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Easily attach a variety of accessories to the front of your Ford F-350, 450, and 550 Cab and Chassis with this fully welded, corrosion-resistant trailer hitch receiver. Perfect for winches, spare tire carriers and more.
Features:
Specs:
Draw-Tite's Tested Tough program provides testing standards far superior to those outlined by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), the go-to source for engineering professionals.
Each Draw-Tite trailer hitch receiver undergoes extensive fatigue testing and static testing with the ball mount that is either supplied or recommended for use with that particular hitch, thus ensuring results that are applicable to real life use. Fatigue testing is also conducted on hitches rated for use with weight-distribution systems.
In addition, Draw-Tite performs static testing on a simulated automobile, as opposed to the rigid fixture used for SAE testing, resulting in a more true-to-life scenario.
At etrailer.com we're committed to the products we sell, and to our customers. Our experienced and knowledgeable staff are available via both phone and email to address your questions and concerns for the lifetime of your hitch. The technicians at etrailer perform hitch installations on a daily basis, making them a valuable resource for do-it-yourselfers. The one-on-one, personal service you'll receive comes straight from an expert in the towing and automotive field. We've installed it, we've wired it and we've towed with it, so whatever your question, we can answer it.
Tech Tip
Minor fascia trimming is required only on 4WD models. No drilling required for installation
California residents: click here
Complete Towing Package for 2011 Ford F-350, 450, and 550 Cab and Chassis
2011 Ford F-350, 450, and 550 Cab and Chassis Owners Who Purchased This Front Receiver Hitch Also Bought...
Replacement Parts Available For This Product
Average Customer Rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars (333 Customer Reviews)
Easily attach a variety of accessories to the front of your vehicle with this fully welded, corrosion-resistant trailer hitch receiver. Perfect for winches, spare tire carriers and more.This will work well to hold my bike rack. Installation went well. Kind of tight getting wrenches on but doable. Would have been nice to have one more wire bolt threader. I wasn’t able to get specified torque on all nuts so opted to use lock tight and a second nut but on one bolt. Overall as advertised. I needed a second set of hands and a car Jack to get everything lined up.
This worked great on my F350 dually. We needed a front hitch to carry bikes while towing a 5th wheel camper. Instructions were easy to follow
I buy practically all my towing accessories from etrailer. One of the reasons why is that you can tell that they take the feedback of their customers seriously. I read a lot about previously shipped products having fell out of the box in certain areas. etrailer heard that feedback and my shipping box was reinforced in just the right areas that were talked about getting punched through in shipping.
The tech notes video on the 2012 F-250 applied exactly on my 2016 F-250. All the measurement specifications were correct as well.
This is a job that can be done by one person, albeit you'll have to be careful. Your second set of hands can be jack stands, as it was in my case. If you take your time in positioning everything - installation will be a breeze. I do agree with previous reviews - it would be nice to have a second fishing wire as it does get stretched out when pulling the first bolt through. That, or a heavier duty gauged wire - that's just a small detail however. If you're really concerned about it, you can buy a secondary fishing wire at around 5 bucks. I spent more time taking out and putting back in body clips than I did with the install of the hitch receiver hardware.
I really like the way it looks and I'm excited to use it.
Needed a front receiver to put a bike rack on my 2015 Ford F-350 (2WD) for use with my slide-in camper. Price on the details page I was viewing changed overnight when I went to place my order, but etrailer honored the earlier price. Order was placed 6/12 with a 3-5 days estimated delivery. It arrived on 6/14. Very fast service & shipping! Installation took me about 3 hours, working alone & without power tools and a pause to re-view the installation video. My truck did not have the brackets referenced for possible removal. Would be nice if video showed how one installs the front bolts with the limited accessibility between frame and bumper that I had in to 2015 F-350, with the installed tow hooks. Front left nut had limited clearance between frame, which affected my ability to use a socket and torque wrench. Finished installation provides about 9" ground clearance and requires about 3" hitch length to clear the bumper and grill. Otherwise, installation was simple, pretty much as described in the 2012 Ford video.
Craigb
6/27/2018
Yes the hitch works perfectly for my needs of carrying our bikes when we travel with our camper.
This is the third front hitch I have bought from etrailer. I use it in the winter for a snow sport snow plow and in the summer for a bike rack. I had one on a Nissan titan, and a Chevy silverado, plus other various hitches and hardware for cars and trucks. I have never had an issue with any of it. etrailer is by far the best hitch and towing accessory place I have dealt with. Never any issues with fit, form, or function. Plus they have excellent on-line help. And shop around if you find it cheaper else where they will refund 110% of the difference. You can' beat it. Only thing was I didn't just cut a hole in the lower valence because I didn't want to remove it so I had to slot it but no biggie. Plenty of ground clearance and it is a convenient distance out so you can't hit anything while it is not in use.
