[bryancraftyhands]

Does anyone know what the maximum tow and tongue ratings are for the bumper of Astros? If it matters by year, mine is 92.
I've looked in an owner's and Chilton's manual, here, web searched, and called a dealer to know avail. (pun!)
If I am correct, it's probably 2000lb / 200lb respectively, and I'm only going by what I vaguely remember from an s-15 and Sonoma I had. If anyone can confirm or show otherwise, please fill us in and cite source if not to much trouble?
I have recently seen bumper mounted hitch receivers. My van currently has a bumper mounted ball that was installed before I acquired it.
I am thinking of converting to one of these receivers as it would better suit my purposes. Then I could put on a bike rack, or a cargo rack, or a ball to tow a trailer, and not have to worry about the spare.
I've seen them come in up to 5000lb capacity. Realistically the heaviest thing I can foresee towing is a heavy duty utility/bike trailer with most commonly my bike, but I have hauled heavier occasionally, that being done with a proper frame mounted class 2 hitch on my Outback however, and pushing its ability to its limits with the car being the weakest link at 2000lb cap.
I could of course get the 5k cap set up, and that would be fine. However, taking off only to leave my bumper and anything attached to it would not be of course.

 

[Birdshake]

The bumper is very flimsy and isn’t meant for towing. Hitches are mounted to the frame rail.
Towing and tongue weights are in the owners manual. ‘93 should be similar enough to your ‘92

 

[tinworm]

Get a regular receiver hitch that bolts into the structure of the unibody and ditch that bolt on bumper apparatus.

It would not be long before you exceed the capacity of that by accident, and secondly the bumper bracket underneath are notorious for rust issues

 

[tungtide]

If you can locate a receiver hitch from a pick and pull that is on a van. Our Astro/Safari has tabs that bolt to the unibody as well as the frame rails. A lot of after market units do not have these tabs.

 

[Mmusicman]

The bumper on a 92 is actually pretty stout.
I've towed light utility trailers with my 92 bumper hitch before I upgraded.

 

[bryancraftyhands]

It seems to me that according to the downloadable manual link, on page 4-46, under "hitches", that Birdshake posted, I am correct on the 2000 pound rating.
It states:
"If you’ll be pulling a trailer that, when loaded, will weigh more than 2,000 pounds (900 kg), be sure to use a properly mounted weight-distributing hitch and sway control of the proper size."
It probably has the same in my owner's manual, (it looks similar at a glance despite the year difference) but I was looking under "towing" headings found in the index because why would such vital information be found there when it can be put under "Your Driving and the Road ".🤷‍♂️
I found it by chance scrolling through the pages.
Thank you all for your input. I don't plan to be pulling anything heavier than that 2k cap anyway as the trailer I've been using is 1k and my bike only 400lb. I just wanted to know so that when I do get this bumper mounted receiver, I don't tear the bumper off by going higher. I really just want the receiver for it's versatility.
If I do need to go higher, I will look for a proper frame hitch, and it seems a door mount for my spare as it seems mine will not fit under after an installation on my standard body. (unless someone knows a current manufacture that accommodates).
In the meantime, this is the first I heard of this rust issue. I'll keep an eye on it. It will probably outlast me as it's been garage kept for the first 20 years of its existence thus far, (updated 9-9-22, 30 years! I did my original math wrong. OOps😬) before I got it. Even now, it's at least being kept "off street". As far as a roof over its head, I got it as a roof over my head when I can't keep one.

 

[bryancraftyhands]

The bumper on a 92 is actually pretty stout.
I've towed light utility trailers with my 92 bumper hitch before I upgraded.
[/QU

just as a note from myself to you, I have got used to riding in my 04 outback or bike so much that when I get in my Astro, I find it odd that I'm sitting higher than most of the vehicles around me save for lifted, super and heavy duty, and semi trucks.
Then I see the pic of your lifted van next to your non lifted van! Nice! I had to do a double take.
I'd be happy if I can convert mine to AWD as mine is only rear. My outback is AWD. My s-15 and Sonoma were 4x4, not lifted as I typically used them to work with. I don't do much in off roading, but AWD is awesome in precipitous weather.

 

[gwd]

Your weakest link is the screws that attach that L bracket to bumper.
Even with a class 1 Fixed tongue hitch, you can only place a maximum 200lb weight on the ball.
So you have way less than that.
If you are involved in a major accident, while towing, and Insurance investigates and see that kind of hitch on van they might refuse to cover you.
Here is a U-Haul guide.

