front receiver

[Ahdmeyer]

Thinking of putting a front receiver on my f 350 to haul our e bikes. just like the thought of being able to see them and also concerned about the bounce if they are on the back of the 5th wheel. i did buy the bike rack that is for a 5th wheel . anyone else have a front hitch? looking for opinions either good or bad.
thanks
al

[DutchmenSport]

You probably will not know the outcome until you actually install the hitch and set up the carrier, but I would think the rocking back and forth of the carrier would be a problem with a single shaft receiver hitch set-up. I had a cargo carrier on the rear of a previous camper and the thing rocked a good foot up and down at the farthest ends. Had to build supports that rested on the trailer bumper to keep it from rocking. Yes, it had it's own factory hitch.

My current Montana High Country has a receiver hitch on the rear. But again, the same problem. The receiver has too much slack in it and the carrier rocks horribly when on the road. Unfortunately, if I add the carrier to the back of my Montana, my back door storage compartment is completely blocked. I use that area for my initial campsite set up ... electric cords, blocks, hoses. So, I've never used the carrier on my current camper.

Still, the rocking back and forth might be a problem. It's something you'll never know for sure until you have everything installed. Be thinking ahead how you can tie things down to prevent the rocking. I would think any front receiver hitch that will fit your truck would do well, provided you can accommodate the wagging back and forth of the carrier.

[Mikendebbie]

I had a Ranch Hand front grill on my two previous trucks. I carried bicycles and a generator on the front using the built-in front receptacle with no issues. I do not have a Ranch Hand on my current tow vehicle. Seems in years past I was driving more at night due to my job (attending school board meetings and church building committee meetings for projects we were building). I never worried about hitting a deer in those trucks. The ranch hand grille would make sausage for me if I hit one.

[Creeker]

I installed a front mounted receiver on one of our trucks. Honestly, I didn't like hauling our bikes up front. It was very distracting, blocked the headlights and view. The bikes got absolutely filthy nasty if it even sprinkled. I have absolute zero interest in owning another front hitch. My advice - Put your bikes on the back of the 5er and go camping. After probably 100K miles of hauling ours back there. I don't give it a seconds worth of worry.

[R.S.O'Donnell]

We’ve got one on our 2018 F350. I carry our two e-bikes on it when we get settled in a long term spot. We use a 1Up bike rack that has an internal “wedge” to keep it from flopping around. Great setup that’s solid as a rock.

[R.S.O'Donnell]

Originally Posted by Creeker

I installed a front mounted receiver on one of our trucks. Honestly, I didn't like hauling our bikes up front. It was very distracting, blocked the headlights and view. The bikes got absolutely filthy nasty if it even sprinkled. I have absolute zero interest in owning another front hitch. My advice - Put your bikes on the back of the 5er and go camping. After probably 100K miles of hauling ours back there. I don't give it a seconds worth of worry.

I agree with this 100%. When we “travel” ours ride on the back of the 5er with a cover on them. Only move the rack to the front of the truck when we settle in long term.

[Mikendebbie]

Originally Posted by Creeker

I installed a front mounted receiver on one of our trucks. Honestly, I didn't like hauling our bikes up front. It was very distracting, blocked the headlights and view. The bikes got absolutely filthy nasty if it even sprinkled. I have absolute zero interest in owning another front hitch. My advice - Put your bikes on the back of the 5er and go camping. After probably 100K miles of hauling ours back there. I don't give it a seconds worth of worry.

I agree…lotsa bugs!

[mhs4771]

Front or back, doesn't matter, install a ROADMASTER 061 Quiet Hitch Clamp. There are several other MRFs that make and sell similar clamps. Clamps the Receiver Hitch and what ever you put into it together, and once tightened things will be rock solid.

[RMcNeal]

I put a front hitch on my 2014 F350, but not to carry bikes or a grill.
I have an 8ft wide boat and a 9ft wide gate to put it in the back yard. Pushing it rather than backing, I can easily see and put it on a dime anywhere I want. If I had known it would be that easy, I'd have done it 10 years ago.

[R.S.O'Donnell]

Originally Posted by RMcNeal

I put a front hitch on my 2014 F350, but not to carry bikes or a grill.
I have an 8ft wide boat and a 9ft wide gate to put it in the back yard. Pushing it rather than backing, I can easily see and put it on a dime anywhere I want. If I had known it would be that easy, I'd have done it 10 years ago.

