Hitch loading - Page 2

Bluedogjeff · 11-09-2012, 08:53 PM

Take a good look at your receiver. Most class 3 receivers, are rated for 500lb tongue weight and 5000 trailer weight unsupported, and 1000lb tongue weight and 10,000 trailer weight with a weight distribution hitch installed.

Nana & Poppy · 11-10-2012, 01:23 AM

Gordon, let me tell you, if your not on your soap box, I'll be on mine!

Vern · 11-10-2012, 04:28 AM

Hope I'm not throwing gasoline on a fire, But . . . .

I didn't mention this before, but my truck's rear bumper is designed for a towing weight not to exceed 10,000 lbs, and a tongue weight not to exceed 1,000 lbs. It has a ball that I use to pull my small flatbed trailer.

The U-Haul hitch is mounted right below, and, as I said before, it has a max towing weight of 5,000 lbs and a max tongue weight of 500 lbs.

My truck can haul 6,000 lbs in its bed, and it has oversized springs and shocks as well as a heavy duty rear axle. When I put 630 lbs on my U-Haul hitch, the truck remains level.

So what about physically tying the U-Haul hitch to the bumper hitch? Just for sake of argument, it would seem to increase the strength of both hitches by welding them together, wouldn't it?

Just looking at alternatives of throwing away a $600 U-Haul hitch and replacing it with a hitch of higher capacity.

Nana & Poppy · 11-10-2012, 01:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vern

Hope I'm not throwing gasoline on a fire, But . . . . well you did!

I didn't mention this before, but my truck's rear bumper is designed for a towing weight not to exceed 10,000 lbs, and a tongue weight not to exceed 1,000 lbs. It has a ball that I use to pull my small flatbed trailer.
Where did you get this info from????? This is MOST LIKELY the specs if you are using a weight distribution hitch!!!

This below taken from: www.thedieselstop.com/forums/f32/towing-capacity-01-7-3-f250-177582/
I have no idea what your tow vehicle is, but this may help you understand a bit more about hitches!

Crawl under the rear of the tow

vehicle and find the embossed area with the weight capacities stamped into the frame of the receiver. The big number will probably be 1,000/10,000 WD. That means your max receiver capacity is 1,000 pounds hitch weight and 10,000 pounds gross trailer weight provided you have a weight distributing hitch.

So rule 1 is do not try to tow 10,000 pounds unless you have a weight-distributing hitch.

If your empty trailer grosses more than 3,000 pounds, and if your receiver is rated 10,000 pounds WD, then you don't have enough receiver for the job. So replace your receiver with a Reese or Drawtite Tow Beast class V receiver, which has a WD capacity of 14,000 pounds and costs about $300. Click here then scroll down to the Tow Beast.

If you don't already have a weight-distributing hitch for that trailer, then you can get one from any RV or trailer hitch store - even from a U-Haul store. Be sure you get one for a hitch weight of at least 1,000 pounds. Click here for one on-line source. Note that the "shank" is probably separate, but you have to have one that matches the rest of the hitch and receiver. The shank is the part that fits into the receiver.

The U-Haul hitch is mounted right below, and, as I said before, it has a max towing weight of 5,000 lbs and a max tongue weight of 500 lbs.
Your dry weight on your trailer is 4096 pounds, your dry tongue weight is 504 pounds, 900 pounds is nothing to put into your TT and you are already over your tongue weight......

My truck can haul 6,000 lbs in its bed, and it has oversized springs and shocks as well as a heavy duty rear axle. When I put 630 lbs on my U-Haul hitch, the truck remains level. Glad you are level BUT you need a different hitch set up!!!!!!!!!

So what about physically tying the U-Haul hitch to the bumper hitch? Just for sake of argument, it would seem to increase the strength of both hitches by welding them together, wouldn't it?
?????

Just looking at alternatives of throwing away a $600 U-Haul hitch and replacing it with a hitch of higher capacity. Who suggested such an undersized U-Haul hitch to you in the first place????? Based on the specs for your trailer, this hitch is not sufficient to "safely" tow it.

Now I must get off my soap box!!!!!!!!!

Vern · 11-10-2012, 11:17 PM

I typed two replies, but both "evaporated" when I pressed "Post Quick Reply."

I asked the webmaster what I was doing wrong, but no reply yet.

Wanderer · 11-11-2012, 01:09 AM

Huh...can't think of why that would happen. Sorry.

