Towing with step bumper

[steve dunham]

My pickup truck has a 10 inch rear chrome step bumper ( not sure if it's factory or after market made by lavurne) can i tow a 2500lb trailer with the step bumper or do i need to install a regular class iii hitch ? It seems like a lot of expense when you can tow 2000 lbs off a regular bumper hitch. Does the regular class iii hitch give you less sway ? Is it safer? I looked on the internet but the information i see is all over the place.

Thanks
(p.s. There is a label on the bumper with ratings but you can't read the numbers)

[Bill K]

Did you happen to look at this site ?

Heavy-Duty Bumpers

Bill K

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by bill k

did you happen to look at this site ?

heavy-duty bumpers

bill k

no, i' m trying to pull it up right now . I'm out in the boondocks and only have dial up internet , so its realllllly
slow

thanks steve d

[Larry C Hanson]

Hello,
When I pulled a Trillium 1300 with my 1991 Dodge D-150 I found that
the little trailer bent the standard factory step bumper down a bit. I did
drive some dirt roads but always at reasonable speeds. After my first trip
with that setup I installed a receiver hitch bolted to the frame of the pickup.
I found it was worth the investment and was much more robust that the
factory bumper. In my opinion, using the stock factory step bumper would
only be suitable for towing a small, lightly laden utility trailer.
Larry H

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by larry c hanson

hello,
when i pulled a trillium 1300 with my 1991 dodge d-150 i found that
the little trailer bent the standard factory step bumper down a bit. I did
drive some dirt roads but always at reasonable speeds. After my first trip
with that setup i installed a receiver hitch bolted to the frame of the pickup.
I found it was worth the investment and was much more robust that the
factory bumper. In my opinion, using the stock factory step bumper would
only be suitable for towing a small, lightly laden utility trailer.
Larry h

laverne shows bumper is rated 1000 lbs. Tongue 10000 lbs load

[Mike Magee]

You may have to ask a Dodge dealer to be certain. Seems like different bumpers can have different ratings. I know my Mercury Mountaineer (like Explorer) bumper is rated for 3500 lbs./350 tongue wt. but have no idea what the Dodge bumpers are rated for.

[Donna D.]

Go to a wrecking yard for a You Pull It. If you take your own wrenches, proper hitches are quite reasonable.

[Frederick L. Simson]

Originally Posted by steve dunham

can i tow a 2500lb trailer with the step bumper or do i need to install a regular class iii hitch ? It seems like a lot of expense when you can tow 2000 lbs off a regular bumper hitch. Does the regular class iii hitch give you less sway ? Is it safer?

The step bumper MAY be strong enough to pull your trailer...but...
The question is: When you hitch up, does the trailer remain LEVEL? (excellent link)

I've seen many Pick-up Truck Bumpers that were substantially higher than the trailer's "Ball" height, resulting in an exaggerated nose-up attitude, which is a sway accident just waiting to happen. A class III hitch receiver allows selecting a ball mount that has a rise or drop to match the trailer's ball coupler height.

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by frederick l. Simson

the step bumper may be strong enough to pull your trailer...but...
The question is: when you hitch up, does the trailer remain level? (excellent link)

i've seen many pick-up truck bumpers that were substantially higher than the trailer's "ball" height, resulting in an exaggerated nose-up attitude, which is a sway accident just waiting to happen. A class iii hitch receiver allows selecting a ball mount that has a rise or drop to match the trailer's ball coupler height.

i've discovered since my post that reese , valley and hiddin hitch make a bolt on receiver hitch for step bumpers . They are rated for 3500 lbs and 5000 lbs. The bolt pattern in my luverne step bumper is 12 in. On center and luckily so is the hitch bolt pattern. I also discovered that dodge rates the step bumper for 5000 lbs of load and for 500 lbs tongue wt. The luverne step bumper is rated for 10000 lbs load and 1000 tongue wt. By luverne. The step bumper is bolted to the frame with
1/2" thick by 3" wide bars and supplemented with 2 offset brackets which look like 3/8" or 1/2" thick metal bolted to the frame. There is also a carrier frame which runs parallel to the bumper but i could not see how it was attached to the truck . I hoping this will tow 2500 lbs, safely

thank you for replying steve d

[Mike Magee]

In case you didn't know, walmart sells hitch receivers and stuff like that. I think I paid less than $200 for a class III receiver for my Mountaineer some time back.

[Larry C Hanson]

Hello Again,
Regarding the factory step bumper.... Its rating was 5000 lbs with
a 500 lb tongue weight and the bumper bent under the load of the Trillium
which was about ~1600? lbs with 100+ lbs tongue weight. This tells me that
the manufacturers were optimistic (unrealistic?) about the capacities of
their product. The receiver hitch I bought came from JCWhitney who still
lists a Class III receiver hitch for my old truck for $140.
Larry H

[Bruce Thomas]

why factories continue to put ball holes on step bumpers is beyond me.....they're what they say the are....."for stepping on"....step bumpers.

[Radar1]

Originally Posted by Bruce Thomas

why factories continue to put ball holes on step bumpers is beyond me.....they're what they say the are....."for stepping on"....step bumpers.

The bumper on my Dakota is only rated at 2000 lbs, but that's enough to haul my canoe trailer, and I can also mount the vertical "T" bar that I use to support one end of my canoe or kayak when I carry it above the truck, so they are still useful.
I use my receiver hitch for bigger loads.

John

[Scott H]

You CAN do all kinda things!

Dosen't mean it's a good idea. At least this truck wasn't towing an egg!

Ya think the bumper looks bad? Zoom in on the rear tire!

[Greg H]

I almost totally removed the bumper on my F150 trying to pull a trailer for a friend a couple of weeks ago. I was amazed at how week this thing was, I never would have imagined that the bumper was so weak. My buddy ended up pulling the trailer with his 1/2 ton GMC and sad to say it but the F150 will have to go now because it is a WUSS.

[floyd]

HMMMM..."Step" bumper... Is that the second bumper to get "hitched" to your TV ? I guess that's better than a "first cousin" bumper...."once removed"!!