rosspulliam
Lawrence, KS
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Joined: 08/27/2005
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Does anyone have a Pullrite hitch installed? I'd like to see some pictures of it installed to see how it is positioned under the bumper. My dad just installed one on an E150 van and it sure seems to be hanging low to the ground. It is a 1997 van, so we are thinking that the springs have probably sagged causing what seems to be and excessively low. It almost looks like the hitch is somewhat pointed at the ground. I don't have a picture of it right now, but I'll be down there for Christmas to take some comparative pictures.
Thanks for anyone that can post pictures of their install.
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OldScout
Arlington, TX USA
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Joined: 11/24/2003
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Go here and order the video. Les the moderator had one so maybe he has some pics. I would love to have one but $3,000 is a bit pricy for me. Been looking for a used one but I need the 20,000# model because of my tongue weight of 1450#
Pullrite
2003 E350 Super Duty 6.8L V-10.
2005 Jayco Eagle 322FKS
PullRite 20,000#
Prodigy
55 feet of fun!
"I refuse to tiptoe timidly through life only to arrive safely at death!"
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USAntigoon
USA
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Joined: 11/24/2007
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In answer to the OP...We used to have a E150 Van and had a Pullrite hitch installed.. My dad was hauling our Terry Taurus all over the country with the five of us.. He loved that hitch and if I remember well this hitch was swinging under the Van chassis just underneath the rear bumper.. I know he was not pleased with the exhaust rerouting and once he had the rear fuel tank almost exploding as too much exhaust heat was transfered to this rear tank.. (in those these the van had two fuel tanks)
There is a guy here on the forum by the name of Ron Gratz, who seems to know a lot about hitches..He might be of more help to you..
USAntigoon
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LAdams
Northern Illinois
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Joined: 10/06/2000
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Ask and Ye shall receive... Follow the link below:
PULLRITE HITCH
Les
2000 Ford F-250SD, XLT, 4X4 Off Road, SuperCab
w/ 6.8L (415 C.I.) V-10/3:73LS/4R100
Banks Power Pack w/Trans Command & OttoMind
2006 Nomad 3150 Double Slide (Bunkhouse)
Hensley Arrow
Jordan Ultima 2020
HUNTER THERMOSTAT INSTALL
** NEW ** blog.rv.net
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rolnrolnroln
WA
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Joined: 02/15/2004
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I have installed two PRs. I have some pix of the current one, but since it is on a 4x4 F-350 I don't have the ground clearance issues you have. Keep in mind that the tow bar (the swinging part) has a 9 degree (If I remember correctly) downward bend just behind the rollers. This might account for the pointing at the ground thing. The bend is there to allow sufficient tension to be put on the load bars. (the ball mounts used to be fixed) Up until this post, I was unaware that there were PRs for vans. I thought PR had gone almost exclusively to pickups. I am not surprised it seems low. Vans tend not to be very high to begin with. PR also determined that most vans tow quite well with no added sway stopping because of the short rear overhang. If you can get it to work, the PR will make a fun towing experience even if you can tow pretty well without it.
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rosspulliam
Lawrence, KS
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Thanks for the pics LAdams.
rolnrolnroln, thanks for the info. It was bought used and the hitch itself is probably 10 years old or so. I think it will pull fine. I think my dad is looking at re arching the springs to get the back end of the van a little higher, as it does sit naturally low to the ground.
Also, my Dad can't tow at all without it. His trailer is about as big as a person can have with a half ton (he plans to upgrade in the next couple years to a Super Duty). He has to have it for weight distribution. He has it currently set up so that the back end of the van squats half an inch when loaded with the trailer. However, even with the back end of the van only dropping a half inch, and the pullrite hitch as far up as possible, the trailer still sits about 4" nose low. I think there are shanks that will allow him to move the entire pullrite unit higher up, but I haven't seen it all hooked up so I don't know how high he can move the hitch unit before interfering with the rear doors. From his description to me over the phone I think the 4 inches could be made up just by using a high rise shank that moved the pullrite hitch up higher. IE This Item. Are there any problems with raising the hitch using an item like this?
Thanks for the input everyone.
* This post was
edited 12/04/07 10:08am by rosspulliam *
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nhshep
New Hampshire
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Joined: 03/28/2007
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Pullrite are vehicle specific. I wanted to go with Pullrite but they do not fit on a Dodge Durango. Reading Pullrite website on vehicles I did not see Ford E150 in their specs. They listed several ford vehicles including E350. If there is a product fit concern are you sure pullrite are specify usage on the vehicle it is being used on.
The hitch has very high ratings from those who use them.
As side not what would happen if a pullrite was mounted on a none pullrite approved vehicle and crash resulted. Regardless of warranty would the owner who installed the pullrite be liable. -
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LAdams
Northern Illinois
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Ross, one way to achieve a little more tension is with shims... See the picture of the shims I made for my Pullrite - it's kind of a way to fine tune the tension and keep the bars level...
BTW - for OLD Scout - look on the hitch trader site (www.hitchtrader.com) - there is usually a few of them on there for a reasonable price - both 10K and 20K... Also contact Pullrite... They keep a database of their customers who are selling their hitches because of moving to a fifth wheel, upgrading to a 20K or the like...
Just checked - there are 6 Pullrites listed right now - most all are 10K with one unknown and one partial hitch - also a couple of Hensley's...
Les
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rosspulliam
Lawrence, KS
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I don't know if they still make models for the E150 van, but as LAdams indicated, these hitches are available used. The model we have is an older model designed to fit the E150 confirmed by Pullrite. We actually got the information on the seller directly from Pullrite through their for sell database.
LAdams, thanks for the tip, but I think he has as much tension as he needs to remain level, however the front of the trailer is what is nose down by a factor of inches. In order to get the trailer level, the actual ball of the hitch needs to be moved up about 3 - 4 inches. This is where the adjustable WD shank came to my mind to increase the height that the ball itself could be adjusted to.
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rolnrolnroln
WA
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Joined: 02/15/2004
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If you can get ahold of the later model ball mount, they are adjustable over quite a range for height and tilt. I move mine up and down several times a year. If I am towing with the ATVs on board, the truck sits about 3-4" lower than without the ATVs. (It isn't just the zooters, it's the extra gas cans, accessories, etc.) So, with the ATVs I run the hitch in the top hole on the shank and when towing fairly empty, I use a lower hole. Ya have to get a handle on any tilt changes needed or different load bar links, but once you have it down, it stays the same each time you change. I can keep the TT level under any conditions I have encountered so far. (~15 years with PRs). Also, the comment about PRs being vehicle specific is partly wrong. (that OWT never dies) The "no drill" models like my latest one are specific. The older style (still sold) uses moveable brackets and can fit a wide range of vehicles. The hitch itself is the same for a large range of vehicles, but the brackets fit in particular ways for particular vehicles. The directions for my first PR included instructions for fitting the hitch onto three different makes of trucks. Good luck.
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