front hitch for parking in tight places

[Mexray]

An added bonus with a front hitch receiver...install your cargo carrier for some extra totin' space...

Aluminum Hitch Cargo Carrier - 500 lb. Capacity

I use ours to load up some fire wood when we're heading out for a weekend outing...
or an extra ice chest...
or those large, folded, dirty/muddy camping mats...
or the BBQ...
or ????

Oh yes, and I also use that front hitch receiver to park our AS, too...

[aquinob]

I've had a front hitch on the last three trucks I've owned and would not be without one. Some folks may be able to back up like a pro, but I'm not one of them. With the front hitch, spotting a trailer into a tight space is childs play, you literally drive it where you want it to go.

What I have found is that the tongue wt on my airstream is at or a bit above the 500 lb limit of the front hitch. So I take it very slow when I am hooking it up and moving it around. I have the tow package on the truck, but it's 8 years old and I can see the front drop down several inches with that extra 5-600 lbs on the ball.

[srpuywa]

that's how we pushed trailers on airplanes - with a front pintle hook

how much was it - because a power dolly is around $1500

[switz]

The Curt front hitch was under $200 installed

[Airstreamer67]

I use a tool box on the front hitch with enough tools to compensate the front end rise when the trailer is hooked to the rear hitch for towing. This is effectively a "weight transfer" technique which replaces the need for weight transfer bars on the rear hitch. It is especially effective on my long wheelbase F250, which makes it difficult for regular weight transfer bars to work without a lot of leverage dialed in.

I originally got the front hitch to allow me to park the trailer in otherwise impossible sites. It works really well for this too. No longer am I intimidated by those tight right-hand backing assignments. When using the front hitch for parking the trailer, I hold a mirror out the driver's window to see that side, and a spotter to see the other side.

The front hitch is a versatile implement indeed.

[mefly2]

Curt front hitch (beefed up and suspension replaced) is mounted on ours; but be sure that your suspension and hitch will handle the weight as advised above ... the suspension can be damaged by just parking your AS. You don't have to be towing to cause problems from an excessive load on the front hitch mount.

[Gene]

My suspicion is that a lot of these hitches have a tongue wt. limit of 500 lbs. or 5,000 lbs. tow wt., but people use them to park their heavier trailers.

I asked a guy at a spring shop and he indicated they are generally rated for 5,000 lbs. towing or 500 lbs. tongue wt. I asked what he would do if he had a a trailer with about 800 lbs. tongue wt. and he said he'd try it anyway if all he had to do was park it.

He also said the rating is for 5,000 lbs. towing and they just take 10% for tongue wt. Since tongue wt. can be 10-15%, would that mean 750 lbs. is ok? I didn't ask him that. And these ratings may be taking into account bumps, potholes and other bad roadway that creates extra force on the suspension. But if you are moving a trailer a couple of score feet in a flat area, maybe that is within the capability.

Gene

[bmark]

Has anyone used some sort of caster wheel setup to take the weight off the front suspension ? What about the WD bars?

[DKB_SATX]

Originally Posted by bmark

Has anyone used some sort of caster wheel setup to take the weight off the front suspension ? What about the WD bars?

Given the distance and speed involved in this kind of maneuver, I think that might be unnecessary.