hey! I put on a reese class III hitch on my 03 f150, xcab 5.4l 4x4. Do you guys think that was a good enough hitch if i were to haul in the upper weight of one of these trucks is weighted for, or should i have gone w/ a bigger hitch? or, is there anything that i can do to strengthen the hitch that i have on right now? i've heard of welding it to the frame, is this a good idea? thanx.

 

Welding it to the frame will only weaken the connection. By welding you are heating the frame and hitch making it more brittle at the connection point. The hitch is designed to bend when over stressed..but not come off of the truck. Welding it on could actually cause it to break off the truck when stressed.

The only way you could have got a better hitch was to get a Class IV. This is the same weight capacity hitch that is installed on the Super Duty trucks, minus the Class V endorsement...True Class V will have a 2.5" reciever.

I don't like towing close to the limits on '97-'03. The frames are real weak from about the rear axle rearward. Keeping that in mind....and keeping within the tow limits of a Class III and you should be fine. The max for a Class III is 5000lbs of total loaded trailer weight and a maximum of 500lbs tongue weight.

 

You have to check the rating for the hitch. There are usually two ratings, one with and with out a weight distributing set. With a WD set up it could be rated up to 10000lbs.

 

Basically, though, I was wondering if I had gotten a big enough hitch, or if I should have gone w/ a class IV.

 

I don't know what you have to do to bend the frame, but I've pulled everything concieveable with my truck, and bent my pullpin several times on several different occasions. I've picked the truck up off the ground while loading a dozer, and I've bottomed the suspension and flattened the rear tires with an excavator. I have a 5th wheel hitch, and I've hauled 3,000lbs+ in the bed. I've pulled 36,000 lbs of wheat, and a 6' harrow in the garden. If they're weak, I'm not seeing it.

 

I guess you don't mess around do you Chester

And I love the peanut train!!!

 

I'd say if you stay within the ratings of your hitch (and your truck of course) you are good to go.

 

They aren't consistent from one manufacturer to the next and sometimes not even across one manufacturer's product line.

If you go to Reese's website and do the research, they usually offer 2 or more hitches for each application, all with the same Class III/Class IV label, but with different weight capacities. Some are class III only, some are considered Class III in weight carrying mode and class IV in weight distribution mode. Most people will tell you Class IIIs are rated up to 5000 pounds and above, Class IVs are rated 5000 pounds or more. But the ratings vary widely for the same class label depending on manufacturer of the hitch and the application.

Simple question: Does the weight carrying capacity of the hitch match or exceed the weight carrying tow capacity of your truck? If so, you have the right hitch. If not, you need a different one. Look at the label next to the reciever tube to figure it out.

 

Ok, thanx for your guys' help...