I want to know if anyone tows with there bumper or are you using a resse hitch. I have a small pop up camper and use to tow it with a 97 Caravan with a 1 1/4 inch Reese hitch on it. I have always hooked up the trailer lighter and priced the reese $109.99 but hate to buy one if I can get away with just towing with the bumper

 

Not sure about yours but the tow and tongue weights are stamped on my bumper next to the hole for the ball.
This site also has tons of info on tow hitch weights and such.

http://www.uhaul.com/hitches/glossary/

 

A small popup that you can tow ith a class I/II hitch wont be a problem being bumper pulled.

 

Great, but that has nothing to do with what he was asking. Towing weight is a for a properly equipped truck. Your truck might be able to tow 4k pounds, but you sure as hell can't tow 4k pounds on the bumper

I would have to guess that the bumper would be ok for a small pop up camper. Personally, I have a class III hitch which is aboslute overkill for my 10 foot utility trailer that I use most of the time.

 

I cant recall what the weights are off the top of my head but, like lil said it's listed right on the bumper. The total weight is there along with the toung weight. But, when I looked in the book, the weight on the bumper is the exact weight that is recomended towing capacity for the truck itself. Just pulling #'s out of my *** I have an example ...... The bumper (might) said 1750 with a 300 lb toung weight and in the manual it said the maximum towing capacity was 1750 with a 300 lb toung weight. These #'s may not be the actual ones listed. so whether you buy a hitch class 1, 2, 3 or 50 your still only towing what truck can tow.

 

That's not exactly right. Your typical Dakota step bumper is rated for a 200 pound tongue and 2000 pound total trailer weight, whereas the truck, when equipped with a tow package, can handle a lot closer to 800/6000 or so. They only print 1 manual for the Dakota line each year, so it'll give you a chart telling you if you've got this, then this is your capacity. The bumper specifically states that the weights are bumper capacity only, and to consult your owner's manual for actual vehicle weights. The reason the bumper can only support so little weight is that it's designed to absorb impact, therefore it's got weaknesses built in. I know a lot of trucks rear bumpers are designed to rotate down and under the truck in an impact, so if you load them up they'll just bend.

 

Do yourself and your bumper and spend the $$ for a class III. Then when you need to help your buds with a u-haul or ski-boat, you don't have to worry about limits that might DOA your bumper (Sorry but DAKs rear bumpers ain't best in class). You can also use a bunch of 2" accessories such as bike racks, cargo and motorcycle carriers that fit in the class III hitch.