smokeywren

Yeah, you're not understanding all the info available.

Your receiver has two ratings, one for a weight carrying (WC) hitch and one for a weight distributing (WD) hitch. The 10,500 pounds trailer weight rating is only with a WD hitch. With a WC hitch, it's probably rated for 500 pounds max hitch weight and 5,000 or 6,000 pounds max trailer weigh. Crawl under the back of the truck and look at the frame of the receiver and you'll probably see a sticker that includes something like 500/5000 WC - 1,050/10,500 WD.

A WC hitch is simply a ball mount with a ball.


A WD hitch is a lot more complicated. Here's what mine looks like all hooked up to the trailer tongue:

brossyvega

Up date. I pooled the bote out of the water with out a problem. I want to thank al the good recomendaciones and info. I did not have to take the boat to a gas station. I just moved the boat a couple hundred feet. If I have to move the boat several miles I will move the boat back on the trailer before.

2011LIMITED#288

face palm at this thread

bmach

My truck has a class IV hitch on it, sounds like his does also.

terraformer

Yup, while it was a bit hard to find (had to order it from eTrailer), I got a Class IV WC hitch rated above what I can handle, but it was the only one I could find. My FX4 5.0 w/3.73 is rated around 9700 lbs.

BRUTE448

do u have an scab or screw!?? also did yours not come with fac. tow package..i have an 11' fx4 5.0 9300 tow cap 500/5000 carry 1050/10500 WD on my fact. hitch

smokeywren

For dragging a heavy boat with a simple WC hitch, the 500 pounds tongue weight limit is not enough. Most boaters don't want to mess with a WD hitch. So they either overload the factory receiver or else replace it with a real class IV WC receiver.

The F-150 factory receiver is a class III/IV. Class III (less than 1,000 pounds max tongue weight) without a WD hitch, and class IV (1,000 pounds or more max tongue weight) with a WD hitch.

Ford (and the other manufacturers of tow vehicles) requires a WD hitch for any trailer with a tongue weight more than 500 pounds. But if you ignore that rule, then you need to at least replace the factory receiver with one rated for the max tongue weight you will have.

Here is one brand of a class IV WC receiver for an F-150. Note it's rated 1,000/10,000 WC and 1,200/12,000 WD.
https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Hit...eid=2013308409

You can adjust hitch weight on most boat trailers by moving the boat back and forward on the trailer. But for towing more than a few feet, you must maintain a minimum of 10% hitch weight, else you are in danger of severe sway that can ruin you day. So for any boat that weighs more than about 4,000 pounds, you need a WD hitch. (4,000 pound boat plus 1,000 pound trailer should have at least 500 pounds hitch weight).

So if you want to follow the safety rules, then instead of replacing the receiver, you should use a WD hitch with any trailer that has more than 500 pounds hitch weight. Most boat trailers have surge brakes, and most WD hitches will not work with surge brakes. So your choice of WD hitches is severely restricted for a boat trailer with surge brakes. The only one I know about is the Equal-I-Zer, like this one:
http://www.etrailer.com/Weight-Distr...0-00-1200.html

That one has a max tongue weight of 1,200 pounds, which should be about right for any boat trailer that grosses less than about 10,000 pounds. Equal-I-Zer also makes one with a max tongue weight of 800 pounds. So if your rig has a hitch weight of more than 500 pounds but less than 800, look at that WD hitch.

brossyvega

thank you all for the info!