Urban hitch myth?

[Toasterlife]

I have heard/read that it is possible to mount a ball hitch to the front of your TV (a Ram pickup in our case) to make it easier to maneuver the trailer into tight spots. Is this true/possible? what are the downsides/upsides?

When I think about it I think that the turn radius would be much smaller, and it would be easier to see what you are doing and so much easier than backing a trailer.

If it really is a good idea I would expect more people to be doing this. So Urban Myth? or something that could make our lives easier? Also could I just do it with the ball hitch or would I have to use the sway-bars too?

[RandyNH]

Got it. Love it. I've yet to realize a down side. An upside is you can use it for a bike rack too. I needed it for my 450 foot downhill driveway with a "T" and stonewalls, made all the difference. Check Amazon for price and install myself was about 1.5 hours 2013 Sierra 1500

Sway bars are for high speed, just a ball is fine.

Oh ya, two days I also got a winch for the front hitch mount, that gets swapped out. Many uses.

[Arcticfox]

Used one for years on the front of our Motor Home. We would hook our boat on the front and drive the boat down boat launches ramps. worked like a charm

[Al and Missy]

I put one on my F150, and now have one on my Ram 2500. It makes parking the trailer much easier and it makes it virtually impossible (as in you really have to try) to jacknife the trailer.

It also makes a great mount for a bicycle rack.

Al

[AWCHIEF]

Had one on my F150. Perfect for maneuvering in tight spaces. The reason I do not have one on the JGC is that there is a towed mount already in place.

[hhendrix]

I was going to do it as there are hitches made for front end of TV for vehicles. Problem for me was even though I have a F250, the premade hitches had a tongue weight limit of 500lbs. Mine trailer is over 800.

[Wingeezer]

I have one on our Sierra. Never tried moving the trailer with it although I hear it works fine. I just use it for a bike rack.

[Mollysdad]

You're right, I didn't see any rated for over 500# tongue weight.
http://www.curtmfg.com/Category/11/F...Hitches?page=1

However, we're talking about maneuvering in a driveway, not going 65 on a bumpy road. They sure look sturdy enough to support a tongue.

[Silver Hawk]

Bought a aftermarket kit - my 25000 Ram was to hard for me to bolt it up (can't drill into tempered frame (diesel). A friend suggested mounting a receiver tube in place of towing hook on front like he had done - worked great. Only need one towing hook in front anyway.
Moving trailer is 1000% easier than backing! Wish I;d done this 40 years ago!

[Silver Hawk]

Tongue weight is for going over bumps at speed: big safety factor - at 2 mph when parking trailer . . . . I don't experience any problem. I use it to move 8,000 lb. tractors on 3,000 lb. trailers for work without a problem.

[WaLee]

Yea don't sweat the hitch wt for just doing the final tight spot maneuver. I have a bolt on one for my 2500 HD. It's heavy but sure makes squeezing through that 9.5 ft gate a lot easier to park beside the garage!

[hhendrix]

Originally Posted by Silver Hawk

Bought a aftermarket kit - my 25000 Ram was to hard for me to bolt it up (can't drill into tempered frame (diesel). A friend suggested mounting a receiver tube in place of towing hook on front like he had done - worked great. Only need one towing hook in front anyway.
Moving trailer is 1000% easier than backing! Wish I;d done this 40 years ago!

Well that's a good idea. Can you post a picture and info on the parts you bought.

[Drathaar]

There's a downside to front receiver hitches... Your visibility is blocked when making a really tight turn. On my first trailer, I tried using the front hitch to negotiate the 90 degree turn to get into my driveway. I didn't have a spotter, and ended up catching the rock guard in a page wire fence. That was $500 down the drain.

They work nicely, but make sure you can see.

[Mollysdad]

Originally Posted by Drathaar

There's a downside to front receiver hitches... Your visibility is blocked when making a really tight turn.
They work nicely, but make sure you can see.

But backing isn't always easy either. The best compromise is a good spotter. And I mean someone who speaks up and stays where you can see them. (Not the ones who watch as you back into a post.)

[1973Argosy]

Have one on all three of my suvs. My main use is for a cargo carrier to carry my generator and coolers but have used it to put my trailers into really tight spots. Works great and as others have posted no worries of tongue weight moving a trailer 100 feet.

[mousehunter]

Don't have one on my truck (yet) but do on my ranch utility vehicle. It does absolutely wonders to back trailers into barn slots. It has a metal grill protector, so I also tend to use a ratchet strap to lift toungs w/o jacks.

My current TV is a 1/2 ton. Need a WDH to get the RV off it's jack. Don't think a front hitch would work well with it. Beginning to think it is time to go to the dark side (3/4 ton diesel). Will get a front hitch mount for that.

[Iansk]

I wouldn't have a truck without a front hitch... inexpensive, easy to mount, unbelievable maneuverability.

[Al and Missy]

Originally Posted by hhendrix

I was going to do it as there are hitches made for front end of TV for vehicles. Problem for me was even though I have a F250, the premade hitches had a tongue weight limit of 500lbs. Mine trailer is over 800.

As others have posted, there is a substantial safety factor built in to the receiver for G-loading from bouncing. That said, I bought a caster foot for my tongue jack. My F-150 squatted uncomfortably in the front when I loaded the hitch up with tongue weight. With the caster foot I could control the amount of load placed on the front hitch. Haven't used it yet with the 2500. I don't understand why, but the caster foot that fit my Safari 25 tongue jack doesn't fit the jack on my Classic 30. I could understand that as there are two different sizes, but the regular extension foot I bought fits both.

Al

[switz]

We put a Curt brand 500 pound rated hitch on the front of our 2012 Ram 2500 HD Cummins when new just in case. Has been handy several times.

[64airstream]

Looks like the urban hitch myth is busted.

Based on reading this thread a week ago, I just installed a Curt front hitch this morning on our Ram 1500.

Thanks for the thread and contributions.

Roy and Marie