 

[Mmusicman]

For anyone having trouble reading above photo (in a reduced window browser), you can either go full screen, or right-click photo > open image in new tab

 

[bryancraftyhands]

Your weakest link is the screws that attach that L bracket to bumper.
Even with a class 1 Fixed tongue hitch, you can only place a maximum 200lb weight on the ball.
So you have way less than that.
If you are involved in a major accident, while towing, and Insurance investigates and see that kind of hitch on van they might refuse to cover you.

There is more to the hitch that is on there than is visible in the photo. At a glance I saw it also has something else going on where it's bolted underneath the bumper also. Overall it's shaped like an inverted T, and that's just what I saw from a glance and not looking at it thoroughly. There may be more. I don't know what the previous owner may have pulled, or if the bumper was reinforced or not. My guess is not. I will look though.
For my purposes, I will treat it as it has not been as a 2k cap will suit my needs fine, and plan to replace the hitch that is on it now, with this one:

3500 lb. Step Bumper Receiver

Amazing deals on this 3500Lb Step Bumper Receiver at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

for its versatility.

 

[Mmusicman]

The 4 holes on that bumper hitch may be longer/deeper than the underside of the bumper.
Good likelihood that only two holes will line up.

Class I obviously has it's intended purpose and may very well suite "your" limited needs.
As I said, the bumpers on the Gen 1's are quite stout and strong... should work fine.
Mine worked well on my 92 until I upgraded to a frame hitch.

You probably saw this variation of the same type... (might fit better)
Be sure to use good quality large Grade 5 or 8 fine threaded bolts.

5000 lb. Step Bumper Receiver

Amazing deals on this 5000Lb Step Bumper Receiver at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

 

[bryancraftyhands]

The 4 holes on that bumper hitch may be longer/deeper than the underside of the bumper.
Good likelihood that only two holes will line up.

Class I obviously has it's intended purpose and may very well suite "your" limited needs.
As I said, the bumpers on the Gen 1's are quite stout and strong... should work fine.
Mine worked well on my 92 until I upgraded to a frame hitch.

You probably saw this variation of the same type... (might fit better)
Be sure to use good quality large Grade 5 or 8 fine threaded bolts.

5000 lb. Step Bumper Receiver

Amazing deals on this 5000Lb Step Bumper Receiver at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

I don't expect the holes are going to line up at all, and as for the two on the viewable face, I will probably find a small plate and bolt that in the same area for cosmetic reasons (i.e. no open holes, and protect finish when I do tap a hitch I'm hooking up to)
I did see the 5k cap one also. It's $10 more and unless I ever get something that has a bumper that can handle that, if there is such a thing, it would be overkill. Ultimately, what will happen is when I get the one that's on there now off, I will better see what will fit best and how, and go from there.

 

[Mmusicman]

It's not that it's "overkill".. it's that the holes line up better with the bottom of the bumper.
It was just a suggestion..

 

[bryancraftyhands]

I spent some of yesterday pulling off the hitch that was on there and picking up the 2 potential hitches I'll replace it with. The hitch that was on there was bolted to the face of the bumper by 2 carriage bolts, and underneath by one standard. A half inch steel stock sistered to the chrome visible part where the ball mounted through to make the extension that went underneath.
I also discovered that I do not in fact have a full size spare. I was under the impression for some reason that I did, so in the event that if I do go with a frame mounted hitch, spare access is moot.
In this photo, you can see the difference in size of the 5k cap vs. the 3500 cap hitches. I have them lined up in the pic by where the bolt holes are (roughly) to give an idea of where they would sit in respect to the bumper. The 5k sticks out almost as much as the one I took off. It is about twice as heavy also.

What concerns me about about the smaller one is that, no, the rear most holes will not make contact with the bumper, essentially hanging in the air. The underside of the bumper is only about half as deep as the top side, and the plates on these.
I have some ideas involving the use of stock to extend to the rear of the plate, and make more contact points with the bottom of the bumper, and / or re-using the chrome plate I just took off, (or something like it) mounting it in reverse, so it goes under the bumper, where I can then bolt on to the face as I was originally thinking of doing with a thin plate for those reasons above, and give me surface area underneath to bolt the receiver to, perhaps with stock running off at angles for reinforcement as well. Of course, I may not need to do all of that, but I probably will anyway.

