Weight distributing hitch questions

Diamondpilot · Sep 16, 2011

TRR said:
One additional piece of info. Reese has a hitch that is rated to 17,000# bumper pull type trailer. It provides 1700# tongue capacity - otherwise I have no idea why someone would go that heavy on a bumper pull type trailer.

Have to on boats. I pull boats that are 25,000# BP. Many many we pull are in the 15,000# range.

Chris

Highbeam · Sep 20, 2011

TRR said:
One additional piece of info. Reese has a hitch that is rated to 17,000# bumper pull type trailer. It provides 1700# tongue capacity - otherwise I have no idea why someone would go that heavy on a bumper pull type trailer.

Why on earth not?

slowzuki · Sep 20, 2011

Exactly. Mine gets loaded to that ++ as a weight carrying hitch for very short trips hauling hay. Much heavier though and you need a 450 or 550 with frame plate right behind the rear axle. Pickup with hitch so far back unloads the front axle badly without the WD hitch.

newbury · Sep 23, 2011

wny770 said:
I sold my light weight curt and then bought a Valley from Valleytrailerhitch.com and REALLY like it. Price was good, and if I remember correct, free shipping. Heavier hitch hauls better when you have a heavy load. Make sure your receiver is rated properly.

Also make sure your balls are rated for the heavier hitch. A lot of them are only rated for 6,000 lbs. Valley has them for up to 30,000 lbs. Southwest Wheel Company - Regular

Highbeam · Sep 26, 2011

Good point. The rating is stamped right on the freaking ball. If you use the wrong ball then you have nobody to blame but yourself. High rated balls are available but not common at walmart.

slowzuki · Sep 26, 2011

Note too, the shank size isn't the end of the story. I've got a pair of 1.25" shank balls, one is 20,000 lbs I think the other is 5000 lb more or so. I've got a really expensive 1" shank rated high and a cheap 1" shank rated at only 5000 lbs or something silly. Sit them next to each other and you can't tell.

tulenutn2o · Sep 26, 2011

newbury said:
Also make sure your balls are rated for the heavier hitch. A lot of them are only rated for 6,000 lbs. Valley has them for up to 30,000 lbs. Southwest Wheel Company - Regular

Boy, this thread could go south in a hurry..................just sayin!:laughing::laughing::laughing:

Highbeam · Sep 27, 2011

We haven't even begun to talk about whether or not to grease your balls.

Iplayfarmer · Sep 28, 2011

Highbeam said:
We haven't even begun to talk about whether or not to grease your balls.

While we're talking about making sure your balls can handle the work load, make sure your shaft is up the the task as well.

The ball mount shafts are rated for different weights, too.

I just recently had an issue where I bought a new ball with a 1 1/4" shank, but I couldn't find a ball mount locally with that big of a hole. I ended up buying a different ball from Amazon that is rated to handle my trucks towing capacity. Luckily my ball mount is very heavy duty.

The last thing any of us want is for something to go wrong with our balls or our mounting shaft while we're in the middle of a ride.