Glenn C.
3/27/2021
A year later it still is working as expected. Pushed a lot of snow this winter and this summer will be used to suspend kayaks from the from of my truck.
I plan on installing it tomorrow, however first impressions are not good. The box it item was shipped in was extremely damaged. Torn, ripped and taped up on all sides. The delivery person said that due to the sharp edges and the face it wasn't secured in the box (lose) led to the damage. It appears the item was not packaged properly. I just hope all the parts are there. More to follow.
Eric
12/1/2023
Update 1212023. Watched installation video and installed receiver. No issues other than the shipping box and several scratches on powder coating. I tried to change rating from one star to 4 stars but couldn’t. Please feel free to adjust rating.
Love the front receiver for my F250 Super Duty
Putting the boat in the backyard between trees and into the building can be like threading a needle. Pushing it makes all the difference. Having the trailer pivot point just a few feet from the steering tires makes this job super easy. First time everytime.
Super easy install. Watch the install video once and you know everything you need to know.
David C.
8/14/2015
Still great. I use this every weekend.
Received the front mount hitch and the hardware was absent. Received the hardware for the install 3 days later. The box for the hitch was torn on the front and sides where the hitch was. The hitch had several areas where the paint was scraped off..
Katrina D.
2/28/2024
Yikes, I'm sorry you had to wait for your hardware and the fact that the hitch came scratched up. Luckily, a couple of scratches won't affect the stability of the hitch. It will however, cause rust or corrosion when exposed to the weather if the scratches are not covered up with some sort of rust-oleum type of paint. I have a link below for your reference. I also have sent your info over to our customer service department for them to look into some sort of compensation.
Helpful Links
Hitch was just fine, unfortunately the sealed plastic pouch was missing the two 5/8 lock washers, so I had to stop in the middle of things and run to the hardware store which is irritating. You will need a 18mm or 11/16 wrench to take the bolts off your truck, as the two inside bolts on the R are behind two coolant lines. And you will need a large SAE socket set for the mounting bolts, and a jack or buddy to hold things up while you thread the initial bolts.
This item was a perfect fit! I am over 70 and I had very little problem putting this on my 2015 Ford F-350 Super Duty. Fit like a glove! FYI - I had to remove two brackets from the truck frame in order to install the hitch, but it was no big deal. The most fantastic thing about the hitch is it came with a special wire that allowed you to fish the bolt through the frame and into the designated bolt hole in the frame - slicker that snot!! I have been dealing with etrailer for years and it is a great company to work with!
Just what we needed, we have 2 bikes out front now before they were on the rear of the 5th wheel, installed in a couple hours.
As usual with an Etrailer order, shipping was free and fast. I had the product in hand 2 days after ordering. I ordered the 2 wheel drive front mount hitch 65049 for a 2012 Ford F350 dually. Installation was pretty straight forward with only one minor glitch. I did the install alone, using a floor jack. Possible, but I would urge you to get a buddy to help. I believe installation would be smoother, quicker and easier with a buddy to help. My truck has a stabilizer bar which required that the hitch be tilted up into position. The plastic air dam would not allow me to tilt the hitch enough to clear the stabilizer bar. Believing the web site (and foolishly not measuring) that said the air dam didn't need trimmed on a 2 wheel drive, I removed the air dam with the intent of replacing it after install. Once I had the air dam out of the way, the install was relatively painless. The hitch fit perfectly, the front bolts are a bit of a challenge because you're working in a very restricted space. The rear bolts are a piece of cake. The little "fishing" wire they include works perfectly. After finishing the install, I went to replace the air dam and discovered it needed a small notch cut out of the bottom. Not much, probably about an inch and a half, the width of the receiver, but I maybe would not have had to remove the air dam had I known this going in. So, in summary. Excellent product, install is pretty easy, If you have a 2012 F350 Dually, you're going to have to notch your plastic air dam.
This review is for my 2015 F350 4x4 Platinum. Thanks etrailer from start to finish. Found my front hitch easy, Arrived on third day. The box was torn open from shipping, however thanks etrailer for the protective end cover and wrapping hardware with heavy tape. No scratches or missing parts (yay) installed by myself with a pump jack. Perfect fit as if Ford made it. Thanks for the follow up on day it was delivered thanks George (nice touch) This was my first buy from e-trailer and I'm very satisfied. I wanted an easy website to find and feel confident the part needed was the exact fit for my truck, name brand part, free shipping, and a decent price with excellent customer service. Found it!!!
Joe
8/26/2018
No problems at all, Use often
Install took me about two and half hours by myself laying on my back plus 30 minutes to run to Auto Zone to borrow a 24mm deep socket. Manager let me borrow one since I only needed it for 10 minutes to torque the four bolts. Etrailer shipped same day provided me with tracking and two full business days later hitch showed up. Measure five times and cut once on the air dam.
