Towing without a hitch

[George T]

Hi,



I have a stock 2004 4x4 ST, i dont have a hitch but have the hole in the bumper to put the ball in and the light connecton. I was wondering how much weight the bumper can take? I am wanthing to tow a jet ski, so about 1000 pounds. But i want to know how much weight the bumper will take?



Thanks, George T.

 

[Clay Campbell]

i towed my jet ski no problem, i think its like 350 tongue weight, says it on the bumper

but on problem with doing that is depending on the trailer when you turn even easy turns it might hit the bumper and tear it up. did mine, just ate it up a bit. depends on the construction of the trailer.check it out. but as far as weight your fine

 

[Tom Schindler]

As Clay said. The limits are posted on the bumper.





Tom

 

[George T]

How do i find out the tongue weight?

I towed the empty trailer today, no problems. Tomorrow i will be putting a 600 pount jet ski on it.

 

[Tom Schindler]

You know the tongue weight can not exceed the total trailer weight.



A bathroom scale will tell you what the tongue weight is.



A general rule of thumb is tounge weight is 10% to 15% of trailer gross weight.



So, if the trailer is 250 LBS and the Wave runner/jet ski is 600 LBS, the total weight is 850 LBS. Tongue weight should be about 85 to 130 LBS.





Tom

 

[George T]

Makes sense. Cool, thanks everyone



Thanks, George T.

 

[EddieS'04]

I dont remember the specs but it is stamped on my bumper pads.

 

[Mike Phillips 2]

I've towed a 3500 pound speed boat off my bumper before with no problems what-so-ever. The tongue weight on most trailers usually isn't that much especially with boats because they engineer the wheel/axle placement very precisely to get a good fulcrum point so there isn't alot of pressure down at the tongue. In any case, I agree with Clay on the construction of the tongue because my bumper cover got chewed up towing my Bass Tracker because of its construction. Got a receiver soon after and love it!

 

[Les]

If this is a one-time tow, do it. However, if this is going to be a regular event, spend the $100 and get a hitch...

 

[Gary DiPietroSr]

Don't forget, if you tow that way, a sharp turn backing up will sometime cause the trailer to dent your bumper. Ruined a chrome bumper on my old van when it brand new. Get a hitch and play it safe.

 

[scott degroot]

I pulled a 6'x14' trailer loaded with my 2 quads all the time with my 93 Explorer off of the bumper with absolutely no problems. As far as the trailer hitting the bumper when you turn...use a little common sense and you shouldn't have any issues. Look in your owners maual and it should say what the bumper is rated at, should also say it on the bumper. Regardless you won't have any problems, if that's all that you ever plan on towing then I wouldn't worry about buying a hitch.