Trailer Hitch With 2 inch body lift??

[adarkang]

I have a 2" body lift and I custom made the rear bumper brackets with the layouts that are found on this site. MY question is, how exactly does a trailer hitch bolt up to the frame? I know the hidden hitch (70647) says no drilling and my concern is that it will not fit since I relocated the bumper? Does anybody know how these work? Has anyone with a bodylift ever installed a trailer hitch? Any advice would be helpful.

 

[bmxking5]

The trailer hitch usually bolts to the same place that the bumper does. The bumper bolts to the frame, obviously. So it'll stick down 2" from the bumper, since you moved it up. I may be wrong though, if the bumper brackets are different. All of the "bolt-on" bumper brackets would leave the hitch 2" lower, but I don't know how the ones you made are. It's not real hard to move the hitch up though.

 

[adarkang]

Yeah I am not sure if i can maybe move the hitch up with the new brackets. It might require some bending of the hitch or possibly the bumper brackets. I guess i'll have to order the hitch to find out exactly what I am dealing with.

 

[Bronco638]

I have this exact problem. Any hitch is pretty much going to be in the same location, with respect to the bumper in the stock location. If you install a BL (2", in my case) and you raise the rear bumper to match the lift, the hitch will now appear to "hang low". With the way the brackets mount to the frame, you'll have to make special brackets to raise the horizontal hitch bar. I figured I can fab some new brackets from .250 wall 2 x 4 steel. But, I'll need a good welder. My hitch has a support plate that's 5/8" thick.

Dave.

 

[ExplorerSportNu]

I just drilled new holes in my original brackets that came with the hitch and new holes in the frame and got mine to fit snug right under the bumper with a 3" bl.

 

[chris_miller]

Hitch With Lift

I have a 1998 XLT with a 3 inch lift and have not fixed the hitch problem yet. The hitch uses many of the same bolt holes but also uses two other holes that were not used by the bumper. One is OK because it is on the side,, the other is on the bottom of the frame rail and you cant just move the hitch up higher as the bottom bracket stops it from moving up. I suppose a grinder/ welder could remedy the problem.

CLICKABLE THUMBNAILS

You can just see the bottom bolt thru the frame rail,, the hitch has a plate welded on the side.


I put two brackets, one i had made up from the instructions on this site, the other is the one that comes with the PA883 after I beat it to a pulp to flatten it. The actual bumper bracket fits between the two plates.


Heres the three bolts thru the side all I think are standard holes from the factory, but only two are utilised by the bumper.



This is how it looks at the moment.