Front Hitch Installed on Lightning - Good news

[Tom Jensen]

Thanks for your quick reply. I do love the idea that these can be taken off quickly with 2 pins and the quality of the work was obvious. I wonder if the gentleman who made these for you has a machine shop since it sure looks like it. Anyway I am wondering about it since on my Lightning I use a rear hitch snow plow (snowsport hd). Now I do not have any problems using it driving in reverse, but it sure would be nice to be able to mount it in the front primarily due to visibility issues during night and bad weather. The rear camera and the side mirrors do get messed up during any real snow event so a front mount would simply alleviate most visibility issues. As for my other desires, I do use an E-Bike carrier, but I like it on the back hitch for less wind resistance. I have had the opportunity to push a car carrier trailer around, but for intricate parking issues, I already have an electric trailer dolly to park that type of trailer when its going to a tight space, so the truck would not need to do as you do with the boats. Heck and simply put I like making stuff, so might use your hitch as a template just to make one similarly, because its fun. So thanks for the info.

Mr. Blake certainly has the skills of an engineer. Whether that was his profession, I do not know. As for the strength issue, I’d be cautious but not averse to trying it. The “tow hooks” are D-rings, welded to the frame at both ends. But that’s not the same as attaching the plow assembly to the frame itself. Garrett would likely have a well-informed opinion.

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[msdickerson]

Mr. Blake certainly has the skills of an engineer. Whether that was his profession, I do not know. As for the strength issue, I’d be cautious but not averse to trying it. The “tow hooks” are D-rings, welded to the frame at both ends. But that’s not the same as attaching the plow assembly to the frame itself. Garrett would likely have a well-informed opinion.

Thanks again, and I have just left Mr Blake a question on his thread on this unit.

 

[astrand1]

Looks quite skookum! However it will/can impede front sensors and cameras. I'm sure you've found this thusfar.

"Skookum" thats a new word for me. had to look that one up. lol

 

[Tom Jensen]

"Skookum" thats a new word for me. had to look that one up. lol

As a former resident of BC and Oregon and attorney for Columbia River tribes, I ran into “skookum” periodically. It’s a great, multifunction word. 18th or 19th century word used/invented by PNW tribes and non-indian traders/explorers/settlers to mean “smart”, “good”, “powerful”, and probably other affirmations of quality. A friend had a dog named “Skookum” or “Skook” who didn’t deserve the compliment.

 

[Tom Jensen]

Do you have any idea what the tongue weight rating is?
Do you keep the tow hook loop adapters on and only remove the hitch when not in use?
yes a cleaver idea without any vehicle modifications.
Rick

I’m sorry to be a year late responding. I have no idea what the tongue weight limit might be. The tow hooks (which are really loops) are welded into the front frame and seem beefy. I hitched my 22’ boat and trailer to the receiver and everything worked just fine, though I was not doing anything rough or abrupt.

 

[Tom Jensen]

Looks quite skookum! However it will/can impede front sensors and cameras. I'm sure you've found this thusfar.

I haven’t experienced any interference with any sensors or cameras from the receiver itself. A bike rack or other large item will cause some interference, just as my bike rack did on my ICE 150 and Expedition. First world problem.

 

[msdickerson]

Do you have any idea what the tongue weight rating is?
Do you keep the tow hook loop adapters on and only remove the hitch when not in use?
yes a cleaver idea without any vehicle modifications.
Rick

Yea - my worry is that the load rating is only for pulling and take a look at the attachment to the frame of the tow hooks. I need a front hitch for snow plowing - much different type loads.

 

[NW Ontario Ford Lightning]

I was watching Monro Engineering compare the Lightning and R1T frames, the front of the Lightning has a welded end-plate and bolt holes for the tow-loops. they even show the two loops and how they are made. These bolt to the truck. Frames compared

Then from an online AI search:
"The front tow hooks on an F-150 Lightning are bolted to the frame, not welded. This allows for easy installation, removal, and replacement without the need for cutting or welding, according to Ford. The hooks are typically made of high-strength steel and come with the necessary mounting hardware, as indicated in the description of Ford's tow hook kit. "

I suspect a front-hitch/bracket that bolts on instead of the tow loops could be used, if you can access the bolts easily. I am thinking of looking at this as an option - not fast to install or remove, but a stronger connection to the frame without fear of bending the tow loops.

 

[GarrettBlake]

The setup that Tom Jensen has was modified slightly to be used for a snowplow. As far as I know they work well. Send me a DM and I can provide some references.

 

[msdickerson]

It certainly could work well for those pushing a boat etc light applications. My concern is not the hitch, but how tge tow hooks are fastened to the frame. The bolts look very light duty. Me and others are adding front hitches for snow plowing use with hitch mounted plows. So I decided to go with a frame mounted standard hitch and work around tge auto deploying air dam. I know tgat air dam comes off easily but it would be nice to have the hitch and deploying air dam for energy economy at high speeds. I am getting a standard draw tite 65067 front hitch and going to try to make a bridge which will support the cut out deploying air dam. Will it work, well I shall soon find out. Others have used a more hidden hitch, but I am going with the draw tite 65067 for my 2024 flash. Worse case would be leaving the auto deploy dam off.

