FordHominid

you are gonna need a weight distribution system. this is a good guide to help you choose which one:
http://www.hitchanything.com/Weight-...tch-guide.html

FordHominid

and as far as Ball mounts go, there are a lot of choices, here is a good guide that I personally used when I was figuring out what I needed:
and as far as ball mounts, here is an article that could answer some questions about that as well:
http://www.hitchanything.com/What-ba...is-for-me.html

smokeywren

Ignore the tow rating. It's extremely optimistic. Your practical limit is a gross trailer weight of around 7,000 to 8,000 pounds without exceeding the GVWR of your Max Tow EcoBoost.

But with a practical limit of about 8,000 pounds max trailer weight, that's up to 1,200 pounds max tongue weight (TW). So size your hitch for 1200 pounds max TW.

Southwest Wheel is a good source with good prices, but ignore the el cheapo hitches they sell. Go for the good ones, such as the Equalizer or Reese Strait-Line with trunion bars. Reese makes cheap hitches too, so pay attention and insist on a Strait-Line model with trunion bars.

The el cheapo hitch you linked to has "round bar" weight distribution bars. That means they will stick down from the hitch and crash into the ground for every little ditch you cross. So insist on trunion bar design, with at least 1,200 pounds max tongue weight capacity. Like this one:
http://www.southwestwheel.com/store/p-3515-66084.aspx

You can also buy that exact hitch from Amazon.com vendors, perhaps for a slightly better price if you are a Prime member. So get the model number of the exact Strait-Line hitch you want and search for that model number on Amazon. Here's the 66074:

Notice that one seems less expensive at first glance, but it does not include the shank. Amazon does not stock the 66084, so you have to buy the 66074, which is the same hitch but without a shank. So you have to buy the shank to go with it. Amazon shows a shank for $1000, but that's obviously a typo. Here's one for $130 that will work just fine:

And neither of those from either Southwest or Amazon include the ball. So don't forget to also order the proper ball rated for at least 1,200 pounds hitch weight (or 12,000 pounds gross trailer weight) and that will fasten into your Strait-Line hitch.

Trailer hitch components are usually rated by both trailer weight and hitch weight, but the hitch weight is calculated as only 10% of trailer weight. Most properly-loaded "bumper-pull" trailers have 12.5% to 15% hitch weight, so be concerned with the tongue weight (TW) rating, not trailer weight rating, of hitch components.

You mentioned "ball mount" in your post. Normally, the term ball mount is used when discussing weight-carrying (WC) hitches. Weight-distributing (WD) hitches have more components, including a ball mount, but the ball mount component is much different than a simple WC ball mount. So most folks use the term WD hitch and do not mention the ball mount component.

xcntrk

From what I read in the Trailer mags, the "Equalizer" appears to be the best rated WD hitch w/Sway control.

Personally I use the Reese style because I can interchange between trailers easier. For open car haulers I just use the chain-up clamps, and for TT you use both the chain-up clamps & permanently mounted sway cams.

ccc150

So I picked up a '13 F150 EcoBoost with the 3.73 and max tow packages because it was rated to tow in excess of 11,000lbs. That said my old Chevy could only tow about 5,000lbs and I picked up a 3 ball combo for it that I was using, anyway it was a lower class tow than the one I have now so I'm trying to figure out what combination I need to pickup.

My biggest problem is I figure if I can tow up to 11,200 lbs I should get a combination rated for at least 12,000lbs. However, pretty much everything I'm looking at is rated to like 5-7,000lbs.

Admittedly my towing experience is very limited and I needed this setup to tow around a racecar. I found a few mounts/***** on Amazon that I can have shipped free through Prime but again the rating is throwing me off.

Thoughts?

You have to have the HD package with the max tow pkg
or you cannot tow 11,200 lbs. probably around 9,600

Steve Osborne

no hd pkg.. mines rated for 11,200 as well...just cant find the paper that showed it...
http://www.ford.com/resources/ford/g...rv&tt_f150.pdf

xcntrk

The HD payload option is an extension of the Max-Tow package. Both retain the 11,200 (11,300 2wd) max tow rating, but the HD payload option bumps the GVWR up so you can carry more payload and/or tongue weight.

Steve Osborne

yes for the payload, but i got 1680 lbs on my xlt. if it would have been closer to my buddys 2010 of 1400lbs. then i would have opt for the hd...most i have in the truck 2 adults maybe the grand kids and some gear...so 600lbs leaving 1000 for the tongue, which i'll never use that much of..funny how people figure this out after buying the truck and need more...

xcntrk

Amen..

I find myself wanting to make the jump to a 5'er but no way with only 1636 payload (from dry weight).