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Easily attach a variety of accessories to the front of your Ford Van 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
Drilling required for installation , Access holes may need to be enlarged by drilling, filing, or rotary tool
California residents: click here
Complete Towing Package for 1999 Ford Van
1999 Ford Van Owners Who Purchased This Front Receiver Hitch Also Bought...
Average Customer Rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars (149 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.
Road tested 4000 miles & off-road, Solid, Great !
I always wanted a front hitch, it is rad !
We had a great experience across the board. Ordered the front hitch mount and had a mechanic (Weld Tech/San Diego) install it, because they already had our van to install their lift kit. They charged me one hour labor. I can see that it fits well and is solid. We went on a 4000 mile adventure with a small motorcycle on the front hitch. etrailer has been a good source for for a few things now.
I own a 2003 Ford E-450 RV cutaway and wanted a front hitch to carry our bicycles since our rear hitch is used for a trailer. I originally tried to mount the equivalent Curt front hitch, because of its cheaper cost, onto the vehicle. However, the Curt hitch wouldn't work because it can't adequately accommodate the slight downward hump in the truck's frame. This hump can barely be seen between the two hitch mounting bolts. The hump is on both the left and right side frame rails on my vehicle. If your frame is not totally flat (has even a small hump) you cannot use the Curt hitch. The Curt's small indentation on its mounting flange will not adequately accommodate the frame's hump. This Draw-Tite hitch, 65001, mounted perfectly on my vehicle and the installation procedures I used were exactly as depicted in the etrailer video for the E350 van. In the video, the technician uses a rotary file to expand the rearward holes to allow the insertion of the bolts. I had to do the same thing and bought a rotary file for my drill at my local home improvement store for less than $3. I did not have to use the rotary file on the forward holes. In addition, I have the larger Roadmaster front sway bar and steering stabilizer and as you can tell in the photo, there is plenty of room for the hitch.
Great service from etrailer, fast shipping, great videos, installation takes a little longer than specified,can be installed by one person with a little help from your wife, mainly with the bumper removal and re-install about 2 minutes each way, found the best way to drill the front holes is with a step bit ( from 1/8 t0 1/2 inch) easier than changing drill bits, installing the hitch I used 2 jack stands to hold it while I installed a nut on each end, the rest was as the instruction require, easy-pezy...
Quality product. Install went smooth as silk thanks to install video
Larry
3/10/2024
Great. We have a cargo basket mounted up there. We carry our firewood, outdoor rugs, camp chairs , portable grille on it. No problems.
Fits perfectly with my 2003 E250 Cargo Van. Installation was so simple & it only took me 45 minutes. Note that you do have to take out the bumper for the bolts to get through (See pic)
Did not encounter any issues, just figuring out how to cut the flares to make it look decent.
Dennis Z.
12/12/2019
1yr later & its still perfect
Shipping was fast. Product fit and installation was easy on my 2005 Ford E450 chassis. I've used it for about a year on 5 big trips and it didn't disappoint. I even suggested to family member and they will be purchasing from eTrailer for their 2006 Ford E450 as well.
The front hitch for our E350 motorhome was delivered in reasonable time. The instructions were OK, but not great. It was important to remove the bumper, despite this not being mentioned in the instructions.
If you own an excursion the draw tite is the one you want. The Curt will not fit. The install is a little finicky but not horrible by any stretch.
The Front Hitch Model 65001 is a Perfect fit on my Ford E350 based RV. I drive a 2005 Pleasureway RD. The front hitch allows me to put the extra storage weight such as Bicycles Racks, Tow mounted Winch or Storage box on the front suspension which gives better steering stability for Rear heavy RV vehicles. The installation was a breeze! I am 67 years old and I had no trouble installing the hitch while lying on my back without jacking up the vehicle with the hitch on my chest and your clever bolt feed system. Unpacking to final torque down of the bolts took 30 minutes by myself.
I did not have to cut or remove anything from under the chassis. The holes aligned perfectly! It has been a year of use and it has no problems.
Very well built unit. It was packaged nicely and arrived in perfect condition.
John
3/25/2024
Product is holding up great.
Great product and easy install thanks to the instructions provided. Needed to carry 5 bikes on our trip so I had a rear rack for 3 and wanted a front rack for 2. With the front hitch I was able to install a bike rack up front and have been using it even when I'm carrying 1 bike.
Tow bar was received quickly with out any damage. Instructions were great. Fishing wires for the bolts were fantastic. From the time I opened the box, read the instructions, examined all the parts, sharpened my 1/2" drill bit, pulled out the required tools, to the time I put everything away and washed my hands took 1.25hrs. Bolts feed through opening at the bumper mounting brackets. The flat square drive washers went in easily at the rear mount hole. I now can front in an enclosed 16' trailer down my narrow driveway.
The front mount hitch arrived nicely packed. The instructions have printed diagrams. The diagram on the instruction sheet was unreadable, the print was much too light.
You don't need them but I contacted customer service and they IMMEDIATELY sent me a diagram.
The front two frame holes have to be relieved to one half inch which was a bit of a chore.
I also had to remove my front bumper. There were not any access holes in the frame that could be used place the mounting bolts.
All in all it was an easy if somewhat aggravating installation. Actual work time was probably close to two hours, including opening the mount holes, dropping the plastic splash shield, removing the bumper, and buttoning up.