Vern · 11-11-2012, 02:03 AM

I'm breaking my reply into short pieces.

I crawled under my truck again and wrote down the max hitch and tow weights. That's where the numbers came from. The hitch is like the one shown in the diagram sent earlier. It's a bolt-on hitch and not a load distributing hitch.

Vern · 11-11-2012, 02:07 AM

Am I correct that the reason you need a load distributing hitch is to keep the tow vehicle and the trailer level in hard braking?

What is the result of braking hard with a 5,000 lb trailer but not having a load distributing hitch?

Vern · 11-11-2012, 02:11 AM

The reason I got this particular U-Haul hitch was that I was pulling a small flatbed trailer behind my pickup camper. I had no idea I would be buying a travel trailer. I agree that this hitch is too small for my new trailer.

Vern · 11-11-2012, 02:15 AM

Next I need to find a load distributing hitch that's compatible with my truck wherein the spare tire is mounted under the truck bed. The load distributing hitches seem to block the spare tire. They do make hitches that don't block the spare tire, don't they?

Wanderer · 11-11-2012, 03:09 AM

I think that the best thing for you to do is to take your information about your TT to a proper hitch place and get them to tell you what hitch would be best for your application.

They'll also be able to show you what we mean here and then it'll be easier to understand.

You'll also get a quote on price. A little piece of mind goes a long way!

Nana & Poppy · 11-11-2012, 03:54 AM

I agree with Gordon....go to a good dealer in your area, make sure you bring all the specs for your trailer and truck with you....when he/she makes suggestions , if you want to run them by here, I'm sure that would be ok.....we can't "see" what it is that you are trying to describe, and you will be better informed seeing what we are talking about with a weight distribution system.....by the way this is NOT a hitch, it is something that attaches to you hitch and does not go under the truck to interfere with your spare tire.......

Vern · 11-11-2012, 04:11 AM

Hold on, folks. We've been calling this load distributing hitch a hitch but it isn't a hitch? Did I get that right?

And it doesn't go under the truck???

And it attaches to my hitch???

Yes, I agree that I'm going to have to talk to a dealer.

Thank you all. I have a headache.

Nana & Poppy · 11-11-2012, 02:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vern

Hold on, folks. We've been calling this load distributing hitch a hitch but it isn't a hitch? Did I get that right?

And it doesn't go under the truck???

And it attaches to my hitch???

Yes, I agree that I'm going to have to talk to a dealer.

Thank you all. I have a headache.

Sorry to have confused you or given you a headache! Perhaps a trip to the dealer will give yo a better insight as to what you have and what ? Are you near a Camping World, if so take a ride there and look at what we are referring to!

Nana & Poppy · 11-11-2012, 02:13 PM

Here is a photo of a ball to put on your bumper hitch!

Nana & Poppy · 11-11-2012, 02:18 PM

Here is a photo of a hitch to mount under your truck and a receiver that would go into the hitch, and you could use a ball mount in the photo above that would bolt to the receiver....is this what you have????

Nana & Poppy · 11-11-2012, 02:33 PM

OK - so you need to have the "hitch" as shown in pic #2 above to use with a weight distribution hitch/system.....pictures below are of the shank, which would replace the "receiver" in picture #2. You will also need a head assembly. And you would need a ball as in picture #1....sorry the pic of the ball is too large and not in the right sequence.....but it would attach to the head assembly........

Nana & Poppy · 11-11-2012, 02:38 PM

OK - now to the weight distribution portion of the hitch or the "system".
These are normally purchased as a complete set, but you can buy it in "pieces". Example, we have a heavier trailer now so we had to get heavier bars for our current system.

This attaches to "unit" in the above picture.....does any of this help you?????

Wanderer · 11-11-2012, 06:16 PM

Excellent way to show the different hitches and assembles N&P!

Vern · 11-12-2012, 10:33 PM

I think I am no longer confused. All along in this discussion I was thinking that the weight distribution hitch was somehow fastened under the truck, but I now understand that it isn't. In fact there are a couple of good videos on the internet that show exactly how the WDH is installed.

I went to my U-Haul dealer today and discovered that the hitch bolted underneath my truck is rated for a pulling load of 15,000 lbs. It was the ball mount that was rated for 5000 lbs GTW and 500 lbs tongue weight, and you can purchase ball mounts for greater weights.

However the WDS has its own shank, so no need to upgrade that.

Thank you everyone. You've been of tremendous help.

You may also like: