Torklift X7904 front hitch install

Phil314

Tremor Fiend
Joined
Apr 16, 2022
Messages
331
Reaction Points
746
Location
45.2521, -93.5612
Current Ride
2020 F350 Tremor 7.3 Lariat
Bought a front hitch for my 2020 7.3L Tremor. Thought it would be a nice afternoon projects. Little did I know.

Instructions say remove bumper wiring and remove bumper. Yeah, right. I couldn't reach 1/2 the clips.
See I've got the block heater option and there is no connector so the entire cord has to be unclipped, but you can't reach half the clips.
Only way to get to them, is to half remove the bumper and support it so you can reach the clips.
I've also got fog lights, which should have been easy. But the connector on the frame was packed with clay dirt (like epoxy).
Spent 2 hr working on it before I finally got it apart. Total time 4 hrs just to get the bumper off. :(

20220730_114021.jpg


Installing the hitch itself was a breeze - 1hr. :)
Hitch is well made. It will be used for a winch, so I got the hidden hitch since it's higher off the ground than some of the others.

20220730_131659.jpg


In the home stretch, just need to reinstall the bumper. So time to trim the front air scoop.
Well the instructions are even more wrong. Trim 3.5" strip in the middle. That may work for other years, but not 2020.
My air scoop looks nothing like the ones in the instructions. Cut & test fit. Cut & test fit. Cut & test fit......
Finally come to the conclusion, I need to cut the entire bottom of the air dam off - included the 4 mounting points.
That required build some custom brackets to secure it. Took some time but turned out fairly good.

20220730_191037.jpg


Ok, so now we are in the home stretch. Test fit the bumper again and it goes on.
Problem now is, I can't align the bumper with the proper spacing to the headlights.
There are a couple bumper bracket bolts hitting the bottom of the hitch.

20220731_124001x.jpg


I try making some spacers to space the front bumper out farther, but that didn't really work well.
Finally decide that I need to swap some button head bolts in place and trim the air scoop screw.

20220731_133143.jpg


That gave me just enough room (1/2 inch more) to align the front bumper properly.
I should almost be done. Right...no.
During all the test fitting, I forgot to route the wires to the stupid fog light connector over the top of the receiver hitch instead of under it.
No problem, all I have to do is remove the bumper one more freakin time. I swear that last one made 50 time total.
Anyway, finally got it done and it turn out good, but it was a lot more work than it should have been.
Total time to reinstall bumper - 8 freakin hours. :poop::mad::poop:

20220731_142556.jpg
 
Last edited:
I had a similar set up on my last truck. Winch on the hitch plate so I could move it front or back (ran wires with anderson connectors). Worked great. The hitch was also useful for my dirtbike rack and just standard luggage racks.

Thought about doing it on my Tremor but I have the factory winch and it looks like most of these hitches interfere. Bummer.

Good looking install, i like that it comes out the bumper and not underneath like most others do.
 
I had a similar set up on my last truck. Winch on the hitch plate so I could move it front or back (ran wires with anderson connectors). Worked great. The hitch was also useful for my dirtbike rack and just standard luggage racks.

Thought about doing it on my Tremor but I have the factory winch and it looks like most of these hitches interfere. Bummer.

Good looking install, i like that it comes out the bumper and not underneath like most others do.
Exactly my thinking too. Want to be able to use winch front or rear.
I'll be getting a truck camper soon.
So also being able to use the front hitch for a rack or storage would be a great option too.

Still need to figure out some kind of air compressor system.
Leaning toward truck mounted rather than portable at the moment
 
Bought a front hitch for my 2020 7.3L Tremor. Thought it would be a nice afternoon projects. Little did I know.

Instructions say remove bumper wiring and remove bumper. Yeah, right. I couldn't reach 1/2 the clips.
See I've got the block heater option and there is no connector so the entire cord has to be unclipped, but you can't reach half the clips.
Only way to get to them, is to half remove the bumper and support it so you can reach the clips.
I've also got fog lights, which should have been easy. But the connector on the frame was packed with clay dirt (like epoxy).
Spent 2 hr working on it before I finally got it apart. Total time 4 hrs just to get the bumper off. :(

View attachment 57766

Installing the hitch itself was a breeze - 1hr. :)
Hitch is well made. It will be used for a winch, so I got the hidden hitch since it's higher off the ground than some of the others.

