New receiver to avoid WDH setup?

[Highbeam]

Thanks guys. I absolutely will keep and use the WDH for RV towing in any case. As you can see in the photo I have set up the hitch system for that tall RV trailer and now need something else for the EQ trailer. I have no problem finding adequate receivers and hitches to carry the EQ trailer without WDH.

I've just always used WDH with heavier trailers in order to obey the ratings. If I upgrade the receiver so that the WDH is not required then I can skip the WDH on the EQ trailer but will still use it on the RV for the normal WDH benefits.

Was avoiding the 2.5" receivers since then you need to either buy a bushing or the very expensive 2.5" stuff and since my trailers GVWR is 10,000 I don't need the 2.5.

Has anybody replaced the receiver on a superduty, mine is a 2000, and did it require bed removal? The factory hitch is very simply bolted to only the bottom flange of the frame rail with 4 regular bolts on each side. Seems pretty wimpy too.

 

[slowzuki]

I put the factory 2.5" hitch on my SD a couple of years ago, everything is done from underneath. My truck is a 2001, I got the hitch off a 2009 dually that was having a wheel lift installed.

I tow up to about 16,000 with it without WD and it seems ok, but the WD sure smooths out the ride when the tongue is heavy. BTW cheap class 5 welded receivers bend nicely with too much tongue weight, the forged ones are much better.

 

[Highbeam]

Aren't all receivers welded? Do you mean the actual forged hitch that the ball bolts too? I have seen welded and forged hitches but the receivers all seem to be welded.

Great idea on the OEM take offs. I would prefer Factory equipment and if people really are putting on these super double hitches and dumping their OEM 2.5" hitch then I might be able to snatch one up.

 

[slowzuki]

Sorry yes, talking about the ball holder/hitch/tang, people around here always call them a receiver even though its wrong.

 

[RobertN]

I still have the stock hitch on my '01 Ram 2500. I do not haul very heavy, so it has been ok. It is a bit disappointing though, to see some of the low ratings for towing without a WDH.

I was surprised, when I got rearended some years back, that when the car more went under the truck, it bent both the Reese 4" drop hitch I had installed, and bent/bowed the receiver frame. Fortunately, the truck frame was fine.

The other thing I have found, is there is a real mix of components out there, so a buyer has to pay close attention get what they really need. For instance, I have seen a variety of weight ratings for 2" ball. And, for reciever inserts; they range all over the board. I really notice this at Wal-Mart and the general auto parts stores.

It is pretty easy to just buy a 2" or 4" drop hitch, a 2" ball, and then find they are only good for 3000lbs...

So my super duper 3/4 ton heavy duty truck, is limited by the reciever hitch. That can be further limited by the actual hitch insert. Which can the be limited by the ball.
So the truck really can not haul my 7000lb dual axle trailer loaded to capacity without WDH. Which still needs a properly specced hitch. And ball. and safety chains.

I wonder how many people out there towing really do not know what they actually have and are using.

 

[timswi]

I still have the stock hitch on my '01 Ram 2500. I do not haul very heavy, so it has been ok. It is a bit disappointing though, to see some of the low ratings for towing without a WDH.

I was surprised, when I got rearended some years back, that when the car more went under the truck, it bent both the Reese 4" drop hitch I had installed, and bent/bowed the receiver frame. Fortunately, the truck frame was fine.

The other thing I have found, is there is a real mix of components out there, so a buyer has to pay close attention get what they really need. For instance, I have seen a variety of weight ratings for 2" ball. And, for reciever inserts; they range all over the board. I really notice this at Wal-Mart and the general auto parts stores.

It is pretty easy to just buy a 2" or 4" drop hitch, a 2" ball, and then find they are only good for 3000lbs...

So my super duper 3/4 ton heavy duty truck, is limited by the reciever hitch. That can be further limited by the actual hitch insert. Which can the be limited by the ball.
So the truck really can not haul my 7000lb dual axle trailer loaded to capacity without WDH. Which still needs a properly specced hitch. And ball. and safety chains.

I wonder how many people out there towing really do not know what they actually have and are using.

I got hit really hard from behind where the car went under my '97 Chevy with an OEM Class 3 and lifted the rear of my truck off of the ground...No damage whatsoever to my truck/hitch/spare tire...Can't say the same for the Camery that I need 4X4 to pull off of The truck was probably 10 years old at the time.

 

[RobertN]

The car slid far enough it bumped the back tire on the driver side, and left paint down the back side of the left leaf spring. It actually pushed me in to the car in front of me.

And yes, the drop hitch shredded the hood and fender of the car. I had left it in, becasue later in the morning I was suppossed to pick up a buggy of concrete readymix.

It was obvious looking at the back of the truck, that the drop hitch was tweaked to one side a little. First thin I asked the body/repair shop, was to check the frame... Which was fine.

I got hit really hard from behind where the car went under my '97 Chevy with an OEM Class 3 and lifted the rear of my truck off of the ground...No damage whatsoever to my truck/hitch/spare tire...Can't say the same for the Camery that I need 4X4 to pull off of The truck was probably 10 years old at the time.

 

[Highbeam]

The good news is that each of the hitch components is clearly marked with its rating. It is very easy, if you choose, to check the specifications and be sure that you know what your weak link is. Ignorant bliss is the other method and I agree that too many people are ignorant to the fact that most heavy duty trucks on the road can't tow a little car hauler trailer without a WDH hitch.

I am unimpressed that the manufacturers of trucks don't supply the receivers with ratings that are on par with the rest of the truck. The F350 should have a more substantial revceiver than an F150 for example.

For a couple hundred bucks, I can have a class V 2" hitch bolted up and fix this. The new receiver will not look any different but will have the all important sticker on it allowing huge amounts, way over what my truck can legally tow, to be towed without WDH.

My new weak link will be GAWR of the rear axle which is quite high on an F350. I should have replaced this receiver long ago.

 

[56FordGuy]

Was avoiding the 2.5" receivers since then you need to either buy a bushing or the very expensive 2.5" stuff and since my trailers GVWR is 10,000 I don't need the 2.5.

This is a good idea. I put a 2.5" receiver on my truck and in hindsight, it was a poor decision. If you're using a 2" drawbar (like most WD hitches I found are) then you have to use a spacer bushing. That just introduces more slop into the hitch. Most of them still use a standard 5/8" pin, but with the walls of the tube being 1/2" further apart than a 2" hitch, the pin is not supported as well and will flex more. It may never actually fail, but flexing like that can't be good for it.

Not sure if it's related, but the hitch pin holes on my hitch (a Curt) have begun to slightly elongate/ oval out. It's hard to tell by just looking, but you can feel it with your hand and see where the paint is starting to crack. I haven't towed heavily on it, biggest load was probably around 9,000 lbs. Nowhere near the 18K it's supposed to be good for. Not sure if it's worth contacting them about, as I moved on to a gooseneck trailer.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Most of the times I have seen the pin hole elongate its due to the pin design. The standard pin with a bend in the last 3rd are the biggest culprit.

I give all my customers Cat 0 top link pins. They are 5/8" just like a standard hitch pin, are nice gold plated, have a square shoulder, and cost just $2 at TSC.

I have ran nothing but for 20 years and they work great plus the lynch pin seems to be more secure than a standard pin clip.

Chris