Hello all,

Just got a 04' F-150 4x4 S/C(with trailer tow package) last week. Not quite sure what the towing capacity is, here's why....

On the bumper it says, "weight carrying" 5000lbs. tongue weight 500lbs.

"weight distributing" 9900lbs. tongue weight 990lbs.


My questions are these...is a 'weight distributing hitch' the hitch that came mounted from the dealer, or is this the same as a 'load equalizing hitch' that must be used on the trailer while towing and must be bought seperately. My FORD manual says the following pertaining to towing(which is also why I'm confused). "....if vehicle is not equipped with a heavy duty trailer towing package, the max. weight your vehicle can tow is limited to 5,000 lbs......" This statement is telling me that the bumper can handle 5000lbs. all by itself, and that since I DO have the trailer towing package that the hitch on the truck(from the dealer) MUST be the weight distributing hitch and that I can tow up to 9900 lbs(as long as I don't go over the GCWR). The manual says also to match up your axle ratio with the engine and tires on your specific truck to get proper towing capacity from the chart provided in the manual. This capacity comes back to the 9900lbs. for my truck. There is NO mention in the FORD manual of weight distributing hitch, allthough the manual DOES mention using a 'load equalizing hitch', and how to back up to and use one. In a nutshell, if the bumper can handle 5000lbs, the hitch on the truck MUST be able to handle the 9900lbs. they are talking about right?? Hope this all makes sense..... thanks,

Ron

 

Well in answer to your question yes and no. First off the question on your hitch ratings. A stright hitch into the receiver without wight distributing bars is the first rating. A trailer with a weight distributing hitch will have bars that hook into the receiver under the ball and chains that connect to the a frame on the trailer. These bars are put under tention and push some of the weight of the trailer to the front axel thus weight distribution.

Yes weight distributing and load distributing are the same type hitch. They are attached to the trailer a frame and the hitch, but not the part that came with the truck. The truck has a receiver (a square box) that accepts the hitch and the ball. So much for hitches.

Now the next question is what is my tow capacity. That is a function of the engine size, rear end, tire size, and the truck GVWR itself. If you have a 5.4 V-8 the truck will have a tow rating of 6900 to 8200# depending on the rear end in the truck and tires. With a tow package i suspect you may be in the 7700# range. This means that you can tow a good sized trailer in the 26' range with little problems but you should use a weight distributing hitch to reduce the load since not all trailers limit themselves to just 10% of the gross weight being on the tongue.

My suggestion is to go to the dealership and have them look up what you can tow in ther books they have and explain it to you or at least give the the GCVWR and the GVWR though that may be on the post on the drivers side door.

 

Actually Ford lists the capacities between 5900-9500. I think they later upped the higher rating to 9900 to outdo the Nissan Titan.

http://www.fordvehicles.com/Trucks/f...es/spectowing/

Your truck either has the 8200 or 9200 rating + any increases they made to outdo the Titan. Personally, I wouldn't tow anywhere near the limit with a 1/2 ton anyway.