U-Haul Manager: 6000lb. tow capacity for 2500???

[Crunch]

I'm going to be towing a 1985 Oldsmobile Delta 88 tomorrow (560 miles) and picked up the auto transport today. When the U-Haul people were going through the checklist to see if my vehicle could handle the tow I mentioned that it has a 12,000 lb towing capacity. The manager insisted that the towing capacity is really only 6000 lbs, and I would need to use weight distribution bars if I wanted to pull more than that. The trailer and vehicle together probably don't go over the 6000 lbs. he recommended, but I thought it was a strange comment. The auto transport rides low, but hauling it the 60 miles or so to the car being towed it didn't have any problems. Rode exceptionally smooth, in my opinion. I thought the weight distribution bars were only when you got near the towing capacity. Anyone know what gives here, and when weight distribution bars are needed?

 

[Cattletrkr]

... 1985 Oldsmobile Delta 88...

Drove one of those in college. Extremely fast for a big tub of $#%. Awesome car. Kinda hurt to be on the pit crew when my cousin's kid demo'd it last fall. Had been in the family since new. For some stupid reason I managed to pull the keys before they hauled it off, sort of a keepsake I guess.



Anyways, sorry I can't be of any help with the other stuff.

 

[GFritsch]

My understanding is that a weight distributing hitch is designed to remove some of the weight off the rear axle of your truck, and put it on the front axle, and the trailor axle(s). Someone who knows more might correct me here. Could be the trailer that u-haul uses has the trailor axles far enough back that you will wind up with alot of weight on the hitch. I did rent a trailer from u-haul a few years to tow a full size chevy p/u with my 94 Dodge, and not equalizing hitch was required.



Good luck,

Greg

 

[Scrappy]

They tried to tell me the same thing for my 3500 when I needed something to tow my Durango! they said that my durango weighed too much for my truck to handle and they wouldn't rent a trailer to me. their book said that my truck came with a class 3 hitch and they wouldn't budge from the book even though I have a class 5 hitch on it.

 

[dhill]

The book for my '05 says "for a class IV hitch, tounge weights over 350 lbs. need an equalizing hitch. "" Also 60% to 65% of the weight must be in front of the axles to sufficiently place 10% to 15% of the GTW on the tow hitch of your vehicle. " It also states that the maxium tounge weight rating for a class IV hitch is 1200#.

I don't know for sure, but it looks to me that without an equalizing hitch the maxium trailer weight would be about 3500#. I'm probably wrong on that though.



Dave

 

[Tim]

Absolutely. The stock hitch is not rated for any reasonable kind of weight without the weight distributing system. That is why I have it.

 

[rbattelle]

Please excuse my ignorance, but is the weight distributor part of the receiver or part of the hitch? In other words, can I put on a weight distributing hitch with no modifications to my existing tow package?



-Ryan

 

[WhiteSheep]

Dave is correct that to approach the full towing capacity of the Ram with a bumper dragger, a weight distributing hitch is required. The key here is tongue weight. Most weight distributing hitches don't require modification to the truck or hitch mounted to the truck. A special ball mount with the weight distributing hardware slides into the receiver just like a regular ball mount. The special hardware is on the trailer. There are also bars and chains involved. You will know if you need it if you exceed the tongue weight and/or the wight of the trailer forces your hitch down significantly. I would suggest that you go to etrailer.com to look at all the different stuff they have.



My travel trailer is set up with weight distributing hitch, but I don't use it with the RAM. The trailer's gross weight is under 6,000 lbs. I have never had any problem. Putting this same trailer behind my Grand Cherokee is a different thing. I don't tow much with the GC anymore.



WhiteSheep

 

[HBarlow]

I suspect the interpretation you were given comes from the U-Haul corporate legal department not from accurate specs from a manufacturer and reflects a lack of actual knowledge and experience at the local U-Haul rental facility level. In other words, limiting legal liability.



It is true that receiver hitch platforms usually have two sets of weights listed on a decal affixed to the receiver. The listed tongue and gross weight capacity without a load equalizing hitch set up is usually pretty low and hitches are rated much higher when weight distributing bars are used. However, for occasional short trips our Dodges will do fine without spring bars. I pull trailers with very heavy tongue weight w/o spring bars all the time. I do periodically inspect my hitch platform (an aftermarket replacement) for stress fatigue.



Harvey

 

[Tim]

If I wanted to pull heavy with a weight carrying hitch, I'd get a Reese Titan or the big Drawtite and be done with it. Since my trailer has electric brakes, I just use the spring bars. Makes for much more control.



To whoever asked, the weight distributing system attaches to your ball mount. It doesn't require any modification to your truck at all.

