The boy and i took a drive around town late afternoon. Sitting at a red light, we were struck from behind. A guy in a newer KIA sedan of some sort was on the phone with his mother and tried to eat my 2” hitch. When i got out of the truck i thought sure my tailgate was going be destroyed but the hitch took the full brunt of it, warping the mounts.

His car had a nice hole in the front bumper but still driveable.

We settled on the spot with cash for a replacement hitch.

I know i was super lucky, not even a scratch on the tailgate. The irony is, i was getting ready to take the hitch off and incorporate the chrome rear bumper somehow. It’s been one or the other so far. Now i have a good reason to consider other rear bumper/hitch options. Any recommendations?

 

Hitch droop.

 

Lucky day!

- Something like the OEM one but stronger.

- I like the minimalist rear bumpers, but the spare tire is too visible with those.
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f177.../#post51145391

- The ones with the sides:
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f88/...-build-207353/

- Or something like this, but without cutting body panels:
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f88/...d-pics-167472/

 

Like this one but for first gens:
https://www.toyota-4runner.org/2087441-post6.html

 

WoW! Got lucky for sure. Good thing it wasn't worse.. They were probably talking about toilet paper on the phone.
Ha!

 

i was sure this was going to be “april fools”. glad the damage was limited. how’s the frame at the mount points?

 

yeah, that would have been a good April Fool’s joke.
i guess the guy on the phone was an April Fool.
His mother called him from a hospital. She is a nurse in a Covid19 ward so under the circumstances and since there was no body damage i couldn’t be too angry with him.
the frame mounts look just fine to me. I will try to get a photo later.

 

Yeah when I saw the headline, I was worried. You looking for an aftermarket steel bumper? I really like the 4x4labs one, I believe he sells it in a DIY kit you can weld together if you are so inclined.

 

thanks for those photos. The third one appeals to me most but i can’t do that level of heavy metal fabrication with what i have for welder and tools. For a few moments last night, i was seriously thinking about going with this Trail Gear kind,



But then i realized i need the receiver to be lower so i can open the tailgate fully when the hinged bike rack is lowered.

 

Thomas - or get one of these hitch adapters: https://www.harborfreight.com/dual-h...4aAh-nEALw_wcB

 

Very lucky! Glad it was only the hitch, I hate seeing the tail gates smashed up.

 

On Sunday, i took the hitch off and reinstalled the chrome bumper.
You can see how bent up the hitch mounts are.

 

The bumper went on and mounted straight as before so i can confirm no frame damage.



Then i spent the entire afternoon helping my divorcing neighbors by cleaning up their dog-smelling Ford Ranger for sale.
You too can party like it’s 1996 again in this truck!