Dadrock33

Morning - posing a question or two (ok, four) and topic and will await opinions and comments:

1) Purchased new (a few weeks ago) 2012 F150 and found tow rating was at 9,400 so my boat, trailer and "stuff" will make it (about 8,000, roughly) . . . tow hitch, though, is only a Class 3 (up to 5,000 supposedly) and needs(??) to be a Class 4 or 5, right?

2) If so, where is best place to get a replacement hitch and does anyone want to buy a new Class 3?? . . .. hoping there

3) If not, why not and can there be legal trouble if something happens and I don't have the right hitch?

4) Don't know tongue weight yet but would like to hear about equalizing hitches as an alternative (from those that have them) or any other suggestions . . . . be kind (new guy, old and sensitive)

dereku

I think if the hitch is rated at 5000 lbs that is your limit. I would actually take it back to the dealer and ask why your truck is rated to tow more than the hitch cab handle

brulaz

5000# is probably just the weight carrying limit. With a wdh you could go to 11500#

That's what my Ford hitch says anyway.

And get the Ford brake controller, not an aftermarket. Much better.

willieboy

Yup, weight carrying limit is 5000lbs. With an Equal-i-zer WDH (I assume you have surge brakes) you can tow up to the legal limit, assuming you don't go over the payload capacity of the truck.

EcoboostKev

I guess the biggest question is what's the sticker on the inside of your drivers door say you have for payload?? The next question would be how much tongue weight does your boat have?? Unfortunately when it comes to towing with 1/2 tons you need to worry about not exceeding your trucks GVWR and it's rear axle rating before you even think about it's tow rating.

smokeywren

Assuming you're talking about the receiver hitch that was part of the F-150 towing pkg, then you need to crawl down under back of the truck and look for a sticker on the frame of the receiver. My 2012 with the towing pkg has a receiver that is rated for 500/5000 WC, 1,050/10,500 WD. Some folks call that a class III/IV. The smallest numbers are max hitch weight, and the bigger numbers are max trailer weight. WC = weight carrying (an ordinary ball on a shank/ball mount). WD = weight distributing ( a much more sophisticated hitch system that distributes some of the tongue weight off the rear axle of the tow vehicle).

Ford (and most industry experts) warn that you should not tow a trailer that weighs more than 5,000 pounds without a weight-distributing hitch. But if your boat trailer has surge brakes, there are very few weight-distributing (WD) hitches that will work with surge brakes.

So your first task is to look for a WD hitch that will work with surge brakes. Here's one:
http://www.etrailer.com/Weight-Distr...0-00-1000.html

If you ignore the experts an insist on towing that heavy boat with a WC hitch, then you need a receiver rated for over 800 pounds WC hitch weight that will bolt onto your F-150. A quick look at the usual suspects (etrailer.com and Reese-Hitches.com) doesn't find any receivers rated for more than 600 pounds WC that will fit your F-150.

Of course.

You want to load the boat on the trailer so you have at least 10% tongue weight, and preferably 12%. So if that's an 8,000-pound boat/trailer weight, you want at least 800 to 950 pounds tongue weight (before tightening the WD spring bars). On most boat trailers you can move the boat forward or backward on the trailer, or move the trailer axles forward or backward, to adjust the tongue weight. If you don't already have access to one, you need a tongue weight scale to be sure your trailer is properly loaded. Here's the one I have:
http://www.etrailer.com/Tools/Sherline/5780.html

Your current receiver rated 1,050/10,500 WD with the Equal-I-Zer hitch linked to above will meet your needs. Don't even think about a cheaper way to beat the system. A different brand of WD hitch is fine and dandy, but be certain it is rated for 1,000 pounds hitch weight and designed to work with surge brakes (if your boat trailer has surge brakes). Notice that Equal-I-Zer says "Unique design makes system compatible with surge-type brake actuators".

dougbattaglia

Just got our new 2013 screw with the trailer tow package. The hitch is class IV which is rated 1000/1200 hitch weight and up to 10000 lbs trailer, the hd tow gives you the same hitch.

zach92r

^^ My 2013 supercrew with trailer tow package also came with the class IV hitch, sounds like that hitch is the standard for this setup.

jjinatx

I have a 2012 SCREW 4x4, 5.0, 3.73 diff, trailer tow package. I've been towing a 7,000# TT, 860# Tongue weight (all per CAT scale). Used an Equal-I-Zer WD hitch.

Got a new TT that has a dry weight of 4,000#, Tongue weight of 500# (per manufacturer spec). From experience, this TT will weigh about 4800#, with a Tongue weight about 600 to 650# when it's loaded with our stuff. The WD hitch is a PITA, and it's so noisy everybody in the campground looks around to see if the Beverly Hillbillies are pulling in, so I want to go with a weight carrying setup. My factory hitch is class III, so limited to 500#/5,000#. I'm thinking about going with a Class IV hitch to handle the Tongue weight and ditching the WD setup.

Anybody bolt a Class IV receiver onto their SCREW? If so, I'd like some feedback as to how the install went and what brand you bought.

Thanks in advance.

-jj

brulaz

Curt makes a Class IV. http://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Hitc...eid=2012308409

Ford's hitch looks pretty heavy duty, and I guess it can handle at least 600# weight carrying. Most other Class III's can. But Ford is probably concerned about the amount of weight you are transferring from the front axle to the rear, so they downgrade it to 500#.

With my 500# hitch weight, I add 700# to the rear axle (200# from the front) without the WDH. And with all the other junk we carry, that puts me just 150# shy of the rear GAWR.

I tried 620# without a WDH briefly. The front-end didn't float too bad. But I was concerned about the rear GAWR, so haven't done it again.

Alternatively, I understand Equal-i-zer sells some sort of lube that reduces noise but not so much the friction? Or since sway isn't an issue (??), maybe a simple, cheap, quiet WDH without any sway control ?