i have decided to upgrade my hitch so i can pull more than 6000 from the stock one. looking at hitch web.com there are a couple choices, i was wondering if anyone has every used them, and second which is the better choice:
Hidden Hitch Magnum or
Putnam XDR
i like these two because it says they hide behind the stock step bumper.
both can pull way more than i will ever need so i just don't know which is a better hitch.
and if both are bad then i will look around somemore.
thanks
Marc

 

I installed a draw-tite rated 10K WC 12K WD on my 2004 F250. I am happy with it, but it does hang a little lower than the stock hitch. Do you realize the bumper WC is rated the same as the stock hitch WC? Then look at how well the bumper is attached. What a joke. Philip.

 

Reese Titan, it's rated at 15,000lbs and is cheap and super strong.

 

I bought a Putnam XDR hitch and had it installed on my 2000 F250 when I purchased it new. I tow a boat without weight distributing gear. Boat and trailer weigh in at just over 14k pounds, with 720 pounds of tongue weight. I use a solid steel ball mount and heavy duty 2 5/16" ball. The hitch has never given me any grief whatsoever, just flat does the job. When I purchased my new 2005 F250 last month, I had the dealer install my Putnam on the new truck, using new hardware that I got from the hitch dealer, and let him put the new 2005 factory hitch on my 2000 trade. No doubt in my mind that the Putnam is a far better hitch then the factory hitch. When I bought mine, it was certified for 10k pounds weight carrying (WC). Putnam has since re-certified the same hitch for 15k pounds WC, without making any design changes. Not saying the other class V hitches aren't just as good, but my Putnam has served me for over five years with zero problems. I felt good enaough about my old hitch to put it on my new truck, but if I was starting from scratch, I'd buy another one in a heartbeat.

Russ

 

has anyone ever broke the factory hitch? how the heck would you brake it? I ve used mine to yank out stuck trucks and believe me i put a beating to it and never had a prob. i would think the truck frame or the bolts would give before the hitch.


Tony

 

I have seen and have video of some Dodge hitches riping in half, no bull!!!! It is very possible!

 

A guy I work with has a 3500 Dodge with the heavy stock hitch. Rated for 12,000 pounds, but the hitch pin hole is enlongating to the point he is shopping for another hitch. The cross tube is also twisting to the point you can see the draw tube is angled down at the back. He is worried that it is about to split the draw tube.

I pull the same trailer and loads with my Reese hitch with no problems at all.

Yes, I have seen what was left of a rig that the cross tube broke on while he was on the interstate. Man what a wreck that was.

 

hey russ how well did the hitch hide behind the bumper? i don't mind if it shows a little more as is to be expected but i don't want it hanging down too low if i can avoid it.

 

Very nice and tight. Even less obtrusive than the stock hitch. very tight vertically to the bumper, and recessed in just a bit more forward than the Ford hitch. It draws absolutely no attention to itself. When I had it installed on the 05, the dealer drilled a hole in the cross member to mount the light plug assembly to it, just as in the factory installation.

However, I should make note of one word of caution. When I was shopping for the 05, I called Putnam to make sure the old hitch would fit OK on the 05's. Putnam no problems generally, but that they were getting some calls from installers that complained that if the truck has the new 18" tires (std. on 350s and optional on the 250s), they were having trouble getting the spare to fit between the rear axle and the forward edge of the crossmember. I can't confirm this, but it's a possibility. It worked fine on my 17" tires, but I do have to push the spare a bit forward to get it winched up. Fortunately the spare is held up by a cable. My cable doesn't hang straight down, it's angled a bit forward. No big deal, the tire is secure and you can't see the cable unless you're on your back under the truck. This is all do to the fact that the hitch is recessed a bit further forward under the bumper than the stock hitch, as I mentioned previously. Seems like there might be enough room left over to fit the 18" spare, but I don't know. No problem with side-to-side clearance of the spare, just fore and aft.

Russ

 

I have the Reese Titan on my work truck, works great.

 

One thing to be mindful of is if you are using a 2 inch diameter hitch ball you must increase your ball shank diameter to 1.5 inches or you haven't increased your overall towing capacity above 6,000 lbs. Then be mindfull that your tongue has to have a 1.5 inch diameter hole to accommodate the 1.5 inch shank. Even with the FMC stock hitch and the Hidden Hitch 2 inch ball with 1.5 inch diameter shank, I believe my rated load is only 8,500 lbs. I pull a a 7,500 lb trailer (occasionally) and have had no problems.

 

If you pull trailers every day you are going to wollow out the pin hole, there is no getting around it, on our work truck it pulls a trailer every day, only comes un hooked to get hooked up to the goosneck, we go through a hitch every two to three years. We got a H-D Chevy now and the hitch is still in good shape so far and we pull a ton a weight off it.

 

Would puttin a little grease in the pin hole help the wear and make it last longer?

 

No it would do nothing, the pin is going to beat forward and backward, the more weight the worse, like I said we pull every day, I have a Reese Titan on my SD and don't pull that often at all, the pin hole looks great and will probally last forever, unless you really pull every day and heavy I would think that you would be ok.

 

Anyone notice that you can only get the good (15,000lbs) hitch on the new dually Super Duty.... You can only get the crappy 12,000lbs hitch on the srw.... Looks like I am going to have to skip on the factory hitch on the new truck and install a real one myself, sad part is that a good aftermarket one is no more expensive then the crappy ford one...