I'VE GOT A NEW 2003 CHEVY 4X4 DUALLY WITH A TRAILER TOWING PACKAGE AND THE TRUCK IS RATED AT 12,500LBS
FUNNY THING IS THOUGH THE REESE HITCH THAT CAME FROM THE FACTORY IS RATED AT GET THIS 5K,LBS ONLY !!!
THEY DON'T TELLYOU THIS ,SO FOR SAFTEY SAKE AND LEGAL YOUVE GOT TO ORDER A NEW HITCH TO REPLACE YOUR NEW HITCH ???????
COOL UH??
IS FORD LIKE THAT ??

BE WARNED OR SURPRIZE

HOPE THIS HELPS

Bobby,

Welcome to the world of Heavy Duty trucks. To answer you question......Yes, this is common with Dodge and Ford also. This has been an ongoing topic here on the forum for awhile now. A lot of people are seeing the "V" on the back of their hitch and thinking that they have a Class 5 hitch. Not the case. The Class III hitches that I sell to the public actually have the "V" on the back of them also. So it's not something the auto manufacturers are doing. If you're going to exceed the tow rating of your hitch purchase a Class 5 hitch.

Some people here have had luck with the dealer stepping up and taking care of them in this situation. You might try this.

PS. Please upgrade to Class 5 ball mount and ball too. A Class 5 hitch will do no good without these!

Buck
#183

Yep, even with my Expy (class III with 5k weight carrying) I replaced it with a Putnam class IV (8000# weight carrying) just to be properly "rated". Plus the putnam looks soooo much better than the faded rusty looking OEM.

I agree 100% with the ball mount and ball afterall, it's only about $50 on the high side for heavy duty stuff. I've got a 10k rated mount and 8k rated ball. How many people have caused wrecks and/or killed someone because their ball sheared or ball mount came apart and lost their trailer (and of course doing that, they more than likely didn't use the chains right either....)

Of course in my case my boat only weighs about 7500#.

I can never find a heavier duty hitch over 5000-6000lbs in any of the stores---so what's the deal? Where do you get these heavier duty hitches/balls anyway?

KAAMA,

Don't bother with stores like Auto Zone or Oreilly's. Go to a Truck Accessory/Specialty Store that actually does this kind of work on a daily basis. Most people that work in the chain stores do nothing more then look stuff up in books for you anyway. Not to mention most wouldn't know what the difference between the two hitches are anyway.(hope I didn't offend anyone)

I can order Class 5 hitches from at least 4 different manufacturers through my store. They're not hard to get if you know how to find them.

You will find that you can get them through the dealer but you will pay more. Funny thing, my local Chevy dealer gets a lot of his stuff from the same place that I do. But people can buy MUCH cheaper through me. Difference in mark up.

Buck
#183

I've never found any in any stores either. I called several places that could order them and their prices were way high. Ended up searching the net and found all kinds of places with low prices. Don't remember the the sites. Just do a search for trailer hitches.

I was not impressed at all with the "little" hitch on my HD... I looked at the sales guy and asked him what the reasoning was of selling a truck that can tow 12000 lbs but with a hitch that is not even close to that! He could not answer that...

a lot of people seem to be confusing gvw with what actual load can be towed. have an 02' 4x4 duramax here at work, its gvw is 11k. or 11.5k. trucks gotta weigh at least almost 6k.(or more) so it should only tow a load of around 5000 lbs. so is the 5k receiver that far off?

I went with the Reese Hitch Titan Class 5 45 series

The Reese extra heavy-duty Titan receiver has one of the highest towing capacities (WD-14,000 lbs., TW-1,700 lbs.; WC-12,000 lbs., TW-1,200 lbs.) of any custom built production receiver and weight distributing hitch on the market.

Boasting a mighty 2½ inch square receiver opening, it's ideal for the heaviest towing requirements. Includes pull pin & clip, hitch box plug, all mounting hardware and electrical plug mounting bracket. Designed to fit with no bumper or standard factory bumpers including step bumpers.

If you go with this hitch make sure you get the proper ball mount because the receiver opening is 2 1/2 x 2 1/2 and your standard one will not fit. They do sell a 2 1/2 to 2 reducer sleeve.

Also the hole for the ball accepts a 1 1/4 shank so make sure your ball isn't some wimpy one and is under rated or your just defeating the purpose.
Cost for the hitch is around $260-$280
http://www.reeseprod.com/index.htm

Cordell

tunnelvision,
Looking at a few books I have before me the (GCWR) Gross Combined Weight Rating for an 03 Chevy with a Duramax Diesel with Auto Trans and 3.73 gears can have a combined weight of
22,000. This is a loaded truck,trailer,passengers, cargo, and equipment.

Max trailer weight alone is 12,000 lbs.

Cordell