Front mount receiver hitch

4llamas · Jun 22, 2015

The only high clearance front mount receiver hitch I've found for my 2007 Silverado is made by Brodiak. Does anyone have experience with them, or even have hearsay about their product and service?

Their custom 3 piece receivers are made to mount at the tie down hooks and are supposedly designed so the bumper doesn't have to be cut/altered. At three pieces it may not be rated for large loads, but that's okay, I'll be using it to spot trailers and carry a bicycle.

Alley-Kat · Jun 22, 2015

I used to have one on my F250 and it worked great for front driving a trailer into a tight position with a drop hitch, and carrying a motorcycle up to 250 lbs. with a straight hitch. I wish they made one for my Ranger.

4llamas · Jun 22, 2015

Alley-Kat, you had the Brodiak high clearance receiver?

Durango1 · Jun 22, 2015

Sorry. I've got a Ram 2500. But check out and call etrailer.com They have good customer service and the one I bought required no cutting.

4llamas · Jun 23, 2015

Etrailer sells the standard under bumper style. They are a reputable company with good products and pricing. I want to keep my ground clearance, but I might reconsider and go with the under bumper style so as to not obstruct my view.

Alley-Kat · Jun 23, 2015

4llamas said:
Alley-Kat, you had the Brodiak high clearance receiver?

Oops, I had the Bodiak, not from Brodiak.
http://www.bodiak.us/
It was just their regular front hitch, I don't think they make anything known as a "high clearance receiver" hitch, at least I didn't see it on the Bodiak web site.

4llamas · Jun 23, 2015

Somewhere online I saw "high clearance" in reference to hitches that mount above the bottom of the bumper. I just glommed onto the term. Apparently I can't read very well.

Bodiak. Thanks for the correction.
After doing more research primarily on RV.NET I've decided that vision from the cab of my truck would be obscured with a "high clearance" hitch, at least with my current bike rack. I'm going to employ the KISS and inexpensive approach and get an under bumper hitch. My 4WD with 285/17 tires has pretty good clearance anyway. I'm sure a front hitch will be very handy like you say.

huskyrunnr · Jun 23, 2015

You are correct.

The bodiak front hitch with a bike rack that you do not remove the front bike wheel obscures my view on my f350 unless I lower the bike seats. My tandem rack, you remove the front wheel and that works well.

4llamas · Jun 23, 2015

That's good information. Thanks. I'm going with the under bumper hitch. They don't stick out as far either.

idahoron · Jun 24, 2015

I have the standard under the bumper hitch. I carry bikes up there at times and I made a hitch mounted rack for my Hi lift jack.

srileo · Jul 6, 2015

I have a 300lb dirt bike...and a Nissan Titan. Would the dirt bike loaded up front be a bad idea?
With my camper on, rear-mounting a dirtbike is a pain.

idahoron · Jul 6, 2015

I would like to know too if my bike the same as yours would work on the front of mine.

Foy · Jul 7, 2015

The centerline of a motorcycle's weight will likely be 18-24" forward of the receiver's forward edge. That's going to add some effective weight to the actual weight of the motorcycle rack and the bike itself due to the leverage factor. How much, I don't know.

I have a Draw Tight front hitch on my F350 diesel SRW. I have a 12,000 lb winch on a small portable tray/drawbar. I'd guess the combined weight of the winch and its cradle is about 150 lbs and the centerline of its mass is only a 12", if that, forward of the hitch lip. I leave it in the garage as much as I can because I notice the weight so much when it's mounted. I would think a motorcycle and its rack would be a most unpleasant addition to my truck due to the actual and effective weight added.

Foy

Alley-Kat · Jul 7, 2015

There are a lot of of guys in So Cal that use a front mount receiver hitch to carry their motorcycles that have an average weight of at least 300 lbs. On the back is either a truck mounted camper or a 5th wheel.

AdventureRider Motorcycle Forum is probably the largest on the internet with almost 300,000 forum members worldwide. If you become a member (FREE) you can use the search function and find the threads on carrying a motorcycle up front and the various methods to do it.

The biggest common issue I remember is of blocking the headlights at night, so many mount extra headlights that toggle off the main headlights and on the extra headlights out in front of the bike. That also reduced bounce back glare from the main headlights hitting the bike. Some guys just don't drive at night.

srileo · Jul 10, 2015

Alley-kat, I am on the ADV forums quite a bit. This particular topic of whether the front is a good place for a motorbike doesnt come up often there mostly because the guys there dont own trucks with campers in them. Our little world is much smaller (and nicer!)

I think i'll keep the motorcycle on the back. Might take it out this weekend for a shakedown ride behind my Titan FWC

4llamas · Jul 10, 2015

Check out RV.NET in the truck camper forum. I found useful information there.

norrisd · May 1, 2017

I know it's an older thread, but new experience for me. Just finished install of front hitch and bike rack on my F350. Draw-Tite hitch and Swagman XTC-2 from Etrailer. So far seems very stable and clearance is good. Real test will be when I'm on unimproved rougher roads.

Wandering Sagebrush · May 1, 2017

norrisd said:
I know it's an older thread, but new experience for me. Just finished install of front hitch and bike rack on my F350. Draw-Tite hitch and Swagman XTC-2 from Etrailer. So far seems very stable and clearance is good. Real test will be when I'm on unimproved rougher roads.

IMG_0060.JPG

Looks nice. What year is your F350? Did you have to modify/remove the air dam?

norrisd · May 2, 2017

It's a 2016. Yes I had to remove air dam. It's a combination of push pins and small hex screws. Not very hard to remove. Harder to mark and cut hole to pass receiver through. I have limited skills in these things. There is a video on ETrailer web site that shows how to measure and cut out hole in air dam. Video was very helpful.

Squatch · May 4, 2017

I'll just throw this out there. On my 1st gen Tundra a bike rack up front will obscure vision and lights. I carry my bicycles on the rear and then when I park I moved them to the front and install the rear step. Nice way to keep the bikes locked and with the vehicle when parked and using the camper.

Front mount receiver hitch

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