaded they hit occasionally.

This will be solved when I go to an add-a-leaf later this year but it seems like a serious oversight.

Can you check if yours has this interference problem?

Does the U-Haul hitch attach in the same way with the same problem / feature?

Thanks,
Jon