W.D. Hitch ??????
 

Here's the deal, I have been considering a W.D. hitch for a while now but don't know if I really need to fork over 400.00 for one.. I'm towing right around 6,500 - 7K, w/ 450-500# of tounge weight with an F-150, I have coil overs and I purchased a heavier duty hitch rated for 1000 toung and 10K towing. I'm pretty sure this, itself does not increase the towing capability of the Ford unless I go to a W.D. It tows great in the current set up, zero swaying and very little if any bouncing with the torsion axle trailer. Question is, aside from making me legal, will the W.D. set-up do anything at all ?????

WD doesn't increase the capability of the truck. Truck's tow ratings are dictated by engine/trans/axle ratio.
WD affects the loading on the receiver and that's why you see different ratings with/without WD. Just because the hitch says 1000/10k with WD doesn't mean the truck will safely pull it.
If it tows fine the way it is, go ahead and bolt on the new receiver and leave it alone. If you really want to spend money, make sure truck and trailer brakes are better than new :D

Yeah, i'm aware of the tow ratings, 500 / 5000 w/ standard class 3 WC hitch, and something along the lines of 8K w/ a W.D. hitch. I went to a class 5 WC and I know that does not increase the capaicty or make me legal just peace of mind really and it tows great. The W.D. would make me legal, just wondering if I would get the added benefits of a W.D. set-up

I had that issue with my stock hitch on my silverado....that "properly" equiped (ie. WD hitch) can pull 9900lbs. I ditched the stock hitch in favor of a draw tite fram max that will pull something like 10k weight and 1k tongue w/o the WD hardware. My trailer fully loaded is about 7200lbs. Does just fine. *That being said, I dont know if my truck hardware, axles, wheels, etc are rated to pull that much wieght w/o a WD hitch, even though the maximum tow weight (properly equiped ie. WD) is far above what I currently pull, and the trailer isnt close to any of the aftermarket hitch maximums(i am pulling more than the stock hitch could handle w/o wd.)* My guess is that we are indeed exceeding the limits of our trucks, and the manf. will win any case against us. Stock is stock for a reason.

Yep..... sounds familiar.... :)

So what do we do? Besides not going to insurance or the manf if something does indeed break.......:mad:

Well, we wouldn't be exceeding anything if we both went to W.D. hitch's, we would be well within the tow limits of our trucks and should ( god forbid ) we ever got into an accident, be o.k. The only issues I have heard that a W.D. hitch fixes are swaying and too heavy a tounge weight, which the W.D. equalizes out between the front and rear axles, both of which aren't an issue w/ my set-up.... In the interest of safety I really feel i'm fine or I wouldn't hesitate to by a W.D. hitch, in the interest of being covered just in case, the 400.00 really shouldn't an issue,,, I guess i'm answering my own question and should get one regardless...

If you upgrade your HITCH RECEIVER to carry the load you place on it with a weight carrying hitch rated for your load, minding the total GCWR of the entire vehicle and overall tow rating, you are good.

It follows like this; for the most part:

Truck A is rated for 7000 lbs. towed/hauled load.
Hitch on truck A is rated for 4500 lbs. weight carrying.
Hitch on truck A is rated for 7000 lbs. weight distributing.

If you upgrade the hitch on truck A to a hitch that is rated for 10000 lbs. weight carrying, your truck is rated to tow 7000 lbs. weight carrying.

NOW, if you put 2000 lbs. in the bed of your truck, then you are only able to tow 5000 lbs. on the hitch no matter what style of hitch setup. Same goes for passengers as added weight.

What you are saying is that the stock hitch is the only part on the stock truck not up to par with the rest of the truck and its potential GCWR? Slap on a WD and thats all you need to relieve the extra stress on the stock hitch? I would think that more planning would have gone into OEM hitches :rolleyes: , or maybe the truck really does need the trailer weight difference between WC and WD distributed along the entire truck via a WD system for what ever reason..... to relieve stress on other truck components, or b/c lawyer and insurance companies deem it safer to mauver/handle with a WD system in place above a certain limit.

Stock, the hitch on my F-150 was rated 500 / 5,000 WC... I installed a class IV rated for 1000 / 10,000.... So assuming I look at the door jam and am not exceeding GVW with truck/trailer/passenders I am o.k. ????? Like Tablerock said, I still think in order to be legal I need a W.D. hitch to distribute the weight equally and be within my tow limits... I don't think the addition of a higher class WC hitch makes my WC capacity higher, I believe only a WD can do that.

Thats the word around the campfire. Hell, im doing it too but it does seem like it could leave the door open to different interpretations.

I believe a W.D. Hitch would SLAM that door shut no matter the interpretation...

Yes.....you tow with a stock-type hitch, and follow vehicle manf. directions regarding WC, WD, and towing and nothing will come of it. I guess that little sticker in the door doesnt have any fine print does it.....just a number. Screw it. :evilb:

There's a couple things to consider. Now you've got a 1k/10k WC receiver so you go out and throw 1k on the tongue. Depending on a variety of factors, that could throw off the handling/braking of the truck (weight off the front).
So, in those cases a WD doesn't "make you" legal, it distributes the load. That's part of the reason that "OEM" hitches show two capacity ratiings.
So throwing on a receiver with higher WC ratings doesn't change those dynamics. It's just a bigger piece of steel that's put together differently. Now if you change the way the new receiver is mounted, maybe bolting to the frame further forward than OEM, then it will distribute the load differently.

I must admit...I see better judgement being discussed here compared to awhile back....darn...I can't yell as much.:D