? on '05 factory receiver hitch

[formula]

I was under my truck having a look at the factory receiver hitch. To me it looks a bit sketchy. I have a boat trailer that's around 6k lbs. Should the factory hitch be ok for this or would it be better to look into a heavier one from Reese, etc. ??



Sean

 

[MACHINEST]

You should be great with that hitch and pulling 6,000 lbs ,it's rated for 10,000 lbs there should be a sticker on it with the max pull weight and hitch weight...

 

[mberry]

Make sure you are looking at the hitch itself, not the info on the bumper. I did that once and confused the heck out of myself before I realized what I was doing.

 

[formula]

I crawled under the truck and had a closer look at the hitch last night. I could not find any tags on it except for what looked to be a part number sticker. The owner's manual says that it's rated for 12k. It just doesn't look that strong to me. I suppose that the boat trailer is relatively light so it shouldn't be an issue.



Sean

 

[supersonic]

I've had a little over 14k on our 05 around the farm (dump trailer) without any probs. You should be fine.

 

[Racechaser]

You'd be suprised at how strong that hitch is. I'm in the auto body damage field and I saw two different trucks this winter that were hit in the back, (not towing anything), and the frame rails in the back bent ahead of the hitch, the hitch itself was not bent at all !!!!

 

[macdaddy]

Been pulling 10K with 1500lbs hitch w/LD since 11/04 no worries!!!!!!!.



Mac

 

[Blu-meanie]

I was kinda looking at mine because I wanted a class V (something the cheap sob's should have had to begin with). It looks like it's pretty much part of the truck. I haven't looked too much into it yet because it takes a few months before a manufacture makes a replacement.

 

[Joseph Donnelly]

I believe Reese and Valley have stuff. I found the stocker to be OK, weight carrying it is probably good for 500lb tongue weight and 5000 lb trailer weight; in weight distributing mode (with the spring bars) it is good for 12,000 lb trailers. I went for the Reunel rear bumper whose receiver is good for 15,000 lb.

 

[KWheaton]

I have 3 Dodge 3/4 ton trucks and have broken 2 hitches! First was my 2000, my employees use to haul a 20ft. Haulmark enclosed trailer with 2 lawn mowers inside, (Pics in rigs gallery). It has a tongue weight of about 500-600 lbs. and a gross of maybe 6000lbs. They must have hit some railroad tracks hard or something cause the hitch peeled away from the frame, breaking off near 4 bolts in rear, only 2 were left holding the whole thing together. Got a new class 4 hitch from the local hitch center, they said that Dodge buys the cheapest they can get. My next broken hitch was on my 2001. (Pics in Rigs Gallery) Been hauling a 24 ft. Haulmark for 3 years, same deal, full of mowers, weighs in at 7-8k w/ tongue weight of maybe 7-800 lbs. , funny thing about this hitch was that it broke with a 350lb. back blade snow plow on it, guess that plow put too much strain on that stock cheap hitch. Same hitch center says the new one is probably stonger than the frame rails on the truck, so no more worries.



Just be careful what you haul and how heavy it is, and inspect the hitch from time to time. Your boat should be fine for quite a while. If in doubt, pay the $250 or so for peace of mind.



Kevin

 

[DPelletier]

I believe Reese and Valley have stuff. I found the stocker to be OK, weight carrying it is probably good for 500lb tongue weight and 5000 lb trailer weight; in weight distributing mode (with the spring bars) it is good for 12,000 lb trailers. I went for the Reunel rear bumper whose receiver is good for 15,000 lb.

Joe's on the right track. Technically the stocker is a Class IV, which means 500/5000 or 1000/10000 WITH WD BARS. The manual states 12,000, which implies we maybe have a "modified" class IV.



My suggestion;



- If your at or below 500/5000, then use the factory hitch w/o WD bars



- If you're between 500/5000 and 1200/12000, use the factory hitch with WD bars



- If you're over 1200/12000, replace the factory hitch with a "class V" (even though there is no such SAE rating).



... and when in doubt, error on the side of caution.



Dave