I needed a hitch receiver to allow me to mount my winch and decided on the Curt 13138:
http://www.summitracing.com/int/part...3138/overview/
I have not used it to tow anything (not sure I will) but it looks solid and well built. The sticker on the receiver rates it at 4000lbs with a regular hitch or 6000lbs with a load distributing setup.
The instructions say that you will have to drill some 1/2" holes in the frame so I ran out and bought a 1/2" drill bit that, surprisingly enough, didn't fit in my 3/8" drill. Luckily for me the frame was actually pre-drilled so I didn't need the bit after all.
Installation was pretty easy, just follow the instructions. One tip, you need to loosen off the other two bumper bolts to let you get the J-clips out for the two rear bolts. Make sure to torque them back down before mounting the hitch, the socket won't fit through the clearance hole in the receiver and you'll have to take the whole thing off to tighten them back down...
Now on to the bad. It says on the site that you can mount the receiver and leave your spare tire under the truck. This may be true if you have a skinny tire but I have (had) a full size tire under my truck but it is now in the bed.
It looks good on the back and sits just under the bumper so it doesn't affect ground clearance more than it needs to.
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[2003 Ford Escape Limited 4x4 3.0L V6]
- Kenwood TM-281A VHF Radio - ScanGauge II Monitor - 110000 KM
[2003 Ford Ranger XLT Fx4 4.0L V6] -
Build Thread
- Pennzoil Platnium Full Syn - .410 Gears - Bilstein 4600's - 1750lb HD springs - ICom 2300H VHF Radio - SCT X4 Tuner - Lasota Racing Tune - Valentine1 RADAR/LIDAR Detector - Smittybilt XRC-2 Comp 9500LB Winch - 245/75/R16 General Grabber A/T2's - Custom front receiver - ScanGauge II - Optima YellowTop - 113000 KM