 

[GarageMahal]

It certainly could work well for those pushing a boat etc light applications. My concern is not the hitch, but how tge tow hooks are fastened to the frame. The bolts look very light duty. Me and others are adding front hitches for snow plowing use with hitch mounted plows. So I decided to go with a frame mounted standard hitch and work around tge auto deploying air dam. I know tgat air dam comes off easily but it would be nice to have the hitch and deploying air dam for energy economy at high speeds. I am getting a standard draw tite 65067 front hitch and going to try to make a bridge which will support the cut out deploying air dam. Will it work, well I shall soon find out. Others have used a more hidden hitch, but I am going with the draw tite 65067 for my 2024 flash. Worse case would be leaving the auto deploy dam off.

Please try to snap pictures and takes notes on the installation process. Hoping it doesn't require any cutting or welding

I have been looking for a frame mounted hitch option for some time...

 

[msdickerson]

Please try to snap pictures and takes notes on the installation process. Hoping it doesn't require any cutting or welding

I have been looking for a frame mounted hitch option for some time...

I finished the install of the draw Tite - 65067 receiver- currently the auto deploy air dam is removed, and I do not see any normal driving effects of it not being there for deployment at higher speeds. I do not do a lot of high speed driving. I cannot modify the dam to deploy around this receiver, but I am going to try to modify the dam to attach the actual receiver in the deployed position. It would involve cutting a center hole for the receiver part, and making a couple small brackets to bolt to the receiver crossbar. Sure it permanently reduces my clearance, but I do not drive this in off road or clearance limited places. Here are some pics of the production F150 Draw-Tite receiver installed. I have about 8" bottom receiver to ground front clearance. The hitch has a 500# tongue weight and 9000# capacity. and costs about $200_- from etrailer.com. When I received it, the shipping had banged it enough to make me have to do a little bit of sledge hammer enticing the end mount area about 1/2" wider. I figured that out by measuring where the mount steel is welded to the crossbar, and measuring the end width between the left and right side mount steel. The shipping had bent it about that 1/2" inch, but a couple smacks with a hand sledge hammer while it was stood up vertically widened it in about 6 bonks. then it slid right into place as shown. I like working with annealed steel - lol.

 

[msdickerson]

I finished the install of the draw Tite - 65067 receiver- currently the auto deploy air dam is removed, and I do not see any normal driving effects of it not being there for deployment at higher speeds. I do not do a lot of high speed driving. I cannot modify the dam to deploy around this receiver, but I am going to try to modify the dam to attach the actual receiver in the deployed position. It would involve cutting a center hole for the receiver part, and making a couple small brackets to bolt to the receiver crossbar. Sure it permanently reduces my clearance, but I do not drive this in off road or clearance limited places. Here are some pics of the production F150 Draw-Tite receiver installed. I have about 8" bottom receiver to ground front clearance. The hitch has a 500# tongue weight and 9000# capacity. and costs about $200_- from etrailer.com. When I received it, the shipping had banged it enough to make me have to do a little bit of sledge hammer enticing the end mount area about 1/2" wider. I figured that out by measuring where the mount steel is welded to the crossbar, and measuring the end width between the left and right side mount steel. The shipping had bent it about that 1/2" inch, but a couple smacks with a hand sledge hammer while it was stood up vertically widened it in about 6 bonks. then it slid right into place as shown. I like working with annealed steel - lol.

Here is a youtube link with who I was talking to about his hitch install. 2024 Ford Lightning F150 Front Hitch Install

 

[GarageMahal]

I finished the install of the draw Tite - 65067 receiver- currently the auto deploy air dam is removed...

Great work! Super excited to learn that the standard kit does indeed bolt right up!

Next question, how are you powering the plow?

 

[msdickerson]

Great work! Super excited to learn that the standard kit does indeed bolt right up!

Next question, how are you powering the plow?

Power was simple- Snowsport winch to raise plow has 2 wires. Power (12V) and control switch wires. They are only long enough for a front mount and I had to extend them for my initial rear mount. Anyway the 12 V power cord went directly to the 12V battery and was bolted onto the normal battery terminals. The wire has a fuse in it. I was easily able to drop that wire down to the underside of the truck and zip tie it along the frame to the location I wanted in the front and back. The control switch wire was put up to the cab immediately behind the drivers seat through an existing rubber plugged hole. I did a small cut with a knife to allow that wire to be through that rubber floor seal and still keep the seal. I put it obviously under the rug to under the driver seat and mounted the up down switch on the left lower side seat rail so I could reach down and easily control the up and downs. The 12V battery is continually charged via the HV battery and has no issues with the winch draw. Even with the truck turned off on my 2024 the 12V is charged if I happen to raise or lower the plow while the truck is off assuming you are plugged in. If not plugged in the HV battery will automatically top off the 12V if needed.

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