06 Mega 4x4 want to tow 11 K deadweight

[Ben S]

06 Mega 4 x4 Cummins has the factory class V receiver and a solid steel bar tongue 2" with a 2 1/4" 10k rated ball with the larger stem size for that ball and weight rating.



Previously towed a 9k trailer package deadweight and now I want to move up to about 11k deadweight. I will not be towing hills much if any but will use boat ramps and towing up to 2 to 3 hours at a time up to 55 or 60 mph



Questions...



1. Is the factory receiver adequate as a deadweight setup?



2. If not then what receiver is recommended?



3. Will the bar insert be adequate?? I purchased the heaviest one Uhaul had specifically for 10k towing. It is very heavy duty and not the cheapie.



All help appreciated...



Ben

 

[jelag]

I can't comment about your hitch because each of my trucks came with a different one, and each was rated differently, however we had an F550 that always broke down out of town... and we used a stinger that was solid with a 2 5/16" ball..... at times we had the F550 at 19,000 lbs and towed her home with our 04. . with out problems... so the factory hitch worked well on the 04, brakes were another issue...

Mind you there was no tongue weight to speak of... . but we towed that weight without any problems...

 

[HBarlow]

You didn't tell us what kind of trailer you plan to tow but mentioned boat ramps so I suppose you mean a boat trailer.

If tongue weight is approximately 15% of trailer weight and the trailer weighs 11,000 lbs. loaded your tongue weight will be approximately 1650 lbs.

The Dodge hitch receiver is not rated to carry that dead weight load but will probably survive it a few times with luck. Eventually the hitch receiver will bend and might suffer metal fatigue and separate. Not a good idea.

The proper way to pull that trailer is with a weight distributing hitch like Reese that will redistribute some of the tongue weight forward to the truck's steer axle and some rearward to the trailer axles.

You can see examples of Reese hitches by keying "Reese" or "Reese Hitches" into your search engine. Most RV dealers and some large boat dealers will sell you a weight distributing hitch.

 

[Ben S]

HBarlow,



Yes, it is a boat trailer. I suspected I would need to get a stronger hitch receiver and I'm ok with that.



I had hoped to avoid the weight distribution set up but may be I should just deal with it.







Thanks to both of you for the advice and input

 

[EGroeneveld]

I had the same thing with a 14k Dumptrailer. I purchased the Torklift Superhitch and a 14k hitch and ball and have been happy since.

 

[d6c]

Class 5 hitch receiver from the factory?? None of the manufacturers until very recently ever put one on a rig. The class system is a pet peeve of mine, no numbers tagged or stamped on the hitch? What is it really rated for?? Some database claims capacities for what should be on a vehicle and there is no way to confirm!! Surge brakes and weight distributing bars is a special case also, talk to somebody at a boat place.

 

[BrianJ]

Normal recommended tongue weights on a bumper pull is 10-15%, and with boat tongue weights falling on the lower side you may only be looking at a tongue weight of appx. 1,100lbs. The factory receiver is rated to 12k total and 1,200 tongue weight with a weight distribution hitch. Get an accurate weight on the tongue weight, and you may be ok with the factory receiver and a weight distribution hitch.

 

[JExum]

If the tongue weight is bad enough to need air bags a custom built reciever is what I used. It was made from about a 30 inch reciever tube which you can get a most rv dealers. The welder I used put four flat pieces of metal on the side of the frame then ran 1 and 1/2 by 3 channel iron across to each metal strap then laid the tubing in the center of the channel iron and welded it all up. You do lose your spare tire space with this system but it held up to 3500lbs of tongue weight. The frame was arched up in the middle but this was a 1st generasion truck leased to a hot shot for 2000 thousand dollars to load in Houston to New York you make what you have at the time work. The air bags were air up to 70psi and I made this run 2 to 3 times a month for 3 years with the Dodge and later a Ford350.

 

[THoltz]

My factory hitch is rated for 10K with a weight distributing hitch and 1000 lb max tongue weight.

 

[Ben S]

I had the same thing with a 14k Dumptrailer. I purchased the Torklift Superhitch and a 14k hitch and ball and have been happy since.

This is the direction I wanted to go.



I will check with my local Torklift dealer.