Front hitch

[RickJ]

Out for stroll in Ventnor today, and there was a 4x4 with boat trailer on the public slipway ramp (no-one with it, presumably just launched or about to retrieve).

Nothing unusual about that, except that the trailer was hitched to the front of the car. I haven't seen that done before, but it struck me as a neat idea, must make it a lot easier to manoeuvre down the ramp. Of course you then have to reverse up, but that's not so hard pulling the trailer.

Needs 4WD or front-WD to avoid wheel slip, so not good for rear-WD only. There's also the issue of cost of front-mounted tow bracket of course.

Just wondered if anyone here has done this - or seen it done?

Cheers, Rick

[bastonjock]

Hi Rick

Ive seen it on a couple of 4x4s,it can be easily fitted to traditional 4x4s such as Landrovers or Pajeros,the modern 4x4s have plastic bumpers and no reinforcing at the front.My Pajero has a steel bumper and comes with holes ready drilled and tapped for such a device.

I did think of mounting a winch and a towbar to the front,if i was doing a lot of trailering,i would go that route

[K9Kampers]

A couple of boat yards I worked each had a yard truck with a hydraulic plow rig to which a tow ball was mounted. Easy to approach & pick up the trailer to move & launch / haul.

Have also seen the front drawbar mod on typically trucks used for RVing. Bike racks, cargo decks, surfcasting platforms / rod holders, and the like.

[Sleepy]

I had an old Ford E300 van that I stuck a hitch ball on the front bumper for use on some of the tougher ramps. My boat at the time was a johnboat and very light! Would not work with something heavy you could see the bumper bowing, But it was handy.

[Pacamac-uk]

Watling towbars do them for a range of cars in the UK see below. Thought about fitting one to my Vectra/Signum but now have a BMW which is rear wheel drive so this gives better traction on the slippery ramp tha front wheel drive.

http://www.watling-towbars.co.uk/front_towbars.html

[Captain Steve]

I had one on my 2001 Explorer. Bought it from JC Whitney. It just bolted on existing frame. I recall the catalog had them for many vehicle types. When I was growing up you could just weld them on the front bumper of your 65 ford 150

[March]

Rick:
I keep my boat over by the lake, on one of my friend's property. I trailer with a Pathfinder, with the rear hitch and I am becoming more and more confortable with packing up and manoeuvering into tight spaces. My friend has a 4WD Chevy truck with both a read and a front hitch. Sometimes he helps me park the boat. It is indeed easier to see where you are going. Yet between my experience with backing her up and his lack of experience (and tentativeness) of pushing her forward, the odds are pretty much even: we would both be able to park her into a tight space within the same length of time.
The boat is so large that it blocks his view and he still has to be directed

[waternwaves]

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[waternwaves]

I Installed a front 2" non reciever (this will be a critical point shortly) hitch on my 89 F250 standard cab HD rig, 2WD, specifically I was looking to put the boat up behind the house via an asphalt paved driveway with two 90 degree turns within about 50 ft., and about a 10% grade until the last corner... and tho the truck could move some smaller trailers through the maze.....I never successfully made it up the drive with the hitch on the front, and numerous time had to relevel my surrounding yard when the truck drive wheelswent off the asphalt and chewed through tho the zero friction clay.....Don't even ask what happened when I tried to back it up the hill, can still smell the transmission fluid.

Not to be intimidated...... I moved the hitch onto the beast..... 85 F250 4x4 supercab.(preferred manual transmission) (slightly longer) , and found out the truck/mac combo was too long and the trailer hit the drive on the uphill turns..grrr now realize that with a fixed hitch(no receiver) I cannot drop the hitch low enough to raise the back of the boat. You ask why......... why does he not use the reciever hitch in the back.......well...... I found out the supercab and the trailer wheelbases were too long to make the sharp curves, (sorry about that tree neighbor.........and sorry about that flower garden dear) .

So.....the problem is stagnant for a while.....the boats are still out front, admiral is not particularly pleased... Enter the new solution idea...... Buy New truck. OK/.. thats done now..... Supercrew 150 4x4 , short 5 ft. bed, tightest wheelbase, 4wd, creeping automatic transmission.....I still cannot back it up or drag it up and clear the truck wheels again go out in the yard.... etc... etc...

she got worried when I went out and started measuring for installing concrete piers with electric winch mounts to haul the trailers up without the trucks........

Fast forward to now...
Home depot has a great price on the decorative curved concrete wall blocks for a new parking area with integral surrounding flower bed which is going in on the bottom low point of the lot, before the corners of the drive.

If I do this right..... the wall be 18 inches from the side of the boat.. will be able to almost step into the boat from the pavers in the flower bed....

Some rest of the navy will be parked in adjacent berths heading up the hill....

yep.....
costco storage sheds went behind the house......for cars.


I gave up.

[bastonjock]

hehehe darren i would have given up also ,im lucky that i have a 60ft straight driveway onto hard standing,the only thing i have to do is trim back the neighbours jungle

[Phillip]

quite common in our country areas.
they don't put the ball on the bumper tho....that is not a good idea.
They have a proper drawbar to the vehicle frame.
Got to remember winches are very common also.
Cheers
Phillip

[RickJ]

Watling towbars do them for a range of cars in the UK see below...

Hi Pacamac

Thanks for the link, I can see they do one for my Kia, but it's around £150. Might think about that though. I expect to be launching each time I use the Mac soon - currently I'm moored (long story). I'll see how I get on with the rear hitch, but there's an awkward turn to line up with the ramp.

As March pointed out, a Mac is pretty big and still hard to see around. The Watling hitches are offset to the passenger side to help with that, but it might not be far enough. It's possible there might be better visibility in the mirrors with the trailer on the back the normal way!

Cheers, Rick

[cuisto]

Had a front reciever installed on my explorer when the were doing the rear one. Like having it there, can manoever the boat into tighter spaces as the pivot point is so close to the steering point. The ramp i used to use was very steep with a sudden drop off, the boat would dissapear from view when backing in so all round i found i liked the front hitch. I do find i dont use it as much as i had anticipated but think it was not a waste.

Also have a winch for mounting in the front which i adapted to a draw bar.

[Chinook]

I installed a front receiver on my truck prior to taking off on an extended trip. We had the camper on the truck, and I was concerned about visibility while backing down the ramp, with a camper on the truck. As it turned out, I never used a front hitch. Visibility with the side mirrors was plenty good, and with the admiral behind to make sure I didn't hit anything with my considerable blind spot, we had no problems. I ended up using the front receiver to mount a bike rack, and we transported our 2 bicycles with it. We did accumulate quite an insect collection on the bike frames and wheel spokes.

[Divecoz]

I installed a front receiver on my truck prior to taking off on an extended trip. We had the camper on the truck, and I was concerned about visibility while backing down the ramp, with a camper on the truck. As it turned out, I never used a front hitch. Visibility with the side mirrors was plenty good, and with the admiral behind to make sure I didn't hit anything with my considerable blind spot, we had no problems. I ended up using the front receiver to mount a bike rack, and we transported our 2 bicycles with it. We did accumulate quite an insect collection on the bike frames and wheel spokes.

Have you posted Pictures and documentary on your Mexico trip anywhere?