Just had a buddy drop by with his new 2022 XL F250, and I noticed his hitch was rated at 1820/18200. I looked at my 2020 Lariat F350, and it was rated at 1520/15200. They are both V-5 hitches. Can someone please explain why they are different. Thanks

 

Ford upgraded the ratings for the newer trucks.
Go look at a new F350 with the 3" receiver, it's way higher than that F250 2.5" receiver.

 

Both of ours are 2.5", but his F250 is rated higher than my F350.

 

But, your F250 is newer, they were upgraded.

 

V-5 is not a hitch rating.

Some folks mistakenly believe that V-5 is a redundant way of saying "Class V", which is the Roman numeral for Class 5, which they believe is a hitch rating.

It isn't.

There is no such thing as a "Class V" hitch.

Heresy, you say?

Can't say I blame you for clicking away, since practically every hitch manufacturer advertises hitches that are supposedly "Class 5", or "Class V", depending on how classy their copy writer is.

But all of that is BS.

Let's go back to what V-5 really means in order to explain.

V-5 is simply an identifying number to a standard, not a rating of a hitch.

The "5" in "V-5" means that this standard happens to be the fifth of twenty two (22) different standards created by the Vehicle Equipment Safety Commission (hereinafter referred to as VESC), which is what the "V" in "V-5" is short for.

The VESC was established by Congress with the passage of the Beamer Resolution in 1958, where Congress granted consent in advance for States of form interstate commissions and compacts in the field of traffic safety, to encourage the prompt adoption of uniform standards. States were traditionally responsible for building, maintaining, and regulating highways, but with the expansion of the interstate highway system under Eisenhower, along with the growth of suburbias, the affordability of travel (gas 10 cents a gallon), trucking supplanting the railways, and an auto centric culture... Americans drove across state lines more, which exacerbated the interstate aspects of motor vehicle related regulation.

A Driver's License Compact was created between States, as was the Vehicle Equipment Safety Commission, which convened for 20 years, from 1962 through 1983.

The VESC established minimum performance standards for ancillary vehicle equipment, where no federal standards previously existed. I won't list all 22 standards, but I'll list 1-5, so as to help anyone rule out any assumptions about 1-4.

Regulation VESC V-1 Minimum Requirements and Uniform Test Procedures for New Tires for Passenger Cars and Station Wagons
Regulation VESC V-2 Minimum Requirements and Uniform Test Procedures for Retreaded Tires for Passenger Cars and Station Wagons
Regulation VESC V-3 Minimum Requirements and Uniform Test Procedures for Motor Vehicle Brake Linings
Regulation VESC V-4 Safety Glazing Materials for Motor Vehicles Operation on Land Highways
Regulation VESC V-5 Minimum Requirements for Motor Vehicle Connecting Devices and Towing Methods

That's all that V-5 stands for.

When a hitch manufacturer self certifies that they tested their hitch, whether rated at 2,000 lbs or 10,000 lbs, pursuant to the standards set forth in V-5, then they can put V-5 on their hitch as an indication of compliance with the standard.

V-5 is not a rating. It is a VESC standard. When a hitch says "V-5 Rated", that means that the hitch was rated per the V-5 standard for rating hitches, which applies to all poundage ratings up to 10,000 lbs.

A similar standard for rating towing apparatus can be found with SAE standards. SAE J684A represents a standard for testing and rating Trailer Couplings, Hitches, and Safety Chains—Automotive Type, and SAE J2807 represents a standard establishing Performance Requirements for Determining Tow-Vehicle Gross Combination Weight Rating and Trailer Weight Rating.

The V-5 standard defines four (4) and ONLY four hitch ratings, as follows:

1. Class I
2. Class II
3. Class III
4. Class IV

There is no so called "Class V" in the VESC V-5 standard, nor in the SAE J684A standard. As 10,000 lbs is the maximum trailer weight that can be conventionally towed (bumper pull) without a higher class of driver's license (ie Class A, whether commercial or non-commercial), the VESC did not establish any testing standards beyond 10,000 lbs conventional towing.