We have a 2004 Pleasure Way Excel TS.
The hitch is to mount our bicycle carrier and because I've always wanted a truck with a front hitch.
This draw-tite 65001 front hitch receiver fit perfectly on my 2000 ford e-450 cutaway (ie: a class C motorhome).
Installation was a breeze, bolt holes lined up perfectly. I used a 1/2" bit to enlarge 2 factory holes as instructed. I installed this single-handedly in about an hour, including removing and re-installing front bumper.
E-trailer appears to be the only party that can put stickers on straight - I don't know what these hitch makers cannot get this right.
The clearance below the bumper valance is perfect - flush without distorting the plastic.
While I have been wanting to add a front receiver for a while for a bike rack option, I was motivated to move quickly after getting seriously stuck in mud. Without a front hitch receiver, there is nothing to pull from on the frame - no tow hooks, etc. This is a very simple, easy solution.
The entire transaction end-to-end with E-trailer was excellent. I ordered it on monday- it arrived and was installed by thursday - the price was extremely fair, and the fit was excellent.
Arrived came quick! I have a econoline 350....the back hole lined up nice and I had todrill out the smaller front hole in the frame, but it did line up. My advice to you is to take off the front bumper...took me 30 min..then you can access the bolts to attach the mount. If you try to use the wire that is included to "pull the bolts into place" you will be very frustrated and it will take a long time. I watched an onine video of an install and it saved me hours of frustration...you have been warned. :-)
Total time about 2 hours in the hot sun. It will be used to mount a 10k winch to the front. etrailer rocks.
Product arrived quickly. After viewing the assembly video online I was able to install the front hitch on my Ford E-250 in about 40 minutes with no problems. It was necessary to remove the bumper. I used a step drill to enlarge two of the front holes on the frame and held the hitch in the correct position with a pair of jack stands while placing the plates, washers and screws. Its an easy one person operation with the right tools. I like it and the price was right!
This hitch is built well and install is super easy, took me an hour by myself. Instructions are a little weak but some common sense goes a long way. The fitment is spot on just barely below valance of my e450 rv. Going to use it for a bike rack.
Easy installation on the front end of my 2004 Pleasure Way Excel TS (built on 2003 Ford E350). Like others have said, make sure your 1/2" drill bit is sharp. Once the bumper was off it took about 30 minutes to install the hitch receiver. Shipment from etrailer was fast, and item showed up in perfect condition.
Jack
2/18/2023
Heres a follow up to my initial review. After installation last year, we took a 4600 mile trip though the Southwest over five weeks. I rechecked the torque on the mounting bolts after the first week, and after finding that everything was up to spec, I left it alone. We carried our two mountain bikes in a Yakima bike rack that was attached to the hitch on the front of our RV. I mounted it on the front because this series of RVs are known for being rear heavy. The hitch worked perfectly for us, and I can unconditionally recommend it.
E-350 Pleasure-Way. Mounter for a bike carrier. Mounting was easy and fit the frame perfectly. I saved the air baffel it tells you to disgard by cutting squares off the ends so I could reach up and reattach the bumper.
Nice product however the instructions say you should use a 1/2" drill to enlarge the forward hole, however, when trying to pull the 1/2 bolt through using the supplied wire to guide the bolt, the hole was slightly too small and I couldn't get the bolt through. Slightly enlarging the hole using a 9/16" drill bit instead made installation a breeze.
Easy to install on a 2007 Coachman Freelander E-450. I didn’t even have to use the fishing wires. Now I can put the bikes in front of the rv and out of the way of my rear cargo hold.
eTrailer Made everything a breeze for me with this purchase. Hitch fits perfect on the front end of my 2007 Ford F450 super duty class C RV. Insulation was a snap by myself in a box to prop up the other end. Done in under an hour.
Good purchase for me. Took 3 days to make it out to the Bay Area. Taking the bumper off is worth the hassle, 13/16th socket on 1/2 drive cracked the bolts loose with a bit of force. You'll probably need a crescent wrench or a socket swivel on the two inner bolts after installing hitch.
Called Troy on Tuesday He made sure about the hitch I was ordering. Super Fast shipping. Received the package at noon and hitch was completely installed in 30 minutes outstanding service I will do business with etrailer again.
Received Hitch Damaged. Inches Of Paint Missing Down To Bare Metal Due To Poor Packaging. Received $XX.00 Dollar Credit. The Paint Cost Was In The Excess Of $XX.00. My Time Of Two Hours Of Repairs Obviously Worthless. I’ll Purchase Elsewhere. Very Poor Customer Service!!!
Jenny N.
6/21/2023
Typically using a rust resistant spray like Rustoleum on the hitch will be enough to protect it. Over time the hitch will pick up nicks and scratches from road debris. It is a good idea to keep an eye on the hitch.
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Carl G.
5/26/2016
It has been a year since I installed the Draw-Tite front hitch on my E-450 Class C RV and it has been performing wonderfully. I use it to mount a 2-bicycle mounting rack from Thule and I can see over the bikes just fine and there are no strange noises or wobbling. The mounting bolts remain tight and I dont see any spots where the hitch has begun corroding. Great product from a great company. Follow the instructions and you will be fine!