perman

Friend's F-150 factory installed tow hitch receiver tube is not level. The 2" square tube was not welded exactly perpendicular to the tow receiver structure. The 2" receiver tube is tilted down 1/4" causing the coupling to be "jackknifed" down. The top of the tow ball is not level which will contribute to uneven pressure / stress on the shank of the ball when towing a trailer. Using a 8" torpedo level will show the defect. Seven out of twenty-one 2019 new f-150 trucks hei looked at the local dealership had the same defect. Uneven stress / pressure on the ball shank may cause the shank and ball to fail when towing the maximum 9000 pounds. Mine's okay. Anybody else noticed this or had a problem towing with it on their F-150 ?

Amtrack

Ladies and Gentlemen....check your Factory Installed Tow Hitch.
My 2019 F-150 supposedly was built with the Class IV Heavy Duty tow hitch / receiver; P/N HL3Z-17D826-G which has a 9000 pound tow capacity without a Weight Distribution attachment.
The decal attached to the bottom of the hitch has a P/N of HL3A-19D534-AC which has only a 5000 pound tow capacity, which is the Medium Duty hitch.
How many other folks paid for the Heavy Duty Tow Hitch and received the Medium Duty Hitch?

chimmike

what does your window sticker say? Pretty sure none of the F150's have a factory hitch that can do over 5000lbs without WDH.

Amtrack

Window Sticker states: 5.0 Liter w/ 3.55:1 Axle Ratio w/ Trailer Tow Package. After providing the dealer's Parts Department with the VIN of my truck, I was informed that the vehicle was ordered and manufactured with the heavy duty hitch but as I stated earlier, the part number on my hitch equates to a medium duty hitch.
Also, the 2" square receiver tube on my hitch is tilted-down exactly as the photo perman posted. You can definitely see the tilt when I insert a draw-bar into the 2" receiver tube.

chimmike

Trailer tow package doesn't provide any heavy duty hitch. What you have on that truck is what's normal on F150's. I don't think they sell an F150 with an OEM hitch that handles trailers over 5000lbs without a WDH. Not sure where you're getting the information about how it was ordered, but somebody is telling you something wrong, because your window sticker is accurate.

Amtrack

You probably have a valid point, but...there are definitely two different hitches and part numbers. Probably the factory installs the Medium Duty hitch and the Heavy Duty hitch has to be ordered after the truck arrives and dealer installed. The load weight may be the same on both hitches but I'm "almost" certain the HD hitch has more support gussets. My primary concern is the tilted 2" square receiver tube.

chimmike

I think the HD hitch is for F250's. I could be wrong.

Amtrack

Completely different bolt pattern and attachment points than for a F-250 / F-350. The tow hitches on the 2019 F-150 trucks are integral to and bolt / attach to the rear bumper at several locations. The actual terminology for the tow hitch is now called "reinforcement". You can see the bolting / attachment arrangement when you research online for P/N HL3Z-17D826-G

mikeinatlanta

The HD hitch has the same 500/5000 weight rating without weight distribution. It is only rated higher with weight distribution, so your only gain from a ratings perspective with the HD hitch is when pulling over the 11,000 rating of the standard hitch with weight distribution. The is no (and has been no) configuration where a current generation F150 is rated to tow more than 5,000 without weight distribution. There is no factory installed receiver rated above 500lb tongue weight (without WD) for the F150.

Amtrack

Agree! Agree! Agree!
So what about the other issue relating to the "tilted-down" 2" square receiver tube posted in the photo?