View attachment 57779

In the home stretch, just need to reinstall the bumper. So time to trim the front air scoop.
Well the instructions are even more wrong. Trim 3.5" strip in the middle. That may work for other years, but not 2020.
My air scoop looks nothing like the ones in the instructions. Cut & test fit. Cut & test fit. Cut & test fit......
Finally come to the conclusion, I need to cut the entire bottom of the air dam off - included the 4 mounting points.
That required build some custom brackets to secure it. Took some time but turned out fairly good.

View attachment 57780

Ok, so now we are in the home stretch. Test fit the bumper again and it goes on.
Problem now is, I can't align the bumper with the proper spacing to the headlights.
There are a couple bumper bracket bolts hitting the bottom of the hitch.

View attachment 57781

I try making some spacers to space the front bumper out farther, but that didn't really work well.
Finally decide that I need to swap some button head bolts in place and trim the air scoop screw.

View attachment 57783

That gave me just enough room (1/2 inch more) to align the front bumper properly.
I should almost be done. Right...no.
During all the test fitting, I forgot to route the wires to the stupid fog light connector over the top of the receiver hitch instead of under it.
No problem, all I have to do is remove the bumper one more freakin time. I swear that last one made 50 time total.
Anyway, finally got it done and it turn out good, but it was a lot more work than it should have been.
Total time to reinstall bumper - 8 freakin hours. :poop::mad::poop:

View attachment 57784
You are making me want to pay for the install on this!
 
You are making me want to pay for the install on this!
Lol, I've done a lot of projects over the years. Most go great, but every once in a while you get one that just fights you every step of the way. I read the reviews on ETrailer and it doesn't seem like anyone else had these problems. Not sure if it's 2020 model year or a Tremor issues. Seems like plain super duty installs go much easier.

And honestly it really wasn't that hard to do. A lot of the time was just figuring out stuff and what to do since the instructions didn't cover any of the problems I ran into.
 
Bought a front hitch for my 2020 7.3L Tremor. Thought it would be a nice afternoon projects. Little did I know.

Instructions say remove bumper wiring and remove bumper. Yeah, right. I couldn't reach 1/2 the clips.
See I've got the block heater option and there is no connector so the entire cord has to be unclipped, but you can't reach half the clips.
Only way to get to them, is to half remove the bumper and support it so you can reach the clips.
I've also got fog lights, which should have been easy. But the connector on the frame was packed with clay dirt (like epoxy).
Spent 2 hr working on it before I finally got it apart. Total time 4 hrs just to get the bumper off. :(

View attachment 57766

Installing the hitch itself was a breeze - 1hr. :)
Hitch is well made. It will be used for a winch, so I got the hidden hitch since it's higher off the ground than some of the others.

View attachment 57779

In the home stretch, just need to reinstall the bumper. So time to trim the front air scoop.
Well the instructions are even more wrong. Trim 3.5" strip in the middle. That may work for other years, but not 2020.
My air scoop looks nothing like the ones in the instructions. Cut & test fit. Cut & test fit. Cut & test fit......
Finally come to the conclusion, I need to cut the entire bottom of the air dam off - included the 4 mounting points.
That required build some custom brackets to secure it. Took some time but turned out fairly good.

View attachment 57780

Ok, so now we are in the home stretch. Test fit the bumper again and it goes on.
Problem now is, I can't align the bumper with the proper spacing to the headlights.
There are a couple bumper bracket bolts hitting the bottom of the hitch.

View attachment 57781

I try making some spacers to space the front bumper out farther, but that didn't really work well.
Finally decide that I need to swap some button head bolts in place and trim the air scoop screw.

View attachment 57783

That gave me just enough room (1/2 inch more) to align the front bumper properly.
I should almost be done. Right...no.
During all the test fitting, I forgot to route the wires to the stupid fog light connector over the top of the receiver hitch instead of under it.
No problem, all I have to do is remove the bumper one more freakin time. I swear that last one made 50 time total.
Anyway, finally got it done and it turn out good, but it was a lot more work than it should have been.
Total time to reinstall bumper - 8 freakin hours. :poop::mad::poop:

View attachment 57784
Great write-up on the install. Thanks for sharing. I noticed in the review section of the e-trailer website, a lot of folks mentioned that when they installed the hitch, there was a decent size gap (~1/4”) between the hitch and frame rails. Did you have that or was it a pretty tight fit?
 
Great write-up on the install. Thanks for sharing. I noticed in the review section of the e-trailer website, a lot of folks mentioned that when they installed the hitch, there was a decent size gap (~1/4”) between the hitch and frame rails. Did you have that or was it a pretty tight fit?
The hitch itself was a fit perfect between the frame rails.
No gap. Once between the rails, I had to wiggle it a bit in order to line up the bolt holes.
 
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