Hi all first thread, new to me Ram owner, 04 v6 shortbox...good to be here. Love my Dodge!

As you can see, my rear bumper is slightly bent downward...

Since the bumper is bent, should I be concerned about mounting and using a tow hitch that uses the factory crossbeam mounting location?

Im obviously not going to be exceeding the 3800lbs capacity with the v6.
Tongue weight is less than 500...but what I would be towing would be close to 3800...boat and trailer. Ive towed the combo with an 05 Durango v6 with a beefy overkill reese hitch on many occasions and it didnt break a sweat.

Everything checks visuals underneath, nothing is crunched or cumpled, no sign of repairs, but I honestly cannot tell if anything is out of alignment (rear crossmember bent downwards, etc). I just cant pinpoint one place and say "that is where the bends happened"

I could just get a hitch that mounts to the frame rails, albeit at a cost (+$100 over factory)...dont want to spend it if I dont need to. And I do understand that many hitch designs that bolt to the frame rail also incorporate bolts into the factory crossmember, so there are implications there as well...

What do you all think? Am I just seeing things?

 

Id say it is def bent down a little bit but it could be from just about anything really; maybe a previous owner hitting something, or putting to much weight on the hitch ball for the bumper, etc etc. I think you will be fine but id see why its bent down first. Not sure if its mounted straight to cross member or if it has brackets that mount the bumper to the frame.

Might just be something as simple as some bolts came loose/bent, brackets bent alittle, etc.

Either way I think you will be fine. Usually the hitch has a little bit of a gap before the bumper anyways. But there is no way to really tell whats going on without seeing it myself in person or seeing some pictures from underneath. Just crawl under there and see whats going on; or if you don't really know what to be looking for or notice much, just take some good pictures and we will help you out.

Goodluck!

 

Hard to tell from this angle, but I don't see a problem. Even if it were bent some, I don't think it would affect the crossbeam underneath. The bumper is relatively lightweight and easy enough to bend; the bar that you connect your hitch to is heavyweight and welded to the frame. You could remove the bumper with no effect on towing or hitchpoint. I wouldn't worry about it at all.

 

I would consult a body shop before towing anything just to be sure, but usually there is a thick steel plate that the hitch ***** are mounted to, and it would have to be a fairly significant impact to damage that to the point where you shouldn't use it.

Consult a Body shop, or if you're feeling.

 

Body shop will just tell him "no don't tow!! Let us fix it!"

 

I recommend getting the hitch that mounts to the frame if you are going to tow a boat. You want 10% of trailer weight on the hitch. A ball on the bumper will be too high and give you poor weight distribution. May also put your prop too close to the ground. Check it out by putting the boat tongue on your bumper and see how the trailer rides.

 

Thanks for the reply ZWilson Ill be taking more pics and posting now that its daylight so maybe we can get to the bottom of this...

True but it looks like the chrome bumper itself sits right on top of the tubular crossmember (very little gap between them), which by the looks of it it basically means that if one is bent downwards the other one is too, no?

I about died when I read this!

Oh good point I should have mentioned Im not planning to use a ball on the bumper, but instead mount a hitch to the tubular crossmember (basically just like an OEM hitch would come from the factory). That, or get an aftermarket hitch that extends back to the actual rails

Basically, between this:

Or somthing like this:

 

Well like I said you should be fine. Im sure the bumper just mounts with brackets and I think they would bend before it would where its mounted to the frame.

Some trucks utilize the same holes in the frame to mount the bumper brackets and hitch in, some use separate methods either in different hole locations on the frame or mix of bolt holes and welding.

Really first things first you just need to get under there and look and see why its bent down.

 

ZWilson and others thanks much for the expedited replys!

And they say if people are helping you better make sure you do everything you can to make their job easier (and I cant buy you all beer)...so here are some more pics.





Drivers side bracket (fyi im the one who put the trailer wiring there) :


Passenger side:


Center section:



How does everything look to you all?

 

Ah the gap is about right between the bumper and tailgate. Really if anything the bumper just looks slightly bent down but who knows it could have been like that since day one.

I think you will be fine when you go have your hitch installed.