The term "Class V" began life as an advertising trick introduced in the late '80's by Reese Towing Products to distinguish their first to market 2 1/2" receivers, which they named Titan, as these hitches were indeed bigger than any other hitch on the market 30-40 years ago, which at that time were all 2" receivers. At some point in the early aughts, another company sued Reese for using the Titan name, even though Reese had already been using it for more than a decade. Reese acquiesced and for several years renamed their Titan line of hitches to "TowBeast". The TowBeast name never resonated with consumers, and eventually Reese found a legal way to reclaim the Titan name, and their larger 2.5" and 3" hitch products have been renamed Titan ever since.

In recent years, many other hitch manufacturers and vehicle OEMs have leveraged the favorable physics of larger diameter tubing to create higher performing hitches without increasing weight. Now, 2.5" and 3" hitches are common place, and with the OEMs this usually means a bit less material thickness (to lower weight) and more clever gusset geometry (to increase towing capacity per SAE standards, as the VESC is antiquated and does not speak to ratings higher than 10,000 lbs.).


VESC-V-5-Minimum-Requirements-for-Motor-Vehicle-Connecting-Devices-and-Towing-Methods in PDF

 

Y2KW57, thank you for the tutorial on hitch classifications and standards. If the V-5 standard only covers trailers up to 10,000 lbs, how does the manufacturer mark a hitch rated at 15,200 lbs with the V-5 designation. Does the standard provide for testing and certifying to greater than 10,000 lbs or is the manufacturer taking liberties?

 

@shawnee1

To best answer your question (and facilitate the drawing of your own conclusions) I added a link to the pdf file of the last revised version of VESC V-5 in my post above.

Any towing apparatus can meet the V-5 Rating for the highest weight ratings defined under that standard (Class IV - 10,000 lbs.), while yet meeting a higher weight rating defined by another testing methodology.

Therefore, a hitch being rated by the manufacturer at 15,200 lbs is not mutually exclusive to the same hitch also having a V-5 rating in self certifying the parameters defined by that standard.

Since the V-5 rating does not speak to nor contemplate ratings at 15,200 lbs, then even if a manufacturer arrives at those higher levels of ratings using test procedures outlined in V-5, it is a matter of interpretation, which I leave you to conclude, as to whether the manufacturer is "taking liberties" or being inclusive in good faith.

 

Noticed the same issue. 2020 F-350, neighbor has a 21 F-250, both 7.3 with near identical options, 18” wheels, his 3.55 rear/mine 3.73 and the 21 has the 18k rating where mine is 15k. Looked in, around, under both (frame, rear, receiver) and their identical except for the sticker. If anyone has actual factual differences I’m interested…

 

Same situation. I don't understand.

 

if I read this right, any trailer over 10k lbs that is bumper pulled requires higher class DL ? I’ve never heard of that

 

It seems Ford's tow ratings are a little bit murky.
I was surprised to see the 18.2k sticker on the hitch on my '22 when on the Ford website it shows 15k.
I'm not complaining...

 

They could have changed the material or welding methods.

The best way to know is to cross reference part numbers off the VINs.

 

@Frank79 , based on your profile indicating you are from Florida, the following info is found in the Florida Driver's Handbook:

 

So I guess these numbers from my 2017 F250 will really shake things up. The numbers listed are what Ford certified the equipment at. The trucks will always have some ability above and beyond that.

2100# of tongue weight for a truck with 2355# of payload. Just hang it all on the rear bumper I guess.

 

The rated tow capacity of the truck is 15k, so they put the “receiver that matched this rating best” on your truck, which happened to be 18.2k. This just means that the company that made the receiver rated it to 18.2k, but Ford rated the towing capacity on your truck at 15k. You still have to (“technically“) go by what the truck is rated for.