front hitch installation question

[brentk]

i am considering installing a front hitch on my chinook rv to carry bicycles. i see draw-tite makes a model 65001 that fits the 99 ford e350 (2000 chinook concourse). after closely looking at the factory flood lights mounted below the bumper it looks like this could be a potential problem retaining the flood lights after installing the new front hitch kit without some modifications. i guess i could lose the flood lights if i had to but they really do an excellent job when needed and i would prefer to keep them. does anyone have any experience or insight on this? thanks

another consideration is the aluminess bumper with built in flood lights and receiver hitch. this would be really nice but 2600.00 is just not in my budget right now.

[Manitou]

The shop I used (because I broke the hardened drill bit when I attempted to drill holes in the frame to mount the hitch) cut a square hole on the front bumper. This allowed the hitch to poke through. Depending on what I mounted, the head lights could get partially blocked. The flood lights weren't a concern in my case. Just my 2 cents..

[deppstein]

I can't be of any help regarding how to save your fog/flood lights...But, I have carried our bikes up front now for more than 40,000 miles, and have learned some lessons along the way. I think there is a thread in Engines/Drivetrain that details my issues with getting enough air flow through the grill to keep transmission cooler cool. And there is another thread under Toys/Towing (Bike Hitch Rack) that details the solution I came up with to mount high "snow plow" lights that can be toggled from the headlight wiring.
I can't recall the exact front mount hitch I got (Draw Tire, I think), but it fit perfectly onto my 2004 chassis. The bike rack I use is a Swagman heavy duty that can carry two bikes weighing up to 45 pounds each. The bikes we have are electric assist bikes called the Copenhagen Wheel that has motor, battery, et all located in a hub within the spokes of the rear wheel. This presented me with two issues... since the bikes need to be protected (I use some really good bike covers made by Skinz), I had to figure out the air flow, as well as the covering up of the stock headlights. There are pictures of my set up in the above mentioned post(s). After my first fiasco (lost transmission to overheating in the mountains of New Mexico), I installed a Scan Guage II to keep track of my engine and trans temps (highly recommend that!). With my new "high-light" set up, I have excellent night vision with bikes mounted and covered, and my engine and trans temps are all good....cruising at 75 on The 40 as well as climbing in the Colorado Rockies.
As I said, it took me a while to get there, but I am really happy with current set-up.
If I can help with any other specifics, just let me know.
David

[chin_k]

Do you have the newer 2000 with the painted bumper or the older version with the chrome front bumper? If you have the chrome version like mine, I think the front hitch should be alright, but I have not buy one, so take it with a block of salt. The driving lights are further out from the frame, so this is why I assume it is not going to be an issue for me. Your setup maybe different.

[brentk]

first of thanks for all the replies.

(manitou) i think cutting the square hole on the front bumper may have to be done in my case as well. thanks for reply.

(deppstein) the potential of overheating is always in the back of mind. i remember having to upgrade the trans cooler on a dodge dakota i had about many years ago pulling my first TT after a nerve wracking trip to juniper springs. i am in florida and all of my camping in the chinook so far have been in the south eastern states.i have 4 trips planned for this year starting in may. all are in FL so i will be fairly close to home if there are any issues carrying bikes up front. my bike carrier is a hollywood brand i bought at a bike shop years ago and used it with my old TT. both bikes are jamis explorers and hopefully will not restrict too much air flow. last year i went through the cooling system and replaced all of the radiator and heater hoses and flushed radiator and filled with the new ford gold antifreeze as well as replaced the transmission coolant hoses. sometime this year going to change transmission fluid and upgrade to oversize pan with drain plug that holds an addition 4 quarts or so. an electric assist bike would be fun to bring camping. thanks for reply.

(chin_k) mine has the chrome bumper. i am not sure what i am going to do right now but i would like to have the bikes when camping this summer. my wife and i love the chinook and plan on keeping it for a long time so i think i am convincing myself that the aluminess would be a good decision but i think i could make the draw-tite work as well. also i like the idea of a grill guard. a deer ran out in front of me in early am hours of 2015 and could not avoid accident. killed the deer and did about 5000 worth of damage to a car that really was never the same again. after that incident i purchased a ranch hand grill guard for my f-150. thanks for reply.

[deppstein]

I think you will be fine cooling-wise with your bikes mounted front as long as they aren’t covered in any way. Our need to protect the ebikes was the issue for both cooling and headlights.
Regardless, I would install the Scanguage II just for peace of mind. Cheap and easy to do. Works like a charm. I can easily monitor both water and trans fluid, as well as amp bolts to see what’s being sent to house batteries.
David

[Roly]

I put a Draw Tite on front of my Premier for the spare tire mount, for easier access to the locker by the cabin door, and to shift a bit of weight forward. I had to remove a fiber/plastic panel from under there, but needed to cut no holes.

Roly

[brentk]

(deppstein) thanks for the response. we went on a few trips last year in the chinook and did miss having the bikes with us. the scangauge II is something i will eventually get especially before the next long trip. were all the parameters covered from the ford on board computer that the scangauge plugs into or did you have to install a sensor for the transmission temp?

(roly) thanks for your reply. my 2000 concourse has the fiber plastic panel below the bumper also. the flood lights that are controlled from the switch inside the cab in the ceiling are also attached to the bottom of this same plastic panel below the bumper. i think if i use the draw-tite i would either remove this piece altogether and relocate the fog/flood lights or retain it and cut out for the receiver itself.

having the floods and receiver built in to the bumper is what i may end up doing. i dont really like how they are mounted to the bottom of the plastic piece below the bumper now. sometimes they move a little and have to be adjusted from time to time.

[deppstein]

I didn’t have to install any additional sensors. For what I want/use (engine h2o temp, trans fluid temp, alternator voltage, and air intake temp) Ford existing set-up had them all. Programming the thing is fussy, but not hair-pullling hard.
Yes, having bikes is a game changer! And I’d say same for the inflatable Alpackarafts we carry for lakes and rivers. Wouldn’t leave home without em!
David

[brentk]

thats all i the parameters i would need as well. good to hear no additional work for trans temp.

i called aluminess today and priced the bumper with grill guard, receiver and built in flood lights. not quite ready to pull trigger yet. 2605.00 but the freight from ca to residential fl is 550.00! fed ex freight on a pallet plus 3 months out made to order verses
158.00 for front hitch kit delivered. i think the front hitch kit would work out well even with an obstacle or two. will let it soak in for a couple days and make a decision.

anytime when we were camping near water i used to carry an ocean kayak on top of my f-150 with topper and thule racks all which i still have, etc pulling a travel trailer. this was around 2006 thru 2012. i remember it was a back breaker getting it on and off the truck. then pulling it to the river with the 2 wheel kayak cart was also exhausting. that thing was heavy. i cant see myself ever doing it like that again. the kayak is a land mark in the back yard now. a good quality inflatable raft would be more my style these days for sure. most of the time now in warmer weather i just go swimming in the springs or ocean.