trailer safety factor

[bones1]

Your traditional class 3 hitch which is very common as standard equipment is labeled to bear 500 lbs of tongue weight/5000 lbs of trailer weight without a WD hitch. It is also labeled to bear 1000 lbs of tongue weight/10,000 lbs of trailer weight with a WD hitch. Some of the newer GM class 3 hitches move up the non WD hitch rating to 750/7500 but I am confident that anyone that has used a WD hitch will prefer to use one even if the hitch is loaded lightly enough to be used without a WD hitch. If your GM hitch is the type that has bolts attaching it to the bumper-REPLACE IT with a standard box type receiver mounted to the frame as there have been many documented failures of this poor hitch design. GM screwed up on this one, I'll admit it even though I own nothing but GM trucks and SUVs.

Highbeam,I have a 2006 1500 Chevy and the manual says it's rated to tow 7700 lbs. It has the towing option but maybe you could tell me if it has the correct hitch for that load.It is bolted through the bottom of the bumper with bolts but is also bolted to the frame rails with 3 bolts on each side.It doesen't look as heavy as the old Reese hitches im used to but it is attached in 8 places.The sticker next to the trailer plug says 5000#s and under that 12000#s with WD setup.Just bought the truck ,100 miles ago and I tow a 7000# package. Haven't towed anything yet.The dealer says 7500#s ok but I'm not sure at all about this.I guess my question really is...can I hook to this setup and pull my tractor safely.So 5k, 7.5k ,12k??? Sorry can't work the quote button.

 

[roxynoodle]

This is what is ridiculous about these hitches. You buy a truck that can tow more than 5000 lbs but get a hitch that can only tow 5000lbs! Depending on the weight of your tractor/trailer combo, you will either have to install the weight distributing hitch also or take that hitch off and put on a class IV or V. When I bought my last hitch I was told there was no such thing as class IV but those are what you get with a Ford F250 so I know they exist. When I came home I checked the Ford info I had just to make sure. So I put on a class V, which was what was on my last truck. It is rated to 10,000 lbs. More than the truck can safely tow, but more is better than not enough. And if you have a truck that can tow more than 10,000 lbs the only safe way to do that is with a gooseneck trailer anyways.

I would see what is the more economical way to go: putting on the class V or the WD hitch. The WD hitch is nicer to tow with though.

 

[George2615]

In reply to Bones1, You answered your own question basically. The manual says you can tow 7700#. The hitch is proper and standard for most 1/2 ton trucks. You have a hitch rated for 5000# or up to 12000# with a WD hitch. That does not mean you can tow up to 12K, thats just what the hitch is rated for. Your truck is only rated for 7700#. If you go over the 5000# hitch rating you will need the WD hitch to assist the hitch up to your truck maximum of 7700#.

 

[Dargo]

And if you have a truck that can tow more than 10,000 lbs the only safe way to do that is with a gooseneck trailer anyways.

I always thought that a gooseneck trailer was "ugly" and didn't like them. However, after further review , I'd have to agree with you. I can easily put 2000 pounds of tongue weight on a gooseneck trailer and tow it fine without my dually squatting much. If you put 2000 pounds of tongue weight on a bumper hitch...., well, let's just say that you're asking for trouble. I way overloaded a car trailer with oak firewood because I didn't want to make a 2nd trip. The truck I had at the time was a 3/4 ton and was squatting big time. I thought that since I was going to be mostly in the interstate that there would be no problem. I missed.

Have you ever noticed that you sometimes make a nice bounce when going over one of those small bridges on an interstate? When I did that with my overloaded trailer it came off. Oh yeah, nice feeling. There was a loud noise and the truck seemed to run better. I look behind me and my trailer, with my wood all strapped down, is moving into the left lane like it wants to pass me, but it's slowing down instead. It proceeds into the median with the nose plowing the entire way and fortunately didn't hit anything. All I recall was hearing my dad yelling the slang word for poo really loud over and over.