 

[Jdonoghue]

That's why whenever I rent an auto transport from U-Haul I'm always using it to haul a 1983 Ford Escort

 

[cwbyinjeep]

anyone here towing around 9,000lbs with the stock hitch? I am assuming the 2500 + 3500's have the same hitch. I have the owners manual, but the hitch itself has no ratings. I believe in being very safe when it comes to my equipment and eventually I will have a gooseneck trailer and all will be well. But for now I have a 12k bumper pull trailer that's usually about 9k when loaded and headed for the mountains with my Jeep. I am wondering if I should upgrade to an aftermarket class V receiver because I am doubting the stock hitch is more then a Class III if even a Class IV. Using wieght distribution really isnt much of an option, I have severe gravel switchbacks to tow around and even with 4x4 its just not a good idea to have load distribution.

 

[OTRPU]

Don't know nuttin bout a 3/4 ton, I haul with ton Duallies. Also my hitches have been swapped out. But I tow lots of tag campers and don't even consider equalizer bars until I reach 35 feet. Dealers object to the frame saddles marking the frames on new trailers when the bolt lands against the inside frame channel. But I have air bag assists on the Ram to regain ride height. I've weighed three points with this truck and several trailers, and without equalizer bars I only loose around 40 lbs off the front axle with a 39 foot camper trailer. But I'm stretched 4 ft and scale 10k alone. I don't mind using them, just have had several dealers try and claim driver damage due to scratches on the frame from mounting the saddles. I could carry a can of spray paint and stop early and remove the hardware and shoot over the scratches but black isn't always black. I don't think I've ever seen a bumper pull auto transport using equlizer bars. But I'm no expert, my Rams sitting in Great Falls, MT short the right rear corner. . . again.



#ad




Cheers,

Steve J

 

[Crunch]

anyone here towing around 9,000lbs with the stock hitch? I am assuming the 2500 + 3500's have the same hitch. I have the owners manual, but the hitch itself has no ratings. I believe in being very safe when it comes to my equipment and eventually I will have a gooseneck trailer and all will be well. But for now I have a 12k bumper pull trailer that's usually about 9k when loaded and headed for the mountains with my Jeep.

What are you defining as a "bumper pull"? To me a bumper pull is a hitch ball mounted on one of the three holes in the bumper. I have the tow package and the receiver-style hitch on my truck, and purchased a Hidden Hitch/2" Ball rated to 12,000lbs. I also purchased a locking pin that uses the vending machine type key. I always assumed it was a Class IV hitch, but the U-Haul manager said it was a Class III. Does anyone know how to tell what type hitch is on the truck, or know of a web site that explains the differences between hitch classes?



Regardless, the towing part of the trip went fine. I didn't even know I was towing a 4000lb. car except when I looked in the rear view mirror. Most of my towing experience has been with covered trailers, and I was occasionally startled to see a big old tuna-boat car looking like it was about to come up over the bed. The one problem was when the left tire on the front axle of the auto transport disintegrated and threw chunks of rubber all over the highway. I pulled over and called the U-Haul hotline. As you can expect, the wait took almost 4 hours, and the actual tire/wheel change took 15 minutes. All in all I thought the auto transport was a terrible trailer--a short trailer with channels for the tires while the front and back of the vehicle hung way over the edges. It used webbed straps that fit over the front tires. I originally expected (and hoped for) it to be a flat bed trailer with a wooden plank deck and chains to secure the vehicle near the 4 wheels.

 

[cwbyinjeep]

Bumper pull as in trailer classification. We should all know the bumper isnt good for more then a couple thousand pounds if that. I would like to know what class the factory tow package "hidden hitch" is rated for. I am willing to bet class III, but maybe a class IV which is still less hitch then what the Ram 3500 DRW is rated for.

 

[Steve St.Laurent]

According to this thread the factory 03+ hitch is a class IV https://www.turbodieselregister.com/forums/showthread.php?t=68022 . Surely your owners manual somewhere in it states what the hitch is rated to carry - look in the towing section. Myself I upgrade to a draw-tite class V because I tow a 35' TT that has a 900 lb tongue weight and weighs 8,500 lbs. I didn't want to mess with weight distributing bars and my hitch is rated to 1,000/10,000 weight carrying.

 

[Crunch]

According to this thread the factory 03+ hitch is a class IV https://www.turbodieselregister.com/forums/showthread.php?t=68022 . Surely your owners manual somewhere in it states what the hitch is rated to carry - look in the towing section. Myself I upgrade to a draw-tite class V because I tow a 35' TT that has a 900 lb tongue weight and weighs 8,500 lbs. I didn't want to mess with weight distributing bars and my hitch is rated to 1,000/10,000 weight carrying.