 

[realityguy]

Others are correct in saying that that hitch setup is pretty flimsy and doesn't have much support at all..especially at the hitch point in the middle.It would be easy to smash and trash your bumper.
Attached are pictures of my 1990 AWD Drawtite and the 2004 Astro's Valley hitches..specs are in secondary pictures.Take note the attachment to the frame and also replacing the lighter bumper brackets with parts on the hitch itself...then decide if you want to continue with what you plan on doing.
The older Drawtite on the 1990 sticks out about 3"(easier to hook up a trailer and the first thing someone hits when they rearend you.The 2004 is more the hidden style about 1" shy of the plastic outer bumper on that one.Both of them are old and need better touchup paint jobs..someday.
More than likely these are factory hitches or put on the vans when they were new..
Note both vans are not lifted and both carry full sized spares.

 

[Mmusicman]

The difference in the heavier hitch (the one that will fit) is ONLY $10... why is this even an issue?

 

[bryancraftyhands]

Others are correct in saying that that hitch setup is pretty flimsy and doesn't have much support at all..especially at the hitch point in the middle.It would be easy to smash and trash your bumper.
Attached are pictures of my 1990 AWD Drawtite and the 2004 Astro's Valley hitches..specs are in secondary pictures.Take note the attachment to the frame and also replacing the lighter bumper brackets with parts on the hitch itself...then decide if you want to continue with what you plan on doing.
The older Drawtite on the 1990 sticks out about 3"(easier to hook up a trailer and the first thing someone hits when they rearend you.The 2004 is more the hidden style about 1" shy of the plastic outer bumper on that one.Both of them are old and need better touchup paint jobs..someday.
More than likely these are factory hitches or put on the vans when they were new..
Note both vans are not lifted and both carry full sized spares.

All noted. Those pics were pretty valuable at the moment since I didn't bother to photograph anything while removing the old one. I figured I would look online or in my Chilton. Nothing online shows underneath and inside. My Chilton doesn't even mention bumpers.
One can see how narrow a strip there is on the underside of the bumper to bolt to. This is my concern about either of them. The smaller one only hanging on by the 2 front holes, or the larger one holding on by 4, but being heavier on that 2 inch strip.
One can also see that in theory, a bumper mount hitch could be bolted directly to the crossmember behind the bumper.
I'll be by there tomorrow and size everything up including with a bracket I have and see what feasibly works if anything. If I have any doubts on integrity of anything, I'll give up this project and look for a proper hitch.

 

[bryancraftyhands]

The difference in the heavier hitch (the one that will fit) is ONLY $10... why is this even an issue?

It's not really about being $10 more at all other than why spend it if not needed? Now forty vs. 200 is a big difference if I don't go pulling over 2k lbs.
My concern with the heavier one is with it's weight bolted on that 2 inch strip of lower bumper. I think one or two good bumps on the road will bend that.
I'm also thinking of applied tongue weight of the racks I would most likely use the hitch for. Without some kind of angle brace, like the one I just removed, on either of them, I doubt the bumper itself would be up to the task with anything just bolted on to that strip.
I'm going to look into using it on the crossmember behind the bumper, as per my last paragraph to my reply to realityguy

 

[bryancraftyhands]

I went and looked and the bumper mounted hitches will not work unless I do something I would consider unsightly to say the least.
As can be seen in the pics, the bracket, which is the largest I can find without having a shop make one for any cost that would make it more worthy to just put in a frame hitch, still does not reach to the back of the small hitch. Plus, the lip that curls back up would be in the way and to cut it would compromise strength. A spacer block would be moot since the bracket does not reach anyway.
The larger hitch I feel would have the added weight issue especially when considering actual tongue weight put on either. The way the bumper is shaped with the lip curling back up, and then curving back closer to the face where the spare sits, probably to accommodate a full size, negates the possibility of using that bracket on it either as the bracket is of course too long to fit in that channel.
The cross member I referred to when looking at @realityguy 's pics would not apply in my case. I think he may have an extended body, especially if he actually has full size spares. I have a smaller size spare and one can see that it extends over that cross member and into and underneath the bumper a bit, and of course, right where one would want to place that hitch. Plus, I would have to use screws and not bolts as there would be no access to the other side from any side.
I put the ball that was on there back on for now, even though the ball itself is only 1 & 7/8 and anything I pull has 2. I'll go back to idly looking for an actual hitch.

