"Don White" wrote in message
...
I'm going to ust the step bumper on my leased ranger truck to tow my
sailboat. I measured it's height above ground at about 22 inches.
My Voyager minivan hitch is at the 12 inch height but my drawbar raises
that to 15 inches.
A local auto supply store has the flat bar type of drawbar on sale. It's
actually bent to either raise or lower the ball by 4 inches.

Does anyone know if this type bar in installed on top of the step.. or
below? The hole in the step is about 13/16" in diam so I guess I'll need
a 3/4" bolt/nut combo for fastening.

Don, I don't know the answer to your question as I don't have a bumper
hitch. However .... have you checked to see what that factory hole in the
bumper hitch provision is rated to tow? It isn't much.

RCE

RCE wrote:
"Don White" wrote in message
...

I'm going to ust the step bumper on my leased ranger truck to tow my
sailboat. I measured it's height above ground at about 22 inches.
My Voyager minivan hitch is at the 12 inch height but my drawbar raises
that to 15 inches.
A local auto supply store has the flat bar type of drawbar on sale. It's
actually bent to either raise or lower the ball by 4 inches.

Does anyone know if this type bar in installed on top of the step.. or
below? The hole in the step is about 13/16" in diam so I guess I'll need
a 3/4" bolt/nut combo for fastening.


Don, I don't know the answer to your question as I don't have a bumper
hitch. However .... have you checked to see what that factory hole in the
bumper hitch provision is rated to tow? It isn't much.

RCE



Yes... 2000 pounds with 200 lbs tongue weight. Perfect for my load. If
I had bought the truck instead of a three year lease, I'd install a
Class 2 hitch.

"Don White" wrote in message
...
RCE wrote:
"Don White" wrote in message
...

I'm going to ust the step bumper on my leased ranger truck to tow my
sailboat. I measured it's height above ground at about 22 inches.
My Voyager minivan hitch is at the 12 inch height but my drawbar raises
that to 15 inches.
A local auto supply store has the flat bar type of drawbar on sale. It's
actually bent to either raise or lower the ball by 4 inches.

Does anyone know if this type bar in installed on top of the step.. or
below? The hole in the step is about 13/16" in diam so I guess I'll
need a 3/4" bolt/nut combo for fastening.


Don, I don't know the answer to your question as I don't have a bumper
hitch. However .... have you checked to see what that factory hole in
the bumper hitch provision is rated to tow? It isn't much.

RCE

Yes... 2000 pounds with 200 lbs tongue weight. Perfect for my load. If I
had bought the truck instead of a three year lease, I'd install a Class 2
hitch.

Buy a class 3 hitch for $114. Bolts right on without drilling.
http://tinyurl.com/l3a6a

Remove it before turning in the truck at the end of the lease and sell it on
Ebay to recoup some of your money.

JimH wrote:

"Don White" wrote in message
...

RCE wrote:

"Don White" wrote in message
...


I'm going to ust the step bumper on my leased ranger truck to tow my
sailboat. I measured it's height above ground at about 22 inches.
My Voyager minivan hitch is at the 12 inch height but my drawbar raises
that to 15 inches.
A local auto supply store has the flat bar type of drawbar on sale. It's
actually bent to either raise or lower the ball by 4 inches.

Does anyone know if this type bar in installed on top of the step.. or
below? The hole in the step is about 13/16" in diam so I guess I'll
need a 3/4" bolt/nut combo for fastening.


Don, I don't know the answer to your question as I don't have a bumper
hitch. However .... have you checked to see what that factory hole in
the bumper hitch provision is rated to tow? It isn't much.

RCE

Yes... 2000 pounds with 200 lbs tongue weight. Perfect for my load. If I
had bought the truck instead of a three year lease, I'd install a Class 2
hitch.


Buy a class 3 hitch for $114. Bolts right on without drilling.
http://tinyurl.com/l3a6a

Remove it before turning in the truck at the end of the lease and sell it on
Ebay to recoup some of your money.



I'm glad I read ahead. There is a good market for used hitches. I had
two leased Jeep Grand Cherokees and both bolted on easily without
drilling. I paid maybe $200 and sold it for about $100 after six years.

Dan

Don White writes:

I had bought the truck instead of a three year lease, I'd install a
Class 2 hitch.

Does your lease even permit towing?

Richard J Kinch wrote:
Don White writes:


I had bought the truck instead of a three year lease, I'd install a
Class 2 hitch.


Does your lease even permit towing?


Why wouldn't it?
They brag about the Ford Ranger's towing capacity and I mentioned same
to both my salesman 'and' the dealership manager. I even asked them for
advice on how to properly use the safety chains on the step bumper...and
they sent me over to the body shop manager for an answer.

Don White writes:

Does your lease even permit towing?

Why wouldn't it?

Lot more wear and tear on the vehicle.

I would check the fine print. Make sure you won't get nailed for double
mileage or something for having installed a hitch.

Richard J Kinch wrote:
Don White writes:


Does your lease even permit towing?



Why wouldn't it?


Lot more wear and tear on the vehicle.

I would check the fine print. Make sure you won't get nailed for double
mileage or something for having installed a hitch.

I've never heard of that. I've had leased Jeeps, an Acura, and a BMW
with towing packages from the dealer. The most "towing miles" are a
with bicycle on a rack. The boat moves maybe 1500 feet and back unless
there is another destination outside of the yard. How could they double
the mileage based on a hitch when additional wear and tear can't be
measured?

Dan

Dan Krueger writes:

How could they double
the mileage based on a hitch when additional wear and tear can't be
measured?

How could they? By putting it in the lease contract. You install a hitch,
you pay extra by some formula.

Short-term car rentals prohibit towing altogether. You pay infinity extra.

Long-term leases would not surprise me if they did the same, or charged a
penalty rate. It certainly would be exploited if they didn't. Heavy
towing is *very* expensive because it shortens the life of the transmission
before a rebuild is needed. The towing package just makes it possible to
do so.

But the same could be said of living in a mountainous region versus South
Florida.

Don,
Seriously double check the fine print. The salesman has no concerns if they
charge you extra for additional wear and tear on the truck.

It is the norm for people to get charged extra for anything they considered
excessive wear and tear.

--

Reggie


"Don White" wrote in message
...
Richard J Kinch wrote:
Don White writes:


I had bought the truck instead of a three year lease, I'd install a Class
2 hitch.


Does your lease even permit towing?


Why wouldn't it?
They brag about the Ford Ranger's towing capacity and I mentioned same to
both my salesman 'and' the dealership manager. I even asked them for
advice on how to properly use the safety chains on the step bumper...and
they sent me over to the body shop manager for an answer.