In the past it was the owner's manual I went by. It was what the U-Haul manager said that got me confused. I've always believed that the receiver-style hitch on our trucks was a Class IV hitch, but he referred to it as a Class III hitch while he was looking right at it. But even the owner's manual is recommending the use of an "equalizing hitch" and "trailer sway control" for tongue weights above 350lbs (page 243 in the `03 owner's manual) with either a Class III or Class IV hitch. Here's the relevant text from the `03 owner's manual:



`03 Owner's Manual, pp. 241-242:

"A frame mounted hitch of up to Class IV rating, as rated by the hitch manufacturer, is supplied as part of the trailer tow prep package. With a Class IV Hitch, you can tow a trailer with a Gross Trailer Weight of up to 12,000 lbs (5443 kg) maximum depending on your vehicle equipment. Tongue weight must be equal to at least 10% of the gross trailer weight (GTW), but no more than 15% of the GTW. ​

`03 Owner's Manual, pp. 243:

Equalizing hitch are required for Class III or IV trailer hitches and tongue weights above 350 lbs (159 kg) and use of trailer sway control is recommended. ​

`03 Owner's Manual, pp. 244:

NOTE: The recommended tongue weight is between 10 and 15% of the trailer weight. However, the maximum tongue weight on Class III (the bumper ball) is limited to 500 lbs (227 kg), and Class IV (the receiver hitch) to 1200 lbs (544 kg) This requirement overrides any recommended GTW rating, between 10% and 15% of gross trailer weight (GTW). Additionally, the GAWRs and GVWRs should never be exceedede. ​

Sounds like everyone is playing the CYA game when it comes to towing and weight distribution. I didn't notice any control problems or observe anything negative regarding this 6000lb. tow. And based on the sections of the owner's manual above, I think the U-Haul manager was dead wrong in referring to my hitch as a Class III. I was pleased as punch with the way the truck handled what I consider to be a relatively light tow. And here's my obligatory fuel economy statement: When I kept my foot off the pedal I was able to get approximately 16MPG. Since I didn't keep my foot off the go pedal I got between 14mpg and 15mpg, mostly closer to 14mpg.



But with all this said, if the "receiver hitch" is a Class IV, what is the smaller receiver hitch found in minivans and small SUV's rated at? It's about 1/2 -2/3 the width of ours.

 

[Steve St.Laurent]

Those are class II hitches - 350 lbs TW, 3,500 lbs GTW. Go to http://www.draw-tite.com/ and click on hitches and then they have the different classes and what they are rated at listed there. Doesn't your hitch have a sticker on it saying what it's rated to? Usually they do. My factory hitch on my 98 said right on it 500/5,000 weight carrying 1,000/10,000 weight distributing. I believe the U-haul guy was correct that over 6,000 lbs you should have a weight distributing hitch with the stock receiver - it may actually be over 5,000 lbs like mine was.

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

I towed 10,500 lbs recently with the factory hitch on my '96 without distribution bars. The hay was loaded so it wouldn't put a lot of weight on the tongue, the trailer bore at least 96-97% of the weight I'd guess. It was stable on the 300 mile trip. If I did it very often I'd definitely upgrade my hitch to a Class V though.



Vaughn

 

[Crunch]

Those are class II hitches - 350 lbs TW, 3,500 lbs GTW. Go to http://www.draw-tite.com/ and click on hitches and then they have the different classes and what they are rated at listed there. Doesn't your hitch have a sticker on it saying what it's rated to? Usually they do. My factory hitch on my 98 said right on it 500/5,000 weight carrying 1,000/10,000 weight distributing.

The Hidden Hitch and ball I purchased to fit the receiver that came with the truck has a sticker rating it to the full 12,000lbs. I intentionally purchased it for the 12,000 capacity. I also crawled under the truck and looked at the receiver setup that came with the truck. It looks a lot beefier than the Class V equipment shown here:



http://www.diynet.com/DIY/mmo/CCR-101/hitch_guide.pdf



There is a large round and shaped frame tube that is mounted both through and to the left and right side of the frame, and the center is mounted to the bumper. It looks like the towing capacity should be limited only by what the truck frame can handle. Earlier in this thread someone mentioned that they passed a bolt through the bumper and into the top of the receiver for added strength. I don't believe this adds anything, since the receiver is already bolted to the bumper (center/back).

I believe the U-haul guy was correct that over 6,000 lbs you should have a weight distributing hitch with the stock receiver - it may actually be over 5,000 lbs like mine was.

That may be the case, but I can't recall ever seeing anyone use weight distribution bars when towing, including myself. Weight distribution must be one of the most disregarded recommendations out there... that and brushing after every meal.