I have to have a front hitch on my Taco. I cannot get my Hi-Lo trailer snaked around the side of the house without one. Also, when we go camping the trailer goes in the rear receiver and the bike rack goes in the front receiver.
I like the
Warn Trans4mer because it puts the receiver up at approximately the same height as the back hitch, which is nice if you are going to use to push your trailer. If you swap ends at different heights, you may not have enough travel in your front trailer jack to drop onto the front hitch if it is much lower than the rear. Also the trans4mer won't degrade the approach angle as much.
However, the trans4mer will add more weight, and is much more expensive.
I got quotes from two welding shops and a 4X4 shop, ranging from $260 to $300. All of them hedge their bets by saying it will cost more if they run into problems... They charge by actual time and materials.
On June 28 I had a front receiver made/installed at a local 4X4 shop. The fabricator added a heavy duty square tube in front of the light one that is stock, and welded tabs on the end of the new tubing that go up into the bumper structure. It is all bolt-on, so I can remove it if needed.
The fabricator had to remove my front tow hook, but I purchased a shackle that fits into the receiver.
Here is my front receiver. It was a hair under $400 after taxes. It's completely bolt-on.
Fabricated and installed at
Olympic 4X4 Supply in Snohomish, WA. They did a real nice job.
In the lower left corner of this image, you see the stock square tube. The tubing for the front hitch buts up against it, and these tabs are welded to the end that extend up into the bumper structure. It looks pretty stout.
Click on the CarDomain link in my signature for pics of the trailer.
Keywords:
Front receiver 2" hitch tow towing
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