fordmedic48

Need to put a trailer hitch on my 05 so I can pull a horse trailer. Someone suggested getting one off a truck at the junk yard at a better price. Should I go used or new?

bigcatdog

i would say new

Dirttracker18

I'm cheap, I'd go used. I go used with everything I can and I save a lot of money doing so.

That being said check pricing on both. If it is significant I'd go used. There comes a point for me when spending a little more to go new is worth it though. Used has to be AT LEAST half the price of new.

fordmedic48

A hitch off a 07 is 75 dollars with a good chunk of harness.

rbrais

If it's not rotted, what's the difference. Hit it with a coat of Rustoleum and bolt it on for half the price, plus factory wiring/sockets.

smokeywren

Depends on the horse trailer. Some, including one my daughter bought recently, cannot have a weight-distributing (WD) hitch because the V-nose doesn't provide a place to mount the WD hitch on the a-frame of the trailer nose. So then she's stuck with a weight carrying (WC) hitch.

Stock receivers on half-ton pickups are rated for a max of 500 or maybe up to 650 pounds tongue weight (TW) with a WC hitch. Typical two-horse "bumper pull" trailer with GVWR of 7,000 or more pounds will have a lot more TW than 650 pounds - plan on about 1,000 pounds hitch weight (TW) for a trailer loaded with two horses, tack and feed.

For 1,000 pounds TW, you cannot safely tow that trailer with a stock factory receiver rated for 500 or 650 pounds WC. You need a Heavy Duty Class IV or a Class V receiver rated for at least 1,000 pounds TW. They are available. Here's a Curt with a 2" receiver that will do the job safely:
https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Hitch/Ford/F-150/2012/C14002.html?vehicleid=2012308409

Note the specs for that receiver:
Specs:
Receiver opening: 2" x 2"
Rating: Class IV
Maximum gross trailer weight: 10,000 lbs
...Maximum GTW when used with weight distribution: 12,000 lbs
Maximum tongue weight: 1,000 lbs
...Maximum TW when used with weight distribution: 1,200 lbs

Dragging a 7,000 pound "bumper pull" horse trailer with an F-150 with a WC hitch is not a bright idea. That 1,000 pounds of hitch weight will surely cause you to exceed the GVWR of the F-150 unless your F-150 is one of the rare ones with the 7-lug wheels and the HD Payload package. So try to find a horse trailer that is not a V-nose or even a "U" nose, so a normal WD hitch can be installed. Ford says you should never tow a trailer that grosses more than 5,000 pounds without a weight-distributing or fifth wheel hitch. That's one reason their factory receivers on F-150s are rated for only 500 pounds TW without a WD hitch.

bfever74

There is no way I would try to remove a rusted trailer hitch off of a truck in a junkyard. But I live in the rust-belt in Northern IL, maybe where you're at in MASS it isn't as bad. One of our junkyards here actually pulls all the parts off themselves and has them shelved and inventoried. All the rest are pull-it yourself.

KingRancher05

Hitches aren't that expensive but if your truck didn't come with one I defiantly wouldn't want to be dragging around a 2 horse with 2 horses in a truck that doesn't have a tow package

fordmedic48

Unfortunately buying a new truck at this time is out. Going to be putting the transmission cooler and the oil cooler on the truck, I bought the truck used and was told by the dealer it had the trailer package. I think I'll go with having the trailer dealer put on the hitch.