jeremiah2360

Need to borrow a truck to tow a 7500 pound boat one way to my house until I can find my own tow vehicle. Co-worker has a 2005 F250 Super Duty reg cab,4x4,5.4 ,auto3.73`s,tow package,big extendable mirrors,plow package,2" reciever,7 and 4 pin connectors,etc. Figure no problem right? Wrong!

The co-worker says his neighbor is a ford mechanic and it is too much weight. Now I`m pissed because I`m thinking his mechanic friend is an idiot so we break out the manual. Sure enough with out a weight distribution hitch Ford says the limit is 5000 pounds with a 600 pound tongue weight limit(and no not for the bumper but the 2" frame mounted factory reciever). Are you kidding me! It jumps to like 12,500 pounds and a 1,250 pound tongue weight limit with an aftermarket weight distribution hitch. WTF.

Called a ford dealship and Fords customer service number so they could read to me what I just read in the manual,DUH! Thought it might be a mis-print,nope.

So now my co-worker won`t let me use his truck because of this foolishness.

Sorry I know theres a recent thread on F250`s but I had to rant.

PS: You can cross Ford off my list. Wussies!

SHAMROCK69

U-Haul will install a class IV hitch for under $300. Had same problem with my F150 rated to tow 7900 lbs but hitch only good to 5000.

KarlP

There's your problem. I think all the 2" receivers are rated for 5000lbs without WD. You need a class V hitch with a 2 1/2" receiver to carry more.

slickster

My f150 has a higher tow rating than that...are you sure?

jeremiah2360

YES,see this thread I found after a quick search thanks to the comments above(thanks guuys,I knew something was screwy about the numbers).

http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/t...v-5-hitch.html

mike343

You have come up against the problem that the tow vehicle manufacturers refuse to acknowledge that the tongue weights for travel and boat trailers don't need to be the same. Travel trailers need to have tongue weights of 10-15% of total trailer weights. Boat trailers are typically half of that. But the "official" recommendation for your rig says that your tongue weight should be at least 750#. That may be too much for the hitch and hitch attachment and surely puts too much weight on the rear axle of the truck. But your tongue weight is probably about 500# well within the capability of you friend's truck.

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Mike

1Mainiac

The number are not Fords numbers they the numbers that come with the hitch design which applies to Chevy Dodge and all the rest with that hitch class on it. All class 3 hitch's have the same rating.

slickster

A 4X4 has a lower tow rating

jeremiah2360

I understand that. You could put that hitch on a F450 and still be limited to 5000 pounds. Give me a break my Dodge Dakota came stock with a class IV hitch. Also the manual only gives two senarios,the first with the stock class III hitch the second with an aftermarket weight distribution hitch. In other words if you called Ford and said you were going to tow 5100 pounds with 650 pounds of tongue weight they would tell you that you need a weight distribution hitch.

SHAMROCK69

Look at a class IV and class III hitch side by side. When I had a class IV installed I could see why it is rated up to 10K weight carrying and 12000 weight distributing instead of 5K weigth carrying. My boat trailer weight is between 6700 and 7200 depending on how boat is loaded. I went through this say thing about 8 months ago with my F150. I spoke to some guys who tow 7000 lbs with at class III hitch and have no problems but I was not comfortable with it. They citied the fact that the tongue weight was the reason the hitch was only rated to 5k and felt if they ran lighter tongue weights they were fine. I also run only about 350 lbs of tongue weight and the boat tows fine.

When towing you need to know both the capacity of tow vehicle and capacity of hitch. If you have a factory tow package the hitch may not be up to the max the truck can handle.

Seacat FL

That is incorrect. Check the Ford Towing Guide:
https://www.fleet.ford.com/showroom/...9RVTTguide.pdf

In every case the F250 5.4 tow rating is less with 4wd.

mjkten

I think you have disagreed to agree. Saying the same thing. The only real reason for that is that the tow rating is based on the vehicles weight also, and the 4wd equipment weighs more. How much less is the tow rating? probably around the amount the 4x4 gear adds to the truck.

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"All bad precedents begin with justifiable measures."
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Seacat FL

You are correct.

mjkten

Happy to get it right every now and then!
Now I have to go look at the receiver hitch on my 03 F250SD. Probably same issue as the OP. I believe there must be some engineering margin built into that hitch, but I want to make sure I have the right equipment too.

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"All bad precedents begin with justifiable measures."
Julius Caesar

Greg Manning

My F-350 and current Chevy 2500 both came with the joke of a class III hitch. First thing I did with both was to buy and install a real hitch...Class V Putnam XDR..2" and 15000# load carrying

Just goes to show that many people with 3/4-1 ton trucks never work them and wouldn't know the difference.

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Cape Horn 31, Yamaha 350's
Intruder 198, 140 Suzuki

Andrew134

After reading this thread, I checked mine. 2004 f350 and it has a class V hitch. The dealer must have installed it if not at the factory.

slickster

Regarding the 4X4 question....the tow rating is less with 4x4....did I say it wrong?

rdollie

A lot of people simply don't do their homework before they buy and learn things the hard way sometimes. I made sure my '08 F250 diesel came from the factory with the 12.5k hitch (which if memory serves me right is actually a 15k hitch but stated as 12.5k because Ford's single-rear wheel limit is 12.5k of weight and you would need a duallie for anything higher.)

Greg Manning

Not everybody buys new....seems a little stupid to me to even let a 3/4-1 ton off the line with a hitch below what it is advertised to tow.

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Cape Horn 31, Yamaha 350's
Intruder 198, 140 Suzuki

SHAMROCK69

Ford goes one better. On certain year F150's the relay for the reverse lights in the 7 pin plug is left out. Fix is a simple purchase and 2 second install but diagnosing is a PIA. Spent an hour under truck with muti-meter. Did a search on F-150 online and found it was a common problem checked no relay. Swapped one over tested it bingo!