2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Factory hitch on 2500...Class III??? What gives?

[Davcruz]

So I just purchased a 2001 2500 CTD. One of the reasons was heavy towing, more than I can do with my 1500.



I went out yesterday to get a 10,000 lb adjustable ball mount/draw bar and the guy at the shop asks if I am going to use the hitch on the truck to pull 10,000 lbs. I say yes. He goes out and looks at it and says it is a Class III rated to 5,000 lbs and 10,000 lbs weight distributed. Of course I cannot use WD since it is lifted and I require a drop ball mount.



I was completely surprised that a truck rated to tow as much as my 2500 came from Dodge with a wimpy Class III hitch. I actually argued with the guy that he was wrong until he scraped the paint off the sticker on the hitch and pointed out the rating to me. He also showed me a Class IV and V hitch and they are much beefier than the wimpy one on my truck.



So what gives? Why would Dodge install this POS on a truck rated to tow so much more?



Needless to say a Class IV 10,000/12,000 is going on today. Also, I cannot say how nice the B&W Stow and Tow adjustable ball mount with triple balls is, what a well built and engineered piece of hardware this thing is!

 

[AH64ID]

You can get weight distro with up to a 9" drop... .

 

[BigPapa]

Your right, they should've shipped 'em all with 5th wheel hitch's and goose neck balls.



Scott

 

[AH64ID]

My truck came with BALLS

 

[Davcruz]

Your right, they should've shipped 'em all with 5th wheel hitch's and goose neck balls.



Scott

Sarcasm noted.



Seriously, I had not even really looked at the hitch, which was my mistake as I know better. But there are many folks out there that do not know better and they buy these trucks with the factory tow package thinking they can drive off the lot and tow a 10,000+ lb RV or something and then probably do it!



I can see this hitch on a 1/2 ton, but a 3/4 or larger just doesn't seem right to me.

 

[Davcruz]

You can get weight distro with up to a 9" drop... .

Thanks for the FYI, I was not aware and apparently neither where some of the shops I talked to about my situation. Regardless, WD setups are quite pricey and not always the simpler way to go.

 

[GAmes]

There is no standard for class III, IV, V, etc. If you look at the different manufacturers web sites you will see the discrepancy. That being said, the factory receiver is prone to fail if you do not use W/D, but it isn't the pull weight, it is the hitch weight. If you look again that rating is 500 W/O W/D and 1000 with. If you hang 1000 pounds of dead weight on your hitch without W/D you are going to have drivability problems anyway. I put a lot of towing miles on my stock receiver before it failed, and it was my fault it did. A cargo trailer with a deck welded to the front of the frame kept me from using W/D and the mounts literally tore about an inch. That trailer also beat me to death from Ft. Worth to Bellingham, Wa because the rear overload spring was bouncing off the overload bracket. By the way, the ratings on your new "class IV" hitch are also predicated on using a W/D. Without one the hitch weight limit is more than likely 600 pounds. Not much of an improvement over stock.

 

[TAbbott]

I think the factory hitches on the 3rd Gen 2500/3500 trucks are supposed to be Class IV. I realize you're talking about a 2nd Gen truck but I'm also surprised your factory hitch was only a Class III.

 

[SSolderitch]

My hitch is bent sideways about 1 1/4". From previous owner. The custom steel bumper which had the licence plate mounted above the receiver is not in the center of the truck. I will fix soon. NOW for my question: I plan on straighting out the hitch and then welding in some gussets closer to the frame mounting and then down to the cross tube. Where is the next weakest area? My 6'x16' utility (car)trailer gvw 7K max (may see 8k), however the tandems are set to the rear, leaving alot on the toung. I had a 3500# car and the camper springs were not even close to touching the pads and the rubber disk bumper on the thick bottom spring still could still turn (not touching). I have to haul a full sized 4x4 jeep wagoneer tomarrow, so we will see what the springs do then. I bought the blocks for above the camper springs but they are not installed. I think it looks worse because of the leveling kit (QC+8' bed)? Last Q: If I upgrade the hitch, which brand is the beefiest? Or with some guessets, tube & plates added to OEM be OK?

 

[AH64ID]

Thanks for the FYI, I was not aware and apparently neither where some of the shops I talked to about my situation. Regardless, WD setups are quite pricey and not always the simpler way to go.

No but they are a much better way to tow... I just got my first and really like it.

 

[Davcruz]

There is no standard for class III, IV, V, etc. If you look at the different manufacturers web sites you will see the discrepancy. That being said, the factory receiver is prone to fail if you do not use W/D, but it isn't the pull weight, it is the hitch weight. If you look again that rating is 500 W/O W/D and 1000 with. If you hang 1000 pounds of dead weight on your hitch without W/D you are going to have drivability problems anyway. I put a lot of towing miles on my stock receiver before it failed, and it was my fault it did. A cargo trailer with a deck welded to the front of the frame kept me from using W/D and the mounts literally tore about an inch. That trailer also beat me to death from Ft. Worth to Bellingham, Wa because the rear overload spring was bouncing off the overload bracket. By the way, the ratings on your new "class IV" hitch are also predicated on using a W/D. Without one the hitch weight limit is more than likely 600 pounds. Not much of an improvement over stock.

