I have a F250 that I use to tow a 35' travel trailer and have the Ford hitch. It is rated at 12000#, they did not come out with the 15000# hitch rating until late in 02 or 03 model years. The reason for the tow limit of 10000# is that was the rating on the Class III/IV hitch for many years and no matter what your truck can do you can not haul more than the hitch can support.
The basic things that have to be looked at with your tow is how much is the total weight and how much is the tongue weight? The total weight can not exceed the hitch rating or the combined weight rating of the truck in your case about 20,000#. The tongue weight can not exceed the max weight on the hitch (those pesky lower numbers). Your trailer will put about 10 to 15% of the total weight of the unit on the tongue so a 10,000 trailer will have about 1000 to 1500# on the hitch. If you do not use WD the max hitch weight is 600# and your unloaded trailer will prob. exceed that. If you use WD the bars will shift about 50% of the tongue weight to the front axel and now the hitch has 1/2 the tongue weight on it and the front Axel has the rest. That is how the same hitch has two ratings, the WD rig just moves the weight to the front axel. Also makes you ride level but that is a side benie.
Antisway is another story it keeps you from fish tailing every time and 18 wheeler or Class A goes past at 75. I have two in mine and they work well, Reese hitch may work better but $2000 for the hitch sort of causes me to think about it.

 

Philips,

Here is a link to the towing guide on the FMC website, Scroll down and click on "Things to Know Before You Tow"

http://www.fleet.ford.com/products/r...04_default.asp

Also to the best of my knowledge, nobody makes a WD hitch for a pintle and lunette ring setup.

Hope this helps

 

blackhat620's link pretty much spells it out.

 

John, where does that link 'pretty much spell it out'. The link says 'class IV extra heavy duty over 5K... most applications require WD hitch'. Clear as mud, sounds like lawyer talk to me. Cover my butt and I cannot be sued. It defenitly does not say you must use WD for anything over 6K. I laughed at this the other day. The bumper on my truck is rated 5K WC, and the Ford hitch is rated 6K WC. My opinion, by the sticker they put on it, the Ford hitch is light weight junk, no extra heavy duty super duty about it, especially for those who do not need the complications and requirements on a WD hitch. These super duty trucks should be capable of taking a 10K double axle tailer, loading up a 7K tractor, and going down the road without WD. Mine does now, thanks to draw-tite. Philip.

 

Many good comments, but one thing that hasn't been mentioned yet by those who use WD hitche setups is the improvement in ride quality and handling when towing. It takes a little extra time to hook up and there are times when they can be a pain but never on the "straight" pull. The benefits of using the correct WD hitch setup (including bars) when towing are positive to say the least.

 

I'll try to find it, but somewhere in the Ford literature it specifically says that Ford recommends using a WDH over a certain weight. The link "spells it out" because they give the ratings for towing with and without a WDH.

 

I think Ford is rating the factory hitch the way they are to cover their butt. It is a good hitch and I pulled 8000 to 9000# and I, nor the truck, died. The WD does not make the hitch or the bolts stronger. If I can pull 15,000# with a WD I can without, just not as well, it would appear.
When I have my own skid steer, I will get a WD. For pulling heay trailers that belong to others, I will not hesitate to hook-up and go.

 

Here's where "Ford says you should be using WD for anything over 6K" (Actually it's for towing anything over 5000 lbs):

https://www.fleet.ford.com/products/...mendations.pdf

Phil

 

Phil, the link says 'recommended for trailer weights over 5K', does not say required. I'm not trying to stir things up, I am disappointed in Fords hitch only being rated 6K WC. I still believe the WC rating all stems from Ford being conservative acting from a former lawsuit or advise from a laywer. In this sue happy world today, corporations protect themselves from idiots. Unfortunatelly, we all pay. For me towing different trailers using different trucks hauling everything from tractors to cars to skid steers, a WD hitch is not for me. Now, with that being said, if I owned a 24' camper trailer and towed from east coast to west coast, I would use a WD hitch. But a WD hitch is not for my applications. Philip.

 

The whole WDH things is based on the fact that any vehicle will be more stable using a WDH with a heavier trailer. I don't think there's really a magic number, but 5K# is reasonable. Placing some of the tongue weight back onto the trailer and on the front axle of the truck makes the whole rig a lot more stable.

 

Philips,

The original poster of this thread asked what the ratings where on his factory installed hitch, on his 2003 F350.
This is directly from my original link posted above.
Those ratings are as follows:
SRW: 5000WC/500TW; 12,500WD/1250TW
DRW: 6000WC/600TW; 15,000WD/1500TW
"These capacites are also shown on a label affixed to each receiver"

"Weight-Distributing hitch is used in conjuction with a hitch platform (receiver) to distribute tongue load to all towing vehicle and trailer wheels. Required for certain Class III and ALL Class IV applications."

In addition you must take these items into consideration also (From same link):
"Trailer tongue load weight should be 10-15% of total loaded trailer weight (weight carrying). Make sure vehicle payload (reduced by option weight) will acommodate trailer tongue load weight and weight of passengers and cargo added to towing vehicle. Addition of trailer tongue load weight and weight of passengers and cargo Cannot cause vehicle weights to exceed rear GAWR or GVWR. These ratings can be found on the vehicle Safety Compliance Certification Label (located on drivers door pillar)"

Class III: 3501-5000 GTW
Class IV: Above 5000 GTW

Now you may have installed an aftermarket Class V receiver platform on your truck, that does not make FMC requirement of a WD hitch for ALL Class IV and above trailers null and void for your truck (legally speaking).

On a side note, you said that you bought an F250, which has a GVWR of 8800lbs, you may have exceeded this with your tractor and trailer hooked up do to pin weight. Empty curb weight for an F250 is 5500-6500 lbs per factory. Best way to find out your vehicles actual weight is to weigh it at a scale with your normal load.

Hope this helps

 

Here is a link to towing procedures and guidelines put together by members of this forum.
/www.clubfte.com/users/monsta/safeloading.html

 

BlackHat, I cannot disagree with the information you have provided us on the Ford hitch. My point in this thread is the use of a more robust aftermarket hitch to increase your WC capabilites. My Draw-Tite Ultra Frame 41922 Class IV receiver hitch is rated 1K/10K WC and 1.2K/12K WD. Coupled with a one piece forged 10K ball mount 40330, plus the appropriate 2-5/16" ball, I have a 1K/10K WC rating for my truck. Ford has a good WD hitch for those who will use it, but using this form, I am glad that someone else brought this to my attention before I ordered my truck. Philip.

 

Well not exactly... You are correct that the WD does not make the hitch or bolts stronger however, the WD does redistribute the load on the hitch across the whole truck and trailer. Were the WC hitch point loads the weight on to the ball of the hitch (in a vertical plane). The redistributon of the weight across the whole truck and trailer by the WD (in both the vertical & horizonal plane) lowers the point loading on the hitch and changes the direction and amont of force applied on the hitch platform. By changing (re-distributing) the direction and load (Tension and Compression loads) on the hitch platform you get the same effect as if you increased the bolt diameter and/or number and incresed the plate thickness.

One other thing to consider when towing is that it is not just a matter of pulling the load, you must also stop and turn the truck and load. These are all factored into towing ratings and equipment by manufactures. The higher the TW on a WC hitch the farther the rear of the truck sags down, thereby raising the front of the truck and wheels making steering and stopping much more difficult.

Hope this helps

 

philips, what do you tow that you are so against a WDH? Have you ever used one? The difference is night and day.