Bodiak front end hitch mount and bike rack
I decided to start a separate thread on my experiences with Bodiak instead of hijacking another thread.
My main need for a front mounted hitch was to support a bike rack. When taking the grand-kids camping there was just no easy way to get 4 bikes on the back of our fiver, inside it, or in the truck bed.
Like others have said, I too was reluctant to have to cut a hole in the facia, so I opted for the hook mounted Bodiak instead of several other frame mounted options.
When I went to their website I was directed to contact them directly regarding availability timing (this was over the Holidays). I had several good communications back and forth about time, shipping, delivery, etc. And after placing my order they held off on shipping until a time when we would be home. Great customer service!
The hitch arrived nicely packaged complete with installation instructions After un-boxing it I then propped it up in front of the hooks in preparation to slide it over the hooks and bolt it on...un, not so fast!
This image shows the hitch ready to mount, but note the tape measure. The inside width of the hitch was exactly 29", the bumper opening width was ~29 3/8"
This image shows how far off it was from just 'sliding in'.
And another image of the 'issue';
I was VERY disappointed, as after all my researching and planning I had been really looking forward to the arrival of my new 'toy'.
I immediately send off an email to Bodiak with the above pictures asking for advice as to what to do, and asking why their hitch, custom made to fit my 2010 HD F-350 did not fit.
After a pretty much sleepless night and waiting most of the day to hear from Bodiak, my impatience got the best of me and I decided that my best option was to just get out a couple of large hammers and beat the bumper into submission. In order to do that though I had to take off one of the hooks, and that turned out to be a VERY VERY labor intensive effort (especially getting it back on!!!!). It didn't take long for Bodiak to turn into a four letter word!!!!
Hopefully this image shows how much I had to bend in the bumper opening to get the hitch to fit...and this had to be done on both sides (but more so on this side since was the side I took off the hook and therefore had better access to hammering out the bumper).
OK then, this image is of the completed project;
Here are some other observations;
First is that the bike rack is designed for use with a standard height hitch, and this hitch is substantially higher off ground than 'normal' vehicles. Obviously an F-350 is taller to start with (the bottom of the rear factory installed hitch is ~18" off the ground), but the bottom of the Bodiak is ~22" off the ground. If I had left the bike rack "as is" the bikes would have been WAY up my vision while driving...and worse, that of the DW ;-) So I cut out 12" from the main vertical post of the rack and that lowers the bikes so the wheels are 12" off the ground and I can barely see the the seat and handle bars from the cab.
Second: Since we live in California, and are required to have front license plate, I found that the built in safety chain holders on the hitch were aligned perfectly with the screws on the license plate bracket...I just needed a couple of LARGE washers for the back side.
And thirdly: The face of most hitches are sorta flush with the vertical edge of the bumper, whereas the Bodiak sticks out about 6 inches. This means that if you use the standard holes on the bike rack to secure it to the hitch it will stick out a LONG way from the front of the grill. So I slid the rack as far into the hitch as possible, marked the new location of the hitch holes, and drilled new holes (as seen in this image with the hitch lock in place).
Aside from the issue with the hitch not fitting the way I thought it should, and the fact that after a week I have still not heard anything back from Bodiak (and I did send them a follow-up email telling them what I had done to get it installed) I am very pleased with the product and am looking forward to going to Yosemite next week with the grand-kids with 4 bikes proudly hanging from the front of my rig ;-)
Semper Fi,
Steve
My main need for a front mounted hitch was to support a bike rack. When taking the grand-kids camping there was just no easy way to get 4 bikes on the back of our fiver, inside it, or in the truck bed.
Like others have said, I too was reluctant to have to cut a hole in the facia, so I opted for the hook mounted Bodiak instead of several other frame mounted options.
When I went to their website I was directed to contact them directly regarding availability timing (this was over the Holidays). I had several good communications back and forth about time, shipping, delivery, etc. And after placing my order they held off on shipping until a time when we would be home. Great customer service!
The hitch arrived nicely packaged complete with installation instructions After un-boxing it I then propped it up in front of the hooks in preparation to slide it over the hooks and bolt it on...un, not so fast!
This image shows the hitch ready to mount, but note the tape measure. The inside width of the hitch was exactly 29", the bumper opening width was ~29 3/8"
This image shows how far off it was from just 'sliding in'.
And another image of the 'issue';
I was VERY disappointed, as after all my researching and planning I had been really looking forward to the arrival of my new 'toy'.
I immediately send off an email to Bodiak with the above pictures asking for advice as to what to do, and asking why their hitch, custom made to fit my 2010 HD F-350 did not fit.
After a pretty much sleepless night and waiting most of the day to hear from Bodiak, my impatience got the best of me and I decided that my best option was to just get out a couple of large hammers and beat the bumper into submission. In order to do that though I had to take off one of the hooks, and that turned out to be a VERY VERY labor intensive effort (especially getting it back on!!!!). It didn't take long for Bodiak to turn into a four letter word!!!!
Hopefully this image shows how much I had to bend in the bumper opening to get the hitch to fit...and this had to be done on both sides (but more so on this side since was the side I took off the hook and therefore had better access to hammering out the bumper).
OK then, this image is of the completed project;
Here are some other observations;
First is that the bike rack is designed for use with a standard height hitch, and this hitch is substantially higher off ground than 'normal' vehicles. Obviously an F-350 is taller to start with (the bottom of the rear factory installed hitch is ~18" off the ground), but the bottom of the Bodiak is ~22" off the ground. If I had left the bike rack "as is" the bikes would have been WAY up my vision while driving...and worse, that of the DW ;-) So I cut out 12" from the main vertical post of the rack and that lowers the bikes so the wheels are 12" off the ground and I can barely see the the seat and handle bars from the cab.
Second: Since we live in California, and are required to have front license plate, I found that the built in safety chain holders on the hitch were aligned perfectly with the screws on the license plate bracket...I just needed a couple of LARGE washers for the back side.
And thirdly: The face of most hitches are sorta flush with the vertical edge of the bumper, whereas the Bodiak sticks out about 6 inches. This means that if you use the standard holes on the bike rack to secure it to the hitch it will stick out a LONG way from the front of the grill. So I slid the rack as far into the hitch as possible, marked the new location of the hitch holes, and drilled new holes (as seen in this image with the hitch lock in place).
Aside from the issue with the hitch not fitting the way I thought it should, and the fact that after a week I have still not heard anything back from Bodiak (and I did send them a follow-up email telling them what I had done to get it installed) I am very pleased with the product and am looking forward to going to Yosemite next week with the grand-kids with 4 bikes proudly hanging from the front of my rig ;-)
Semper Fi,
Steve
