The truck is a 01, crew, 7.3L with DRW and a 4.10 rear diff.

What would be the best rear hitch for the truck? The previous owner added a gooseneck hitch and probably was the one that removed the rear hitch if it was ever there. The wiring has been spliced to run to the bed for the gooseneck.

I am looking for max towing capability. Class IV.

Bolt on? Welded?

Also a friend with the identical truck (less the DRW) says I should not need a weight distributing hitch because of the size/setup of the vehicle. True?

Reg

 

A weight distributing hitch will always make the truck/trailer combination handle better than a load carrying setup. Technically you could put a Class V on and tow a huge trailer with only a weight carrying setup, but it will not handle as well. I would suggest a Class IV/V hitch and a weight distributing hitch. They redirect some of the tongue weight both onto the front axle of the truck and back onto the trailer and will limit sway.

 

OK. Now Who makes the best hitch?

I would like to do this myself so: best/better bolt on?

Are welded-on hitches the way to go with them being professionally installed? If so the best welded hitch?

Thanks,

Reg

 

Personally, I prefer bolt on hitches over welded hitches. Welds are weaker than bolts. That's why you'll notice on the heavy duty hitches that no parts are welded. The cross piece at the back of the receiver is bolted together, not welded. I'm sure some will disagree with me, but I would recommend any bolt-on hitch. A good place to start is hitch-web.

 

Ummm.... I disagree with that part about the best reciever hitches being bolted together at the cross tube/side plates. From what I have seen, it is usually the lighter duty universal/motorhome hitches that are bolt-together. I do agree about bolting the hitch to the truck frame though. Welding on the new truck frames is not recommended, although I see it all the time on chassis-cab trucks with stake beds on them...

The Reese Titan and Curt Magnum, both Class V 15K lb and 14K lb (respectively) bolt-on hitches are both welded at the crosstube/sideplates and at the reciever tube/crosstube. Those two are the most heavy duty hitches available for bolting onto a pickup truck, aside from the Torklift Superhitch, which is a very heavy duty, and quite expensive, double-reciever-tube hitch designed for use with very long hitch extensions when used with a slide-in camper that extends out the back of the truckbed. I think their website is www.torklift.com .

I have the Curt Magnum. It is a 2" square hitch box, whereas the Reese Titan is a 2.5" square hitch box (reciever tube) which can be reduced down to 2" with a reducer sleeve for very little money. Personally, I think the Titan is the better of the 2 hitches, but the Magnum is till good. The side plates on my hitch are thick and the welds are quite beefy and look to be good quality (consistent bead appearance, nice bead shape, no undercutting, no visible air bubbles, welded all the way around on all joints, etc). The Titan hitch side plates go up further into the frame, which appeals to me. If I had known that the Magnum hitch didnt go so far up into the frame as the Titan, I likely would have bought the Titan instead, but at ~$250 ave price for the Titan and deal I got at ~$170 for the Magnum, I'm happy with what I bought. I got it at www.traileraccessorysuperstore.com . A good place to get a Titan is www.thetowzone.com or www.etrailer.com (same company).

Hidden Hitch and DrawTite also make some heavy duty Class IV or V hitches. Actually they are both made by Reese (all same company now). Go to www.reeseprod.com to see thier complete product line, including weight distributing hitch attatchments (which I agree is a good thing to have if your trailer is approaching the weight of your truck, or if it an enclosed trailer, which is affected more by crosswinds and passing trucks).

 

I was disappointed with the quality of my Ford 12.5k hitch. The first one I had returned because the reciever was welded to the hitch frame cocked. You could see by eye the box was rotated to the left. From one side to the other the plate was off about 1/4". The one I have now is welded slightly off to the right (mucho better than the first though).