I purchased this item online. The experience was good from start to finish. Order was easy to make and arrived at my door in about three days to my part of Canada. Cost delivered with the exchange rate was still 30% less than purchase would have cost at a local off road supplier. The quality and finish of the product is good and has resisted our corrosive winter driving conditions. It looks a lot better mounted below the fender than a friends unit on another F350 that is cut through the top of his fender. I have since wired the truck for an 11,500 pound receiver winch.
We have used it to pull firewood logs out of the bush and as security option with the winch up front for access to a remote Lake property and Hunting Areas. We will wire in a battery at the tailgate so the winch can be installed at the back of the truck. A safer place to pull wood from. I will install one on my next truck. Mike M.
Michael M.
4/13/2020
Hi Patrick. Still love the front mount hitch. Means my winch works front or back now. But I also use the front hitch to put my boat I the water and to move trailers around my property with a ball mounted in the receiver. A stub with a large marine shackle is a very useful rig with a rope wrapped in it to pull wood out of the bush. Best small investment I have made. I recommend the Draw-Tite Front Mount Hitch!! Have a good day.
Fitment was good, install is easy but would be better with two of the bolt fish wires. Grade 8 bolts would have been nice but these should work. Packaging was terrible, You cant just throw a 20+ pound item in a open box. My box had a hole where the receiver tube had worn through. Which lead to all the paint being scraped off the end. Watch a video for the install as the paper instructions are pretty basic. 4X4 owners will have to cut a hole in the lower air dam or remove the air dam entirely.
Fantastic hitch receiver. Four bolts, fairly easy to install, and I’ve had it now for a little over a month with no problems. I used it to mount my bike rack to the front of my truck and it’s been a game changer for me out on the road traveling the country.
Tyler
3/5/2020
After a year the receiver is still working great! I’ve recommended it to several friends too.
Easy installation. You may want to use two people, but one can do it. Took a little over 90 minutes doing it by myself.
Instructions are clear and concise.
I plan to use the front hitch for a bike rack when pulling our pop up camper. Or will also make putting it in the garage easier, as it can be pushed in.
Meets my needs perfectly.
John C.
6/17/2017
Still working great. Still pleased with it.
Nice fit, pretty good instructions, could use a 2nd wire bolt puller. Suggest install using an ASSISTANT! I did mine alone, in a garage, no lift......3 hours. You NEED to take off the facia/air dam. FYI-Ford uses an 18mm nut to hold on the 2 brackets that need removal. Cut out for receiver on airdam using a Dremel tool,.
Paul S.
11/7/2016
Excellent, use it a lot in the fall putting boats into storage units
Install took about an hour. I cut the air dam down in front with a dremel and then put weather mouldings around it to give it a finished appearance. A floor jack made this a pretty painless one man job. I will use it for moving a boat around and for the occasional recovery point. The instructions are easy to follow.
Kyle
4/6/2020
One year now and not one issue with this hitch. I move my boat with it very frequently and there has never been an issue. I was thinking about the fact that this was a VERY simple install with all the parts being a perfect fit. Thanks etrailer, great product.
This appears to be a great receiver hitch! The first one arrived bent because UPS employees threw or dropped it. e Trailer was fabulous in getting another one out ASAP. Assembly and fit was great as well. The only recommendation I would make would be to provide a template with measurements to cut the front rubber air damn to ensure a factory finish.
This is the hitch that I ordered. The first one was wrong and vastly different
Mike
4/29/2024
Fits perfectly for what I needed. Carry our 2 lectric bikes
I was disappointed because as I was ordering the hitch it was supposed to arrive on a Friday. Which meant I could install and use it on the weekend. However it didn’t show up till 8pm on Monday. Not sure if you had control over that but otherwise everything is good
Hitch should be shipped with 2 wire bolt threaders instead of one. Hitch is about 1/2 inch too wide for my 2014 Ford F-350 single rear axle. I may go back and add some washers. About 3 hr install with all the tools. The 18 mm bolt is a oddball size. Most wrench & socket sets don’t come with this size.”
Mike L.
4/1/2019
According to the hitch manufacturers, its perfectly acceptable to use washers to take up the extra space between the hitch and the frame member.
Very fast shipping and a quality product. I did find that it is a lot easier to remove the front bumper to install this than trying to work through the tight gap.
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Mark
6/28/2024
After one year this front minted hitch has worked out well. It slows us to pull a 5th wheel camper and bring our heavy e-bikes. I’ve had a number of people at campgrounds ask me about it and I have not hesitated to speak highly of this product. Would definitely use this again and plan to when I get a new Truck.