Front tow hitch for parking a boat?

[wsutard1]

Has anyone ever use a front hitch to move a boat or trailer around? I was told it was easier than backing up.

I have a rather tricky location I park my in and it would be great if I could make the process easier. I can do it backing up but sometimes it’s a trick to get it in the right spot. (Narrow, steep driveway with a curve and tight parking window.

I also have the backup towing knob on the truck but haven’t been able to test it out yet.

 

[GTyankee]

I used to have a front hitch on a truck back around 2004, it was great for parking trailers down a driveway & behind a building
You just had to look before going around a sharp turn, so you would know if the path was clear, like children.

If you are not used to backing up a trailer, your brain will play tricks on you
If you put your hand on the top of the steering wheel & you want to make the trailer go left, you need to turn the steering wheel to the right to start.

So i used to tell beginners to place their hand on the bottom of the steering wheel & then make their turn, that way your brain is in sync with your hand.

The longer the tongue of the trailer, the easier it is to make backing maneuvers
Those Harbor Freight little trailers are a bugger to back up
The best thing to do with them is to place something like a flag at the two rear corners, that way you can catch the first movement to the left or right

 

[BossHogg]

Has anyone ever use a front hitch to move a boat or trailer around? I was told it was easier than backing up.

I have a rather tricky location I park my in and it would be great if I could make the process easier. I can do it backing up but sometimes it’s a trick to get it in the right spot. (Narrow, steep driveway with a curve and tight parking window.

I also have the backup towing knob on the truck but haven’t been able to test it out yet.

Two concerns to think about. First, a front hitch will be severely limited to the down/bilateral weight it can support, typically 500 pounds. This is a limitation of the vehicle's mounting points. I have a Curt 2 inch receiver mounted on the front of my 3500 and it is only rated up to 500 pounds, the best I could find. Second, backing up a small, low-profile trailer is difficult because you can't see it so the help of the trailing knob is limited. You will have to teach yourself to use cameras but that is very difficult.

How long is the boat trailer and how many axles?

 

[shrubs]

Used to have front hitch on a ‘73 Bronco as a kid working on a tree farm. Spraying etc. down rows.

Tore up the front bumper pretty good. YMMV on that one.

 

[KKBB]

Never had a front hitch. I would just back it in. Just keep practicing and you will get better at it.

 

[wsutard1]

Thanks for the input everyone! I’ll stick to reverse.

 

[JayLeonard]

Thanks for the input everyone! I’ll stick to reverse.

Just remember "GOAL". Get Out And Look. And go as fast as you want to hit something. You don't get extra points for speed.
Good luck.

 

[dhay13]

Without knowing your situation I can't 'judge' but practice does make perfect. And yes, the shorter the trailer the harder it is. I can parallel park our 31' boat trailer on the first try. But backing up my daughters 8' trailer takes a little more patience.
Speaking of, daughter had a friend that had a brand new 2017-ish 2500 Cummins Laramie. He brought his jet-ski down to our marina and was trying to back down the ramp. After about 5 failed tries I finally asked him if he wanted me to do it. Pretty sure he was thrilled...lol. I got it first try. Key is very small steering wheel movements

 

[miles01]

I installed a front hitch on my 2001 1 ton duels long box because I could not turn it sharp enough to get the boat into my parking pad in the back yard trough the gate beside the garage.
It worked great, very easy to maneuver this way.
It was a pain in the $&@ have to pull up in the alley after a day boating then disconnect from the truck drive down the alley turn around and the connection the boat trailer to the front but only took a couple mins to park then.

 

[pacofortacos]

I could use a front ball when trying to get the boat around back. It's almost impossible to do with the rear ball.
Down about a 16' wide slight grade grass hill, to a 90 deg. bend that is maybe 10' wide with a 6' cliff on one side and a 20' rhododendron on the other side.
The truck without the boat on barely has enough room to go back there.

 

[hbaldwin]

My Uncle could NOT back up a boat trailer to save his soul! He installed a front hitch and never had a problem after that. That was 50 years ago when bumpers were a little different and he was a welder.