Hi everyone,
I need to get a bracket made and welded under my I beams on my 1966 F600 so I can use a ball hitch to pull a trailer.
Has anyone had experience with this? What would be the best way to do it and what type of ball hitch should I use?
I want to be able to get the most out of the setup without having to install a fifth wheel hitch, which I can't because my truck has a tanker body that I am going to convert into "box truck like" storage cabin.
It would be nice to make something strong enough to pull a large utility trailer like the ones you often see Back hoes etc. on.
I wonder what it would cost to have a welder fabricate and install a bracket such as this on my truck?
Thanks again,
Erich

 

Check your frame width. I have a receiver hitch on a F-450 with with a
10,000 lb rating.

 

I have a local welder thats going to give me a quote on building the bracket for a ball hitch.
I am pretty sure the I beam to I beam width at the rear is around 34-36 inches. I checked it the other day.
If my GVW is 17,000 what would you think the max rating for the rear ball hitch could be?
I am unsure of my trucks empty weight. It wasn't on the title and The DMV rated it at 4500lbs.
Thanks,
Erich

 

Erich, Is there a local Feed mill anywhere close to you? You can take your truck there and get it weighed for $5.00 maybe. I would find a business like that and get it weighed. I will bet a Pepsi cola it is 10,000 or more.



John

 

Hi John,
I bet you're right.
I'll look around my area and see where a feed mill is. I am sure there is one around here somewhere. The junkyard near me has a scale. I'll call them and see if I can weigh my truck there.
Thanks again,
Erich

 

Land fills are another place with truck scales. Truck stops, Interstate hiway weigh stations, grainerys. Ask around, sometimes you can pass scales and never know they are there.

Think commerce, product bought or sold using trucks.




John

 

Your GVW is your truck plus payload. The weight of your truck and trailer GCVW.
My F-450 GVW is 13500 lbs
GCVW 25000 lbs
The frame rails are 34 inches
The receiver hitch is stock of the shelf with a weight of 10000 lbs
The gooseneck hitch is rated at 30000 lbs
My truck weighs 11000 lbs
My tag is good to 18000 lbs
The DVM (in Alabama) will sell you a tag for any weight rating you tell them.
They would sell me a pickup tag for 8800 lbs if I asked for it.
As a commercial vehicle I am weighed when I cross state lines and subject to yearly inspections.

 

Awesome,
Thanks for the help.
I will get my truck weighed soon,
Erich

 

saw mills and log yards... concrete mixing places.... also have scales you can use... since they dont have loads coming in at night... im sure they wont mind you stoping on the scale... (me and a friend here walking past the old mill... and desided to stop and see how much both of us weigh.... talked with the guy in the shack there for a little while... since they still have loads comming out of the mill at night... just not as many...)

 

Now that you mention it, the plywood plant I used to work at has a scale and it's very close to my house. I bet they wouldn't mind if I weighed it.
Thanks,
Erich

 

Since we are on the topic of weight,
What happens if my vehicle is tagged at 4500lbs and the actual empty weight is over 11,000lbs. Will a DOT cop or other law enforcement official pull me over and fine the devil out of me? Something tells me that could happen. My wife disagrees but I don't want to have to pay fines. I haven't had a ticket in years. I would hate to know what the fine for that offense would be.
Erich

 

Hi JOhn,
Looks like I owe you a pepsi cola, My truck weighed in at 10,100lbs. Empty.
Looks like I will be going to the dmv soon to up my tag. Luckily, the tag I have is good to 11000lbs so I don't have to get a weighted tag. But my tag is showing 4500lbs empty weight now. Guess I'll have to cough up some more dough.
Thanks again,
Erich

 

Erich, Get a full understanding of what your state requires before you buy.

Here in the Tarheel, your trucks plate has to cover the truck, loaded weight of the truck plus any trailer weight that may be attached.

I run a 4000lb tag on my truck. There is a photo of my truck and trailer in my photo album, that combo was 10,500 or 6500lbs over weight. I would have been in deep dodo if I had been stopped.


John

 

Thanks John,
I am going to research it a bit more and probably up my tag to cover 11,000lbs since I don't have a trailer yet that will at least cover the truck itself.
Thanks,
Erich

 

The rules vary from state to state, but you should be able to put collector vehicle plates on as long as your not using your truck commercialy. You pay a one time fee and then no more yearly tags and tonnage.

You would need to do a google search for your state to find the rules.

Greg