Tow/Classification Rating of Dodge's Factory Optional Hitch

[lawdog1]

Buddy of mine and I have been trying to figure out the weight rating or classification of the hitch Dodge provides with their '03 towing package. We know the '02 Dodge hitch was rated 5K straight up or 10K load distributing, but we cannot find any "official Dodge" information about the new '03 hitch. We have looked in the brochure, on Dodge's website, and for a sticker on hitches installed on 2500/3500's at the dealer, no luck. We both assume Dodge's '03 hitch is still a weak 5K/10K, but we really would like to see something official from Dodge... Can anybody point us to something "official" regarding the '03 Towing Package hitch rating??? Thanks for your help.

 

[Casey Balvert]

An Owner's Manual Addendum that I received from DC states the hitch is rated at 12,000 pounds. I read somewhere that the max tongue weight is 1200 pounds. Not sure what the not load distributing hitch trailer weight would be.



Casey

 

[kbarlow]

lawdog1



I think for the 3500 SRW it is 10000 lbs. The dually gets the 12000 lbs. because of the big butt.



Cheers Ken

 

[dandlwiley]

I found the tongue weight rating (1200# with WD hitch) on the Dodge site under the towing section. It's a class IV with 2" receiver. We want to add a Titan V like we have now--a 2. 5" receiver and Reece is working on it.

 

[Casey Balvert]

Ken,



Do I detect a hint of "BIG BUTT ENVY" there?



Casey

 

[lawdog1]

I believe I found out the answer to this question. First, thank you for all the replies they pointed me in the right direction. I went to the local dealer today with my buddy. My buddy owns a 24v '01 2500 and I have been talking to him about upgrading to a '03 3500. He wanted to test drive a new one so I escorted him to the dealer. While there we got our hands on a 2003 Owner's Manuals and the "yellow page" owner's manual addendums. Well here is what we found out... Any 2003 2500/3500 SRW or DRW that is ordered with the factory tow package comes with a Class IV trailer hitch. This hitch is good for 12K, not 10K, 12K, straight up, no load bearing hitch required!! That means that the $300 trailer towing package option is well worth the money; especially if you don't need a 5th wheel and considering no aftermarket hitch maker has a proven hitch for the '03! As a side note, the bumper itself is good for 5k, but who would use that. Finally, it appears Dodge is installing a decent hitch setup from the factory!!



P. S. If you want to see a damn funny/scary story about our test drive see my new post in the engine/drivetrain section.

 

[Sawbones]

Lawdog, can you confirm that you saw in writing from Dodge that the 12,000# rating did not require weight distributing hardware? I've not been able to find this yet.



Most class 4 hitches have a GTW of around 5000#, and a WD (weight distributing) rating of 10k - 12k #'s.



The Reese class 5 hitch (not yet available for the '03 3500) has a GTW of 12k, and WD 14k.

 

[lawdog1]

James,



I read the owner's manual (10K allowed) and addendum which modifies the manual (12K allowed). Neither mentioned anything about weight distribution. This is a drastic change from the old information that used to come with Dodge trailer tow packages Pre-'03. They used to specify and it was Dodge's company position that any trailer over 5K had to have a weight distribution hitch or you were voiding the warranty.



As for you statement about Class IV hitches in general requiring weight distribution hitches for over 5K, I can provide no insight on that matter. However, I am not completely comfortable with the 5K line in the sand for requiring weight distribution. (A Class III trailer hitch can tow 6K without weight distribution, so where did the 5K limit come from???) My understanding after reading the manual and addendum and talking to the fleet manager and friends is that the weight distribution issue is "generally" not a strength of the hitch issue... . Weight distribution hitches were intended to keep the rear end sag to a minimum and ensure that the front wheels stay firmly planted on the ground. The fleet manager said that frame and suspension changes on the '03 allowed the changes to the current hitch rating by eliminating or seriously reducing the chance of the front wheel rising up during towing.



From my read and my interpretation of the language in the '03 Owners Manual and Addendum, which contain NO mention, none at all in the towing/tow rating section of the manual, of anything about weight distribution, the current Dodge hitch is good to 12K without weight distribution. I welcome and encourage other comments and would appreciate it if anyone who has other contrary information would post it, with a reference to the actual materials so I can check it out. Thanks, hope this helps.

 

[Sawbones]

My '02 Suburban 1500 stock hitch is labeled 5000# GTW and 10,000 WD.



My '02 Avalanche 2500 is labeled 5000# GTW and 12,000# WD.



The Reese web site (www.reeseprod.com) lists their class 3 hitch as 5000# GTW, their Class 4 as 7500# GTW and 12,000# WD, while their class 5 has 12,000# GTW and 14,000# WD.



There seems to be a lot af variation between and amongst the classes, wish there was and industry standard.



I think there's a class 5 hitch in my future as soon as one becomes available.

 

[lawdog1]

Any idea on when Reese or any other hitch manufacturer will have a class V hitch available for the '03???

 

[kmcdonough]

Both Kelly Blue Book and Edmunds list the trailer tow package as including a class IV receiver. An article in the Nov. /Dec. , 2002 issue of Truck Trend magazine lists hitch classes, with a class IV being 8,000 GTW, 12,000 with WD hitch. The Dodge web site gives towing capacities for specific truck configurations but does not have SRW (which is really a delete option) as a configuration choice for tow ratings. Possibly the 12,000 # rating listed in the yellow addendum card is for a DRW?



Kevin McD.

