brulaz

Really doubt that Ford would ever put a Class IV Weight Carrying hitch on the F150. With the Class IV 10,000# rating and 10% tongue weight, that would be 1000# on the tongue which would really lift too much weight off the front axle.

And somebody would do just that, and Ford would be liable.

The current Class III Weight Carrying/Class IV Weight Distributing hitch could maybe handle 1000# tongue weight (I dunno, but it looks pretty solid), but the truck can't.

jjinatx

Jdog,

Thanks for the info. Looks like the rumoured Class IV hitch on the 013 SCREWs ain't true.
-jj

jjinatx

What you say makes sense.

I wish the Curt Class III/IV model was rated a little higher than 600# tongue weight. I'm thinking I'll go weigh the TT loaded and see how close to 600# I am (theoretically it's about 630#). I hate messing with the load leveler hitch, especially since about all it does is remove the extra 100# that it adds in the first place. Without the bars engaged, the front of my truck goes up about 1/8" and with the bars engaged about a 1/16".

-jj

jjinatx

The sticker says 10,500 weight distributing and 5,000 weight carrying, so it's definitely a Class III, not a Class IV. Class IV is 10,000 weight carrying.

-jj

smokeywren

I don't agree.

SAE says Class III is any hitch that can tow a trailer that weighs up to 5,000 pounds. Class IV is any hitch that can tow a trailer that weighs up to 10,000 pounds.

Most light duty pickup factory receivers are Class III/IV. Max trailer weight is 5,000 to 6,000 pounds without a weight-distributing (WD) hitch. So it's a Class III when used as a WC hitch. But it can tow a trailer that weighs 10,000 to 12,500 pounds with a WD hitch. So it's a Class IV when used with a WD hitch.

Using "Class" is confusing. If you need a hitch that can handle a 10,000 pound trailer with a WC hitch, then simply specify a minimum of 10,000 pounds WC.

But understand that nobody with any expertise in the towing world would agree that you should tow a trailer that grosses more than 5,000 pounds with a WC hitch. That's one reason WC hitches rated for more than about 6,000 pounds are rare as hen's teeth.

There are some available, but they are meant for special conditions, such as a farmer pulling a heavy wagon-style grain trailer out of a sandy field. Only a numbskull would try to tow a 10,000 pound TT with a WC hitch.