looking for hitch extenders

[crazyeyez]

i have a front hitch on my truck for use of a cradle mounted 10k winch. hitch is on, and winch is mounted in the cradle.





as you can see, the cradle is right up on the bumper. this isnt soo much of an issue, right now, but will probably be when i put my BullMaxx bullbar on...

my solution for this is a hitch extender. but the shortest one i've found (8inch) has a load rating of 3500lbs. my truck weighs 4000lbs... any one seen or had a hitch extender that is rated up in the area or 5k or more? i found a few, but they were way too long (14inch or more...).

[cowboy4x4]

just cut the one you want down to the length you want and re-drill the hole.

[austintaco]

I would think that I better route would be to have a reputable welder work on a design that will work with your new bumper. Instead of having the bar with the hitch underneath, a welder might be able to put a crossmember with the hitch in the middle of it, and have the hitch extend out as far as you want. This would raise your winch and hitch off the ground by a few inches too.

It might cost a bit, but you can probably sell the curt bolt on part to recover your cost, or cut the curt up and just weld a longer receiver hitch in the middle.

I say this as if its as easy as 1, 2,3, but I still have my welder sitting in the box waiting for me to learn how to do this stuff. I had a shop do this on my 84 4runner with a TJM bumper.

[crazyeyez]

pic of the BullMaxx. its in the garage drying. there was a bar like it, that did have a hitch in the middle of it. but they arent made anymore and turned out not to be the best bars.

i'd have to see if there are any good shops around here that could do it. times like this make me wish i had the money gor a good welder. lol, cuz i'd figure out how to do it.

as i was typing this reply, i was googling too, and i found this, and it should work great..
http://www.discountramps.com/hitch-drop.htm

[Black_ZJ]

I use this one http://www.harborfreight.com/dual-hi...der-99591.html and am happy with it, for only $25 it was worth trying.

[crazyeyez]

Black_ZJ, that one probably hase the highest rating of any of the others i found, @4000lbs. Most were 3500lbs. The DRH3 is rated for 5000lbs, and i'm sure i could easily get someone to brace that up some more.

[crazyeyez]

gonna be close. gotta get the winch out of the garage and try it out.

[elmo_4_vt]

gonna be close. gotta get the winch out of the garage and try it out.

I'd go the way of a welder too... It might cost a bit more, but it will be stronger and remember, just because your truck weighs in under 4k, when your using it, it's going be because you or someone else is stuck, and you'll find your pulling more than the weight of your truck more times than not (stuck in mud, pulling over a rock, pulling a bigger truck, etc.). I'm sure there are some good welders around you if you look. It's always good to get a good report with someone that can weld. If your modifying things now, I'm sure you'll be able to use him at some point in the future too. With all that additional beef you just added, it would be nice to tie the winch cradle or front hitch into it. That would also keep it from moving around as much when bouncing down trails or pulling from the side.

Don

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[crazyeyez]

well, here is an update... finally got around to throwing the winch on. been in and out of the field and havent had much time. it fits, but gotta cut a V-notch in the carry handle on one side.