Totally get that. I grew up on my grandparents farm. My grandfather put a hitch on the front of the tractor to put 4 wheel hay wagons in the barn.

[rames14]

We followed the advice on the rack discussion on the forum over a year ago. We got the Hollywood rack. It came with the tightening bolt on the back. I had to add an extension on the back and used a magnetic bolt lock. We can see the bikes on our rear camera. We have zero bounce. We spent 13,000 miles on our Alaska trip. I figure if it handled those roads, we’ll never have a problem. We also found using a front rack had two issues for us. As mentioned- the bugs. The second is interference with air flow during mountain driving increases engine temps. YMMV.

[Champ]

We travel with two ebikes on the front hitch. Only complaint is the beating the forward bike takes from road debris.

[R.S.O'Donnell]

Originally Posted by rames14

We followed the advice on the rack discussion on the forum over a year ago. We got the Hollywood rack. It came with the tightening bolt on the back. I had to add an extension on the back and used a magnetic bolt lock. We can see the bikes on our rear camera. We have zero bounce. We spent 13,000 miles on our Alaska trip. I figure if it handled those roads, we’ll never have a problem. We also found using a front rack had two issues for us. As mentioned- the bugs. The second is interference with air flow during mountain driving increases engine temps. YMMV.

I had a basket on ours with our 65qt cooler on it and noticed the same thing. The tip off was the cooling fan roaring and tranny temp inching up. Stopped and put the cooler on the back seat and everything immediately went back to normal.

Ended up giving the basket to our son for the back of his Subaru.

[KirkFess]

I installed one on my 2002 F250 years ago., and still use it. I have used it with a hitch haul rack, a kayak rack, and a fishing rod rack at the coast. It’s great. things to note.

1. Anything that sticks above the hood blocks part of your view. Anything that is wide blocks part of your headlights. Anything that does not stick up from your hood is easy to forget and smash when you pull into tight spaces.

2. Watch your front axle load if you are going to carry anything heavy.

[scottz]

This is a good clamp to take the bounce out of your system. It will not bend like the one that is a single u-bolt. However, both work.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[JimKrieger]

I've been using a heavy duty bike carrier for my two e-bikes on a front receiver with no problems. Bounce and wobble problems were easily solved with an inexpensive simple receiver clamp from a Harbor Freight type store and headlight interference has not been noticeable. I've been warned that some law enforcement could ticket for front license obstruction, but I've not heard of any tickets issued anywhere. I use a pin lock and locked heavy bike cable as e-bikes are a high theft item. Yes, we do get some bugs and dirt. One problem - the carrier is a bit cumbersome to remove and re-mount, so commercial car washes for us don't happen unless we are camped for at least a week.

[LeftOverParts]

Re front hitches, we got the Ecohitch hidden hitch from etrailer for the F350. Mainly to carry a motorcycle in the future since it has a 1000 lb rating and the hitch sits higher behind the license plate instead OC below the bumper. (The hitch comes with a removable license plate holder). We carried our bikes out front with the same results mentioned above. Having a threaded hitch bolt or the anti-rattle clip front or back is key.

We have the Swagman e-bike carrier ans have not had problems with it on the back. However, one watch out is if you have a rear cap. Some carriers will need a 6-12 inch extension to clear the cap and position the carrier far enough from the ladder to fit the forward bike.

[jmb98]

Hubby relies on his mobility scooter for getting around, so we had a front hitch & lift installed on our F-350 DRW, since we didn’t trust the hitch on the back of our Montana 3921FB for that purpose & couldn’t use the truck’s bumper hitch when hooked up. Granted, you’ll likely have a fixed carrier for your bikes, but having our lift has saved me the physical stress of taking apart the scooter to store (with finagling) in our back seat, then wrestling it out to put back together again. If you have a mobile lift, just be sure you’re careful crossing RR tracks!🫢

[Cbrez]

We have a front bumper (snow plow) receiver and carry our bikes (two beach cruisers) up front. We position the bikes so the handles face the passenger side and have quick release clamps for the seat posts so we can easily remove the seats when we travel. That way we have an unobstructed view when driving. You do have to clean some bugs off sometimes but not a big deal.

[Zookeeperman]

I have a new front hitch for a ram 3500.
Never installed. 75bucks pluss shipping. 805 550 0527 Glenn