 

[realityguy]

The bumpers on the generation one are thicker than the later model Astros.My 2004 was damaged when I bought it.I took off the plastic cover and used a pipe wrench and hammer to straighten it out,along with the flimsier brackets to the body because it had been hit and ended up higher and closer to the body creating a bump in the top plastic(which probably saved me about $1000 buying the van)..and took me a short day to fix it.I still have two small indents of the surface of the plastic that I can probably stuff a sock under each one and make it appear perfect again.
I'm assuming your rear bumper is the same as my 1990 one which has no structural support on mine between the two side brackets except for the bottom portion of the metal bumper and about a 1" lip(varies higher closer to the brackets back up or less at the body's side back edge of the bumper.perhaps they have improved that with another bar of steel along the bottom after 1990? I don't know..I haven't seen the differences in the vans of the years between my two vans.
My vans ARE extended ones..but I had an 1986 "shorty" cargo one before these two that had the similar hitch that I used for towing a fishing boat for Puget Sound,maybe under 2000lbs.I traded in the shorty I got the AWD XT one because the shorty would get stuck on wet grass..and didn't hardly work at all pulling the boat up concrete ramps covered with seaweed...also..I couldn't carry 4x8 sheets of plywood inside the short model.
The spare tire on the shorty?..I can't recall ever using it but it was up underneath there I believe(can someone with a shorty confirm that location?..or was it inside?) because I used the interior of the van for hauling tools and wood products for construction.I had that van 30 years ago.
I think the difference between the long and short version are about 10"?..the difference being having to carry a 96" sheet of plywood flat on the floor of an extended van but behind the seats verses having to carry the sheets vertical extended out the back or vertical up between the seats a bit in the way of the right side mirror,having to lean forward to see the mirror.
I'm assuming the "temporary" spare tire(18" rim) for the gen 1s cargo van has the same "basic" diameter as the extended version except I think the shorty might have had 195 size tires verses 215..only a small diameter difference.
The Drawtite hitch has the back 2" square tube not straight but welded outward at the hitch a few inches(see the pictures above..therefore there would probably be room for the tire,even with a short van.(but extended htich?) I believe the diameter/height of the mounted spare tire doesn't really matter because the hitch support is beyond the spare's diameter..unless you get some oversize wheels/ tires.I still have my gaudy temp spare that hasn't been used in 30+ years..in the shed where it belongs.I might repaint the rim and mount it it on the wall as a vintage ornament! It's still holding probably 20-30 year old air!
Looks of the extended hitch?To me..stepping up in/outof the back is a Pita..I'm going to get or make a nice step that mounts onto another ball hitch bar extension anyway..or replaces a ball with a step attachment to cover it and make it easier in and out of the van..AND uses the second extension for more support to prevent damage to the rear...when I don't need a ball I can't step on...just pop-on whatever option I need for the trip..or not at all.
The Astro rear bumpers have minimal support between the two side bracket/frame/hitch attachment spots as far as rear end accidents and damage to the center of the rear of the van.I'm HAPPY for any additional protection I can get there.
The pics in the post above.. I was just showing you examples of what the "frame mount hitches" use for support and mounting them..give you an idea for comparison verses what you plan to use.Yes..they are a bit of additional work to install but I think it's just a matter of more bolts in holes that are already there in the year/ models..I didn't put mine on so I don't know if everything is predrilled for mounting them.The 2004 side pieces look flimsier but they ARE 1/4" steel.By the other posts about mounting the hitches..they bolt right on.It should be easy to mount one..or even remove one say.. at a Pick-N-Pull yard.
Someone hitting those hitches in a newer car will receive significant damage to their vehicle with a frame-mount hitch.The van damaged not as much as without one.Without the wider support ,a center hit might collapse the entire bumper into the van..or at least the 40" or so between the frame members..right maybe into to the doors.
The "towing" to me is secondary also..The biggest thing I have ever towed is a pretty heavy fiberglass A-frame-expanding type trailer up/down a steep dirt road(see Lake Chopaka,Eastern Washington)..or my lightweight fiberglass boat /trailer locally about 5 miles for launching for fishing the Sound.I'll more than likely never two anything heavier than that.Other than that..a small 4x8 utlity trailer to haul my 10' driftboat,junk to the dump, or tow an occasional logsplitter from a rental place.
Spare tire mount on the back door?..take a look at some of the threads here about that and the headaches they can be to support the hitch to the door.I'm wondering if it is a worthwhile option after reading about it here.It seems like they need a lot more support off the hinges and totally span over the door's surface to not create dents/damage to the door itself.It might cost more than what it is worth to use a rear door mount setup..
For that idea..I was considering maybe something that would rest/support on the back bumper98% of the time,latch and unlatch to the rear secondary door, and hinge downward and out as a support for a functional table(use camera tripod telescoping legs to the uneven ground?) out the back for cooking/camping..but I don't quite think I have room for two plates of hinged steel between the bottom of the door to still swing out the second door while the bracket and tire are facing downward.Oh well..just a thought..More thought and drawings need to go into that idea.
Of course it is ALL your choice,in whatever you decide you need.Good luck in whatever you do.