Towing questions /frustrations
 

This is the first year that I will be towing on a regular basis,up until now I had my boat rack stored.
I bought a '01 Dodge 2500/Cummins which is rated to 9600 lbs with the gear ratio that I have.
The boat/trailer combo will probably weigh no more than 7000lbs.
I have read that if you are towing and you get into an accident and if they find you are over your limit the insurance company can deny any claims. Well now I'm all freaked out about that , normally I would tow it and not think twice about it.
Well the hitch that came with the truck (which has towing package) say's 5000lb limit , 10,000lb with load distributing hitch. Well I don't want to do the load distributing thing ($300-350) so that leaves me with buying a new hitch (more money !).
What do you guys do ? Am I really over the limit or just don't understand? Do I really have to dish out MORE money ?

Another thing, I was talking to someone on this board about converting surge brakes to electrically actuated brakes, I forgot who it was though.
Well anyways I talked to my local trailer store and they really didn't know too much about it,so if anyone has any info please let me know. I plan on doing this.

Chuck

You will have no problem pulling your boat I would make sure you have a solid insert for your hitch. Check your tongue weight. I doubt it is more than the rating of your hitch.How does MI plate the trucks weight wise are there diferrences. In MO we have 6k,12k, 18k, 24k, 26k and 30k and up requires a CDL.
Forrest

I towed a 27' Fountain with a Jeep Grand Cherokee V-8. The trailer mfgr. (Vanguard) made a mistake and put the wrong bunks on the trailer. As a result, I had 1100 # tongue weight. I towed this way for over 1 year until I convinced Vanguard there was a problem. What was your question?

Breathe later ,
the question is more of a legality question, if the hitch says 5000/10000 w/load bearing and I'm towing 7000 without a load bearing hitch , am I legal or not.
Insurance companies pay attention to that stuff if there is a claim hanging in the balance.
I'm not worried about the truck handling it.

For peace of mind I would replace the hitch, both Reese and Drawtite offer hitchs that will handle at least 10,000 lbs with out a weight distributing system, I bought Drawtite but if I ever wear out my truck I will get the Reese hitch, it has a larger reciever socket and just looks tougher. You are correct, the hitch you have is to small without a weight distributing system and could get you a ticket also.
Caleb

26scarab,

You might want to check MI laws on trailers. I had a trailer built for my old Powerquest last year, and there was some regulation about brakes on both axles, or you had to have surge vs electric - I honestly don't remember.

You might try the Michigan Secretary of State website to see what they say about it...

I agree with Time warp I would upgrade hitches also it is a minimal cost for the peice of mind you will have. Forrest

hitches are test to three times there rating, so there's a big dummy factor . go with the soild recev. and high wt. ball.

You might want to check if the reciever mounted to the truck is rated for 10,000lbs and only the hitch and/or ball is rated for 5000.
Gary

Dodge receivers
 

I've got an 01 Dodge TDI 2500 too- the factory receiver hitch is indeed 5k weight carrying, on top of that there was a recall on some of the dodges on the hitches for cracking. Buy the bigger 10 K hich just for piece of mind and litigation concerns.

I do tow 6k with mine and don't worry about it, but I know my tongue weight is on the light side. Too much tongue weight is the factor here. A long time ago I towed with a 3/4 ton suburban, had too much TW using the eyebal method (Stout rear leafs) and I actually heard a pop going over a big dip into a driveway- I found the back two (of six) retention bolts had broke in tension- they were lying there in the road with the nuts still on them.

Another note- the new Chevy HD's are coming with the higher rated receivers form the factory. Good luck.

Been there, done that, got the T shirt. 00 Dodge Cummins 2500, had the hitch replaced on the recall. New hitch is exactly the same as the old one. They just put some reinforcement on it. If I were towing over 5K I would replace the hitch with a stronger one. I will anyway in a year or two when this one starts to look ratty. Bottom line - it should work fine but you're on your own on the insurance issue. Hitches are cheaper than a denied claim.

Chuck, I checked into the electric brake thing......wanted to replace my surge drum system. I got a lot of advice from the guys on here not to go that route. Several had tried it, but they said that they don't last very long. I went with the disc setup and they work great.......you may want to check into that. Just my .02....Andy :cool:

Chuck, you may want to check out Asco Brake Systems. I have hyd. surge brakes on all 3 axles towing 12000 lbs and used their conversion kit that replaces the master cyl. on the trailer with an electric over hyd. master cyl. Works great no more hard surge like the old unit. It even has a manual control on the dash. Great peice of insurance when the roads wet.

Thanks guys for all the info.
When I talked to my local trailer place about an upgrade on the hitch I was quoted a price of $300.:eek:
And the electric over kit was $400:eek: :eek:
Well I did some research and I think they were trying to sell me a class 5 hitch which is WAY overkill for my application. I found a class 4 which is rated for 7500lbs for $150. I will just replace the hitch , it shouldn't be too hard to install.
As far as the electric over thing, I'm just not going to spend that kind of money to do it. I've never had a problem with the surge brakes , I just thought it would be nice to have electric, but not for $400.

I would spend the extra money for the heavier hitch incase you get twofootitus or need to haul a heavier boat.
But I keep my trucks until they are worn out , if you trade trucks alot then it might not be worth the investment.

Caleb