Video Transcript for Draw-Tite Max-Frame Class IV Trailer Hitch DIY Installation - 2021 Ford Ranger

Hi everyone. Aiden here with etrailer. Today we're gonna be taking a look at, and later we'll be showing you how to install this Draw-Tite class four custom fit trailer hitch receiver on our 2021 Ford Ranger. Now if your Ranger didn't come from the factory with a hitch, adding one aftermarket like this is a great way to enhance your Ranger's functionality. It's gonna allow you to carry other accessories or tow a trailer with a ball mount. And this option from Draw-Tite in particular is a nice option if you plan on towing, because it is gonna give you slightly boosted weight capacities compared to some of the other options available for the Ranger.

It's still gonna have its standard two inch by two inch receiver tube, which will be compatible with most accessories out there. It'll use a five-eighth inch pin and clip to secure those accessories. Keep in mind this doesn't come included with your kit, but most accessories do come with one, like our etrailer ball mounts. So depending on what you pick up in addition to your hitch here, you might not have to worry about picking up one of these separately. And then of course you've got your safety chain loops on the side here for towing.

They're gonna work great for your standard S-hook chains, as well as your larger clevis style hooks. As far as those weight capacities I mentioned earlier go, this is gonna have a gross trailer weight rating of 7,500 pounds. That's the weight it can pull behind it, and that includes your trailer and everything loaded up on it. And it's gonna have a maximum tongue weight rating of 1,125 pounds. That's the maximum downward pressure on the end of the receiver tube there.

And that's without weight distribution. If you are towing a camper and you've got weight distribution, that does bump up your rating slightly to an 8,000 pound gross trailer weight rating and a 1,200 pound max tongue weight rating. So you do get quite a bit more performance out of the tongue weight on this hitch compared to some others. And if you're not using weight distribution, you get a better towing capacity out of this one too. Some measurements to watch for, the center of the hitch pin hole to the closest edge of the bumper here, that's gonna be three inches.

So if you do plan on using an accessory like a bike rack that folds up, that's gonna tell you if you have clearance for storage or not. More than likely you will. Three inches is pretty good there. And then from the ground to the top inside edge of the receiver tube here, we're looking at about 18 and a half inches. That's really important to know if we do plan on towing with this. That's gonna let us know what kind of rise or drop we need for our ball mount to be level with our trailer when we hook up. More than likely, you'll probably want a small drop. Now, even though this hitch is rated a bit higher than some of the other options available for the Ranger, the install is just as easy. It only involves removing a couple of factory bolts and bolting them right back up with the hitch in place, so no new hardware included, no real specialty tools aside from a torque wrench. My one advice would be that you probably want a bigger torque wrench, because it does have a pretty high torque spec. So if you don't have the tools or you don't have the desire to do that job yourself, you can always use our dealer locator tool and find an installer near you to help you get this put on your Ranger and torqued down properly. But if it is something you wanna tackle, you can follow along with our install and see how we did it step by step. And if you do decide to pick up this hitch, you decide it's the right one for you and your Ranger, we'd love to have you share a review with us. Drop a comment on this video, just let us know how the hitch is working out for you, and what kind of adventures it's letting you get up to, and how you're using it. Without further ado, let's see that install. Now to begin our installation, we wanna look under the vehicle to our bumper beam, and find two bolts where it attaches to our frame rail here. We will need to remove these, but to make sure that the bumper support doesn't fall down, we need to clamp it in place. Just off to the side, there's two tabs, one on the bumper support, and one on the frame here that are conveniently right together. So we can take a clamp, sandwich those together, and repeat that process on the other side just to make sure that it's held securely. With those secured, we can take a 21 millimeter socket and undo these bolts. I will say these are tight. I broke them loose a little bit off camera, so if you don't have an extra long socket or a breaker bar, you might wanna pick one up and just get all these removed and be careful with them, 'cause we will be reusing them. Now these threads are pretty clean on ours. Our Ranger isn't too old at the time of filming, but it may be a good idea to go through with some penetrating oil and a tube brush and just clean them out. For us today, honestly, I think we're just gonna be fine with the tube brush on its own, just getting some of the dirty debris out of there that came out when the bolts we inchesre removed. But you can always just check with the bolts, and make sure they thread back in smoothly, which for us, they do. And then you can go grab a friend to help you lift the hitch. And with an extra set of hands, Shane's gonna help me lift this up into place, get that lined up with our factory holes, and just reattach those bolts from where they came out of the floor. And we're just gonna get one side started hand tight on either end so it holds itself up in place. Once you have one on either side, it's a lot easier to reach in here to get the others started, and be able to maneuver the hitch around with your other hand, and we'll just come back through with that same 21 millimeter socket that we used earlier, and get these bolts snug up, and we can come back through with that torque wrench to get them to their final tightness. You can find that torque spec in your instructions. And I would say even if you have a torque wrench at home, you may wanna go to an auto parts store and check one out or rent one just so you can get a bigger torque wrench, because this is a pretty high torque setting, and with a smaller wrench that you maybe already have, it just would be a little bit harder to get that kind of leverage. But just go back through and do this for all the remaining hardware. And of course our last step here is just remember to remove your clamps that we installed earlier. And once you've got that done, everything's torqued in place, that's it. Your installation of your new trailer hitch receiver on your 2021 Ford Ranger is complete, and your truck's gonna be a whole lot more functional now. My name's Aiden, and thanks for watching.