Towing With The Bumper

Juggernaut · 01-30-2005, 04:51 PM

I have a 2004 Titan XE with no towing hitch. We ordered a hitch off Ebay, but in the mean time, we were wondering if we would be safe towing from the bumper(with a proper ball and wiring)? How much can you tow with the bumper?

**Helinut1970** · 01-30-2005, 04:52 PM

How much weight do you want to tow??

Juggernaut · 01-30-2005, 04:54 PM

Nothing large, just a small trailer with some ice fishing supplies and other things for the cabin. We usally throw the 4-wheeler in the back.

Would it be possible to pull a 4-wheeler(Scrambler) from the bumper with a small trailer(only large enough for the scrambler)?

drags1998 · 01-30-2005, 05:11 PM

Small trailer, YES!!! Not a problem, I would NOT tow more than 1500lbs. on the bumper!!!!!

abmobil · 01-30-2005, 05:19 PM

I wouldnt tow to much but the bumper is rated at 5k.

**HudsonValleyTitan** · 01-30-2005, 07:14 PM

Manual claims the bumper will tow up tp 5000 LBS. I certainly wouldn't tow that much without the hitch. 2000 or so maybe.

PHOEBISIS · 01-30-2005, 07:27 PM

You should certainly be able to safely(without pulling your bumper off) tow a 500 lb trailer and a 500lb 4 wheeler with several hundred lbs of supplies.The bumper has 5000 tow limit written on it somewhere.If I had to tow 5000 lbs on it for a short trip-,I wouldn't have any qualms about doing just that.Charlie

Chaad32 · 01-30-2005, 07:34 PM

I towed two jet skis with my bumper and had no probolem..probobly weighed about 1000 lbs or so...i really don't know how much they weighed but i can't see how a four wheelr would weigh more than two jet skis.

dreco · 09-28-2005, 02:17 PM

but lets say you were going to tow with the bumper....how long does the shank need to be on the ball hitch?? It looked like the most common one was 2 inches... this shank is not long enough so that it goes all the way through the bumper, and leave enough thread for the nut...

SeaRider · 09-28-2005, 03:09 PM

IMHO, the best and safe way to tow the trailer beside within towing rated is make sure the trailer is level (or close to) with the ball mount.

FLA-Titan · 09-29-2005, 06:48 AM

I tow a 2000 pound boat on my bumper. Almost two years and no problems here. You have to take the plastic cover off and cut out the three holes for the Ball and the chains. A standard 2" ball is what I used. My trailer sits nice and level. I guess since I have the XE with the steel rims, my truck is not as high as some others. I once towed a buddys 24' Center console boat on my bumper, it weighed in around 4000 pounds. No problems with towing it. The only issue with towing on the bumper that I have noticed is that the weight of the trailer is sitting on the end of truck causing it to bounce more, unlike a frame mounted hitch which puts the weight more on the frame and wheels. I may buy a frame mounted hitch, but really i am just waitng for a '06 Blue 4x4 LE w/BT to show up at the dealer

DeTitan · 09-29-2005, 08:34 AM

The rear bumper is not very well engineered. Mine was hit with an escorts tail lamp and bezel assembly, the bumper slid into the truck bed and crunched it!

I would not tow any thing with the titan bumper.

GARRICK ANSON · 09-29-2005, 08:52 AM

Just watch out, you can tow with the bumper no problem but remember that the Titans bed is a crumple zone. things could get nasty, so if you are going to be towing alot, spin by U-haul and pick up a cheap hitch to use, its much safer.

FLA-Titan · 09-29-2005, 08:56 AM

The Bumper is attached to the frame, not the bed. It is designed to absorb an impact, but so is the frame etc..... I agree that a frame hitch is better, but for those that do not need to tow a heavy load, a bumper hitch is fine. Did it with my F150 for 5 years, so if the Titan can't do it, then WTF...

GARRICK ANSON · 09-29-2005, 09:10 AM

What i meant by the crumple zone coment was that the whole bed and frame area rear of the cab is a crumple zone (i dont think any other full size trucks do this right now) and shouldnt be a problem in ideal conditions. It could cause alot more damage in a small rear end accident than would normaly be expected tho.

I'll try and post a pic i found of a titan that had been sandwiched between a big rig and tow truck and how the crumple zones looked. All i know is the cab area still looked perfect and the driver just opened the door and stepped out fine. Be thankful we are all driving one of the safest fullsize pickups on the road.