Brad34

Yes, back to the original topic. This seems like a significant problem if you are towing more than a couple thousand pounds. A assume the chances of Ford fixing the hitch under warranty are slim to none? They will probably just say it's normal and won't affect towing.

Amtrack

As the OP posted, seven out of twenty-one hitches have tilted receiver tubes. Does this indicate that the remaining fourteen hitches are wrong and/or the 1/4" tilt is within the manufacturers tolerance and FORD will agree? It would be interesting to know who manufactures the tow hitches for FORD.

Brad34

After some online searching, it looks like this has been an issue going back to at least the 2017s. People have reported mixed results on getting it corrected. I've seen a few people say they had the dealer replace the hitch, but it only helped a little. One owner of a 2017 had his replaced and it looks like it helped a lot. A few others have said that the dealers insist it is normal and harmless, so they won't do anything.

I wonder why Ford has not corrected this in the '18s and '19s.

StonedFX4

Are you measuring or inspecting the actual tube or looking at the set up with the tow bar installed. There is a bit of "slop" between the tube and tow bar which could make it look out of level.

ColorBlind

2018 Screw. Mine tilts down. I figured someone backed into my ball and never told me.

Amtrack

I interpret the OP statement to say that a 8" torpedo type level was inserted into the square receiver tube. If you zoom-in on the 2" square tube you can see how much the square tube is tilted down and you don't need a level to see the tilt. One thing for certain is if I were to buy a new truck and the tube was tilted down and the square tube on the new truck next to my truck was not tilted-down I'd be asking the Technical Authority, "what's up with that?" and I would not buy the truck.
I would not be surprised if a new owner found the defect after taking delivery, he/she would have a difficult time proving he/she did not damage the hitch.
I'd say something went wrong with the welding jig during the fabrication of the hitch assembly and/or the accept/reject criteria for the alignment of the square tube to the base foundation is not to critical in the eyes of the manufacturer.

Varmit Girl

Hi there Ford "guys"! New member here!
As I was surfing this forum, I came across the photo of the tipped-down tow hitch receiver tube. I am "shopping around" for a new 2019 F-150 Lariat Crew Cab 4 X 4 with a tow package to tow my 2800 pound camper. I located several trucks at at Ford dealer in my area. For some unknown reason I was looking at the trailer connector plugs on the rear bumpers and then I noticed the factory tow hitch. I "played dumb" and asked the salesman what type of equipment goes into the square receiver. He brings out a draw-bar with a hitch ball attached and inserts it into the receiver. The draw bar tipped-down (same as the photo on this forum) and I asked why and he did not have an answer. I asked him to insert the draw-bar into another 2019 F-150 and it was level. He inserted the draw-bar into a second 2019 F-150 and the draw-bar tilted down.
Using the level on my Smart Phone, I placed it on the bottom of the square receiver tube on all three trucks and sure enough, the tipped-down square receiver was 6mm out of level compared to the other two trucks. The truck with the tipped-down square receiver has everything I want, but I was gun-shy and walked off the lot. I plan to bring my father and brother to the dealership and get their opinion.

Brad34

I have not hitched mine up yet or taken a level to it, but it looks tilted. If in fact it is, I expect a new hitch that is level. The entire reason I purchased a truck is for towing.

I suspect Ford has not fixed this problem because they hope the majority of the customers don't tow at all, won't notice or just won't care. Obviously I am kicking myself for not checking before I bought the truck, but who would think to check for such a thing unless they were forewarned?

Varmit Girl

My father helped me file a complaint to FORD. The salesman called me with expectations that I was going to buy the truck ASAP and they would resolve the issue later. No thanks pal! As soon as I attach my camper trailer to the truck, I doubt they would do anything to resolve the tilted receiver tube. More people need to ask questions and file complaints with the dealerships and FORD.

rvrdux

I am really curious as to this. I have had my truck for about 3 weeks and have noticed this. It is really bugging the crap out of my. Haven't had a chance to get back to the dealer but am afraid they are just going to say that is normal. I have had a lot of trucks and none of them looked like this. It really concerns me as I do a ton of towing. I thought maybe they did it this way on just the supercrews with the 6.5 ft box but have not been able to compare as there are not many on the road. My previous truck which was the same did not look like this.

Thanks,
RVRDUX
2019 F150 Supercrew 6.5ft Heavy Duty Payload