When I got back to my trailer, it had my entire hitch still attached. Safety chains were both still on and attached to the hitch. A lot of good they did. The hitch still had all the bolts in it where it attached to the frame of my truck. As a matter of fact, also included was nice chunks of my truck frame that were ripped off of my truck. Yeah, that's when I decided that gooseneck trailers weren't so ugly.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Dargo, You'll find the occasional "bumper hitch trailer owner" who'll say he's switching to a gooseneck. You'll be hard pressed to find many gooseneck owners who'll willingly switch BACK. They're safer as you eluded, safer in many ways. Not least of which is I feel they give you much better "highway manners", not wanting to bob up and down with every bump.

Your experience is why I whole-heartedly believe in "over-kill" on trailers and hitches. With a built-in margin of error, towing isn't the gut wrenching experience it can be.

 

[Dargo]

With a built-in margin of error, towing isn't the gut wrenching experience it can be.

Yup, that's just how I like my towing experiences; uneventful. That kind of goes along with the saying that the older I get and the more experiences I have, the more I realize I don't know enough, and I used to know even less.

 

[roxynoodle]

Wow, that's a scary experience. Glad no one got hurt!

 

[mchasal]

When I got back to my trailer, it had my entire hitch still attached. Safety chains were both still on and attached to the hitch. A lot of good they did. The hitch still had all the bolts in it where it attached to the frame of my truck. As a matter of fact, also included was nice chunks of my truck frame that were ripped off of my truck. Yeah, that's when I decided that gooseneck trailers weren't so ugly.

Glad no one got hurt! This part of your story makes me wonder if it would make sense to have the safety chains mounted somewhere else instead of on the trailer hitch. They way it always is now, the hitch is a single point of failure. Mount the chains somewhere else on the frame, and maybe it would help, though it doesn't sound like it would have in your situation.

Mike

 

[XT6Wagon]

With my 2004 F150 super crew I've personaly towed a combined vehicle wieght of 15,960lbs... with less than 1/4 tank of gas. So... good thing I recalled where all the wiegh stations were and rolled past them under 1/4 tank, as many on that trip had a 16K lbs "please stop" limit.

Now... that was a bad bad trip in many ways as this is MORE than the F150 is rated for, on the bleeding edge of what the trailer was rated for, and thanks to just flat not being able to get the wieght where it needs to go, was on the limit of the rear tires load limit. Oh and 1,200lbs more than the rear axle was stickered for. The main issue is the TRAILER was near worthless at its limits. Brakes were marginal, tires were flat not good at thier limits, etc.

Point I am comming to is that Towing isn't about whats printed on some paper, but careful prep of you, your truck, your trailer and your load.

The trip with the same basic load a month later went much better...

why?

Moved a good bit more wieght up on the front axle of the truck. Ran closer to 20% tongue wieght instead of 10% or so. More personal skill with driving that heavy.


If you plan on getting a 1/2 ton.... The F150 is currently the best IMO. The Hemi does have more power than the 5.43v... but I never ran out crossing a ton of mountians. The 5.4 3v gets the same milage but w/o needing the cylinder deactivation stuff to do it. But the F150 has a TON more brakes than others in the class (unless the latest and greatest dodge got more than the last model). The Frame is way over built. Hitch is "integrated" into the frame/bumper structure.

Certainly give the Titan a miss for towing as in many ways its little more capible than the Tundra, which is a "city truck" and very much a perfect truck for many people.

If going for a F250 new... might look at the F450 w the low GVWR springs. Tons of upgrades over its "lighter" version. Otherwise much the same truck. Never ridden in one to tell if its passible ride wise for daily driving.

 

[ahoude]

Don't want to hijack this thread, but have had this question for some time. What are the advantages of a gooseneck over a fifth wheel hitch. It seems to me that for a person who pulls a fifth wheel camper (not yet) it would be more convienent to have a utility trailer with a fifth wheel hitch. I don't think capacity is big issue. I kmow a gooseneck has in freedom of movement, but a little rough terrain with a fifth wheel hitch wouldn't be too detrimental.