 

[lawdog1]

kmcdonough,



I am sure the 12K is applicable to all 2500 and 3500 Dodge trucks, not just the DRW 3500. The addendum states that 2500/3500 have a 12K tow limit with the factory installed tow package. (I read it with my own two eyeballs... ) Again, the addendum and the manual do not mention weight distribution, but upon reviewing Reese's website and the other posts in this section, I feel that maybe the 12K limit is with weight distribution. Man, you have got to love vagueness and ambiguity. We should all write Dodge and thank them for the clarity of the manual and addendum. 'Course I guess the corporate lawyers need it to be vague so they can argue about whether or not we voided the warranty...

 

[kbarlow]

My Story,



Not having received an "Addendum", I call DC customer service. They advise that it does not apply to my truck. SOooo, I says ... ... . " What do I have to do to upgrade my truck from a 3500 to a 2500, so that I can pull 12000 lbs. " She says "Check with the Service Dept. "



Service Manager laughs and rolls his eyes. He & I both believe there is a simple answer.



I love dealing with this Company.

 

[kmcdonough]

I spoke with my dealer and he faxed me page 10 of a manual titled "2003 DODGE TRUCK TOWING". On that page it classifies hitches, classes I-V. It reads that a "class III - Heavy Duty" hitch is a 5,000 # max and WD hitch is recommended. Then it reads a "class IV - extra-heavy duty" hitch is 10,000# max and WD hitch is required. I owned a 2000 Ford and the factory installed hitch said 5,000 GTW/10,000 WD. So my guess is that even though it is a Class IV hitch the max is only 5,000 without a WD hitch. If I can figure out how to convert the fax file, I will post the fax.



Kevin McD.

 

[kmcdonough]

I cant attach the page showing my post above due to the file size. If anyone is interested in seeing it let me know and I will e-mail it to you.



Kevin McD.

 

[kbarlow]

My Story Part 2



Dealer calls back and advises that the Technical Dept. of DC has never heard of this weight change to 12000 lbs. He has lots of owners manuals for unsold trucks that have this yellow addendum. I wonder what happens now?



:--) This is going to be FUN.

 

[SOLER]

I'm looking at getting a motorcycle carrier, and my bike weighs 575 lbs. I was wondering if anyone has heard anything different about the factory hitch ratings. I'm looking at my owner's manual, and it doesn't mention the use of a WD to get the max ratings. It just says 12,000 lbs for the weight, and 1,200 lbs for the tongue.



Is there any new info out there?



Also, is there any new info on installing a hitch without keeping the factory unit? I'm looking at a Hidden Hitch, Class V Magnum Receiver Hitch. It's rated for up to 10,000 lbs. Gross Towing Weight with a maximum of 1,000 lbs. tongue weight.

Hitch is rated for up to 14,000 lbs. Gross Towing Weight with a maximum of 1,400 lbs. tongue weight when combined with the use of properly installed weight distribution equipment. I don't want to be concerned with the tongue weight. If I tow a trailer, I can use a WD hitch if I need to. But what do I do for a bike carrier?



Thanks.



SOLER

 

[Rockcrawler]

My humble experience...

First off, Reese makes a titan, I saw one in stock at the Uhaul/hitch shop in St. George UT. It is for the gen 3 trucks I'm certain, and beefy.



I tow about 8-9000# enclosed trailer about 20k+ a yr. Until 3 months ago I used no WD setup. My hitch weight on race car scales is 1000-1200#. Over time (and bumps), the factory hitch will "sag". It actually rotates where mounted in the frame rails (plenty of clearance where the bolts go thru) and will even bend the end of the frame rail lower portion. The frame rail has a backwards "C" notched out of it where the hitch fits, it's the lower leg of the C which will bend down. the whole thing mounts in about a 6 inch diameter pattern rather than have "runners" extending up the frame (like we're used to seeing and the titan does)



I straightened mine a few months ago, retorqued the hitch and now use a WD hitch (Equalizer brand, it's awesome and without equal). you have to jack the bed up to remove the hitch by the way.



I know many won't tow as many miles as I do or different loads- but you will likely eventually see the same results that I did. The WD hitch really improved the handling of the whole setup considerably



Edit- I had considered fabbing some runners to extend up the frame rails to prevent rotation on the hitch. With the WD I don't feel I need to do that. It would be easy enough to do and I would do it if I was not using the WD hitch.

 

[jsimpson]

I dunno; I just pulled my 6000 pound Avion (empty) up the state with the factory hitch without a "hitvh"!

 

[DPelletier]

OK,

I've responded to these hitch threads a few times already, but here goes;



- The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) are the ones that come up with the hitch classifications. A Class IV hitch (such as the one that Dodge claims they install on our trucks) is rated by SAE at 500 lbs dead weight and 5,000 lbs towing capacity and 1,000 lbs hitch weight and 10,000 lbs towing with weight distributing bars. I did an extensive search a while back and can find no other criteria from SAE. I would agree that information is hard to find and sparse.



- From an engineering perspective the WD bars do a lot more than simply change the way the weight of the trailer tongue acts on the vehicle's suspension. They change the point loading on the hitch fasteners. As Rockcrawler has found out, WD bars change the way the hitch reacts to the tongue weight. Simply put, the hitch can handle more weight with the bars than it can without.



- Dodge claims the hitch is a class IV, but then claims a 12,000 lb tow capacity. These statements are contradictory as far as I can ascertain. Perhaps this is why not all of us got a paper raising the 10,000 lb limit to 12,000.



Ultimately if DC says we can tow 12,000 lbs with the truck using the factory hitch, then I'm sure it's OK, BUT I WOULD STRONGLY RECOMMEND THAT ANYONE WITH OVER 500 LBS TONGUE WEIGHT OR 5,000 LBS TRAILER WEIGHT USE THE WEIGHT DISTRIBUTING HITCH SET-UP. Maybe you can use your discretion and decide that 600/6000 is OK given DC's apparent upping of the Class IV ratings, but that's up to you.



My 2. 5 cents on the issue



Dave