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I planned on installing rails in my bed and running a gooseneck hitch for heavier loads I carry, however the bags my truck came with have a bracket that doesn't work with most 5th wheel/gooseneck brackets on the frame so I'm thinking of just staying at loads under 15k with a bumper pull. What's the heaviest loads you guys have pulled on the rear hitch? Im using a 99 V10
My V-10 (‘05 2V 4.30 ratio) is our dedicated tow rig for our 12K TT, it does the job pretty well.
Your ‘99 should be the lower output non-PI motor, what gear ratio and tire size does it have?
Will your loads be low profile goods on an open flatbed? That helps a good bit compared to a big box in the wind.
My V-10 (‘05 2V 4.30 ratio) is our dedicated tow rig for our 12K TT, it does the job pretty well.
Your ‘99 should be the lower output non-PI motor, what gear ratio and tire size does it have?
Will your loads be low profile goods on an open flatbed? That helps a good bit compared to a big box in the wind.
4.10 with 285s, I've out 10k behind it already and faired great. Most loads will be on a flatbed, few exceptions are camper pulls.
I pull my 11K bumper pull toy hauler regularly. But my hitch is rated to 21K. If your hitch isn't up for it, consider looking at the TorkLift receiver hitch. That said, there's more that goes into what you can tow than just the receiver hitch. Tires, wheels, springs, shackles, axles, brakes, etc.
I pull my 11K bumper pull toy hauler regularly. But my hitch is rated to 21K. If your hitch isn't up for it, consider looking at the TorkLift receiver hitch. That said, there's more that goes into what you can tow than just the receiver hitch. Tires, wheels, springs, shackles, axles, brakes, etc.
Yea I'm familiar with what's all actually NEEDED to support heavy towing, just wanted to see were there any accounts of the weights I was thinking of already. That hitch looks nice,love the heavy ratings, but it comes with a price tag just as heavy lol.
I’ve pulled between 10k and 12k on the factory hitch a few times. If balanced right it pulls really good and doesn’t take enough weight off the front end to become unstable. Going 60-65 was no problem without a huge wind load. A tall load of the same weigh would pull much harder.
If you are thinking of doing this commercially then there are some considerations you should make. An up graded hitch would reduce your liability risk. It is possible to break something with this kind of load, and overloaded components are a huge liability. So find a hitch and ball mount rated for the loads you intend to haul.
Also a weight distribution set up might be wise for those times where you can’t center the load just the way you want or need.
Doing this on your own is one thing. Commercial endeavors are a whole other matter. Personally, I’d recommend against it for commercial purposes.
The excavator below was 7500 lbs on a 3000 plus lbs trailer.
Getting ready to put Air Lift air bags on my 2016. They mention something about installing if you have a 5th wheel. Not sure if you need a part or just install it differently. As I don’t have one, I skipped that section. Maybe find the air bag manufacturer and see if you can get the parts you need so it will work with the 5th wheel. Should be an “easy” fix, depending on their condition. I believe you can read the instructions on the Air Lift page to see what is needed for their brand. Heck a new set of airbags that would work would be about $400.
Factory hitch on anything early-2000s is woefully underrated for any decent size trailers. Curt sells nice heavy-duty hitches that are made in the US and won't break the bank. Think the last one I put on my buddy's '00 F250 was rated at 16 or 17k, it's the 2.5" receiver XD model. With a good drawbar (he got the adjustable-height twin-ball forged monstrosity) he often maxes out his 10k license allowance and it pulls beautiful all day long, he limits it to that due to liability issues even though obviously he can safely pull way more.
If you don't need an adjustable height drawbar just get yourself one of them B&W solid-steel chunks and drop a 25k gooseneck ball in it, that will cover you for anything that won't already earn you a light show from the local DOT guys the second they spot you 🤣
Oh yeah, factory leaves tend to be a bit of a joke too in those model years (even the ones with the overloads setup) plus they like to crack on you at the worst times. If air springs are not easily installed, then think about replacing the leaves with a newer model setup and also beefing up the overloads to more than just one thin leaf.
Heaviest pull I have done with my truck was a 12,500 combined. The trailer was a tilt bed steel deck weighing at 3,300 pounds. The shop forklift we needed for a local job site was 9,200 pounds. I got the weight set up the best I could. It was definitely back there as I would say. Moved the equipment to the job site. Got the other trailer and equipment unloaded. Of course we had a few long hills to run to get to the job site. However, I was lead truck and took it easy. The 6.2 in my truck did a nice job with the move. However, I would not make it an everyday occurrence.
Factory hitch on anything early-2000s is woefully underrated for any decent size trailers. Curt sells nice heavy-duty hitches that are made in the US and won't break the bank. Think the last one I put on my buddy's '00 F250 was rated at 16 or 17k, it's the 2.5" receiver XD model. With a good drawbar (he got the adjustable-height twin-ball forged monstrosity) he often maxes out his 10k license allowance and it pulls beautiful all day long, he limits it to that due to liability issues even though obviously he can safely pull way more.
If you don't need an adjustable height drawbar just get yourself one of them B&W solid-steel chunks and drop a 25k gooseneck ball in it, that will cover you for anything that won't already earn you a light show from the local DOT guys the second they spot you 🤣
Oh yeah, factory leaves tend to be a bit of a joke too in those model years (even the ones with the overloads setup) plus they like to crack on you at the worst times. If air springs are not easily installed, then think about replacing the leaves with a newer model setup and also beefing up the overloads to more than just one thin leaf.
That curt seems nice, I was looking hard at the TorkLift hitch someone mentioned rated at 18k but 16 is fine and Curt is a little cheaper. Thinking of getting a solid forged piece that doesn't move with a gooseneck ball and an adjustable forged piece,thanks for the advice. For the rear, I'm most likely taking the bags out and swapping in some 450/550 rear springs.
