up until about 20 years ago, receiver hitches were a rarity. go walk around a junkyard, and you will be hard pressed to find a truck from before the late 80's that has a receiver hitch on them. everything was done with bumper hitches back then- of course, bumpers were beefier back then, as they were designed to be used to pull trailers.
the back bumper on my 87 GMC (actually, it's a 79 Chevy 3/4 ton 4X4 chassis) has a really beefy rear bumper with the center part made out of sections of 1/4" steel under the thin skin that the rest f the bumper is made out of, with 3/8"; brackets going to the frame rails, where it is bolted with a pair of 9/16" bolts on each side. it looks every bit as tough as any bolt on receiver hitch i've ever seen.
novaderrik wrote:
up until about 20 years ago, receiver hitches were a rarity. go walk around a junkyard, and you will be hard pressed to find a truck from before the late 80's that has a receiver hitch on them. everything was done with bumper hitches back then- of course, bumpers were beefier back then, as they were designed to be used to pull trailers.
the back bumper on my 87 GMC (actually, it's a 79 Chevy 3/4 ton 4X4 chassis) has a really beefy rear bumper with the center part made out of sections of 1/4" steel under the thin skin that the rest f the bumper is made out of, with 3/8"; brackets going to the frame rails, where it is bolted with a pair of 9/16" bolts on each side. it looks every bit as tough as any bolt on receiver hitch i've ever seen.
And yet if you go to Uhaul or Ryder to rent a dolly or trailer you better have a reciever or they show you the door. Couldnt rent a dolly nor trailer at either of those to be towed with the 72 Cheby.
the rental places are tied to whatever their insurance company tells them.
as i said, a bumper on a truck today isn't nearly as beefy as a bumper on a truck from 20 or more years ago. their rules are based on what most customers are going to have- a truck that is maybe 5-10 years old at the most.
back in '04, i had to rent a dolly to pick up my 84 T Type from the place where i bought it. i borrowed my cousin's truck (which is now my truck) and went to get the dolly. it has one of those bolt on receivers that just bolts to the bottom of the bumper- and i think it's home made, too. the guy at the rental place didn't say a word about me not having a "proper" receiver hitch. he just took my money and told me to have it back by the next day.
this same truck has had several overloaded car trailers behind it, and the bumper show no signs of sagging or visible fatigue.
i'm looking to get a proper receiver hitch for it, but it's hard to find one for a 73-87 GM truck. none of the trucks in the junkyards around here have them- not even the big 1 ton duallies and work trucks- they all have bumper hitches. i really don't want to spend money i don't have for a new one right now.
cwh wrote:
When I was doing metal work I made up a couple of rear bumpers for pick ups. Used 1/4 wall, 4" square tube, (that's HEAVY E36 M3!) , welded a good reciever to it, good to go. I would love to have a front bumper made that way for Miami traffic!
A friend of mine in Texas was fixing up a Blazer. The big old kind; I think they call them a "K5." He was moving to Alaska. He tended to overdo most things. He had a race shop, so the motor was built, a PTO driven winch, alternator and generator, extra storage battery, inverter, refrigerator in the back etc. For bumpers, being in Texas, he made them from oil well drill stem. When he put the front one on, the truck dropped down several inches. He had to buy stiffer springs to hold it up.
IIRC the towing capacity of my 1997 Ford F150 was stamped right on the flat area, beside the hole for the ball. It was 3500#, I think.
In reply to novaderrik:
Can't you just buy a "universal" receiver hitch kit?
A lot of the companies make them, the arms just slide in and out so you can set them for the truck.
I have one on my '67 Jeep Gladiator and it even bolted up without drilling any extra holes.
Shawn
Well, it got here in one piece, the S10 held up perfectly. Gonna throw some pics up tomorrow of the new hooptie! 
Dr. Hess wrote:
cwh wrote:
When I was doing metal work I made up a couple of rear bumpers for pick ups. Used 1/4 wall, 4" square tube, (that's HEAVY E36 M3!) , welded a good reciever to it, good to go. I would love to have a front bumper made that way for Miami traffic!
A friend of mine in Texas was fixing up a Blazer. The big old kind; I think they call them a "K5." He was moving to Alaska. He tended to overdo most things. He had a race shop, so the motor was built, a PTO driven winch, alternator and generator, extra storage battery, inverter, refrigerator in the back etc. For bumpers, being in Texas, he made them from oil well drill stem. When he put the front one on, the truck dropped down several inches. He had to buy stiffer springs to hold it up.
that might be why Alaskans sort of roll their eyes at Texans 
novaderrik wrote:
it's hard to find one for a 73-87 GM truck. none of the trucks in the junkyards around here have them- not even the big 1 ton duallies and work trucks- they all have bumper hitches. i really don't want to spend money i don't have for a new one right now.
http://www.lmctruck.com/icatalog/cc/full.aspx?Page=88
$170.00
porksboy wrote:
novaderrik wrote:
it's hard to find one for a 73-87 GM truck. none of the trucks in the junkyards around here have them- not even the big 1 ton duallies and work trucks- they all have bumper hitches. i really don't want to spend money i don't have for a new one right now.
http://www.lmctruck.com/icatalog/cc/full.aspx?Page=88
$170.00
i can get that same hitch locally for $135, but you must have missed the "money i don't have" part of my post.
i'm waiting for a $20 junkyard score.
until then, my "bolt under the bumper" receiver will have to work if i need to pull a trailer. i also need to get a brake controller..
