class of factory hitch

[lorirobert]

Trying to find the class of hitch put o my 2005 3500 DWR. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[AH64ID]

The factory hitch was a Class IV rated at 1,200/12,000.

Edit: Commonly lass IV is capped at 10K lbs, but some go to 12K. The 2005 Dodge towing guide lists 12K as the max for Class IV, and doesn't even list a Class V. Anything over 12K was required to be GN or 5th wheel.

 

[CharlesinGA]

The owners manual will tell you. On my '03 2500 the owners manual is a "heavy duty" manual that covers both the 2500 and 3500 and it says the ball on the bumper is a Class III and the hitch WELDED to the tubular crossmember is Class IV. I say welded because there were vehicles shipped without the receiver and Mopar had an add on receiver that looks identical but you have to crawl under there and look for the welds or bolts to figure out which one it is. The owners manual does not address the bolt on receiver.

Charles

 

[AH64ID]

The owners manual will tell you. On my '03 2500 the owners manual is a "heavy duty" manual that covers both the 2500 and 3500 and it says the ball on the bumper is a Class III and the hitch WELDED to the tubular crossmember is Class IV. I say welded because there were vehicles shipped without the receiver and Mopar had an add on receiver that looks identical but you have to crawl under there and look for the welds or bolts to figure out which one it is. The owners manual does not address the bolt on receiver.

Charles

The hitch was not welded to the crossbar in 05, but that was a popular misnomer. It looked like it, but it was bolt on and you had to lift the bed to remove, but it was bolt it. Maybe it was welded on early 3rd gens, but not by 05.

 

[CJ8Rockcrawler]

The hitch was not welded to the crossbar in 05, but that was a popular misnomer. It looked like it, but it was bolt on and you had to lift the bed to remove, but it was bolt it. Maybe it was welded on early 3rd gens, but not by 05.

I believe this is the case with my early 04 as well.

 

[AH64ID]

I believe this is the case with my early 04 as well.

Makes sense. The crossbar is not quite the same on trucks that do not come factory equipped with the hitch, since it’s part of the hitch and not the frame. The crossmember does support the bumper.

 

[CharlesinGA]

Torklift used to have excellent comparison pics of both the factory receiver and the Mopar add on kit, but they have changed their web site and I can no longer find the pics. Sadly, I did not save them when I had the chance.

My build sheet lists Code XFH Hitch - Class IV Receiver

It also lists Code XFK Wiring Harness - 7 Pin
and
Code XFU Wiring - 4 Pin Trailer Towing Connector

Charles

 

[AH64ID]

Torklift used to have excellent comparison pics of both the factory receiver and the Mopar add on kit, but they have changed their web site and I can no longer find the pics. Sadly, I did not save them when I had the chance.

My build sheet lists Code XFH Hitch - Class IV Receiver

It also lists Code XFK Wiring Harness - 7 Pin
and
Code XFU Wiring - 4 Pin Trailer Towing Connector

Charles

Is this what you’re talking about?

https://www.torklift.com/documents/products/superhitch/dodgeoem.html

If so, I may have misunderstood where you were referring to the welds at.

It was very common for the OEM receiver to be referred to as welded to the frame and not removable, which is what I thought you were saying.

My build sheet showed the same. Hitch was welded to the cross-tube and bolted to the frame.

Here is my OEM hitch and the Reese 45299 I replaced it with.

 

[petersonj]

The hitch receiver on my brother-in-law's 2003 2500 4WD is also a Class IV rated at 1,200 / 12,000.

However, the sticker on the hitch shows some significant limitations when not using a weight distribution hitch. It seems that the 2004 and newer models don't display the sticker. Maybe the rating is higher on the newer trucks, but I would want to know exactly what the rating is.

- John

 

[AH64ID]

The hitch receiver on my brother-in-law's 2003 2500 4WD is also a Class IV rated at 1,200 / 12,000.

However, the sticker on the hitch shows some significant limitations when not using a weight distribution hitch. It seems that the 2004 and newer models don't display the sticker. Maybe the rating is higher on the newer trucks, but I would want to know exactly what the rating is.

- John

View attachment 140565

The requirement for WDH was quite low on the 03-13 hitch.

http://www.rambodybuilder.com/2005sbbgl/docs/intro/towingbasics.pdf

 

[crispyboy]

AH64ID - Do you have a link to other years such as 2009?

 

[AH64ID]

AH64ID - Do you have a link to other years such as 2009?

I have found a few other years with Google. That’s a doc they don’t update often, but you may find something thru the bodybuilder website.

 

[BigPapa]

Here is my OEM hitch and the Reese 45299 I replaced it with.

That is a much more substantial hitch.

 

[CJ8Rockcrawler]

Is this what you’re talking about?

https://www.torklift.com/documents/products/superhitch/dodgeoem.html

If so, I may have misunderstood where you were referring to the welds at.

It was very common for the OEM receiver to be referred to as welded to the frame and not removable, which is what I thought you were saying.

My build sheet showed the same. Hitch was welded to the cross-tube and bolted to the frame.

Here is my OEM hitch and the Reese 45299 I replaced it with.


View attachment 140564

After seeing what is being referred to as welded on, I retract what I said earlier. My early 04 hitch is welded together as one piece from the factory, but bolted to the frame as one unit.

 

[CharlesinGA]

There was a bolt on Mopar receiver that attached to the tube. Searched and found the pics online.
My hitch does not have any stickers on it. I am going by the owners manual for specs. I'll take a pic of the page and post it

Charles

#ad


#ad

 

[SSage]

I put a Curt class 5 underneath the stock one that was bending under my 7 ton dove tail PJ. If I remember right the OEM hitch was mounted over the frame rails or something. I remember it was easier to just leave it in place. Makes for a beefy rear.