I have a class III reciever hitch on my F-150 and I need to be able to tow about 6,000lbs. I bought the truck with a hitch on it. It doesn't mention the brand on it but it says it will tow 5,000lbs by itself and 8,700 with a load distribution addon. I don't know what this is. All hitches I see for sale mention this load distribution thing but I never see the kit for sale. Does anyone know what this means? It seems to be bolted up to the frame pretty good. It extends back quite a ways where it bolts up. Thanks in advance.

 

The load distribution is otherwise known as a weight distribution hitch. It consists of a hitch head that slides into the 2" reciever hitch bolted onto your truck with an adjustable hieght ball platform and 2 sockets below it for attatching 'load bars' or weight dist. bars that connect to the trailer a-frame via chains and clamps. There will most likely be one or 2 little hitch ***** on iether side of the main trailer hitch ball for attatching a friction sway control, which is basically a shock that limits side to side motion of the tralier on the hitch ball to reduce sway going down the road. The other end of the friction sway control connects the the trailer a-frame. Back to the 'load bars': thier purpose is to take some of the weight of the trailer tongue and 'distribute' a portion of it forward to the front axle of the tow vehicle and some of it rearward to the trailer axle. The chains tighten up the load bars and more tightening equals more weight transferred to the other axles. The idea is to adjust the load bars so that the tow vehicle comes back to level after having sunk down from the weight of the trailer on the ball. For a better understanding of what it all looks like and how it works, go to http://www.reeseprod.com to view thier weight distribution hitch setups. Basically, if your trailer has more tongue weight than your hitch or tow vehicle can handle on a regular ball-only hitch setup, and the trailer total weight is still within the weight limits of the tow vehicle and hitch when used with a weight dist system (sounds like your situation), then you need a weight dist hitch setup. Also, if your tow vehicle squats too much with the trailer hooked up, a weight dist hitch will help with this. There are specific instructions to setting the thing up properly and Im sure once you get the system, someone will post the details for you if you ask or follow the instructions with your new hitch.

 

Thanks, so reguardless of my reciever hitch brand/design I will be able to get a load distribution setup for it? This is starting to make sense!

 

As long as it is a 2"x2" square hitch reciever tube with a 5/8" dia. hitch pin hole (class 3 or above), yes.

 

Cool, thanks for the info. It sounds like a much safer way to go anyway. My hitch does meet all those requirements.

 

Oops, one more question.... They sell three different models with different tounge weights 550,750 and 1000. They are all the same price so obviously bigger is not better. How do you go about choosing? I don't think I need to put much tounge weight on there. Maybe 500lbs max. Any suggestions?

 

It depends on the wieght of your trailer. When the wieght on the trailer is distributed properly, you will have 10-15% of the total trailer weight on the tongue.

You can use a bar that is too big for the application by not cranking it up so tight, but if the bar is too small for the application, overcranking it will not compensate much for it. Call the tech people there and tell them what you have and they will make a recommendation.

It would be a good idea to load up your trailer and weigh it on a truck scale (I use the one at the dump, it's free to drive up on it) and weigh the tongue too so you know where you're at.