The Class IV I had installed is rated at 10,000/1,000 tongue standard and 12,000 WD. I did note that not all IV hitches where rated the same though.

 

[jkern]

got the factory tow package on my 99 and it is a class IV rated at 1k and 10k... says right on the sticker. but i have had two problems... first it was recalled and the dealer added two more mounts between the hitch and the frame and the 5/8" pin hole is wearing causing a lot of slop in the hitch... gonna get a new one some day just for safety sake.

 

[Joe Mc]

I wonder how many guys are out there towing heavy that didn't even have the hitch recall taken care of? You know the recall where DC bolted two support brackets from rear of the hitch to the frame ? ? ? ?



This was one of the first things I learned on the good old TDR after I bought my 99 in 01. Got to love the TDR . .

 

[rowilson]

With how inexpensive a quality aftermarket reciever costs I can't see why anyone that takes towing any type of load seriously would keep the stock one. Check out the ones built by Putnam right here in the USA. Weaver seems to have the best price on them and deliver right to your door. VERY cost effective and built so much better than the stock one.

 

[GAmes]

The Class IV I had installed is rated at 10,000/1,000 tongue standard and 12,000 WD. I did note that not all IV hitches where rated the same though.

You may want to look at the tag again, those numbers are way out of the norm. IIRC the stock hitch was 500tongue wt/5000 trailer wt w/o a W/D and 1000/10000 W/D. My new hitch is 750/7500 w/o and 1500/15,000 with. A receiver that can hold 1000 pounds w/o a W/D would have to be pretty beefy, and if it was it sure would handle more than 12,000 with a W/D.

 

[SRath]

At least on my '96, Dodge provided a fully matched "trailer towing package": A weak hitch and a wiring harness that melted the headlight switch down when I plugged so much as a little two-wheel boat trailer into it... Of course, the truck's own headlights can do that by themselves, too.



I received a recall for the trailer towing wiring harness after I had already made my own piggyback towing harness with relays. I also built my own hitch that attaches to the frame all the way past the rear axle in multiple locations using 1/2 inch thick steel brackets and 12 half inch grade 8 bolts on each side. It's stronger than the truck frame, which isn't all that beefy past the rear axle.



Apparently, some of us have slightly different ideas about what constitutes a "heavy duty trailer towing package" than DC does.



Do your's the way you need it, then you can relax and enjoy the best part of the truck (which wasn't made by DC): the Cummins!

 

[Davcruz]

You may want to look at the tag again, those numbers are way out of the norm. IIRC the stock hitch was 500tongue wt/5000 trailer wt w/o a W/D and 1000/10000 W/D. My new hitch is 750/7500 w/o and 1500/15,000 with. A receiver that can hold 1000 pounds w/o a W/D would have to be pretty beefy, and if it was it sure would handle more than 12,000 with a W/D.

I looked at the numbers several times. it is exactly what I stated. 10K/1K WT, 12K/1. 2K WD. Says it right on the sticker and yes it is a pretty chunky piece made by Valley. Ran me $209 + install (which I would normally do, but it was raining hard and they only wanted $45).

 

[MAllen]

i was looking at my receiver hitch and noticed there are cracks at the rear of the receiver hitch where it bolts up to the frame. I just assumed this thing was strong enough, I guess I assumed wrong. Will the recall still add the extra braces?

 

[GAmes]

i was looking at my receiver hitch and noticed there are cracks at the rear of the receiver hitch where it bolts up to the frame. I just assumed this thing was strong enough, I guess I assumed wrong. Will the recall still add the extra braces?

That is where mine failed. I didn't even check into Dodge's cheesey repair. There are a lot of 2" receivers to be had that are built better. The one I described cost less than $150. If you need one that will support a higher non- W/D wt this is the one that Davcruz had installed. Valley Class IV Trailer Hitch Receiver V82520 : Trailer hitch bike rack and trailer hitches - etrailer.com



I can't get over that low W/D weight rating.

 

[Davcruz]

That is where mine failed. I didn't even check into Dodge's cheesey repair. There are a lot of 2" receivers to be had that are built better. The one I described cost less than $150. If you need one that will support a higher non- W/D wt this is the one that Davcruz had installed. Valley Class IV Trailer Hitch Receiver V82520 : Trailer hitch bike rack and trailer hitches - etrailer.com



I can't get over that low W/D weight rating.

That's it! Good find. I paid $209 for mine from a local place. I have no intention of going WD so I was not concerned with that rating, although most hitches I have seen are rated for 50% more capacity and tongue weight when used with a WD setup.



You can't really tell from the picture on that site, but the Valley hitch makes my factory hitch look small.