After market bumper experience

[ProtonDecay]

Hello Fellow Ranger-philes,

Anyone have any experience with getting a rear hitch receiver tube mounted higher than stock? Truck (2021 on order) will come with stock tow package.

I have an overlanding trailer on order and want to maximize ground clearance.

I am thinking something like this:

Link: https://www.rpgoffroad.com/product/2019-up-ranger-raceline-rear-bumper/

Except wondering if it would make any sense to have them fab the receiver tube between the upper and lower bumper tubes - not sure that's really possible or smart from a capacity/stability standpoint, so seeing if anyone else has done something like this or has other suggestions.

Both truck and trailer will be on 285 33's, and the trailer is already designed with higher trailer coupler rails.

I know I could always put a raised ball mount into the receiver tube but my bubba-geometric-guessing says the bottom of the receiver tube will then be the breakover touchpoint, so gaining 1-2 inches at that point will be very helpful.

Thoughts, helpful suggestions, dire predictions?

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[treimche]

Hello Fellow Ranger-philes,

Anyone have any experience with getting a rear hitch receiver tube mounted higher than stock? Truck (2021 on order) will come with stock tow package.

I have an overlanding trailer on order and want to maximize ground clearance.

I am thinking something like this:

Link: https://www.rpgoffroad.com/product/2019-up-ranger-raceline-rear-bumper/

Except wondering if it would make any sense to have them fab the receiver tube between the upper and lower bumper tubes - not sure that's really possible or smart from a capacity/stability standpoint, so seeing if anyone else has done something like this or has other suggestions.

Both truck and trailer will be on 285 33's, and the trailer is already designed with higher trailer coupler rails.

I know I could always put a raised ball mount into the receiver tube but my bubba-geometric-guessing says the bottom of the receiver tube will then be the breakover touchpoint, so gaining 1-2 inches at that point will be very helpful.

Thoughts, helpful suggestions, dire predictions?

Unless they are going to completely redesign the rear bumper to integrate the hitch receiver, you may be out of luck. The rear bumper bolts to the hitch receiver which is bolted to the rear frame of the Ranger. The bumper itself is not structural at all, it is purely cosmetic. Sure the aftermarket rear bumpers are thicker/stronger/etc. vs the stock bumper, but nowhere near strong enough for a hitch. Pic attached shows the factory tow package hitch with the rear bumper completely removed.

 

[ProtonDecay]

Unless they are going to completely redesign the rear bumper to integrate the hitch receiver, you may be out of luck. The rear bumper bolts to the hitch receiver which is bolted to the rear frame of the Ranger. The bumper itself is not structural at all, it is purely cosmetic. Sure the aftermarket rear bumpers are thicker/stronger/etc. vs the stock bumper, but nowhere near strong enough for a hitch. Pic attached shows the factory tow package hitch with the rear bumper completely removed.

Thank you for this picture - worth at least a thousand words. Prolly cost prohibitive to ask them to re-engineer something to work, and I am unwilling to trust something that my welder buddy could help me make.

I did reach out to ICON - they said they have a rear spring kit coming out for the Ranger in the next month or so, several leaf springs, at least one removable/reversible to adjust for load. I had already planned on using - will see if I can balance hitch-height v. ride quality with that and the stock tow hitch. Cheers

 

[treimche]

Thank you for this picture - worth at least a thousand words. Prolly cost prohibitive to ask them to re-engineer something to work, and I am unwilling to trust something that my welder buddy could help me make.

I did reach out to ICON - they said they have a rear spring kit coming out for the Ranger in the next month or so, several leaf springs, at least one removable/reversible to adjust for load. I had already planned on using - will see if I can balance hitch-height v. ride quality with that and the stock tow hitch. Cheers

You're welcome for the pic, I figured it might help let you see how it is designed from Ford. One thing for you to consider though, maybe call and talk to RPG about their rear bumper. In the description from the link you shared it does say in there "integrated trailer hitch" so maybe their design is completely different. It could be worth a shot, especially if their bumper is designed to also be the hitch, then maybe you could have them put the receiver between the tubes so it is higher.

 

[JP11]

And..... those welds look cold.. very little penetration of the filler metal into the base metal.

was looking at this as well lol..

 

[bka0721]

Here is the problem, there was a rear bumper in this thread that really looks like one I woiuld like to see on my 2020 Ford Ranger XLT. It appears the manufacturer is less than responsive for what might be a small segment of after market product for a Ford product. That concerns me. So, I asked a MAJOR 4X4 performance installation company that has been around for decades in the Denver area what they thought. It is a pass for them, due to the comments of previous purchases of the ADD Stealth Bumper. My correspondence is below;


Subject: ADD Rear Off Road Bumper

Hi John.

I had mentioned a bumper that I liked for a possible upcoming installation, on my 2020 Ford Ranger. The following link will go into more detail with the fitment issues encountered.

Let me know what you and your team think of this bumper.

Ford Ranger ADD Stealth Fighter Rear Off-Road Bumper (With Backup Sensors)
This is the forum I was mentioning that had some posters that had fitment issues with installing this bumper.
After market bumper experience | 2019+ Ford Ranger and Raptor Forum (5th Generation) - Ranger5G.com


Thanks
bryan



Hey Bryan,

I don't know that we have installed an ADD rear bumper, but after reading the forum, I don't know that the ADD bumper is way to go. What are your thoughts on running the ARB bumper?


Thank You,

John

 

[HoosierT]

Shrockworks is currently working on their rear bumper. Should be out any day now. It does integrate the hitch receiver so the stock receiver gets removed. Moves it up quite a bit for better departure angle. License plate sits on a hinge so it flips up a bit for receiver access. I’ll try to get a cad picture from them to show.

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