Availability of Long Ball Mount to Clear Rear Bumper of 2003 Ford E350 Van

Question:

2003 Ford E-350 extended van. It appears to have a Ford hitch on it, 5,000# capacity. I need a ball mount for the 2-5/16inch ball which tows my pizza oven its heavy. I need a 3-4 inch rise on the ball mount for the trailer. The problem I am having with those available locally is that the hitch is set back behind the bumper so far that a heavy enough ball mount has a brace which interferes with the bumper. This little angle piece Reece hits the bumper when I try to use it in the rise position. The solid one piece ones might seem to work but I still cant figure out if theyre long enough. They are also way too much capacity, so theyre more expensive than I need to spend. I have not found a way on your website how to figure out which one will work and which one will not. Help. :

asked by: Karen T

Expert Reply:

We offer some ball mounts that might work for you. You'll need to measure the distance from the center of your hitch pin hole to the rear-most part of the bumper, to determine how much clearance you need.

The Curt # D-28, for instance might work well for you. It offers a 4 inch rise, and has a 6000 lb capacity. If the measurement you took is less than 8-1/4 inches, this ball mount would work very well for you. The compatible 2-5/16 trailer ball would be part # 63847.

For a 3 inch rise, Draw-Tite offers the # 4285. This ball mount offers a 12,000 lb capacity, and will work for you if the measurement you took is less than 7-1/2 inches. Because of its higher capacity, this ball mount would need a 2-5/16 ball with a larger diameter shank, part # 19286.

Either one of these should work okay for you, but if you need more clearance please email me back with the measurement you took and I'd be happy to look for another solution for you.