A friend of mine recently purchased a 2002 Expy w/ the tow package and opted for the Class IV hitch, trading in his '98 Expy w/ a Class III hitch. We have searched and searched and have been unable to find the weight ratings for the factory Class IV hitch. We are mainly needing the tongue weight capacity of the Class IV as his boat has a tongue weight of 630lbs. The information we found in the manual states that, with his particular axle ratio, he can tow up to 6900lbs. This is with the 17in tires so he's even considering switching to 16in to help increase the numbers.

Basically, we're trying to find out if he pull a 7100lb boat without the need for a weight distributing hitch.

ANY help would be appreciated!

 

Towing capacity is towing capacity WD hitch or not. It is pretty close, but does the 7100 include fuel, fishing equipment and all the people riding in the vehicle all of which is included in towing capacity?

Sounds like you friend might want to think if a lighter boat or a larger tow vehicle.

As far as a the need for a WD hitch, common wisdom says tongue weight should be 10% of total trailer weight. Seven-hundred lbs is a lot of weight. I would recommend a WD hitch for safest operation.

 

First off, thanks for the reply!

That part I understand, that he's exceeding the current rated towing capacity by 200lbs. But that's why he's thinking of installing the 16in tires which, according to the manual, increases the towing capacity of the Expy and he will then be within towing capacity range.

We've actually measured the tongue weight of the boat (fully loaded) and it came out to about 630 lbs. With the Class III hitch, that was about 130lbs more than it's rating and that's why he paid extra for the Class IV hitch on this Expy, except nobody can tell us what the Class IV tongue weight rating is for the factory hitch. Most Class IV hitches I've seen are rated around 8000lbs. Their tongue weight rating is usually 800lbs. But that doesn't necessarily mean that the Ford factory Class IV hitch has the same ratings.

I think he's just getting a bit upset that A)the Ford dealer doesn't seem to want to help him after the sale and B)he paid extra for the Class IV hitch and now it looks like he's still going to have to fork over some more cash to buy a W.D. hitch.

 

My understanding is that a class 4 hitch has the same dead weight tongue weight rating as a class 3 hitch. The difference between a class 3 and a 4 is a class 4 is rated to be used with a WD setup. When you use a WD setup with a class 4 hitch the tongue weight rating is much higher(I think as high as 1,200lbs). This is because a WD setup redistributes some of the tongue weight to the front axle and some of the weight of the trailer axle. But you don't want to use a WD setup if your towing less the a class 4 hitch handle in a dead weight setup because the tongue weight would be too light for the given load. This would cause way too much trailer sway.

Another thing you need to think about it the gross combined vehicle weight rating. That's the total weight of the tow vehicle and its passengers, payload and tongue weight. Yes, tongue weight is part of the payload too, and the total weight of what you’re towing. Did you factor in tongue weight as part of the tow vehicles payload?

Sounds like you’re exceeding the tongue rating in a dead weight configuration and you'll have to go with a WD setup (which is a pain in the butt when you towing a boat, you'll have to take it off when you launch the boat, usually). But also check to make sure you’re not exceeding the GCVWR. The tow vehicle has a max on what it can tow (that max is usually while the tow vehicle in empty and properly equipped to tow), as long as you don't exceed the GCVWR of the tow vehicle. Basically, the more weight you add to the tow vehicle, the less trailer you can tow.

 

Thanks for the explanation Dan. Sounds like he's just going to have to bite the bullet and buy the W.D. setup.

The one remaining question I have though is that the Class IV hitch looks exactly like the Class III hitch. If the C-IV is setup for a W.D. system but the C-III isn't, where's the difference? I mean, I figured that the C-IV had thicker steel so it probably had a higher capacity. We don't have his C-III anymore for an exact comparison but the the C-IV looks identical to the old one.

I've never messed with any hitch higher than a Class III. Anything above that is new turf for me so I have to apologize with all the questions. It just surprises me that I haven't even been able to find out any information from the internet about these.

I'm just happy I don't have to mess with it. My truck came with a Luverne step bumper rated at 1000lb tongue weight and 10000 trailer weight.

 

 

I have a class III that is rated for up to 1200 tongue weight with a weight distributing hitch. The classes are so scewed anymore they don't mean very much.

Have you contacted Ford to find out what they have to say?

 

http://www.pullrite.com/FordSport.html
This company advertises their hitch at 1000# tongue weight. (10,000# gross trailer weight)

This is taken from Ford's literature regarding the factory hitches... In essence, a class 4 SHOULD handle up to 1000# tongue weight.
quote:"
These trailer hitch receivers bolt directly to your vehicle using existing holes – no drilling or welding required. The Class III hitch has a gross trailer capacity of 5,000 lbs. (2270 kg.) and a tongue capacity of 500 lbs. (227 kg.) The Class IV hitch has a 10,000 lb. (4540 kg.) towing capacity and a 1,000 lb. (454 kg.) tongue capacity. NOTE: Towing capacity could be limited by your powertrain. See your dealer for details. "


What exactly do you drive? I don't understand your abbreviation of your vehicle... Is it an Explorer? Excursion?
Mark




https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gallery/displaythumbnail.php?&photoid=5362&.jpg
Ford started it; Ford will finish it!

 

My class III has a 1200/6000 rating and a 10000 rating with a weight distributing hitch.

 

Sorry for the abbreviation. It's an Expedition.

I think johnsdiesel is right, the classes just seem to be messed up anymore. We even contacted the only two Ford dealers in our area an neither could really explain the difference between the two hitches. One of them at least offered to try to research it and get back to us. Needless to say, my friend never received that phone call and everytime he tried to follow up he was told that they hadn't found anything out yet.

To bring everybody current, my friend has finally just purchased a weight distributing hitch so he can now safely pull his boat around. But the question still kinda bothers me. What really is the difference between a Class III and Class IV hitch? Yes, I know that the Class IV is supposed to be compatible with a weight-distribution setup, but how can that be when it looks identical to the Class III? What makes it more compatible? Does that also mean that you can't use a W.D. setup with a Class III receiver?

Oh well... guess it will just have to remain one of lifes great mysteries.

Anyway, thanks to all who have responded to this question.

 

As far as I know, all hitches have the capacity stamped on them. Take a closer look at the hitch on the Expy, and I'll bet you can find the ratings both with and without weight distribution. Don't trust the owner's manual for this crucial information.